Praise
I was sitting on the front porch reading God's Word this morning. John writes about the Pharisees' rejection of Jesus saying, "They loved human praise more than the praise of God." I'm afraid that if John were writing about me, I would frequently fall under the same indictment.
When it comes to the kind of car I choose to drive.
When it comes to helpingTabitha to excel more in public school than in memorizing verses of the Bible.
When it comes to working on my golf game as opposed to working on my marriage.
When it comes to "image management."
Let me move to the more subtle.
When it comes to trying to "fit in" in a conversation rather than speaking the truth in love.
When it comes to doing what Greg Nettle wants rather than following the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.
God, help me to desire your smile more than the applause of this world. Help me to seek the light of your face more than the lights of this world. I want my heart, my life, my desires to be You.
When it comes to the kind of car I choose to drive.
When it comes to helpingTabitha to excel more in public school than in memorizing verses of the Bible.
When it comes to working on my golf game as opposed to working on my marriage.
When it comes to "image management."
Let me move to the more subtle.
When it comes to trying to "fit in" in a conversation rather than speaking the truth in love.
When it comes to doing what Greg Nettle wants rather than following the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.
God, help me to desire your smile more than the applause of this world. Help me to seek the light of your face more than the lights of this world. I want my heart, my life, my desires to be You.
posted by Greg Nettle at 8:16 AM
5 Comments:
Amen! That is a prayer for all of us.
Great post! I just heard a message on that very topic a couple of weeks ago. The premise was that we care way more about what others think of us than we care about what God thinks of us. But in my humanness I get caught up in my wanting to please everyone else in front of me and not choosing to please God. Your prayer is my prayer - I want all of my heart, my life and my desires to be God. I continue to struggle toward that goal everyday.
I like to read Jesus' battles with the Pharisees. He could have just as easily ignored them and gone about His business teaching those who believed on Him, but I believe He chose to engage them because He wanted to make an example of them for the rest of us: don't be like this.
*sigh* There's a little Pharisee in all of us.
Greg, that's a very transparent admission and I commend you for offering it here. I think we all struggle with the same challenge to varying degrees. Your prayer is evidence that your heart is right and that you're only human. I join you in prayer - for you and for me...
Keep growin!
I continue to be encouraged and blessed by your ministry. I find you to be an honest and humble servant. I admire you in all your human frailties. I relate so well even though our backgrounds couldn't be more different. Thanks for the excellent work of your ministry, website, blogs, etc.
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