Greatest Danger

Love you all, praying for you. 
 
I just love God’s Word –  It gives instructions and warning.  Not gonna lie, I like the encouragement parts better, but the warnings are equally needed.  What could be the greatest danger you face?  Pride.  What’s so dangerous about it?  God hates it, but besides that – it keeps you from obeying, cause you think you know, or know better.  Pride always goes before a fall, disgrace comes with it, God opposes it, and if God opposes you, you will not succeed, everything you are doing will come to nothing.  What is pride? Thinking of oneself as superior than others, inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable estimation of one’s own worth, talent or abilities.  Pride is what made the devil fall, the first sin.  He thought he was like God, he wasn’t, he was made by God, the created is not equal to the creator – that’s just foolish.  And He lost his position, he was cast down.  Proverbs 11:2 – When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.  Pride comes – if you don’t see it coming, you can fall into it.   When pride comes something comes with it.  Disgrace – the opposite of grace, a distancing from grace, the loss of grace (the mercy and power you need).  The best way to avoid pride is to pursue humility.  If you are humble – God is exalting you, not opposing you.  Humility is the absence of pride.  Humble yourself.  Obey God, prefer others, that’s humility.  First you must humble yourself before God, before you can humble yourself before others.  Humility starts with knowing God’s plan for you and doing it.  Then knowing God’s commands and submitting to them as right and just.  That’s how you obey God – the first requirement of humility.  You’ll be far from pride or anything that could trap you or destroy you.  You’re too busy being about your Father’s business – following His plan for you on the highway – far away from the ditch or the cliff.  And that’s perhaps the second greatest danger other than pride (which keeps you from it) – is not knowing God’s plans for you.  Because if you haven’t asked God for His plan for you today – you are operating in your own plan, that’s just a train wreck waiting to happen, that’s gonna end in a ditch.  Jesus knew His Fathers plans for Him and did them.  He didn’t do anything else.  PiVAT before dinner is the most important thing you can do in life.  It’s humility practice, pride protection,  it’s how you get God’s plans for you for tomorrow.  What about reading God’s Word – you might for a day or two, but that will fall off, when your motivation wanes, or you get distracted by some other shiny thing.  But if you do PIVAT before dinner, you’re reminded of what He told you to finish today, and you can start in the morning with His plan, hitting the ground running.  Then the time God has for you in His Word you will do it, when He says to, it will be like clockwork.  Because you know the times of His choosing for the priorities He has for you today.  Some people say they love God, but they don’t know His plans for them, they didn’t ask.  Getting God’s plan is crucial if you are going to be a follower of Christ.  It’s what Jesus did.  Walk in His plans, and you will be far away from the pitfalls, the wrong turns, the ditches, and disasters.  Walking in His plan for you is the first demonstration of humility, the demonstrated rejection of pride.  God said an interesting thing.  All we like sheep have gone astray, every one of us has turned to his own way (His own plans), and The LORD has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.  God is saying, it wasn’t for murderers and bank robbers alone that Jesus had to die, he died for people that went their own way, followed their own plans instead His ways and His plans for them.  It cost Jesus his life – but that bought us forgiveness and salvation.  Eternity in Heaven, the opportunity to be reconciled to God our Father.  That’s why PiVAT before dinner is the most important thing you can do in life.  Getting His plans for you – reminds you of what He told you to do today, so you can finish strong.   It gets you His counsel in the night season, lets you share with your spouse, and your Daily Call Partner – that exhort one other daily command, so you overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony.  It helps you walk in God’s way, not go your own way. It’s humility in practice, so pride is repelled, so He exalts you, not opposes you.  So the iniquity that defined you – going your own way, no longer defines you  -  but His plans, presenting your body a living sacrifice.  His plans, not yours – define you and transport you to an entirely new destination, and future destiny.  Praying that you will walk in humility, so pride is far from you.  It starts with obeying. Praying that you will seek His plan, and walk in it.  PiVAT before dinner, so He can lead you from glory to glory, victory to victory, so He can fulfill the purpose He created you for.  There’s joy there!  He loves you!  His plans are for your good, to prosper you, to give you hope and a future. Don’t worry about the dangers of pride.  Just choose humility, His plans for you today!   And view others as more important than yourself.  
 
Love you all,
dad