EXPAND TO READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 5 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 2a, 6a): I struggle so much in this life with pride and boasting. I often let my pride get me into very unrighteous situations and reactions. I also have issues with boasting about things that are not Godly or holy in this life. Please forgive me for my pride and boastfulness, Father. Help me to be better in this life at humility, being humble, and boasting only in things for Your glory. Teach me Your ways, Father, so that I may slowly but surely get rid of my fleshly ways in this life.
PROMISE (verses 7b-8): The promise You make us here is quite simple, yet probably the most well-known of Your promises. You promise us that Jesus’ sacrifice is for us to be redeemed and to redeem others through sincerity and truth. You promise us that the old is gone and the new has risen! Thank You for this amazing promise, Father, because without it I would surely be in eternal damnation with all of the mistakes I’ve made in this life, especially since coming to faith.
ATTITUDE (verse 2): I do often suffer from an attitude of pride instead of grief when it comes to things those close to me have accomplished when those things were accomplished in unrighteous ways. Some of this may be rooted in jealousy as I see their success in those unrighteous ways and I want that for myself. Some of it is also just that I am happy that their succeeding, but I miss the point that they did it against Your will for their lives. You don’t call us to live an easy life of success for our flesh. Rather, you call us to live a righteous life for Your glory no matter the difficulties or struggles we must go through as a result of this broken world. Help me to be better at this, Father, so that Your way becomes my way and the way I look at others’ successes or failures are through the spiritual lens which You have provided me.
COMMAND (verses 11-13): This is a tough command for me to follow, but I do completely understand Your reasoning behind it. The command is that we are to not associate ourselves with anyone who claims to be a believer but lives in a manner that is blatantly against that faith. You command us to “put away the evil person from among yourselves.” I feel this is for our own protection as it is quite easy to fall into a trap of sin when those around us are openly sinning with no remorse. Help me to be able to recognize when I falter at this command, Father. Additionally, give me the strength to do what You want me to do in those moments that I have allowed an evil person to stay in my life.
EXAMPLE (verses 6-8): Yet another great mental picture of our faith in these verses. When it comes to baking breads, we must remember that a little yeast goes a long way. This applies also to the typically negative attitudes of things such as boasting and pride as well. If we boast or live in pride, then it must be minimal and for Your glory, not our own. Jesus wasn’t sacrificed for us to just boast about ourselves. He brings a new “yeast” to our dough and we must clean away the old “yeast” in our lives to ensure we are rising properly in sincerity and truth, not in malice and evil. Thank You for this amazing example and mental picture, Father, to help me understand Your will for my life more.
*DAILY NOTE: I thank You today, Father, for the convictions I have felt in regard to my prideful habits. I do struggle quite a bit with pride in my life, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if it did not lead to sinful responses and such. Unfortunately, most of the time I default to my pride, I do struggle with anger, irritability, and inappropriate responses. Continue to teach me, Father, of my wrongful ways. Continue to convict me when You see me walking in the wrong direction with my attitudes, my defaults, my words, and even my thoughts. Thank You for today’s lesson on my pride, Father. I hope and pray that I continue to default to my prideful ways less and less as I become more mature in my relationship with You.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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