Tag Archives: Humility

What Jesus Calls Great

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Wouldn’t You Like To Know?

Have you ever given thought to what it would have been like to be one of Jesus’ disciples and just walk through life with Him? To literally walk through life with Jesus—because that was the most common method of transportation in that day! And to hear Him speak God’s wisdom into every situation they encountered! Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Mark, tells us about a time when Jesus and His disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem. Jesus gets real serious with them and begins to tell them that the chief priests and the religious leaders would condemn Him to death—that He would be mocked, spit on, flogged, and killed! And it was weird—like they didn’t even hear what He was saying—but two of the disciples, James and John, who were brothers, approached Jesus immediately after He dropped that “bomb” on them and asked if they could sit on each side of His throne in glory!

Great, to Jesus, is Service

That really ticked off the other ten disciples! Mark records it like this: “Jesus called them over and said to them, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.’” Mark 10:42–45. In so many words, Jesus was teaching them that if you’re great in God’s Kingdom, this world probably won’t even notice you!

Jesus’ Leadership Model

What Jesus calls “great” and what the world says is “great” are generally two entirely different things. Jesus calls you great when you reject the world’s leadership style (v. 42). Those who lead in this world dominate or lord it over anyone in a “subordinate” role, Jesus says. Having a position of power is of great significance—but that’s not the case in Jesus’ Kingdom! If we follow Jesus’ leadership model, we have to reject the world’s style of leadership. Instead, Jesus calls you great when your ministry is measured by the people you serve (v. 43). “…it must not be like the world’s leadership style…” among believers, He says!

Do You Want A Title

In the ministry of the church, Jesus says it’s not about having a “title.” Do you want a title? If you’re an elder, you serve! If you’re a deacon, you serve! If you’re a Sunday School teacher, a small group leader, an AWANA or nursery worker, you serve! If you’re a worship team member—it’s not a show! Jesus doesn’t care about your title. He cares about your service! You want to be great? You want a title? Take the title of “servant,” Jesus says! And then Jesus calls you great when you humble yourself and become the world’s slave (v. 44). Some versions render the word “servant,” but that’s not right! The word is doulos in the original Greek language, and the only correct way to translate it is “slave.” Jesus meant for us to take on the humility of a slave when it comes to our ministry and service to others!
 

Give Up Your Life

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Great In God’s Kingdom

In my last post, we talked about the kind of life that Jesus called great! We picked up on His conversation with the disciples after two of them—James and John—asked if they could sit in seats of power next to Jesus in His kingdom. “Jesus called them over and said to them, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many’” (Mark 10:42–45). In so many words, Jesus was teaching them that if you’re great in God’s kingdom, this world probably won’t even notice you!

Slave or Servant?

Jesus calls you great when you reject the world’s leadership style (v. 42). He also calls you great when your ministry is measured by the people you serve (v. 43). But there are two more points I’d like to draw out from this text related to what Jesus calls great. He also calls you great when you humble yourself and become the world’s slave (v. 44). We touched briefly on this point in our last post. The word is doulos in the original Greek language, and it can only be translated accurately as “slave” in English. So while the Holman version actually translates it “slave,” many translations choose to use the word “servant.” While they can be credited with sensitivity for choosing to translate the word as “servant” because the history of slavery in America is so repulsive and offensive, we probably ought not to change the word Jesus used.

The Humility of a Slave

He meant for us to take on the humility of a “slave” when it comes to our ministry and service. In this way, we actually serve like Jesus did: “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead, He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave” (Philippians 2:5–11). In other words, Jesus didn’t use His title—God—as a big stick! In His incarnation, He took the form of a slave!

Suffering For Others

Finally, from Jesus’ words here, we discern that He calls you great when you give up your life to suffer for others (v. 45). Even Jesus suffered for others willingly, all the way to the cross! He served till it hurt—till it killed Him! And you image Jesus when you live your life similarly! That’s probably not going to get you a fancy title or the corner office in a big corporation, but it will get you a “Well done, good and faithful servant” from Jesus! You may have noticed that the focus in this post was not on spiritual gifts. The reason is that the greater emphasis in Scripture is on heart attitude toward ministry rather than giftedness or knowledge. Jesus emphasizes humility over giftedness, and power is never said to be in our gifts but in the Holy Spirit. So, how will you respond to the needs around you?

How Pain Brings Us To Our Knees

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Does God Really Love Us?

