Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 26:4-7 I do not sit with the worthless or associate with hypocrites. 5 I hate a crowd of evildoers, and I do not sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, Lord, 7 raising my voice in thanksgiving and telling about your wondrous works.
Read the Entire Psalm
Thanksgiving helps us grow in humility. Express thanksgiving to God. Remember that He does not owe you and He sustains your life. Remember His wondrous works.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Peter 5:6-14 – New Living Translation
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen.
12 I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.
13 Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet each other with a kiss of love.
Peace be with all of you who are in Christ.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanksgiving to God.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for those who do not know God. Ask God to help you see the lost people around you and have compassion for them. Ask God for opportunities to build trust. Ask God to give you opportunity to have gospel conversations.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, a Japanese admiral wrote in his diary, “I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant.” He was right, though it would be nearly four long years before the defeat of the Japanese army would come. Peter quotes Proverbs when he writes, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” If the Japanese rightly feared the opposition of the United States military, how much should we fear to live in such a way as to put God himself in opposition to our lives? Christian or not, God opposes the proud. Peter also wrote that “it is time for judgement to begin with the family of God.” Fortunately, this is not the judgement of eternal separation, but it is a judgment, nonetheless. To live in ongoing, unrepentant pride is to put yourself in an oppositional stance towards God. It is to invite his judgment. His judgment on the believer is also a mercy. It is a severe mercy. Pride can take many forms; humility has one essential posture. Humility knows that God alone is Lord, and we are his creation. We are made by him and for him. Pride can manifest in attitudes or actions, in words or deeds. Pride is dumb and it makes us dumber. How can we, mere men, and women, hold to pride and forget that we are dust? God in his mercy opposes our pride so that we need not be destroyed by it. Have you acted with pride towards God or others? Repent, God desires to be your friend not your foe. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.