I understand that HE is the one who exalts us Gary. I guess my question is when? Only after our new bodies have been redeemed? Or could it possibly be now, in this life?

Is there a chance that we are to be prideful right here and now because of what He has already done for us?

Is being meek and lowly really just another form of pride?

Just throwing some thoughts out there.

I am a relatively quiet person most of the time. There are many, many times when I don't speak up in public or when talking with a stranger when I know I should. Isn't this really pride in the other direction?

pride in the other direction? hum............

timid, yes, that is me alot of the time......

there are many times I walk away and kick myself in the rear for not saying something,  

Would you agree Gary that he exalted the Apostle Paul to the point where Paul no longer cared abut what "men" thought of him? Wasn't this actually boldness or pride in the right direction?

We have to have balance in everything. Our prayer time, our ministries, even in everyday life. Balance is the key to it all. Thanks! I like to say our public life will never be greater than our prayer life because there has to be balance!

Practice makes perfect: The more you preach God's word to ppl, the easier it gets.  I remember the boldest i ever was was when I attended ministry school, and living in the women's shelter, there was no lack of opportunity, plus going to the soup kitchen five days a week.  I know a good part of it was the fact I prayed a whole lot back then, and felt God's oil and presence thick upon me, but also as I did it more, it just became almost like normal.

  I find much of our pride as well, is thinking we can get by on our own and therefore trying.  Some would call it driven, some stubborness....but it all comes down to pride.

  Great word, my friend....well, pride's a bad word when used in that context. lol

Hi Grant. I do believe this might be the very first time you have commented on one of my blogs.

I agree that being proud of sin is awful. I mean we all sin, whether we admit it or not. I see that you posted a very colorful picture of what appears to be a gay pride parade. While I am not advocating being gay nor do I agree that our sin should be boasted about or publicly displayed, Is being gay really a worse sin in the eyes of God than say, committing adultery? Or being a murderer? Or habitually lying, or failing to do what we ought to do?

In other words, and I ask this sincerely, do you believe God sees some sin as greater than other sin? Was there a particular reason you chose to post your response to pride in the manor that you did? Were you merely trying to point to the fact that not only are a majority of the gay people sinning, but they have become so reprobate in their minds that they choose to take "pride" in that sin? Was that the point you were trying to make?


Lara: Thanks for tuning in. Sometimes I wish I has the boldness to speak about the difficult parts of life the way you do. You inspire me!

That sounds more like shame to me though Michael. I think that it is okay to be a proud Jesus Freak. We need to learn to take pride in who He is. Remember that Jesus said if you deny Me, then I will deny you to My Father, and also God says He will vomit the lukewarm from His mouth for it is better to be hot or cold. You are a Child of the Most High King! I'll be praying for boldness and balance in your life also. You have the knowledge from what I can see, and also the Wisdom, so where can you fail? Encourage. Step out of your box! Thanks again!

Shame? I have to disagree with that. I have no shame. I know who I am in Christ.

I see it more as pride. Not just within myself, but with "we", as a body of believers. How many of us can actually say that we speak up each and every time we ought to?

I have never denied Jesus. Denial, and timidness are two entirely different animals.

I apologize, I don't want to cause hurt to anyone. However just like I said earlier, I think that pride in ourselves is the sin. Pride in Christ is not. He is proud of His Jesus. I do think that as Christians, we are too concerned with what others will think of us. But why? We don't want them to look down on us or judge us. I know I don't want to be called a flake.

I like to think of it this way: Jesus came to fulfill the Law. So I have been redeemed by His Blood. I say I have been redeemed from the curse of the Fall (Adam) and the curse of the Law (Moses) I am blessed as long as I obey. However, I will endure persecution. That is a promise in the Word. Jesus was spit on and mocked. The world rejected Him first, so we too will be rejected. But then it says to rejoice, I say again rejoice for being persecuted for the Name of Jesus.

So could it be shame because we long for acceptance? We want our fellow people to respect us? Could it be fear of rejection? I don't know. What do you think?

We can drive ourselves crazy worrying about not being bold enough.  In fact, when we talk about not being bold enough we have to ask ourselves, "Bold enough for who?"  Whether we answer that question with, "God" or "myself" we can be certain we are under law.

If God wants you to talk to someone, won't He give that to you?  Do you have to force it?  His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  Let's not make this thing difficult.

If it's boldness you want, pray for it :)

Here's what I find helpful.  The bible says:

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

I cry every time I read the fifty-first Psalm.

