Memorise: And whosever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Matthew 23:12
Read: Isaiah 14:12-17, Luke 18:10-13
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
0 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Bible in one year: Ezekiel 5-7, Luke 22:14-38
AS REVEALED BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE IN TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
1. To glory in self is to exalt one’s own worth above what really is. It is the act of perceiving yourself as overly important. A person who glories in self is a person who thinks he stands on his own merits and by his own power. This is the reason why the father of lies, Satan, was cast down from heaven. Indeed, Satan is a classic example of someone who gloried in self. He exalted himself above what he really was, and he started to think of himself as better than everyone else, including God. Glorying in self has its roots in self-deception; it starts when a man deceives himself into thinking and believing in a false idea of himself.
2. Glorying in self might not be obvious at first. It is a very dangerous character flaw that sometimes creeps in on children of God until it leads them to doom. What then are the signs that a person glories in self? One indicator is when you feel the need to parade in public what should and can be done in private. This was one of the issues Jesus had with the Pharisees. They would rather pray in public than pray behind closed doors, and when they fasted, they ensured that is showed on their faces, just so that everyone knew they were fasting. Even today, some people ensure that every good thing they do is done from rooftops, so that people will see and praise them. 3. In addition, people who glory in self tend to talk about themselves a lot. This is majorly because they feel the need to constantly list out their accomplishments and achievements. They are always quick to say “I” even when “we” is the appropriate thing to say. People who glory in self honestly feel that they are better than everyone else.
Luke 18:10-13 shows a clear difference between a self-glorifying person and a humble person. While humble people see themselves as needing God’s grace and mercy, self-glorifying people think that their actions are perfect enough to dignify them before God and man.
4. A self-glorifying person will never get anything from God. Only a person who recognizes his or her need for God’s help and asks for it will get it. Glorying in elf is very dangerous because at the end of the day, every single thing that person thinks he or she has accomplished will be taken away, and shame, disappointment and humiliation will be the portion of such a fellow.
SHORT REFLECTION BY THE LIGHT POINTERS
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We should all learn from the story of King Nebuchadnezzar. As it is written “All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? God bless Pastor E.A Adeboye for this devotional.
Prayer Point:
Father, please remove every trace of s elf-glory in me.
HYMN
1. My faith look up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh. May my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream shall o’er me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
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