Pride

Pride and Destruction

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud. (Proverbs 16:18–19 NIV)

“Pride does have a fall,” wrote Puritan scholar Matthew Henry. Whatever earthly matter…

The Aftermath of Temptation

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4:11 ESV)

Today’s typical portrayal of Jesus facing the temptations presents Him as a good man dragged along by the questionings of his soul to face an awesome…

The Weakness of the Body

He became hungry… (Luke 4:2 NASB)

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41 ESV)

Burnout, Part 5 — The Underlying Problem

For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. (1 John 2:16 ESV)

Who God Does Not Hear

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. (Psalm 66:18)

The repentant sinner is received by God with open arms. There is no sin that the Lord cannot forgive, except for the sin against the Holy Spirit — which is to reject the Spirit’s witness in our…

Insight into Love

When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

In Mark 12:28–44, during this time of intense questioning of Jesus by the religious authorities, the perspective of the narrative turns slightly, from…

He Came to Serve, Not to Be Served

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43–45)

The Misunderstood Christ

… he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. (Mark 9:31–32)

He Sent Them Out

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. (Mark 6:7)

From the early days of Christ’s public ministry he revealed that the work he came to do was missionary in nature. He sent out his apostles — before…

Downfall and Uprising: Joseph

And Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”