p.

I am currently in a bible study with 3 other girls. We meet at Eli's Coffee every 2 weeks and are working through a Beth Moore bible study called Living Free. Two of the girls are working nurses and one girl is a married teacher. I love the group, because we are a good mix of personalities and insight, so the discussions are great.

I was completing one of the sessions in my book yesterday. This week's focus is "To Glorify God," and the day's study was titled "A Mind Captive to Self." That seems to be our natural instinct as humans-- to wake up and think about no one other than ourselves and how we are affected by every decision we make, right down to the outfit we will wear that day and what we'll eat for breakfast. It's fascinating, really.

The study says, "Mark 4:19 describes our automatic thoughts before we begin to focus on spiritual things. We find our thoughts captive to "the cares of this world," and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things." Beth Moore was talking about our natural mindsets before we know Christ, but quite honestly, I find myself in this pattern if I don't daily center my focus on God. Becoming a Christian does not make us completely selfless. Our hearts are desperately wicked and our flesh so carnal. This is not an excuse to completely self-focus, but it's a reminder that there is nothing good in us apart from Christ. Our goal is to glorify Him, not ourselves.

What I really wanted to post about was the material she ended with in this day's study. Ultimately, a lot of selfishness roots from our human nature of pride. She points out that you don't have to be self-righteous to be proud. Often, pride contaminates even those who have extremely low-worth and choose to sit around in self-pity. Whether you think you're all that or think you're worth nothing, pride can seep in and poison us. Either way, it's a selfish mindset, and we do a good thing when we humble ourselves before God. True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but it's realizing your place before God. To truly realize God's amazing character, and to know you were created FOR HIS GLORY, that should speak volumes that we are so very loved and cherished by the Lord. Are we little before God? Absolutely. But are we worthless? No, we are worth so much in the eyes of God! And if our goal is to serve Him daily, we can only please Him more.

Beth Moore shares a powerful excerpt about the dangers of pride in your life, which I will close with. Some of its facets sounded all too familiar to me...

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
I cheat you of your God-given destiny...
because you demand your own way.
I cheat you of contentment...
because you "deserve better than this."
I cheat you of knowledge... because you already know it all.
I cheat you of holiness...
because you refuse to admit when you're wrong.
I cheat you of vision...
because you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window.
I cheat you of genuine friendship...
because nobody's going to know the real you.
I cheat you of love...
because real romance demands sacrifice.
I cheat you of greatness in heaven...
because you refuse to wash another's feet on earth.
I cheat you of God's glory...
because I convince you to seek your own way.
My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
You like me because you think I'm always looking out for you.
Untrue.
I'm looking to make a fool out of you.
God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...
If you stick with me,
You'll never know.

Love you all!

T