I am not worthy

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””

Genesis 32:10  I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant,

2 Samuel 7:18  Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Isaiah 6:5     And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Isaiah 63:7     I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Luke 5:8    But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Luke 17:10     So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

1 Timothy 1:12-15     I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,  though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,  and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

I can remember telling someone the more I read the bible and study God’s word the more I realize and see how unworthy I am and how thankful I am.   Being exposed to God’s holiness and truth will reveal how big the gap is, should we think that we could in anyway earn our favor with God.  Rooted deep within us is that sinful nature and it has a way of remaining hidden so that we do not see it.  Our life will change when it is exposed to God’s word with a humble heart and desire to be loved, corrected, educated, taught, led, and a want to honor, glorify, serve, follow and obey God.

It does not take much reading to understand how unworthy we are and how awesome God is.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  This is a gift of love from God and there is nothing we can do to gain the favor of this gift.  In fact “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”,  So while we were living in sin and apart from God, God in His love sent His son to redeem us.  We did nothing that would warrant such action from God.  “this is a gift from God, not by works, lest any man should boast” 

How many days are wasted trying to be good enough for God’s love when in fact He demonstrated this love through His son and the only work asked of anyone is to believe and repent.  The forgiveness of sin does not come through any work of man but through belief and faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.

When we come to recognize just how unworthy we are of God’s steadfast love and how much God has done, is doing, and will do out of His grace, mercy and love……our heart and soul will be humbled with gratitude, thankfulness and obedience.

Integrity

“O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.”

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”

Psalms 25:20  Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

Psalms 121:7   The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

Psalms 71:1-2   In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!

Joel 2:26  “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you

Proverbs 20:7     The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!

Proverbs 11:3   The integrity of the upright guides them

Acts 24:16   So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.

Psalms 18:20  The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.  For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.  For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.  I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.  So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

Psalms 7:8   The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.

Psalms 26:11  But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.

Having strong moral principles and being honest deserve some thought.  How do we judge our moral principles (integrity)?  By what standard do we use or should we use to know our moral compass has the right heading?  If the culture of our society says murder is ok would we have moral principles if we agreed with this?    One example; Worldwide 40-50 million living babies in the womb are killed every year.  Do our moral principles say this is wrong or right?  It is critical to understand what we base our principles on.  It can get very confusing.  Social media at our finger tips can easily play into defining our moral stance. Where do we find solid ground?  How do we stay grounded and not moved?  God’s word says that His laws have been written on every mind and heart.  For the most part we know wrong from right but for some reason we seem to want to define our own wrong and right – we justify it in our mind.  If we question our stance, as it may be contrary to what God is speaking to our heart, we search out others who think the same and then justify our stance on like minded people.  David said he the ways of the Lord, and God’s rules and statutes were never put away.  He kept them before himself.  Writing them on his heart and mind, meditating on them when the sun rose and set.  God’s word is truth – if you don’t start here you will never have a basis on which to stand that has eternal benefit.  Every person gets to decide if they will believe in God, believe He will judge every man, believe there is nothing hidden from God, believe He alone has salvation, believe God will lead and direct them, believe God will protect them, believe God will be their salvation on the day of judgement, believe there is both heaven and hell, believe God will hear their prayer, believe God is living and ever present, AND THEY ARE ABLE TO BASE THIS ON HIS WORD.