Vlog Day 19: Ruth 3:7-9

ps.  yes, that is my son you occasionally hear in the background defeating sith lords.

Also check out this great song by Mandi Mapes called "Sweet sweet Grace."  It is an amazing song about covering.  {I couldn't find an embed code for it.}

Am I a Proud or a Broken Person toward others?

From Nancy Leigh DeMoss's book, "Brokenness: The Heart God Revives."

1. PROUD PEOPLE FOCUS ON THE FAILURES OF OTHERS AND CAN READILY POINT OUT THOSE FAULTS. **Broken people are more conscious of their own spiritual need than of anyone else's.
2. PROUD PEOPLE HAVE A CRITICAL, FAULT-FINDING SPIRIT. THEY LOOK AT EVERYONE ELSE'S FAULTS WITH A MICROSCOPE BUT VIEW THEIR OWN WITH A TELESCOPE. **Broken people are compassionate - they have the kind of love that overlooks a multitude of sins; they can forgive because they know how much they have been forgiven.
3. PROUD PEOPLE ARE ESPECIALLY PRONE TO CRITICIZE THOSE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY - THEIR PASTOR, THEIR BOSS, THEIR HUSBAND, THEIR PARENTS - AND THEY TALK TO OTHERS ABOUT THE FAULTS THEY SEE. **Broken people reverence, encourage, and lift up those that God has placed in positions of authority, and they talk to God in intercession, rather than gossiping about the faults they see in others.
4. PROUD PEOPLE ARE SELF-RIGHTEOUS; THEY THINK HIGHLY OF THEMSELVES AND LOOK DOWN ON OTHERS. **Broken people think the best of others; they esteem others as better than themselves.
5. PROUD PEOPLE HAVE AN INDEPENDENT, SELF-SUFFICIENT SPIRIT. **Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for God and for others.
   

Brokenness

It is so funny how God works. For some time now, God has been working behind the scenes in me on selfishness, humility, and pride. I blogged about it briefly in one of my posts, but I don't remember which one now. God has been dealing with it so much so that I felt called to write a bible study about it. I had this nagging feeling about it. I did a little research about it, but not too much. I kinda thought about it, yet I did not let it persist me either. Two weeks ago, God had me outline the study I was to write.

In all of the persistence (read sarcastically) I mentioned earlier, I checked out a book from the library six weeks ago called, "Brokenness: The Heart God Revives" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I finally finished reading it today because it is due tomorrow. (Just keeping it real!) It is an awesome, highly recommended read. You will definitely get something out of it, and it is a short book. However, you might want to take longer to savor it than I did. I mentioned my desire to write this study to my accountability partner, and she directed me to some other resources that came to her mind on humility.

This book and her resources seem to confirm that I go ahead with the time and effort of writing a bible study. How odd and strange, as even though I love to study Scripture, I don't find myself altogether qualified or capable of writing a study for anyone to actually study - not to mention one on pride and humility - who reallys wants to submit to that? :) I keep telling myself that this study will be written for me, and so I believe it to be. And to be quite frank, I am not one to finish something of this magnitude on my own. With that said, I feel that I must continue to be broken before you - humble to bring repentance before you in truthfulness. And I will be sharing a series of surveys from the "Brokenness" book about the way you can inventory your heart and determine whether you are prideful or broken.

Below are some quotes I enjoyed from the book:

"Again and again, God's Word reveals that he is not as concerned about the depth or extent of the sin we commit as he is about our attitude and response when we are confronted with our sin." p.65

p. 67 she notes the anguish of soul one must feel

"It is in His very nature to be repulsed by pride and to draw near to those who have a humble, broken spirit." p. 68

"I believe one of the reasons that so many people live with chronic loneliness is that they are unwilling to die." p. 104

"True Christian community, as Pastor Ray Ortlund described it, is something few believers ever experience, because it requires that each individual let go of "self" and pour out his life on behalf of others." p. 105