June is Humility Month

While many people are celebrating “Pride Month,” God wants us to do the opposite and humble ourselves. What’s so bad about pride? A Hollywood actor said, “I don’t think pride is a sin. I think some idiot made that up.” Maybe that actor doesn’t know that “idiot” is God. Or perhaps he’s defining pride in the wrong way.

Let’s define what pride is NOT. Pride does not mean you can’t have healthy self-esteem. It also doesn’t mean you can’t receive recognition from others. Nor does it mean that you can’t be promoted to a higher position. God promoted Joseph, Esther, and David to higher positions, but they all served God with humility. In fact, when you humble yourself on earth, God promises to promote you to a higher position in heaven. Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

What is pride? Think of pride as arrogance and selfishness. It refuses to acknowledge God as the Lord of all. Pride is self-centered, sits on its own throne, and craves the honor that only God deserves. First Peter 5:5 says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” How would you like for God to oppose everything you do? Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” I don’t want to be punished by God, do you?

Pride and Humility both have eternal consequences. God wants us to get off our throne, lay our crown at His feet, and honor Him as the Lord of all. He wants us to understand we will ALL answer to Him on Judgment Day. One day every knee will bow to Jesus and every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). Yes, even Satan himself, who tried to tempt Jesus to bow His knee to him (Matt. 4:9), will bow his knee to Jesus before he is cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

Andrew Murray said, “Humility is the only path to the glory of God.” We all naturally gravitate toward pride, so we must choose to pursue humility. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (James 5:6). When we exalt ourselves, it’s always wrong. But when the Lord exalts us, it’s always right. And it’s always at the proper time. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com 

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  

What's Stressing You Out?

John Heird was a theology student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas and worked nights at the Days Inn motel. One night at 1:45 a.m., a man walked into the motel with a gun and demanded all the money. “I opened the register and showed him there wasn’t any money,” Heird said. “He asked me to open the safe and I told him I couldn’t. He put a cocked pistol to my head and said, ‘I’m going to kill you!’”

Heird closed his eyes and started praying out loud for the man. The robber noticed Heird wasn’t frightened and asked, “Aren’t you afraid of dying?” Heird quoted from Psalm 27, “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked come against me ... my heart shall not fear” (27:1-3). The robber was flabbergasted.

The man lowered his gun and they went back into the office, where Heird read him several verses from the Bible. The robber started crying and said, “What am I going to do? What am I going to do?” The would-be thief then tied Heird’s hands to a door and told him to wait there five minutes. After he got loose, he returned to front desk and the man was gone. “The Bible was gone too, but he left the bullets from his gun. I was just elated he took the Bible. I hope it will do him some good.”

What is the definition of peace? It’s when someone holds a gun to your head, threatens to pull the trigger, and you remain calm and quote Scriptures back to him. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You, Lord, give true peace to those who depend on you, because they trust you.” The presence of God brings supernatural peace when you put your complete trust in Him, even when your life is being threatened. So then, what’s stressing you out? 

BIBLE STUDY:  Don’t Be Afraid!

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net

The Rat's Trap

I was awakened at night by the pitter-patter of little feet. Not by my children outside my bedroom. Guess again. Critters in my attic! A mouse thought he would entertain me by tap-dancing and gnawing on wood. It was time to reduce the rodent population.

Since I’m smarter than the average mouse, I set a mousetrap to catch the little varmint. Later I found the trap had been sprung, but the victim wasn’t in it. Next night, same thing. Tap-dancing. Gnawing. Trap sprung and empty.

My wife and I named this cunning, furry escape artist Harry Houdini because he knew how to elude traps. He made me wonder if maybe I wasn’t smarter than the average mouse. I knew if I kept baiting the trap, I would eventually catch Houdini. One night H. H. risked playing with the trap one too many times. We finally evicted our attic tenant and thought our problem was solved. Just to make sure, we reset the trap.

To our surprise, the next day we caught Harry’s little brother, Barry Houdini. We set it again and apprehended Mary Houdini. Each night we put out the trap until we collected the rest of the Houdini family—Larry, Gary, Jerry, Kerry, Perry, and Terry. The Houdini family believed a nice person had been preparing them free meals, but they didn’t realize my objective was to rid my attic of wood-gnawing, tap-dancing rodents. I didn’t want any encore performances.

It’s an opposite situation in the spiritual realm. The rat sets the trap and people take the bait. The dirty rat’s name is Satan and his bait looks like free gifts of pleasure without consequences. Wise people realize that temptation is always a trap and refuse to take the bait. “For we are not ignorant of [Satan’s] schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). If you “don't give the devil an opportunity” (Eph. 4:27) you won't end up like little Harry Houdini. www.makinglifecount.net

BIBLE STUDY:  Overcoming Temptation

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net 

What Would You Exchange Your Arm For?

In 2003, 27-year-old Aron Ralston was rock climbing in a remote part of Utah when his right arm was trapped by a boulder that came loose as he attempted to use it as a handhold. Ralston couldn’t budge the rock, so he took out his pocketknife and chipped away at it for ten hours.

After several days without food or water, and unable to move the boulder, Ralston decided the only way he would survive was to amputate his arm. And that’s what he did.

This reminds me of a statement Jesus made, which must have shocked His listeners. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched” (Mark 9:38 NKJV). Let’s just say this wasn’t one of His more popular sermons. But He wasn't joking either.

The rock climber was in a desperate situation and had to make a life-changing decision. He concluded it was better to cut off his arm than to lose his entire life. But Jesus wasn’t just talking cutting off your hand to save your earthly life, but cutting off anything that’s hindering your eternal soul from being saved.

