He must increase...

...I must decrease.

My pride has to go for the glory of my King.

I tend to get involved in church matters, friendships and general life circumstances without getting my priorities right.

And what are those priorities?

JESUS FIRST.
Others second.

Matthew 22:35-38

Haiti and my pride

Two incidents that have been in my thoughts of late.


Haiti's devastation by earthquake has really pushed my pity/empathy button. The very graphic images of bodies caught in the rubble of buildings have revealed the devastation the country is going through. (Is it me, or does the media have no boundaries of what they will show? Is that really the only way that we in the Western world can be moved to compassion?) I've been thinking about Haiti, and will be asking that our God, who is a refuge, even when the mountains fall into the heart of the sea (Psalm 46:2) will remind the people there of His steadfast love in trying times.



I keep thinking about how proud I am.
How I don't like correction, particularly when it's from family.
My pride is most evident when I don't treat life like the refining fire that it is, but act like it's a habit.
My pride shows when I act like I know what I don't know but don't want to learn.
I don't like to ask for accountability, because it's risking the pain of a bad relationship.

Hmm.

God's glory only both in life and death

Michael Jackson died recently. This was a tragedy - at only 50, he had lived larger than life, and died a death that sees the world mourning. Listening to the radio yesterday, every hour was punctuated by a Michael Jackson song. It seems fitting; he was a remarkable talent, one of my favourite musicians even if he was a bit crazy. He tried his best to love the world, but he didn't know that he could not solve all its problems - only Jesus can.

Anyway, all this has made a lot of people in the world sit up a little I think, and think about death. I stumbled upon a blog post by Joshua Harris, referring to a man called Ray Ortlund who died in 2007. I don't really know much about Ray, except that he hung out with Wayne Grudem, a sound theologian in our time.

What Josh posts is a letter Ray wrote to his family, which was opened after he died - find it here. What grips me about it is that Ray lived for the glory of God, not for his own glory. The verse from the bible that he says dictated his life was Psalm 34:3. I like the principles to his family in this simple letter; firstly that they should be aware of sin in their lives and confess it regualrly, and that they should seek God's glory in every way. What a way to live! I wonder if Michael Jackson would have lived longer if he swapped his glory, which was heavy, for God's glory. I have no doubt that his life would have been characterised by more peace if he had. Getting rid of pur pride and looking for God's glory is paramount to peace in life, and rich rich treasures in heaven. I want to live like Ray Ortlund.