Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Day Four of the New Year  

Did you make any new year’s resolutions?  Maybe you committed to lose weight, pay down your debt, exercise, have a daily quiet time, pray more, spend more time with your family, quit smoking, get organized, or a host of other good things.  Today is Day 4 of the new year.  How are you doing?  Have you given up, are you still as committed, have you adjusted your goals?  

These are all fine resolutions, but there is something far more important for us to strive to accomplish.  It is a foundational Christian character trait.  The one actually, that many of the rest are built upon.  This is something you choose to do or God will work to develop  in you Himself.  Can you guess what it is?   

It is the character trait of humility.  Throughout Scripture humility is mentioned.  It is the character trait we all strive to develop but in reality if we ever believe we have arrived at it, we actually have not.  It is a minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day goal.  Many other things in the Christian life hinge on this quality.  

So, are you humble?  This week, let’s explore what God’s Word says about this important quality.  Let’s make it our goal together to learn and put into practice God’s goal for our lives this week.  If it was important to Him, it should also be important to us.  

For today, read Philippians 2:1-11.  Tomorrow we will look deeper at what this passage means and how it applies to humility.  But for now, read it, then read it again.  Meditate on the words that Paul wrote to this church and ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart to mine the truths found.  Then, pray and ask that God would enable you to desire to put into your life those principles that will create humility.  God cares much more about who you are than what you do.  Make that your goal this day as we begin this new year learning and growing together.   

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,  complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,  being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.    Philippians 2:1-11 ESV           

2 Peter 3:18       

 Dennis    

 To read more from Dennis Newkirk click here.