Tag: What the Bible says about pride in our lives

Bible Verse of The Day – 2-26-20

Jonah 3:2 (NKJV) 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”

Jonah was a frail, fickle human being, just like many of us.

What do we mean by that? Let’s take a look.

God had previously told Jonah to go to Nineveh and cry out against the wickedness of the people.

Jonah 1:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

But Jonah fled to another city, went aboard a ship and headed out to sea.

And to make a long story short, he ended up getting tossed overboard, swallowed by a large fish, and then getting vomited up onto dry land after spending 3 days in the belly of the fish and crying out to God in repentance.

Then God spoke again to Jonah, instructing him to go to Nineveh and warn the people.

This time, Jonah obeyed! He traveled to Nineveh and warned the city of the impending doom, just 40 days ahead.

Nineveh heeded Jonah’s warning and repented. And God spared them!

This was awesome news. Or was it?

Jonah was so upset with God for sparing them that he told God to take his life from him.

Jonah 4:3 (NKJV) 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

You see, Jonah was more worried about his reputation than he was about a city of 120,000 people being allowed to live because they had repented.

Even though God had spared Jonah from his own disobedient choices, he wished to watch the destruction of the great city of Nineveh, simply so he would look good.

Do we ever do this? Do we ever prefer ourselves over others when we see that God, in His mercy, has spared them from the consequences of their choices?

This can be a hard lesson for some of us. It can be hard to understand God’s mercy when we see it applied to others whom we were sure would be destroyed by the choices they had made and the things they had done.

But if God’s mercy is good enough for us, then it is good enough for others, too.

Let’s ask God to show us where we might be guilty of the same sin as Jonah; the sin of pride. Let us learn to recognize that God is not partial, and that He gives His mercy to anyone willing to cry out to Him.

Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-31-20

1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV) 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

It is impossible for God to work effectively through someone who is proud or haughty.

Yes, God can use them to a certain degree. But He cannot use them fully, since they have not completely submitted themselves to Him.

In some cases, if someone doesn’t voluntarily humble themselves under God, they will eventually find themselves in circumstances and situations where they involuntarily become humbled by those circumstances.

As we allow God to teach us how to be humble, we will find that He is able to use us more and more. And the things that He does through us will be more and more effective for His kingdom.

Is this because we become smarter or more intelligent? No, not really. We do gain Godly wisdom as we allow God to lead us.

But it’s mostly because, as we humble ourselves, we hear Him more easily and are more apt to obey His leading and His promptings. And this allows us to act based on accurate information that He gives us directly through the Holy Spirit.

If we were to remain proud and haughty, He wouldn’t be able to teach us nearly as much as when we are humble, because pride can cause us to think we know more than we really do. And that same pride will cause us to reject any kind of help that God or man might offer us.

Remember, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble!

James 4:6 (NKJV) 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-16-19

Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV) 2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

Have you ever had your mind made up about something, and nobody can convince you otherwise, no matter how much truth you see showing you that you’re wrong about it?

That is pride in action.

Pride is a destroyer of many things; relationships, careers, families, opportunities, and much more.

Pride can even destroy our destiny if we’re not careful. Look what satan said when pride swallowed him up.

Isaiah 14:14 (NKJV) 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

And did you know that stubbornness is actually a form of pride in many cases? Some people confuse persistence with stubbornness, but being stubborn can lead to much destruction if we’re not careful.

Every one of us has some amount of pride in us. We can appear to be humble. We can even think we’re humble. But if we let God shine His light on us, and we are 100% honest, we will begin to see areas in our lives where we are prideful.

And once we see it, we need to take action to let God root it out. It’s not optional if we truly want to live lives that are pleasing to God and fruitful for His kingdom.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 6-21-19

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

This is something we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

Pride can manifest itself in many different ways. Sometimes it’s blatant and very obvious. Other times it’s subtle and isn’t easily detected.

There is what some would call “worldly pride” And then there is “religious pride”.

Both are equally dangerous, even though they may manifest themselves in very different ways. And in the end, they are both of evil origins.

Pride can be present even in the lives of those who seem incredibly humble and soft-spoken. It just hides itself well for a very long time. Eventually, though, its effects will catch up with us and there will usually be consequences.

Thankfully, though, we don’t have to live with pride all of our lives.

Over the years, things will come along that will humble us. The question is always whether we recognize it ourselves and take the steps necessary to fix it voluntarily, or whether we stay prideful until something in life comes along and crushes us, causing us to become humble involuntarily.

You see, we can humble ourselves by giving our pride over to God. Or we can remain haughty until it catches up with us.

Luke 20:18 (NKJV) 18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

Needless to say, it’s always much easier and much safer if we hand our pride over to God voluntarily.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-28-19

Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV) 2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

We can all relate to being prideful at times and then having something take place that puts us right back where we belong. Sometimes it is a hard, painful fall.

Even though we may not like it or want it to happen, it sure does help us in the long run. If we allow the process to work itself out, we will come out humble, with a lot of wisdom.

Don’t be upset if things don’t work out for us when we are walking around all prideful and full of ourselves. Shame is bound to follow this kind of behavior and it is no one’s fault but our own.

Sometimes all it takes is to listen to those little promptings we get now and then. But, if we are on a roll doing what we want, we will often overlook them and continue to carry on down that road that will soon lead to shame.

If we could do one thing that will help us remain humble it would be to make sure we examine ourselves from time to time, keeping an eye on our attitude toward life and the people around us. It will usually show up pretty clearly in those areas first.