We are tempted to ask how it is that God could truly love us if He allows us to suffer through painful experiences. In fact, it is because He loves us that He choreographs pain and suffering into our lives. Let me explain. It is not our natural tendency to seek closer fellowship with God when our lives are filled with blessings attached to this world. No — it is our tendency to stray from God when life is good! We become more comfortable leaning on this world’s blessings for our daily support. So God — in His love and sovereign grace — places a “wake-up call,” in the form of a painful experience, in front of us. He shakes us back to reality with something that refocuses our attention on Him, forcing us to our knees in prayer.

Our Greatest Satisfaction

He does this because He knows that nothing will ever offer us greater satisfaction than a Spirit-filled relationship with Him. All of this world’s goods and services are but cheap substitutes for a walk with God. If you follow the narrative from the first chapter in the book of Acts, you’ll see 120 disciples waiting in an upper room in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. Then, in chapter 2, the Spirit comes to indwell and fill the believers so they would have the supernatural power of the Spirit to obey Jesus’ commission to take the gospel to every people group and disciple them. Immediately, God begins to use them in His supernatural work as 3,000 were saved and became disciples that day — and then more and more were added!

Comfortable and Complacent

But as you read the next few chapters, it seems the church becomes complacent and comfortable with their success, and God’s work begins to slow down. So God, in His sovereignty, brought persecution. Stephen is stoned. Then James is killed, and Peter is imprisoned. It’s this crisis of faith that unsettled them, and they returned to their knees in prayer. They were humbled. They got back to biblical prayer. They expressed their helplessness and total dependence on God’s power to see Peter released from prison: “So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was being made earnestly to God for him by the church.” — Acts 12:5. In the verses that follow, God sends an angel to spring Peter from prison (vv. 6–11).

The Lost Confronted By Answered Prayer

There’s another prayer principle that God reveals to us through His answered prayer to release Peter from incarceration: God will use a mighty display of His power to confront the lost with their sin. King Herod had imprisoned Peter and assumed he had more power than he actually had. But God says, “No, Herod — your plans to kill Peter won’t work!” Someone once said, “We make our plans, and God laughs.” I love that! Don’t lose heart, church. It may appear the world is out of control, but God hasn’t lost it. In His sovereign timing, He will display His power again and confront the lost with their need for repentance. So let’s get the bigger picture when we find ourselves in a painful place. Don’t pray that God will take it away — He may be doing a special work in your life or in the life of someone watching. Trust His plans!
 

Praying About Temptations

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How Did Jesus Teach Us To Pray?

Let me challenge you to take a good, long look at your prayers! Are your prayers consumed with requests? Little more than sending God a grocery list of items you want Him to do for you! If so, you need to spend some time meditating on Jesus’ response to His disciples when they approached Him: “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Matthew 6:5-13) They found a deficiency in their prayer life; so, they sought Jesus’ counsel to improve it! One of the last things He teaches them to pray about is “temptation”— “And do not bring us into temptation.”

A Warning About Being In The World

Up until this point, in Jesus’ counsel about prayer, His focus had been on praying over our relationships with God and the people around us. Now, He teaches us to pray about going out into the world, where He’s called us to make disciples; but, there’s a bit of a warning! We need to pray— “Lord, as we go into the world to advance Your kingdom, we need Your strength to help us be IN the world and not OF it!” We will face some spiritual warfare as we advance against Satan’s kingdom! There is an evil one who wants to take us down! We need to pray for the Spirit’s strength to withstand him; so, we pray for the Father’s guidance.

A Prime Motivation For Prayer

Overcoming sin and evil should be a prime motivation in our prayers! Are your prayers motivated by a desire to walk deliberately with your God? To love Him with a desire to keep His commandments? Test yourself! Are your prayers centered on the STUFF you want, or on Holy Spirit help to beat sin? Finally, Jesus adds these words, in His counsel to His disciples, about prayer: “…deliver us from the evil one…” (v.13) Earlier, in His ministry, Jesus had taught them that “…the evil one comes only to steal and to kill…” (John 10:10). He wants to steal your joy in the Lord and your love for God and others! He wants to kill your effectiveness as a disciple! And we don’t have the strength in ourselves to stand against him! We’re no match for Satan. So, Jesus is teaching us— as His disciples— to humble ourselves by praying for the Father’s protection from evil! To pray that He would deliver us from Satan! And, from falling back into sin! To stand firm and finish strong despite persecution, if we should face that kind of resistance.