It’s your heart, not your hand, that causes you to sin. The hand just carries out the commands that are coming from within the person’s heart. Repentance means your heart willingly makes a drastic turnaround, which changes your reason for living, along with your behavior.

Would you be willing to lose your arm to save your life? Would you be willing to change your heart to save your soul? You would be wise to consider the long-term consequences. www.makinglifecount.net

BIBLE STUDY:  What does it mean to repent?

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net 

The Five Least-Prayed Prayers

I’ve been in the ministry for over forty years and have heard hundreds, if not thousands, of people’s prayers. Here are five prayers that I’ve rarely heard anyone pray.

#5 Praying for God to send laborers into His harvest (Luke 10:2). This isn’t a prayer to send missionaries to another country but for the Holy Spirit to move on every believer to witness to others wherever they may be.

#4 Praying for those in authority over us (1 Tim. 2:1-2). This means praying every day for governmental authorities, our employers, and pastors. We pray that their hearts will be right with God and they will make correct decisions “that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life.” If we will do this, God says it will bring peace into our lives.

#3 Praying for God to give supernatural wisdom (James 1:5). “If anyone lacks wisdom let him ask of God” (v.5). Is there anyone who does NOT lack wisdom? Notice that God wants us to first realize that we don’t have it. The beginning of wisdom is to ask for it. (Prov. 4:7). This is not just a prayer for whenever we are in trouble but something we should pray for every day.

#2 Praying for those who mistreat us (Luke 6:28). Jesus specifically told us to pray for our enemies who treat us wrongfully. We don’t want to do it because they have hurt us, but if we would obey His instructions we might see their hearts change along with their behavior. If we don’t pray for the Holy Spirit to convict their hearts, they will likely continue in their mistreatment.

And the #1 Least Prayed Prayer—thanking God for our health when we aren’t sick (Luke 17:12-18). Ten lepers asked Jesus to heal them. After Jesus healed all ten, only one returned to thank Him. Notice the two different prayers—a request for healing by 10 and thankfulness for health by 1. Jesus was grieved that the other nine didn’t thank Him for their health. I’ve had heard thousands of people ask God for healing but hardly anyone thanks God for their health every day. Every Christian should pray one of two prayers every day—either healing for sickness or thankfulness for good health. Maybe if we would sincerely thank God every day for when we are healthy, we might be sick a lot less. www.makinglifecount.net

BIBLE STUDY:  “Should I love myself or hate myself?”

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  

Learn to Feed Yourself

On the way home from church, a little boy asked his father, “Dad, how do you spell God?” The father spelled it out for him. He was thrilled his son was showing interest in spiritual things at such a young age. A few seconds later the boy asked, “Dad, how do you spell Zilla?”

Some people are more interested in Godzilla than God. You cannot grow as a Christian unless your interest in God becomes greater than everything else that’s demanding your attention. You also cannot grow unless you eat. A baby girl needs someone else to feed her, but as she grows she learns to feed herself.

The same is true with spiritual growth. You will never reach maturity unless you learn to feed yourself by reading the Bible every day. Start by reading for 10 minutes a day. Choose a book of the Bible, such as Mark. Begin by reading Mark chapter 1 and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you.

If you read Mark 1:1-8 today, mark the place where you end and start with Mark 1:9 tomorrow. Write down what you’re learning. Buy a notebook and use it as your spiritual journal. Write the date and Mark 1:1-8 with your observations

Eventually you will read through the entire book of Mark, and then you can do the same with the book of Acts. If you miss reading a day, don’t worry about it. Start the next day where you left off.

Another option is to follow a “Read through the Bible in a year” plan. This requires reading about 45 minutes a day. You can buy a notebook that is already marked with the verses to read and pages to write your daily observations. 

As you read and digest the Word of God each day, you’ll be amazed and encouraged by how much you’ll learn. And one more thing, apply what you learn to the way you live.

HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE? READ 106 Answers to Bible Questions

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net

Your Sin Will Find You Out

Some people call it “karma.” Others say, “What goes around, comes around.” God calls it, “Your sin will find you out.”

Some Boeing employees decided to steal a life raft from a 747 airliner. They were successful in taking it out of the airplane and getting it home, but forgot about one thing—the raft comes with an emergency locator that is automatically activated when the raft is inflated. When they took the raft out for a float on the Stillaguamish River, they were quite surprised by a Coast Guard helicopter homing in on the emergency locator that was activated the moment they inflated the raft. They were charged with theft and lost their jobs as Boeing employees. Your sin will find you out.

In 2001, a jewel thief robbed a flat (apartment) in Perth, Scotland. Fearing he was about to get caught, he swallowed the jewels and jumped from a window ledge to the street below, breaking his hip. Police officers quickly arrived to investigate the break-in and discovered the injured man in the road. A spokesperson said, “When we found him, he was in agony in the street, right below the open window of the flat. We took him to Perth Royal Infirmary for X-rays.”

When doctors X-rayed his broken hip, the X-ray also revealed a mass of stolen jewels in his stomach. “We’re now waiting by his bed with a bucket, just in case things start to move,” a source said. Your sin will find you out.

In Numbers 32:20-23, Moses told the tribes of Rueben and Gad if they would help possess the Promised Land, the Lord would give them the portion they wanted. He added, “But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure that your sin will find you out” (32:23).

“Will find you out” means the appropriate punishment will come upon you. You can’t get away with it because “the eyes of the Lord are in every place” (Prov. 15:2). The emergency locator will be activated. The X-ray will expose the hidden jewels. You cannot get away with it, so don’t even think about doing it. www.makinglifecount.net

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Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)

Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net