Humble Us Lord!

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ~ Luke 18:10-14 So often we come to God with a list of our accomplishments, trying to prove how worthy we are of His love. But God isn't interested in that; His love for you isn't based on what you've done or haven't done. He loves you because you are His creation, lovingly crafted in His image. When we focus on our accomplishments as a way of earning God's love or rewards, we allow pride to come in and draw our attention away from God and to ourselves, and we find ourselves becoming distant from God, unable to hear His voice. We begin to look at others, and judge them by our standards, seeing them as unworthy of God's love or consideration; after all, they haven't done anywhere near as well as we have!! We become like the Pharisee in the verses above, haughty and proud, and our prayers are empty boasts. The tax collector understood his unworthiness before God - he knew that his accomplishments were nothing, and he also knew that God is merciful and forgives us our sins. Todays Prayer: Lord, help us to be like the tax collector today, humble in Your sight, knowing our accomplishments don't earn or lose Your love and mercy. Help us to lay aside our pride and approach You with humility. Help us to see that our deeds do not determine our value in Your sight, or the value of others. Use us again today to touch the people we meet in this lost and dying world. Keep the Faith, Elder Bertrina www.nowfaithministries.org