A Slice Of Humble Pie

"Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."
- Proverbs 11:2


Humbleness...a wonderful characteristic to have, and yet one of the most difficult to possess. There was a song written by Mac Davis in 1980, which had the chorus repeat the words: "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way." I'm not perfect (far from it), but I do understand what Mac is saying.

I've written a lot of devotions (about seventy-five) in the last six years. And out of all the comments I've received regarding them, I can honestly say that only about five of them were negative. The rest have been very positive, some almost embarassingly flattering in fact. It's hard to remember to give credit to God, the one who gives me the devotions, when I'm constantly being told what a great writer I am.

But humbling myself and giving credit to the one that truly deserves it (God) is exactly what the writer of Proverbs 11 is advising me to do. To do otherwise would only lead to disgrace, for me and my family.

So think about it for a minute: What are you good at? What comes to mind? Is it a particular sport? Is it music? Is it math or history? Maybe like me, it's writing. Whatever you're good at, you're good at because of God! Don't ever forget that! You may have practiced and are now really good because of it. But give praise to the one who gave you that ability in the first place:

GOD!

Twenty Minutes

"But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, 'You are my God.'My times are in your hands;"
- Psalm 31:14 (NIV)

Twenty minutes...an eternity in football and cooking time, especially when you're hungry. That same twenty minutes can seem to fly by when you're running late,
or when you're on your ten minute break or your lunch hour. I used to have a bad
habit of leaving late to go to work, and then leaving late again to go home. It's amazing what a difference twenty minutes can make.

Twenty minutes can be the difference between being on time or being late to your destination. Twenty minutes can be the difference between winning or losing a football game. Twenty minutes can make all the difference in the world in light of eternity.

Let me ask you a question: If you only had twenty minutes left on this earth to live
(and you knew it), what would you do with them? Who would you talk to? Where would you go? It's kind of a morbid thought perhaps, but it does help you to see what your priorities are.

I had a friend (I won't mention his name in respect of the family) who was killed in a one car accident several years ago. He was on his way to church (twenty minutes away) on a Sunday morning, when he came upon a pot-hole in the road. He swerved to avoid it, lost control of the car and went through a guard-rail and was killed instantly. He was only twenty-six years old. He was on his way to teach a Sunday School class. He only had twenty minutes left to live (although he didn't know it) and used it by going to tell others about Jesus. This was a young man who definitely had his priorities straight.

You know, we often take life for granted. We assume we're going to have all the time in the world (this world) to do whatever we want or need to do, when in reality, we may only have twenty minutes.

My challenge for you today (and I'm joining you in this challenge) is to take twenty minutes each day, and do something that will impact your family, your community, or your world.

Tell that family member that you love them and then ask them how their day was.


Get to know your neighbors. Ask them if they need anything, what they like to do, what they like to eat, etc.


Pray for your president, your congressman (or woman) and other world leaders.

Twenty minutes: you can waste them...or you can make them count by doing something
that will count for all eternity. It's up to you.

Seizure: The Day

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
- James 4:13-14a, 15 (NIV)

Friday morning, August 6th started out like any other day: Get up, get my coffee, do some things around the house and fly out the door at 6:50 a.m. getting into work by the skin of my teeth and timing in at 7:27 a.m. (I’m supposed to be at my station at 7:30)! Where I work, there is a reception planned each month for those employees whose anniversaries or “start date” is in that particular month. It gives a chance for the management to show their appreciation to those who have worked there a while as well as recognize employees with mile-stone anniversaries: five years, ten years, fifteen years, etc. It’s not a big deal but there’s usually donuts, pastries, juice and most importantly…coffee. Employees are asked to R.S.V.P. to insure that there will be enough for everyone. The reception was planned for Tuesday, August 10th.

I remember calling H.R. sometime the morning of August 6th and telling them that I would be there. As I said the words: “I’ll be there”, I felt a catch in my spirit, a voice in my head, telling me that I would not be there. I didn’t know why I wouldn’t be there. I didn’t know if there was an appointment I had forgotten about, one of the kids would be sick, or what. I just know that I heard a voice saying to me the words: “You will not be there”. And I wasn’t either. I suffered a seizure the next morning.

The day of the reception I could barely get out of bed and was in no shape to go to work much less attend a reception. The point of my story is this: It’s okay to make plans. But know that God can change those plans at any moment. I had planned to be at that reception. I had no clue that the next morning I would find myself waking up in the emergency room! We don’t know what will happen the next day.
We don’t even know what will happen today! All you have to do is watch the news to know that is true. I close with an old hymns chorus: "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow"


“Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand.
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand”


* “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow”
Ira F. Stanphill (1950)