Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

June 16
Monday


STRINGS, RINGS,
TROUBLESOME
THINGS

READ:
James 4:1-10
_________________________________

Humble yourselves in
the sight of the Lord,
and He will lift you up.
__James 4:10
_________________________________

Ray Bethell is a world champion kite flyer. He can make multiple kites twist and turn in such precision that they behave as if they are one. As I watched an amazing video of Ray Howard Sugden, I came across a well-worn book containing the works of John Newton. Inside was a poem titled "The Kite; or Pride Must Have a Fall." The kite in Newton's poem dreamed of being cut free from its string: "Were I but free, I'd take a flight, / And pierce the clouds beyond their sight, / But, ah! Like a poor pris'ner bound, / My string confines me near the ground." The kite does finally manage to tug itself free, but instead of soaring highter in the sky, it crashes into the sea.

The analogy calls me to reconsider some "strings" that make me feel constrained. Vows. Promises. Commitments. Responsibilities. Although such things make me feel tied down, God uses them to hold me up. As James teaches, it is our willingness to be humbled (or held down) that God uses to lift us up (James 4:10).

Before cutting any string, make sure it's not one that's holding you up. __Julie Ackerman Link
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```````````Though I am His sheep, I'm still prone to stray,```````````
`````````````So Jesus in love sends affllictions my way;`````````````
``````````The lessons that come in this school of deep pain``````````
`````````will teach me to follow my Lord once again! __Bosh``````````
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A Christian rises against the winds of adversity.

***************Today's Bible Reading __ James 4:1-10*************

1 Where do wars and fights
come from among you? Do
they not come from your
desires for pleasure that war
in your members? 2 You lust
and do not have. You
murder and covet and
cannot obtain. You fight
and war. Yet you do not
have because you do not
ask. 3 You ask and do not
receive, because you ask
amiss, that you may spend it
on your pleasures.

4 Adulterers and
adulteresses! Do you not
know that friendship with
the world is enmity with
God? Whoever therefore
wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an
enemy of God. 5 Or do you
think that the Scripture says
in vain, "The Spirit who
dwells in us yearns
jealously"? 6 But He gives
more grace. Therefore He
says: "God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the
humble."

7 Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will
flee from you. 8 Draw near
to God and He will draw
near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners; and
purify your hearts, you
double-minded. 9 Lament
and mourn and weep! Let
your laughter be turned to
mourning and your joy to
gloom. 10 Humble
yourselves in the sight of
the Lord, and He will lift
you up.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

C. S. Lewis in The Joyful Christian has this to say about pride: "Pride
leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.
... If you want to find out how proud you are, the easiest way is to
ask yourself, 'How much do I dislike it when other people snub me,
or refuse to take any notice of me,... or patronize me, or show
off?' The point is that each person's pride is in competition with
everyone else's pride." __Dennis Fisher