Don’t Try To Counsel God

As I bring this series of posts on Jesus’ “model” prayer to a close, let me remind you never to pray like you’re trying to be God’s counselor! Never pray like you’re trying to convince God that YOU know the best way to run His kingdom! Clearly, Jesus leaves no room in His counsel on prayer for us to make prayer about what we think God should do. He’s far too wise! We’re far too ignorant of the details of His work in the world. He is an omniscient God—in other words, He knows EVERYTHING! That means He’s already considered anything you might try to convince Him to do! He may answer in the affirmative! Or, He may answer negatively! And if He does, it’s because He knows the “end from the beginning” and has the best reasons to make the wisest decision! Let us learn to pray with humility, trusting God’s answers always!
 

Complementary Love & Submission

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Taking A Vacation: Next Post August 20

It’s Not About Equality

In our culture, we tend to equate any kind of “submission” to another person as a sign of “inequality.” That’s unfortunate because it simply isn’t true! All of us submit to our boss at work—not because of inequality, but because of order! God designed order into every area of His world, including the home. Jesus Himself submitted to that order in the home: “And He (Jesus) went down with them (His parents) and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them” (Luke 2:51). I certainly hope that doesn’t mean Jesus, the second member of the Triune Godhead, was somehow beneath His human parents!

Jesus Submitted To The Father

And what of Jesus’ submission to the Father within the Triune Godhead? He is just as much “God” as the Father and the Spirit. But He voluntarily gave in to the Father’s lead: “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead, He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5–8). Did you see that? He was equal with God the Father, but He didn’t use that to His own advantage! Rather, He humbled Himself and voluntarily became obedient to the Father.

Wives Looking Like Jesus

Wives—nothing you do within the structure of your home makes you look more like Jesus than when you voluntarily give up control to your husband—not because you’re incapable! In fact, I’ve counseled many marriages in which the wife was clearly the more capable leader. But when she gave that up voluntarily, it changed the entire dynamics of their home. By doing so, she empowered her husband to lead and love, and she “imaged” Jesus for her children. Ladies, that’s how you complement your husband according to God’s design for the home. And men, you complement your wife’s voluntary submission by your love for her: “Husbands, love your wives…” (Colossians 3:19).

A Voluntary, Sacrificial Love

The context of this Colossians 3 passage shows that the wife’s submission is prompted by a husband who shows her unselfish love. In no way does the Scripture imply that the husband is to demand submission from his wife! It’s impossible to draw that meaning from this text. The relationships are understood to be reciprocal. He gains the voluntary submission of his wife as he loves her, and she enjoys more of his love as she voluntarily submits to him. That word translated “love” is agape in the original language, and it’s interesting that agape love is a voluntary, sacrificial kind of love. Her submission is to be voluntary, and his love is to be given voluntarily. It’s not governed by feelings—it’s a love that looks out for her best interests, regardless! A love that refuses to turn “bitter,” as Paul points out in the rest of verse 19.
 

The Mysteries of God

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Why Doesn’t God Fix The World?

In my lifetime, I’ve had several conversations with individuals who set themselves up as “judges” of God. “If God is all-powerful and knows everything,” they ask, “then why doesn’t He do something about all the bad things in the world?” Job’s story could be placed next to that question—he serves as the epitome of unanswerable questions like that! How does God determine His will? Why does He seem to step into certain situations but not others? Why does He permit wicked people, like ISIS, to continue ripping open pregnant women, beheading little children, and killing people just for loving Jesus?

Can You Fathom God?

The Book of Job is an appropriate book for addressing the mysteries of God: “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea” (Job 11:7-9). Scripture tells us that God’s paths are beyond our ability to trace! So, what is an appropriate response on our part to His wisdom and knowledge? To His unsearchable and untraceable ways? The answer: humility! That is the only appropriate response—to humble ourselves before Him and admit we haven’t got a clue! He alone knows it all, and He is under no obligation to share more answers with us than what He has revealed in His Word.

Who Can Know The Mind of God?

We need to give God glory for His counsel: “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Or who has ever first given to Him and has to be repaid?” (Romans 11:34-35). Who has ever known the mind of God? Who can truly understand what He’s thinking? So, who could possibly offer God any useful counsel? Yet still, we try telling God what He should do with His universe, don’t we? If you were God, would you do things differently? If your answer is “Yes,” then that’s exactly why the rest of us are glad you’re not God! And you ought to be just as glad that I’m not God, either! Now, ponder this thought—because God knows everything that is knowable, that means He has already considered your ideas and dismissed them as an unacceptable response to the situation. Right?

The End from the Beginning

Because you and I don’t know the end from the beginning like He does, we really can’t offer Him any thoughts that He hasn’t already considered! “The secret things belong to the Lord our God…” (Deuteronomy 29:29) and “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts,” says the Lord (Isaiah 55:9). So, let us give God the glory He is due for His wisdom, knowledge, and counsel! And by faith, trust Him with all the things you don’t have answers for. I love how Tony Evans says it:  “Everything is either caused by God or allowed by God, and there is no third category.” Paul concludes, “To Him be the glory forever.” (Romans 11:36) Let’s glory in God, His Son, and the cross!

