A prayer of praise

Psalm

86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!

Your exploits are incomparable!

86:9 All the nations, whom you created,

will come and worship you, O Lord.

They will honor your name.

86:10 For you are great and do amazing things.

You alone are God.

Father, if we placed all the gods or objects of worship along side you, you out shine, out perform, and overwhelm the competition! Idols have eyes but can’t see, ears but can’t hear, mouths but can’t speak. You, on the other hand, not only see, but see perfectly. You not only hear, but hear everything. You not only speak, but speak truth.

What you have done and will do are without rival. You create life from lifelessness. Light from darkness. You make good come from evil.

There is no people group, (kingdom, country, dictatorship) that will not fall down before you in worship at some time in the future.

There is no system of thought (atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, polytheism,) or philosophy, that will not fall down before you and acknowledge that You alone are God.

Willingly or unwillingly, all will ultimately admit to your person and work as wholly different and exalted.

For you do great and amazing things! You make grace amazing. You make mercy amazing. You make love amazing. You make forgiveness amazing.

You have reached down; you have stooped low, to lift up unworthy sinners such as us. Yours is an amazing grace!

You alone are God!

These things I pray in the Name of your Dear Son, the Son of your amazing grace, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

"Pride and Prejudice"

Numbers 11

²⁶But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.
²⁷So a young man ran and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
²⁸Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, "Moses, my lord, restrain them."
²⁹But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD'S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!"

The beauty of humility is once again manifest in the man, Moses. His attitude toward God, others, and himself was the most self-effacing attitude of anyone on the planet. Even though God had spoken to him and through him on many occasions and he had been the instrument of multiple miracles and other mighty works, Moses kept a clear eye on who he was and who God was. He never place himself above the status of a servant.

There is no room for pride and jealousy in God’s economy! It is God who does the work and we are His instruments. So why would we be offended at the gifts and ministries of others whom God is using to accomplish His purposes? And it is His purposes, not ours, that matter.

I am sometimes defensive when I see others who might be as gifted or more gifted than I am. I have always compared myself with others and usually unfavorably. When I hear of someone who is a “great teacher”, I wonder, ‘Is he better than me?’ When I hear of someone who is very funny, charming, kind, physically fit,…I wonder, ‘More than me?’

Why? Because I still believe, though I’ve been in Christ and studying His word for more than 25 years, that my worth is based on my abilities. And I also believe that someone who is better looking, smarter, funnier, more devoted to his family, (name it) is more loved by God and others and more valuable than I am.

Why not rejoice? Why not be excited to see others being used by God? Why not enjoy God's grace and beauty being expressed in others?

God does!