Pastoral Resources

A woman doctor on the mission field restored to health the greatly loved child of a native In gratitude he knelt at her feet and not only thanked her but worshiped her as a god She remonstrated, saying that she was a mortal like himself and worship belonged only to God He replied that no one but a god could have saved the child's life "Whom would you thank and praise," the missionary replied, "for a princely gift sent by the hand of a messenger-the servant or his generous master, the giver? I am but God's servant by whose hand he has been pleased to send you this great gift of healing." May a like humility and faithfulness possess us as we use our gifts, small or great, in the service of our Lord and among those in the sphere where He has placed us.

Human beings have a huge capacity for self-delusion The Scottish poet, Robert Burns, wrote a famous poem about this entitled "To A Louse (On Seeing One On A Lady's Bonnet at Church)." In the poem he pictures a woman, strutting to church decked out in frills and finery, convinced that she is cutting a grand figure But the sophisticated image she aims for is spoiled by a pesky louse crawling through the lace of her bonnet! The poem closes with some memorable lines (somewhat translated):

"O, that some Power the gift would give us

To see ourselves as others see us!"

What could we need more? The Bible urges: "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment" (Romans 12:3 NIV).

In order to see ourselves realistically we must "In humility receive the implanted word...." (James 1:21) Then we must use that word as a mirror in order to see our true spiritual condition and change what needs changing (James 1:23-25).

True Christianity means:

SERVE, even when we are not being served.

LOVE, even when we may not be loved.

HELP, even when we have not been helped.

GIVE, even when we have not received.

PLEASE, even if others do not please us.

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will realize that to know Thee and know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenges Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fall.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."

The naturalist William Beebe told of an exercise in humility practiced during visits he made to Theodore Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill Often, after an evening's talk, the two men would stroll over the wide-spreading lawn and look up into the night sky They would see who could first find the pale bit of light near the upper lefthand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus Then either Beebe or Roosevelt would exclaim, "That is the spiral galaxy of Andromeda! It is as large as our Milky Way It is one of a hundred million galaxies It is two and a half million light-years away It consists of one hundred billion suns, many of them larger than our own sun!" After a moment of awesome silence, Roosevelt would grin and say, "Now I think we are small enough Let's go to bed!"

"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:25).

The permanence of any building depends upon three things: the materials used, wisdom exercised in its construction, and its foundation Inferior materials, though skillfully assembled, cannot stand for long against the elements of nature Nor will superior materials, if carelessly put together, be able to stand A combination of sound materials and wise direction in assembling is necessary if the building is to endure, also it is very important that it be built upon a solid foundation The same truths apply to the building of a life One must choose his materials carefully and work them into the structure of his life wisely He must be positive that it is built on a good foundation In the sermon on the mount, Jesus challenges each one of us to build for eternity! Jesus urges men to cast aside such material as selfishness, hypocrisy, lust, and hatred These can only lead to failure and ruin.

Christ prescribes the materials that will stand throughout time and eternity He stresses humility, meekness, righteousness, mercy, and purity The quality of this material has been tested and tried through the centuries.

Some years ago I saw what is called a sensitive plant I happened to breathe on it, and suddenly it drooped its head I touched it, and it withered away Humility is as sensitive as that-it cannot safely be brought out on exhibition.

A man who is flattering himself that he is humble and is walking close to the Master is self-deceived Humility consists not in thinking merely of ourselves, but in not thinking of ourselves at all Moses did not realize that his face shone If humility speaks of itself, it is gone.

A mother once sent her son on an errand to a place he'd never been He was a little fellow, but he didn't want to show he was afraid That's human nature The younger we are, the more we hate to lose face Humility often comes with age As this youngster got ready to leave the house, he stopped at the door, turned to his mother, and said, "It's so far, and I don't know the way I'm not afraid, you know, but could you come along with me for a little bit of the way?" The mother understood how disturbed the little one was "Of course," she said "Mother will come with you all the way." The little fellow put his hand in hers and went out in full confidence that everything would be all right.

A woman from Berne, Switzerland, tells us this story of her country's flower, the edelweiss The very name of this plant is a story in itself Edelweiss is a compound word which in the German means "noble and white." It is a small perennial herb of the aster family whose pure white blossom must be sought after, since it nestles in the highest snowy crags of the Alps It is so absolutely white that it blends perfectly with its environment, losing its identifying characteristics completely in its surroundings Even when picked and pressed in paper for preservation, it remains free from discoloration for many years If we would be like the edelweiss, we must keep ourselves pure and noble, striving to attain the heights with God Then, as He keeps us pure in heart and motive, He will enable us to accept with humility the loss of our own status in the scope of His larger landscape.