God’s Glory Over Our Justification

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He Alone Gets Glory For Our Faith

When the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the church of Ephesus, he made it clear from the start that God alone must receive the glory for anyone’s salvation! From the beginning of salvation, through our justification, until its completion at our glorification, and everything in between during our sanctification in the present—all of it is God’s work, for which He is to receive glory! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul began, “who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3–6). 

To The Praise Of His Glorious Grace

That phrase, “…to the praise of His glorious grace…” is actually translated, “…to the praise of the glory of His grace…” in the NKJV. In other words, God is glorified through our justification. He is glorified as He justifies us! It isn’t anything that we do— He justifies us! He saves us from the penalty of our sin! That’s what it means to be justified in God’s sight. Our sin legally condemns us to death, but when Jesus became the substitutionary atonement on our behalf, God could legally remove the death penalty we deserved because Jesus died in our place. And clearly, Paul intends for us to understand that our justification was God’s work alone. 

God Chose Us Before Creation

No doubt drawing from Jesus’ words—“…You did not choose Me, but I chose you…”—Paul confirmed that “…He chose us before the foundation of the world…” (v.4). Think of that! Let those words sink in. Feel the weight of that statement! Before the world was created, before you were created, God had already chosen you if you’re a believer! “He predestined us to be adopted…” (v.5). It’s because He chose us & He predestined us to be saved before we were created that all boasting or credit we might take for our faith is removed. One of the most significant aspects of marriage is that, from that day, a woman is called by a new name— her name changed because the groom loves her!  

Called By A New Name

The groom loves her and invites her to take on a new identity as his wife. One of the most significant aspects of accepting Jesus as Savior is the fact that, from that day on, we’re called by a new name! Jesus loves us and invites us to take on a new identity. We’re no longer called a “sinner” but a “saint,” His “bride,” His “church.” Throughout Scripture, there are many examples where God changed the names of His people—He changed Abram, meaning “high father,” to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude of nations.” He changed Sarai, meaning “argumentative,” to Sarah, meaning “princess.” He changed Simon, meaning “he has heard,” to Peter, meaning “the rock.” There are many more if you look into it! When God justifies us, He gives us a new name to signify a changed life, and He does it all for His glory.

God’s Glory In Our Salvation

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We’re Rendered Speechless

Music is a powerful medium, especially in a worship service! Just combine a deeply moving message— about grace, mercy, love, the cross, and salvation— with an appropriate musical score, and it locks up my vocal cords! I’m rendered speechless— I can’t sing! All I can do is praise Jesus in my heart as I listen to the congregation sing. That’s the kind of picture I get in my mind when I read about the worship service that will one day take place in heaven: “And I beheld, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, AND GLORY, and blessing.’ And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, ‘Blessing, and honor, AND GLORY, and power be unto Him that sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.'” (Rev. 5:11-13). 

Jesus, The Lamb, Is Worthy

Why? Why will there be such a scene in heaven? Because Jesus, the Lamb, is worthy! Jesus is worthy of blessing, honor, and GLORY! He willingly submitted Himself to the Father’s plan. He was the Lamb of God who shed His blood on our behalf so that we might be saved. And every believer since creation will sing praises to Jesus because our salvation is the result of Jesus’ work on the cross ALONE! Our salvation is God’s work alone, so He gets all the glory alone! There is no one else to praise.

Because Of His Great Love

We can take no glory for our own salvation! We were dead in our trespasses and sins— “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah, even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus, He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens so that in the coming ages (that’s the scene described earlier in Rev. 5), He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” —Ephesians 2:4-9 

Nothing To Boast About

We have nothing to boast about in ourselves! We boast in Jesus and the cross! Our greatest preoccupation must be with God’s glory—it is for that purpose that we exist. Jesus is the hero of our story, not us! Our salvation didn’t require a little bit of our effort and a lot of Jesus’ work—all we contributed was our total depravity and brokenness. His coming to save us was nothing short of a rescue mission! And Scripture clearly teaches that He is to be offered praise for the entirety of our salvation. So, from the beginning of our faith in this life to the completion of our faith in heaven, He gets all the glory! It is appropriate that we remain committed to giving God glory for our salvation at every opportunity.

