Humility (Chapters 5)

*I know this post looks long... but it really only takes 6 minutes or so to read. Hope you take the time to read and comment!*
Since finishing Humility last week, I have wanted to pick it up again, and read it over and over. It's that amazing! But I think I'll be moving onto Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, for reasons I'll explain later.
I'm kinda glad I didn't blog about the book while reading it, cuz it's a great "re-refresher" (as Shawn Spencer would say) to blog about what really stood out in the book. God has really used it in my life. I've been able to point out sin I didn't know was there, just living my life I've noticed I need a lot of help from Him who created me!

Chapter 5, As Each Day Begins, he talks about us starting our mornings off with putting our focus on God, and not what the day holds. C.J. gives a list of things that he tries to do daily to "weaken pride and cultivate humility". He gives this list not for you to have, but rather for "recommendations". He goes on to say, "But let me impress this on you: You should have a list. You should be purposeful about this. Each day you should be planning the defeat of your greatest enemy and cultivate your greatest friend."
1) Reflect on the wonders of the cross of Christ. He says this one is "the most consistently helpful item on the list." He gives a quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "There is only one thing I know of that crushe me to the ground and humiliates me to the dust, and that is to look at the Son of God, and especially contemplate the cross. 'When I survey the wondrous cross. Oh which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss. And pour contempt on all my pride.' Nothing else can do it. When I see that I am a sinner... that nothing but the Son of God on the cross can save me, I'm humbled to the dust.... Nothing but the cross can give us this spirit of humility." The following paragraph he goes on to say, "John Stott helps us understand why the cross has this powerful effect: 'Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to be saying to us, "I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying." Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.'"
2) "Begin your day by acknowledging your dependence upon God and your need for God. Purpose by grace that your first thought of the day will be an expression of your dependence of God, your need for God, and your confidence in God." This is something I fail to do. My mornings tends to look like this; hitting the snooze for the 3rd, 4th, 5th time I think to myself, "I'll sleep for 9 more minutes (till the next time I hit snooze)"...alarm goes off once again, "just 9 more minutes" or "I don't want to get out of my warm bed just yet". Or days I'm off, and Snuggs is still asleep, "when he gets up, I'll get up too." As you can see, I'm not a morning person... never have been. And because of that, it's very difficult to get up and have a quite time for me. Most mornings, I have to sit and drink coffee for 5 minutes or so before I can put my glasses on and read my Bible. C.J starts this section off with "How we begin our morning so often sets the tone for the day. I'm convinced that the most decisive ttime of our day is very often our first waking moments, because they color everything to come. Later he then gives another quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "Have you realized that most of your unhappieness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?" I can totally relate. And I know I listen to myself daily. We need to "acknowledge our dependecne upon God" first thing!
3) "Begin your day expressing gratefulness to God. 'Thankfulness,' Michael Ramsey reminds us, 'is a soil in which pride does not easily grow." Again, something I fail to do. I think I complain more than expressing gratefulness. He asks, "Are you a thankful observer of the countless indications of His provision, His presence, His kindness, and His grace?"
4) "Practice the spiritual disciplines - prayer, study of God's Word, worship. Do this consistenly each day, preferably at the day's outset, if possible. If we're properly motivated, this will be a daily demonstration and declaration of our dependence on God and our need for Him." A great book for this would be Spiritual Disciplines, also by C.J. Mahaney. It was the book our small group at Redeemer went through, and I found it very helpful. A book I want to read over and over.
5) Seize your commute time to memorize and meditate on Scripute. I don't really have a "commute" to work, but when we would travel an hour and a half to CrossWay and since I get motion sickness, I would listen to Sovereign Grace music, and worship on the way.
6) Cast your cares upon Him. This is something C.J. says not to do just in the morning, but through out the day. He gives the verse in 1 Peter, 5:6-7, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."
One of the closing paragraphs he says "I have to remember that whatever I feel buried under care, the real issue is pride and my self-sufficiency. I must deliberately and specifically cast my cares upon Him and thereby humble myself. Don't be mistaken. God hasn't gone anywhere. He's just as sovereign, just as good, just as faithful when I'm buried under care as He was in those early hours of communion. The issue isn't God. It's my pride, that resists trusting in Him through dependence upon Him. In fact, I should also recognize that all the cares coming my way are actually provided by God specifically for the purpose of cultivating humility in my life. I shouldn't act surprised when they come, because there's a reason. God wants me to learn to depend on Him, to need Him, and in the end to give glory to Him with an ever-deepening appreciation for the mighty hand of God." I want to depend on Him... what about you?