If the Christian wants to receive any benefit as he looks in the mirror of the Word of God, he must approach it with humility A man can counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility One soon detects mock humility.

The branch that bears the most fruit bows lowest to the ground while the branch with little or no fruit stands most upright So it is with humility and conceit Humility carries with it the weight of wisdom while conceit has the light-headedness of pride.

The Emperor Justinian built the Church of St Sophia, that gem of human architecture He collected marble and treasures from all over the world to make it beautiful At last the moment for dedication arrived The words uttered by Justinian seemed full of humility as he said that all had been done for the glory of God But as he allowed his eyes to drink in the beauty of the building, he could hardly contain himself Someone heard him whisper, "Solomon, I have surpassed thee."

Jay E Adams writes that under the roof in his back yard hangs a hummingbird feeder that he keeps filled with sugar water There are four openings in it from which birds may suck the nectar Yet, day after day, from early morning until after dusk, the feeder is the source of their own private version of star wars One bird chases all the others away.

"As I said," Adams writes, "there is room for four birds at a time, and fully that number attempt to feed But the top dog (excuse my use of this metaphor for a hummingbird!), who now 'owns'the feeder, will not let them All day long he sits on the branch of a nearby apricot tree guarding 'his'feeder and defying others to transgress on what he has established as 'his'territory.

"This ongoing slice of life confronts us throughout the day as green and red Annas hummers streak across the yard, the king hummer in hot pursuit of an intruder While the chase is on, others sneak a sip or two, only to be driven off when he returns.

"The whole business has become a sort of parable for our family Here is an example of grace: I bought the feeder; I supply the sugar water The birds do not earn it; they receive it all gratis Yet, day after day, they fight over who may enjoy it.

"How like the people of God! All we have or are that is worthwhile is the gift of God's pure grace And yet we are proud, self-centered, envious, and quarrelsome Often we fight over God's good gifts rather than expressing our gratitude in humility and sharing what we have been given with others Just as I am confronted daily with rivalry in my yard, even so God is confronted daily with rivalry in His."

"Look, Daddy, I wrote my name all by myself!" cried a little boy proudly waving a paper His mother had held his hand and helped him form the letters for several days, and now this wavering scrawl is suddenly his own accomplishment We smile at this, but do we not often behave in similar fashion? When by God's grace we give our hearts to Jesus Christ, and His love comes to dwell within us, how can we take credit to self for His working in and through us? Paul's question, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1 Corinthians 4:7) should restore us to a proper sense of humility before God and our fellowmen.

When you are in the process of humbling yourself, the Lord will load you with blessings God wants you to be like the stalk of wheat that is full of beautiful grains The more it is loaded the lower it stoops down Thus, my dear friend, your real riches will be manifested by your humility.

A government official who came into President Lincoln's office was startled to find the chief executive shining his shoes "Sir," he gasped, "surely you do not polish your own shoes!" "Of course," replied the humble President "Whose do you polish?" The greatness of a man is evidenced by his humility In the words of an old Filipino saying, "The higher the bamboo grows, the lower it bends."

All of this is illustrated in the life of Jesus "Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28) The highest title God ever allows in His church is "servant." Am I willing to serve people as Jesus did? I know, I cannot die for people to save them as Jesus did, but I can "die to self" to enable me to tell people that Jesus died for their sins, and thus serve them in the greatest way possible.

When I humble myself, then God will give me the grace to grow into maturity where, I like the tall bamboo, can lower myself to serve those of "low esteem." Notice, "Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position Do not be conceited" (Romans 12:16) How tall are you spiritually? Tall and flexible enough to serve people in all kinds of situations?

It is said that long ago there lived a saint so good that the angels came down to see how a mortal could be so godly He went about his daily work diffusing virtue as a star diffuses light, as a flower emits perfume, without being aware of it Two words told the story of his days-he gave; he forgave Yet these words never fell from lips; they were only expressed by his smile, in his forbearance and charity The angels asked God that the gift of miracles might be given to this good man The answer was, "Yes; ask him what he wishes." So the angels spoke to him about it Would he choose that the touch of his hand should heal the sick? He said, no, that he would rather God should do that Would he have power to convert souls? He answered, no, that it was the Holy Spirit's work What, then, did he desire? He said, "That God may give me His grace." When pressed further to give the particular power he would have, he replied, "That I may do a great deal of good without ever knowing it." Then it was decided that every time the saint's shadow should fall behind or on either side, so that he could not see it, it should have the power to cure disease, soothe pain, and comfort sorrow Thus it came to pass that, falling thus out of his sight, his shadow made withered plants grow again, and fading flowers sweet, gave health to pale children and joy to unhappy mothers But the saint was never aware of the blessings that flowed from him And the people, respecting his humility, even forgot his name and spoke of him as the Holy Shadow How different this dear saint was from some of the present-day leaders in our religious circles whose names almost overshadow the name of Him whom they preach.