I had lost the joy of my salvation many years ago.  I lost it due to neglecting the fundamentals.  I'd forgotten that I had been cleansed from my past sins.  Due to shame, fear, or just shear stupidity, I had ZERO testimony.  I'd forgotten that Jesus had saved me from my sins.  I was convinced I was still a sinner.  Imagine that, Michael, I was going to church 3- or more times a week and I didn't realize that God had saved me from my sins.

Rob. I'm with Latonya....Wowzzza!

Sorry it took me so long to come back and reply. I have been meaning to get back here for a while now. That truly was a great response and a very great message.

In some ways, I feel as though we have a lot in common. I have stepped away from "belonging' to a church and really try to live according to the spirit and not by the ways of man. I think where this post originated from is me not feeling like I am accomplishing anything for the Kingdom.

Do I really desire to stand and shout on the street corner? Of course not. But there are many times when I can feel the spirit prompting me to speak to someone, and for some reason or another, I find excuses not to. Not always, but more often then I feel is right. That's changing day by day though!

Anyway, thanks my friend for your input.

This verse: "When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Really jumped out at me. I have read it a hundred times but tonight what I heard was that my life is Christ! That's awesome!

LaTonya: Care to elaborate on that? 

Believers in Jesus aren't necessarily disciples and they are not necessarily free from their sins.

I believe it has something to do with attitude.  Most church going Christians are not encouraged to "continue in Jesus' words" and this is why discipleship is so rare and why most Christians think they are still sinners.  The Son has never set them free.

They don't know the sin that Jesus saved them from because they are not encouraged by their church culture to testify as to their freedom from it.  They are rather encouraged to "confess their sinfulness" on a daily basis.  Therefore, they are still servants to the sin they sincerely sought freedom from when they "got saved".  The attitude of "I was not that bad a sinner" affects them too.  Just like the Jewish believers in the text, "I was never in bondage to any man".

It sounds too prideful to say, "The Son set me free from the sin that was destroying my life", because it runs contrary to the church culture that says, "You are still a sinner".  Professing yourself "free from sin" can get you hounded out of church.  It did me, praise God.

Although I was a slave, I have been set free from alcohol abuse and sexual immorality.  The Son has set me "free indeed" because I continue in His word - the word that says,

How about you?
Rob

I can relate to much of what you said there Rob. Especially being free from sin. I have been set free from so much sin. I was addicted to just about everything a man can be addicted to. I was indeed set free from those addictions, but it went much deeper than that. Once the addictions were gone I came to realize real quick why it was that I had turned to those things in the first place.

I was angry, and self-centered, and greedy, and jealous, and on and on. But I was also prideful. As we know, pride leads to a fall and my fall took me all the way to being homeless for a couple of years and picking pizza crusts out of trash cans. So if someone ever asks what sin it is that I have been set free from, I ask them to have a seat, this could take a while.

But I know where you are coming from. Most church people have never really died to self. A seed must fall to the ground and die before it can begin to sprout roots, grow, and eventually produce fruit. I can say with absolutely no doubt in mind, that my old self died. The "Michael Plan" failed miserably, thank God!

I was born again, in the truest since. I am not certain that most proclaimed Christians have ever been born again. I am not saying that everyone must come to near disaster before than become a new creature, but it takes a whole lot more than repeating a prayer, paying your tithes, and maybe teaching a Sunday school class.

People are still under the law whether they realize it or not. Like you implied, it's called sin consciousness. We were never even supposed to have knowledge of sin.

I don't know about you, but I am as far from my sin as the east is to the west. I recently wrote a not-so-popular blog about sin not being an issue with God any longer. You may have read it. But in it I speak about Spirit, Soul, & Body. It's a truth that I am afraid many people have never grasped. My old spirit, or sin nature was destroyed, gone, never to be seen again. I was given a brand new spirit, that spirit has been joined to the Lord as one spirit. All things have been made new, in the spirit realm.

"If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. "

Man for me, continuing in the Word is an absolutely necessary for my survival. My born-again spirit is the parent force and it demands the Word.

That verse speaks volumes to me. Jesus said "my words are spirit, and they are life" I can't live without the Word. For me, to be absent from the Word is death.

So have I been freed from sin. You bet! Past, present, and future.

Michael, I can really relate to this. When my ex and I were being counseled, our counselor handed out some adice that was not scriptural. When I question it and offered scripture that conttradicted what she said, she told me that I had "pride." My reply was that I was just reading from the word, and that she was the one sitting up in her high chair towering over others and relying on her own wisdom. Needless to say I left and did not return, but not without apologizing.

Later, when I prayed about it the Lord revealed that when you know something and it is based on the Word, to deny what you know, just to be in agreement with someone, is just another form of pride. The Word is worth defending and if we back down because we are affraid of offending someone we are proud.

Same thing He showed you, huh?