The Fading Glory of Creation

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Don’t Accept A Cheap Substitute

When we refuse to give God the glory He alone deserves, we exchange the glory of an immortal Creator for the glory of created things. In other words, we accept cheap substitutes. When we could have gloried in an eternal, immortal, all-powerful Creator, we glory instead in the fading glory of a creation that groans and dies under the weight of sin’s curse. James wrote: “Let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits” (James 1:9-11).

Beauty Queens and Hip Replacements

That means beauty queens grow old and decrepit. It means sports stars age, get hip and knee replacements. If you value anything more than God, you’ve exchanged the “imperishable” for the “perishable.” You’ve traded a diamond for that rotten peach that’s been in the back of your fridge for the last three months! You’ve exchanged gold for a rusty bolt. In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he says that when you dismiss or deny God’s glory, you exchange the truth of God for lies of sexual perversions: “…God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” (Romans 1:24-25).

God Is Not The Killjoy In The Sky

Listen, God is not the big “sex killjoy” in the sky! He’s not a prude! He created sex. Contrary to what some people seem to think, sex wasn’t our idea. God created sex, and the reason He restricted sexual activity to a husband and a wife is because He loves us. His way is the best way for us. All sexual activity—outside that which is between a husband and a wife—will always result in painful, negative experiences. Humanity keeps ignoring God’s glory when it comes to sexual conduct, so God delivers them over to sexual impurity, Paul says. Our society is bent on degrading their bodies because they’ve believed all the lies of sexual perversions. There’s a really important principle here!

Living With Regret

You can glory in the lies of sin and get some momentary pleasure out of it, but the pleasure is soon gone, and what remains is regret. Or you can glory in the truth of God and gain happiness and joy that does not fade in this life—a joy that actually carries over into eternity. You can live without regrets now! Give God the glory due His name. Redirect any praise that might come your way to Him. Humble yourself before Him. Admit that you’re not a self-made man or woman. You’re made in the image of God for His glory. If you’re a follower of Jesus, His Spirit indwells you, and He is making you into the image of Christ. Everything you have—yes, everything—comes from Him! Don’t take any credit for your accomplishments; that’s what unbelievers do. Stand with the Apostle Paul: “As for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). Brag on the cross and Jesus’ work for our salvation!
 

We’re Gifted For His Glory

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Why Does God Seek Glory?

I find that the subject of “God’s Glory” tends to provoke more questions than it does answers. How do we bring glory to God? And, why does God seek glory? Why is it okay for God to bring glory to Himself, but it’s condemned as pride if we seek personal glory? The wrong answers to those questions could prove deadly! The life and death of a king named Herod Agrippa provide a shocking illustration for us. One day, as he was dressed in his royal robes and seated on his throne, he began to speak; and, “The assembled people began to shout, ‘It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!’ At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he became infected with worms and died.”

He Did Not Give God The Glory

Herod Agrippa died, it says, “…because he did not give God the glory…” He did not redirect the praise to God, and it cost him his life!  God hates pride because it’s man’s attempt to steal glory from Him! Pride credits self for our accomplishments and discredits God, who actually gave us everything we have, including our gifts and talents! Perhaps, like me, you were required to read Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in school, or at least parts of it! One story included a vain rooster named Chanticleer, who prided himself on all his accomplishments. He was most proud of the fact that his crowing caused the sun to rise each morning—every morning he crowed, and every morning the sun rose, making him quite proud!

What Have You Been Crowing About?

One morning, however, Chanticleer overslept, and when he awoke, he was shocked to find that the sun was already up, and it happened without any help from him! When he realized that he could no longer take credit for the rising of the sun, he declared, ‘If by my crowing I cannot bring in the dawn, then by my crowing I can celebrate its coming.’ This begs the question—’What accomplishments in your life have you been crowing about?’ The moral of Chanticleer’s story is that his pride-filled ‘crowing’ wasn’t accomplishing what he thought it was. He had deceived himself! But there’s a second moral to the story—when faced with the truth, he humbled himself & celebrated the sunrise though he had nothing to do with it.

We Take Too Much Credit

There’s much we can learn from Chanticleer’s story, isn’t there? We’re tempted to take way too much credit or glory for our own accomplishments, aren’t we? But it’s God who created us! It’s God who’s given us our intellect, our talents, and our gifts! It’s God who gives us life and the ability to make decisions! It’s God who regenerates us and raises us up from our spiritual death and gives us life in Christ. We can share in the process! But we’d better not crow about it like we’ve done the work! God brings glory to Himself for our spiritual growth—or sanctification—because He’s the One who does it! “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose” (Philippians 2:12). God does the work in us! He enables us! Give Him the glory for it!