If we spot it, simply repent. Ask God to forgive us for our arrogant ways and to help us get back on track in doing what is good.

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 12-20-18

1 Samuel 2:3 (NKJV) 3 “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.

Arrogance is one of the worst traits we can exhibit. It isn’t pretty, attractive or impressive. It is quite the opposite.

Arrogance will land us in trouble. Oh, we may get away with it for a season or two. But it will eventually come back to bite us in one way or another.

God doesn’t want us to be arrogant. Arrogance stems from pride.

Arrogance: Excessive pride or self-confidence.

And here’s what God says about pride.

James 4:6 (NKJV) 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Let’s check ourselves and make sure we’re not being arrogant in any way. And if we are, let’s surrender it to God and let Him show us how to correct it.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 10-5-18

James 4:10 (NKJV) 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Humble (verb): to lower yourself (or someone else) in dignity or importance

Being humble is a big part of surrendering. If we are to truly surrender ourselves to God, we can’t do so if we are proud or haughty. We can’t do so if we have a high opinion of ourselves.

God has to come first, and we have to put ourselves beneath Him. And in many cases, He will also ask us to put ourselves beneath others. We can’t serve someone that we think we are better than.

If we need a perfect example of humility, all we need to do is look at Jesus. He was humble in every aspect, even in surrendering His life willingly, knowing that He had the power to do otherwise.

Mark 10:45 (NKJV) 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Pride is the opposite of what God has called us to. Pride is shameful and will keep us from fulfilling the call of God on our lives. Pride will destroy us if we don’t get a handle on it and remove it from our lives.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

So, if we desire to be lifted up, we need to let God be the One to do the lifting. He has promised to do so if we will just humble ourselves.

And when God does something, He does it right the first time. Amen

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 6-18-18

Galatians 6:14 (NKJV) 14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Self-confidence. Self-esteem. Self-assurance. Self-respect.

We hear a lot about all of these attributes these days. Self-esteem has become a big deal, even in the church.

While there is some merit in what is being taught, most of it is quite backwards. The idea of self-esteem is that we need to think highly of ourselves, have faith in ourselves, depend on ourselves for everything, knowing that we can do it all.

God has created us with skills, talents, abilities and much more. We do have a lot within ourselves. But it’s not because of anything we have done. We have these things because of who God is and what He has done.

What we do with what God has given us is totally up to us. God gives us the freedom to choose. But whatever we choose to do, we need to always be careful to give Him the glory and the honor for it. As soon as we start taking the credit for ourselves, we are headed for trouble.

So, what we need to remember is that it is through Christ that we can do all things, not by our own strength or understanding, especially relating to the kingdom of God.

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 And when we begin operating solely on our own strength and our own understanding, we will almost always end up off track, scrambling later on to fix our mistakes.

 Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV) 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 5-31-18

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Keeping pride out of our life is a constant battle. We have to be watching ourselves on a regular basis.

There are so many ways we can become prideful. We can be prideful about having a nice car, having well-behaved, smart children, having a large home or material wealth. We can be prideful about wearing name brand clothes, our position or our title, etc.

There are so many things that can make us prideful, but it doesn’t mean we have to be.

How do we fight this and win?

The first step is being aware of the fact that pride is lurking and wanting to take over. The second step is to keep a close eye on our attitude toward certain people and situations. The third step is to address our behavior or attitude if we start seeing signs of pride, even if it seems small and insignificant.

Pride of any type should not have a place in any of us.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-16-18

Luke 1:37 (NKJV) 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

When we finally realize that the “WITH” in this scripture is KEY, we will put the brakes on when it comes to trying to do things by ourselves.

We will find a rest within ourselves and stop trying to do it all. And no, it doesn’t make us weak to do this. Instead, it makes us stronger than ever. And the things we do will have a great turn out!

We need God in all that we do. And what we do, we need to do with Him, not FOR Him.

Sometimes we may hear statements like, “Oh, I did this for God today”, or things like “We are doing all this for God”.

When we think we are doing things for God, we need to watch out. It can cause problems if we’re not careful.

Pride can set in, and it can make us think that we are better than others. Honestly, it can cause people to want to run the other way. They don’t even want to be around us because they see and hear it in us.

When we do things for Him on our own, it is being done in and through the natural man, and with natural intellect. The natural man cannot handle spiritual things on his own. Without the leading and help of the Holy Spirit he will make a mess of things in a hurry.

If we want to see God move in any situation, do what He asks, but do it with Him. Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-8-18

Matthew 18:4 (NKJV) 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

One of the hardest things to do in life is to remain humble. It’s a constant battle to keep pride from growing in us.

Pride is the very thing that will cause us to fall and keep us from being great in the kingdom of heaven.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride is the opposite of being humble, and when we’re prideful it shows. We don’t have to dig too deep to find it. It is usually seen right on the surface of man.

A prideful person usually exposes themselves quickly through their actions and their words. They tend to be rude, arrogant and full of themselves. If a humble person listens to the talk of a haughty person they will quickly find themselves getting irritated.

A prideful person will not listen or let anyone else have the floor to speak. They will not follow anyone or their instructions. They want nothing else, but to LEAD. Prideful people like to have complete control over every situation.

How do we remain humble as the child that Jesus referred to, and become great in God’s kingdom?

We stop doing whatever we feel like doing and we listen to God’s instruction. We follow His statutes and His plan for our life.

Jesus hits pride hard in this one little verse.

Matthew 16:24(NKJV) 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

It’s the denying of ourselves and the following of His lead that destroys the pride that tries to take root in all of us.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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