Praying for Humility?

I have often heard it said that one should not pray for patience, since the only way to grow in patience is to be placed in difficult situations in which patience is required! Murray writes of this same sort of thing with humility. I pray for it, but I am often frustrated by my lack of humility when the difficult situation calls for it. Murray has encouraging words for those who are are likewise discouraged:

"But let us not be discouraged! Let the discovery of the lack of this grace stir us to larger expectation from God. Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us as God's means of grace, God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the All of God, and the nothing of self, that as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God's power, only seek to serve one another in love."

What a wonderful attitude to keep in mind in every conversation. May God graciously write this on my heart!

Humility & Holiness

Andrew Murray writes: "The one infallible test of our holiness will be the humility before God and men that marks us. Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness."

The problem comes in my attempt to apply this principle. It seems to stem from wanting to be able to examine myself and know just how holy I really am. But if humility is the best test for holiness, then the problem is that humility doesn't want to be examined. The moment I fix my eyes on humility it vanishes. So I am left to test for holiness by somehow measuring it, and I'm not sure how to do that without being a proud legalist. So maybe I don't really need to know how holy I am? Maybe I just need to fix my eyes on the Holy & Humble One?

Christ's Humility & My Salvation

For a while now I have been pondering the words of Philippians 2:8, "He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross." While walking the earth Jesus Christ had always told death what to do. He raised the dead with a word. He spoke and death obeyed. On the cross Jesus humbled Himself and obeyed what had always obeyed Him. He submitted to that over which He had authority. I owe my salvation - past, present and future - to the humility of Christ. I love Andrew Murray's words: "His humility is our salvation. His salvation is our humility."

Andrew Murray's Start on Humility

I am enjoying Andrew Murray's "Humility", if 'enjoy' can be used of a book that is convicting you at every turn. Murray basically defines humility as an attitude of dependence. He calls humility the "glory of the creature". This is how he puts it:

"God is the ever-living, ever-present, ever-acting One, who upholdeth all things by the word of His power, and in whom all things exist, the relation of the creature to God could only be one of unceasing, absolute, universal dependence."

I think this is a good place to start. Murray will later unpack the attitude we usually associate with humility, that of being self-forgetful. But he starts with the relation of the creature to its Creator, and that is one of dependence. The essence of pride is independence, and once I have chosen that I have opened the door for every sort of sin. In contrast, Murray calls "the place of entire dependence on God...the root of every virtue."

A Family Guide to the Bible

When I first cracked opened Christin Ditchfield's "A Family Guide to the Bible", I thought I was holding something along the lines of "Talk Through the Bible" or Henrietta Mears' classic "What the Bible is All About". To be honest, I was wondering why the need for another book in this category. But as I perused the chapters, I realized this really is a "family" guide. Ditchfield has written her family guide in very user-friendly fashion. I could read this to my 10-year old daughter and she would get it.

The book begins with chapters on the history, authority and message of the Bible. It ends with chapters on how to study the Bible, a "Where in the Scritptures You'll Find..." chapter that directs the reader to various Bible heroes and "verses to help you..." and a chapter of Bible maps. In between is the heart of the book - a book by book survey from Genesis to Revelation. For each book Ditchfield lays out the usual facts about the book's author, audience, setting and story, which is a brief description of the plot. She gives five more categories of information that are quite helpful for teaching and application.

The Message: This is generally the longest section on each book. This gives a fairly thorough but to-the-point summary of the book. It ends with a "Key Verse or Passage".

More on This Story in the Bible: This helpful section gives each book's place in Bible history and connects it the rest of Scripture.

Words to Know: This is a family friendly addition that defines some of those difficult words we come across in the Bible. For example, the words to know for Malachi are 'covenant', 'profane' and 'refiner's fire'. Who couldn't use an easy definition of those words?!

Did you Know?: Ditchfield offers an interesting scientific, historical, cultural or doctrinal tidbit.

Making the Connection: This section connects the Bible book to an issue in contemporary society.

Think About It: This is a short devtional based on a particular verse or theme from the book.

Obviously, this book has a lot to offer parents and teachers who are trying to bring the Bible down to the family level. This book would be a welcome addition to your reference shelf for when you are preparing to teach on a particular book of the Bible, either in your family or in a kid's Sunday School class. You could even use it to teach a Bible Survey in those settings.

For more on this book and more book news, head over to Crossway's fantastic book blog!

A Grief Observed

I finished C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed" several days ago and I've been thinking about it quite a bit ever since. This book is a collection of notebook entries penned by Lewis after the death of his wife. In the introduction Madeleine L'engle writes, "I am grateful to Lewis for having the courage to yell, to doubt, to kick at God in angry violence. This is a part of grief which is not often encouraged." When I first encountered Lewis' yelling and kicking, I was not thankful. I was uncomfortable. I didn't want one of my heroes in the faith talking to and about God like this. I wanted him to grieve with sure and steady faith. My discomfort with grief and all that it brings with it was being revealed. As I finished the book I was grateful to have had my own faith poked and proded and my heart exposed.

I would offer one recommendation to anyone reading this book. Try to read it in one or two sittings. In doing so you will be able to better see the process of Lewis' grief. You will see that as the process of mourning unfolds there are still questions and doubts, but there are also honest admissions of immaturity and self-pity. You will see how Lewis looks back at earlier entries, written in deep darkness, and sees them more clearly as the sun was beginning to rise. His willingness to deal with his own questions and doubts is refreshing as he comes back to the same, solid truths that he held before and is able to approach them with eyes more widely opened by grief.

What He Must Be if He Wants to Marry My Daughter

In the very first sentences of "W.H.M.B.i.H.W.t.M.M.D", author Vodie Baucham lays out his goal for this book. Baucham seeks to kill two birds with one stone by laying out for parents a picture of what they should be looking for on behalf of their daughters and seeking to produce in their sons. I found that Baucham kills more birds with his stone. This book also helps men who are already husbands and dads be better at both. Baucham begins by laying out his vision for multigenerational ministry. This section is a great read! Thinking multigenerationally can be discouraging and sobering in its downside, but the upside is encouraging and hopeful. After a chapter explaining dad's role in the process, Baucham spends the rest of the book explaining the picture of a children-loving, Christ-follower who is prepared to lead like Him as a provider, protector, prophet and priest. Baucham is careful to say that parents should not be looking for a young man who is perfect, but who at least understands these traits and is moving in their direction. When you read this book, do not skip the conclusion! I found the author's insights into race and marriage quite valuable. This book is a Swiss Army knife of sorts - multifunctional and well worth owning!