As soon as the Holy Ghost enters into the heart of an individual, he becomes smaller and more modest. He no longer knows anything about himself in which he can boast, and he no longer despairs on account of his sins. He is insignificant in his own eyes, but he recognizes how great is the love of God, the patience of the Father, the redemption of Christ, and the comfort of the Holy Ghost. C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It! p. 460

God loves it when man boasts in God, and God hates it when man boasts in man. “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (2 Corinthians 10:17). “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up” (Isaiah 2:11–12).

There are two reasons (at least) why God hates for man to boast in man. One is that boasting in man deflects man’s attention from the Fountain of his joy and so ruins his life. It tricks man into replacing Magnificence with a mirror. Man was not made to admire man. He was made to admire God. The joy of admiration is prostituted and ruined when man tries to find galaxy-size Glory in the glow of his own reflection. God does not like the human damage done by boasting in man.

John Piper (2004). Life as a vapor: 31 meditations for your faith (52–53). Sisters, Or.: Multnomah Publishers.

Being taught by grace, we are to be under the persuasion that every man is a sinner against God, and has also sinners against, or debtors to, himself.  

First, we are sinners against God, and we are such in great and damnable sins from which few of us are found to be free.  And even if any one be of such moral goodness that he is not as yet polluted with these greater sins, still he is a debtor to God; for he does not fulfill the law of God nor does he show forth the least gratitude or thanks unto God for all the gifts and benefits that he has received above others.And therefore, if God should contend with him, that which Job said would be proved to be true, that "If one wished to dispute with God, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times." (Job 9:3).  And clearly, then, it is humility alone that keeps even those who live under grace safe, whose own sins are not imputed unto them, because they judge and condemn themselves and plead for pardon, and mercifully pardon their debtors.  

Secondly,there are also those who are debtors to us.  For thus does God permit, in His management of things, that some one or another should rise up who may trouble or injure our property, or fame,or anything else of that kind which belongs to us; and thus He gives us an occasion for repenting of our sins and pardoning our debtors.  And here, turn your judgment upon yourself and commune with your own heart.  See who and what you are, and then you will forget all the evils of your neighbor, because you yourself will find both your hands full of, yes, even running over with,your own evils.

Lord, all our trespasses forgive,
That they our hearts no more may grieve,
As we forgive their trespasses
Who unto us have done amiss;
Thus let us dwell in charity,
And serve each other willingly.

View online at HERE.

Luke 1:46-48

Mary, therefore, calls God her Savior, or her Salvation, even though she neither saw nor felt that this was so, but trusted in sure confidence that He was her Savior and her Salvation. This faith came to her through the work God had done within her. And, truly, she sets things in their proper order when she calls God her Lord before calling Him her Savior, and when she calls Him her Savior before recounting His works. Thereby she teaches us to love and praise God for Himself alone, and in the right order, and not selfishly to seek anything at His hands. This is done when one praises God because He is good, regards only His bare goodness, and finds his joy and pleasure in that alone. That is a lofty, pure, and tender mode of loving and praising God and well becomes this Virgins high and tender spirit.

But the impure and perverted lovers, who are nothing else than parasites and who seek their own advantage in God, neither love nor praise His bare goodness, but have an eye to themselves and consider only how good God is to them, that is, how deeply He makes them feel His goodness and how many good things He does to them. They esteem Him highly, are filled with joy and sing His praises, so long as this feeling continues. But just as soon as He hides His face and withdraws the rays of His goodness, leaving them bare and in misery, their love and praise are at an end. They are unable to love and praise the bare, unfelt goodness that is hidden in God. By this they prove that their spirit did not rejoice in God, their Savior, and that they had no true love and praise for His bare goodness. They delighted in their salvation much more than in their Savior, in the gift more than in the Giver, in the creature rather than in the Creator.”

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 21 : The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, Luther’s Works (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1956). 21:309.

Reflect: What is it like for you when God seems hidden? How often are you tempted to equate faith with positive feelings? Read Colossians 1:15-20. How is God revealed in Jesus Christ?  Pray that God would lead you to focus on the divine attributes of Christ, and put your trust in Christ no matter what your emotional reactions might be.

I found this at the Cruciform Life Blog…..

Lord God, you have made us educators. We use words and wisdom to forge the heads, hearts, and hands of our students for a lifetime of servant leadership, for the glory of God and the good of our neighbors, the nations, and the next generation. That is what You have called and equipped us to do.

But lest our knowledge puff us up, we recall the words of Your servant Matthew Henry who said, “We shall see how little reason we have to be proud of our knowledge when we consider how many things we are ignorant of.” And we remember the words of James, our Lord’s brother, who warned “not many of you should become teachers, for we who teach will be judged with a greater judgment.” The task of teaching is beyond the teacher, Lord. We desperately need You.

So, we come to You, Father, who with a word spoke everything into existence. We ask You to give us Your words and Your wisdom so that our students will be transformed by what they learn. We come to You, humbly Lord, knowing that our first parents were deceived by wily words and lured into rebellion against You by the promise of wayward wisdom. We recognize that tendency in ourselves and our students as well. We come to You, King Jesus, for You are the Word “made flesh” who came “full of grace and truth.” Through Your life, death, and resurrected life you have proclaimed the words and performed the works of Your Kingdom. We trust that You will give our words flesh when we teach, so that we and our students may be made new by the grace and truth of Christ crucified. We come to You, Holy Spirit; You are the breath of God, the One whom Jesus called “the Spirit of truth.” We ask that You would fill us and fall on us as we gather here to make plans with and for the use of our words and wisdom for the coming year.

