David was just the second king Israel, a fledgling nation that still had birthmarks of being set apart for God. But when David set up the Ark of the Covenant and made Jerusalem Israel’s centre of religious worship and political power, it became Israel’s golden age.
Israel’s so-called shepherd-king was far from perfect.
Read More humility, religious scholars
God sees me. Before I was born he saw my unformed body. And now, he sees even my unformed thoughts.
How awesome is that!!
One of the deepest desires of the human heart is to be known for who we are – not for who others think we are.
Read More trust, humility, being knownI’m the king of the castle and you’re the dirty rascal. Sound familiar? Looking for status and power? The disciples are. Jesus flips the disciples’ thinking with, “Forget the power play. Serve others. Later, there’s a kingdom where you will sit at the banquet table with me, like kings. But for now, do everything you can to help someone. Don’t think you are better than others. You stood by me all this time – surely you get the picture: serve others. If I served them, you serve them.”
Read More service, humility, restoration
We live in a culture that worships good advertising, where the quality of anything matters less than how it is presented to its consumers. When good marketing becomes the highest virtue, everything becomes simply a product to be sold, including our own identities. You can be good and wise and virtuous but if you can’t play the game, can’t sell yourself, you will be outshouted and outshone by those who can.
Read More success, humility, image, advertising, authenticity“Confidence properly placed.” That’s a great definition of humility. In Psalm 118 David’s humility is inspiring. It is a picture of a man not bowed down to the ground like a worm, but leaping into the air, rejoicing before the altar of God. We can almost see him dancing through the streets of Jerusalem as he cries out for all of Israel to acknowledge that God’s love endures forever while he acknowledges that it was God who has given him the victory over his enemies.
Read More joy, humility, confidenceHow do leaders respond when God sometimes seems silent and achingly far away at a time when our backs are against the wall?
The scene in this passage opens late in the siege of Samaria. Unimaginably desperate, people are willing to pay a huge price for things they never dreamed were edible: a donkey’s head or pigeon droppings. They are even willing to eat their own children!
Read More desperation, faith, humility, dependenceHave you ever felt trapped by someone who was picking a fight with you about God, or maybe felt tongue-tied to explain your faith?
Put yourself in the blind man’s shoes: he does not yet fully understand what’s happened to him or who Jesus is, yet he’s summoned to a second meeting with powerful religious leaders.
Read More humility, witness, testimony, gentlenessHow you would feel? He kneels before you and draws the clay basin near. Strong hands loosen your sandals. He lifts your grimy, smelly foot to the side and brushes the grit from between your toes. Debris from the long walk today falls away. He lowers your foot into the cool water.
You inhale and exhale with pleasure and unexpected relief.
Read More service, forgiveness, humility, footwashingTo keep an attentive audience it is easier to speak of joy than of judgment.
If a church introduced a new worship song based on the words of this psalm I expect the congregation would readily respond to the first half, singing praise to God and worshiping with lifted hands,
Read More justice, praise, humility, double-edged sword