Men cannot understand how meekness is going to inherit the earth Men believe in physical strength They believe in arms and armies They believe in craft and cunning They believe in energy, will, and perseverance They believe in things They believe in matter They believe in influencing their fellowmen, working upon them by threats, by pain, by fear There are few men who believe that a humble man is being used in the strongest possible manner They cannot credit that his humility shows that he is governed by his highest nature They cannot conceive that an attitude of meekness is in perfect accord with the divine nature, which is dwelling in that meek one as a result of his new birth in Christ In saying that the meek shall inherit the earth, our Lord declares this is the potential accomplishment of the man who is indwelt by Christ, by the Spirit of God within man.

There is one item in the account of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is seldom, if ever, referred to in any depth, namely, His seamless robe In John's Gospel it says, "...the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout" (John 19:23).

In the Bible, garments speak of conduct or of a display of character A good example is "be clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5) What precious truths about Jesus can we learn as seen in His seamless robe?

Our Lord was flawless and absolutely beyond reproach in His character He is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26) There is no seam dividing His meekness from His anger, His gentleness from His firmness His authority from His winsomeness, or His mercy from His sincerity He is uniquely beautiful in His character The robe is all one piece!

We see Him compassionate, but inflexible; full of truth, yet full of grace; come to save, yet come for judgment; eating in the upper room, yet sitting at the table with publicans and sinners.

All is done with uniform consistency Nothing is ever out of perspective Power is without pride, knowledge is without superiority, and authority is without arrogance Yes, His robe is woven on the loom of eternity.

John last saw that seamless robe in the hands of gamblers near the cross How he must have been stirred when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and saw Jesus "clothed with a garment down to the foot" with the name upon it "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 1:13, Revelation 19:16).

As we, His redeemed, are "clothed ...with the garments of salvation" and covered "with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10), let us fall at His feet during this time of resurrection remembrance to worship, praise, and cry out to God for an experience of "the power of His resurrection" in order that we might be genuine reflectors of the wondrous character of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Don't struggle alone, in fear and distress

As if there's no hope, just your ugliness.

Our Lord offers grace, not judgment deserving,

He longs for your love and your soon returning.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

It's tough cutting through the darkness of sin

Striving for answers, His favor to win.

He stands with His arms outstretched and extended

To hold and restore you, just mercy intended.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

Why search other places your answers to find

To fill the vast void and touch the divine.

Lay down your excuses and learn to confess

Your sins and your shame to His holiness.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

There's healing and fellowship waiting for you

The moment you turn, His face to pursue.

You are the temple, His place for abiding,

The only thing missing is your mind deciding.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

Don't wait for a feeling or mystical lark,

Just bow down in quietness, open your heart.

Be honest, and tell Him no secret to keep

From there He restores you to fellowship sweet.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

His promise is certain, "I will forgive,"

Cleansing and freedom, it's yours to live.

From no other source full joy will you find.

He is your victory, your peace so sublime.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

To humble yourself, before Him in prayer,

Is your first step, in unloading your care.

There look Him squarely, straight in the face

And tell Him all of the ways you disgrace.

There's forgiveness.

Refreshment and fullness He will restore

The moment you sincerely open the door.

He is the life you thought you could win,

By going your way and living in sin.

There's forgiveness.

There's no one beyond the reach of His arm

To pick up and pardon, to rescue from harm.

Return to the Master of your faith's beginning.

Give Him your all, and you'll find yourself winning.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

What wonderful love eternity holds,

For those who are willing to be in the fold.

The Savior is waiting, Oh come to Him now,

At His nail-scarred feet, in humility bow.

THERE'S FORGIVENESS.

A teardrop crept into my eye as I knelt on bended knee;

Next to a gold haired tiny lad whose age was just past three.

He prayed with such simplicity “Please make me big and strong,

Just like Daddy, don’t you see? Watch o’er me all night long.”

“Jesus, make me tall and brave, like my Daddy next to me.”

This simple prayer he prayed tonight filled my heart with humility.

As I heard his voice so wee and small offer his prayer to God,

I thought these little footsteps someday my path may trod!

Oh, Lord, as I turn my eyes above and guidance ask from Thee;

Keep my walk ever so straight for the little feet that follow me.

Buoy me when I stumble, and lift me when I fail,

Guard this tiny bit of boy as he travels down life’s trail.

Make me what he thinks I am is my humble gracious plea

Help me ever be the man this small lad sees in me!