We thank You, Lord God, for the privilege to teach, and we depend on You now for the power to do it.

In the name of our Lord Jesus, I pray, Amen.

~ Jimmy Davis, prayed at a faculty meeting on September 19, 2008

Then he [Martin Luther] spoke about the brashness of the wiseacres who put too much reliance on speculative knowledge while they have no real experience, although experience is the teacher of reality and ought to regulate everything.

“The philosophers did the right thing,” he said, “when they required their students to remain silent for five years, that is, not to express opinions lest they become rash in their judgments. …..

“In short, youth is impertinent. So we see lawyers who in their first year are masters of all laws, in their second year are Justinians, in their third year are licentiates, in their fourth year give formal opinions, and in their fifth year finally become trembling students. This is the way a boy acts in a bowling alley. First he expects to strike twelve pins, then nine, then six, then three, and at last he’s satisfied with one, and probably misses the alley at that. It would be a good thing if young people were wise and old people were strong, but God has arranged things better.”

Martin Luther, No. 4091: Youth Is Characterized by Temerity – November 9, 1538 Luther’s Works, Vol. 54 : Table Talk, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, Luther’s Works (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, c1967). 54:III-320.

1. It Will Humble You.
2. It Will Give You Opportunities to Witness.
3. It Will Give You Opportunities to be Ridiculed / Persecuted. Christ himself
4. It Will Change the Way You Think.
5. It Will Reveal Idols.
6. It Will Force You to Think in Ethical Categories.
7. Silence Can be Sin.

I’ve got to believe that nothing would profoundly change the focus, direction, praxis, and reflection of each Christian in this country than to stop asking the question, “How is it that good Christians can do bad things?” and start asking, “How is it that any of us can do even one good thing?” If that latter question ever caught on, we’d stop propping up Christian heroes who inevitably fail (and then suffer our public savaging) and start acting like humble servants who know our place. We would comprehend and embrace that each of us, should we stray from grace for even a moment, would be capable of the most vile evils. We’re lying to ourselves if we practice Christianity otherwise……..

Isn’t it about time we Christians stopped spending all our free time attempting to hide our clay feet, started living under grace, and actually extended genuine forgiveness to others?

A Clay-Footed People | Cerulean Sanctum

5:2 Shepherd the flock of God. The images of the leader as shepherd and disciples as a flock are important ones in the New Testament. See also Acts 20:28-30, 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9, John 21:15-17.

Q. Who have been some of the most important shepherds in your life? How do you think God was working through them? How did they point to Christ? What is Peter warning church leaders about? What guidelines does this passage provide for those in Christian leadership?

5:4 Chief Shepherd appears. The Chief Shepherd is Jesus Christ. See also Isaiah 40:11; Zechariah 13:7; John 10:2-16; Hebrews 13:20-21.

5:5 submit yourselves. Submission is a sign of spiritual maturity. See also 1 Peter 2:18-3, 1 Corinthians 16:15, Titus 3:1-2, Hebrews 13:7-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14.

5:5 be clothed with humility. “Humility” is  “lowly mindedness,” an attitude that was often tied to the demeanor or slaves and other servants. Humility was not considered a virtue for free men by the Greco-Roman world. See also John 13:3-17; Proverbs 6:16-17; Proverbs 8:13; Isaiah 57:15.

Q. How do you define humility? How does your definition of humility compare to the biblical images? What is it like for you to be humbled? What is it like for you to be around humble people? Read Philippians 2:5-11 and pay attention to how Christ is humble. Who is Christ serving?  How does Christ’s humility effect you?

5:6 under the mighty hand of God. This is an Old Testament image of the power of God working in humans events. See also Exodus 3:19-20, Job 30:20-21, Ezekiel 20:33-37, Micah 6:8.

Q. What is it like for you to wait upon the Lord to act? What joys and sorrows can you identify from those times of waiting?

5:7 casting all your care upon Him. See Psalm 55:22.

Q. What anxiety in your life do you need to turn over to God? In what way does the promise in 1 Peter 5:10 give you encouragement?

5:8 Be sober. See 1 Peter 1:13 and 1 Peter 4:7. be vigilant.

5:8 the devil … a roaring lion. The Greek word for “devil” means “slanderer” or “accuser”. See also Psalm 22:13. In the time of Nero when this letter was written Christians were literally fed the lions as entertainment.

5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith. See James 4:6-10. The common language suggest that this was perhaps a common saying in the early Church. Although the two texts are similar there is a slightly different application intended in the two books. In James, the threat is poverty and oppression tempting people to retaliate. In 1 Peter, it is persecution tempting believers to abandon the faith.

5:10 restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish. These 4 words all speak of strength and resoluteness.

Q. Who is driving the verbs in the verse? Why is that important?

5:14. Kisses were a common affectionate greeting for close friends and relatives. The kiss of love, or ‘holy kiss’, is mentioned in the New Testament on several occasions – See also Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12.