Pride forgets, Humility remembers: Commentary on Thanksgiving

"Be careful that your heart doesn't forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery." Deuteronomy 8:14 HCSB

Has God brought you out of a place of slavery? Enslaved to sin, oppression, depression, the world? If you are a child of his, you can relate. You can go back to that place of void, that lonely place where you once lived and re-visit the pain. Go back there right now and remember that place where your soul suffered and felt alone......

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the [a]miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:2-3 NASB

When we think of where he brought us from, we are often thankful.
The children of Israel had a problem with remembering and being thankful. They had been brought out of a real place of oppression. They thought they wouls be much happier in the place they were because their reality at the time, was hard.
Isn't that how we all are, we want to tuck tail and run at the slightest bit of persecution, and hardship and go back to what we once knew even it it means being enslaved and oppressed. Why, because it's familiar and "our Normal".


Pride forgets, humility remembers: Pride is a product of our carnal man, of "self" and often that is the world we live in, but if we can concentrate on humility, humility will yield Thanksgiving, why?
When you think and concentrate on where God brought you from, you not only become humble, but Thankful, Thankful for a chance for a new life with him.

I am sure that is what the children of Israel thought too, can't we just go back to be enslaved where we are comfortable?
They were liberated, they were free....but often forgot and did not have a thankful heart and complained often about everything.

They never embraced a spirit of Thanksgiving, that spirit of humility, of humble Thanksgiving, submission and surrender to our Lord God.  They were given miracle after miracle and would forget so quickly because their focus would reside on "self" and pride and they would forget.......

Pride forgets, humility remembers..........

Where are you? Do you live in a place of humility and thanksgiving, or a place of pride and self that yields unhappiness and negativity?
Surrender today to him and what he can offer. Discipline yourself and concentrate on a spirit of Thanksgiving daily, not just the month of November but always.......

A Shack versus a Mansion

Why do we build for our souls a shack when we can live in a mansion?

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:12

I used to dream of living in a nice home, large, spacious, beautiful... I can remember as a middle schooler, when I first started really thinking of my future and dreaming of escaping my present lot in life, I dreamt of a successful, career in business where I could dress up everyday. I would literally pull pictures out of Southern Living magazine with the blue prints and save them for my future dream home. I loved looking at the blue prints and still do at times. 

      Reality is I am a nurse, not glamorous at all(though some people seem to think it is) and due to decisions made and circumstance I may never get to choose a blue print to make my home. Those dreams were relinquished long ago when I was convicted after I was first saved when I read the scripture where your treasure is there will be your heart also, so I kinda gave over the desires of this world about 20 years or more ago. So I don't struggle with that much. 

I struggle with the more here and now, I struggle with being good enough, being enough, being present, being available with the people in my life, I struggle with helping my family and am I doing enough. I struggle with things that matter, but it's still a struggle, it is still a battle and often I allow my soul to live in a shack when, because of Christ and his promises I could live in a mansion, literally one day I will, but I could live in a mansion here on earth, right now, if I so chose to. Why do I still live in a shack ?  I can't say that I live in a shack all the time, that would be pretty depressing if I stayed oppressed, no the enemy just wants me to slum, he wants me to go back to that shack and stay there, hungry, hoping, and having a pity party at times, he wants me to stay there if I will, he wants me to concentrate and think of my failures... What is your shack? 

The shack of rebellion? Of despair,  of oppression, of broken dreams, of hopes not fulfilled, why do you choose to allow this world, this present situation dictate your living arrangements?

Sometimes I question....  Am I not spiritually mature enough to resist this? No, I am, I am strong enough to resist this to live above this through Christ, we wrestle against spiritual battles and the more of Christ we can put into our lives, the more fulfilled we become, the more at a peace and we don't have to live in a shack, we can live in a mansion. Often the battle is in the mind, I have never read the book Battlefield of the Mind, but I strongly feel if we can get our minds under subjection to Christ Jesus then our battle here on earth is  most won and we can live in that mansion. 

Keep striving, keep trying, don't loose hope and if you slum at times in that shack, recognize it and get back home, back home to the feet of Jesus Christ..... Keep putting more of him in your life, and go live in that mansion, here and now....