Breakfast: Humility

Philippians 2:1-4

Imitating Christ's Humility

  "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Does this mean that we never disagree? Are we unable to think for ourselves? Are we discouraged from formulating our own thoughts and approaching faith differently than our neighbor? I don't think so. If this were true, there wouldn't be Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Friends, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Foursquare, or many other demoninations. There would only be one.

Despite the different ways we worship and practice our faith, we are called to be like Christ. We are to consider others better than ourselves, and do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. We are to be humble in our faith. I believe that, regarless of the denomination of our church, or our personal views on Christiananity, that we should be able to agree on this — we are to look out for the interests of others and practice humility.

As a Christian, I have much to be humble about. I would have to search long and hard for anything to boast about. It should be easy to follow Paul's advice, right? Then, why is it so difficult? I keep wanting to put my own interests ahead of others. I keep making my personal concerns more important than those around me. God, please forgive me for my self centeredness and lack of humility.

I thank God for each of you that are praying for Adam. You are looking out for the interests of others when you take time to pray for Adam's healing, and for the comfort of his family. You are following Paul's instructions. Bless you!

A Prayer

Lord, thank you for hearing my prayers.

Forgive me of my sins.

Forgive me for being selfish.

Forgive me for putting my own interests ahead of others.

Father, thank you for the comfort you have provided me.

Thank you for the encouragement you provide me by uniting me with your Son, Jesus Christ.

Thank you for the fellowship I have with the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for bring like-minded people together to pray for Adam's healing.

Lord, In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask that you would heal your servant, Adam Root.

I ask that you would comfort Adam's family.

I ask that you would provide each person who loves Adam with the peace that passes all human understanding.

Jesus, just as you honored the faith of the centurion by healing his servant, I ask that you would honor the requests of all those praying for Adam Root's healing.

Lord, I pray that you would improve Adam's health dramatically over the next three weeks.

God, I pray that Adam would rapidly move up the Rancho scale ove the next three weeks.

God, I pray that all those who care for Adam would remain united in faith, and that we would all remain humble.

I pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Amen.

Step one, if we are going to be united in spirit and purpose, is that each of us needs to get ourselves in alignment with God's will for our lives. As Jars of Clay sings, we need to get our two hands doing the same thing. After praying for Adam, meditate on the words of this song.