Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.
Walking in humility towards God and others is one of the essential characteristics the Christian must have operating in his life to be successful in all that he does in the kingdom. The opposite of this would be walking in pride and arrogance in everything we do, which brings us into a destructive path.
If we haven’t come to that place in our lives where we have either humbled ourselves before God or have been humbled by Him, pride will manifest itself in a myriad of ways in our areas of service in the body of Christ and in our relationships with one another.
In much of today’s Christianity there is a lack of true conversion and transformation in the lives of those who are attempting to follow Christ. Many are being seduced by a watered down version of Christianity that doesn’t challenge people to put off the old nature by being crucified to the world.
We must keep in mind that the goal or the ultimate destiny for the Christian is to come into the fullness of Christ, being changed or transformed into His image.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Counting it all joy when we experience trails and hardships brings about Christian character in our lives.
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that
the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
How many of us really take this verse seriously? We laugh and say, "Yea oh sure uh
huh!" But the truth is; if we really desire the liberating power of God's Spirit and
kingdom in our lives, we must find joy in life's hardships. Tthere are a number of things that cause hardship in our lives--things such as
sicknesses, family tragedies, out of work, financial difficulties, family problems, major
calamities eg. earthquakes, floods etc., business failure etc. These things are a given,
but Jesus says, "be of good cheer". He is saying that we must learn how to find joy in
the midst of life's hardships, because He has overcome the world.
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In
the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
We live in a society or culture that condones and promotes sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, abortion and filthy and coarse language. Our society is plagued by murder, teen age pregnancies, gang violence, drug usage and many other ills. All of which I have just mentioned is flaunted flagrantly through music, television, movies, books, magazines and other media sources. And if all of this is not enough, judgment and justice are compromised too. We are seeing criminals go free because of the corruption of our justice system.
Christians are called to stand against the tide of wickedness. This is truly a time to be saved from a perverse generation. God is calling us as Christians to stand in opposition to all we see and hear, while walking in a moral excellence that is in direct contrast to the evil around us.
In the Beatitudes we learn that those who are choosing to come under the rule of the kingdom of God, Jesus is setting up a whole new package of values proclaiming that in these you and I will find fulfillment not in pleasure, but in longing, not in satisfaction, but in hunger, not in popularity, but in commitment to an unpopular cause, not in competition and "winning", but in helping others win their way to peace.
