1 Peter 5:6-11

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.


1. We are a proud people.
2. We must choose to humble ourselves.
3. God has a due time planned for exalting us if we choose to be humble.
4. We have a lot of concerns in this world.
5. God wants to strip us of those concerns, because He loves us.
6. We have a tendency to NOT be sober and diligent.
7. We have an enemy.
8. He is hungry for our souls.
9. We must continually resist our enemy, and the only way to do this is through faith in God.
10. This enemy is after the entire family of God.
11. God is all gracious towards us.
12. God used Christ to CALL us to His eternal glory!
13. We will suffer for a while. Plain and simple.
14. God will use that time of suffering to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle. (Making all things work together for the good of those that love Him...)
15. He's the only one who deserves glory and has dominion!

Thoughts on being selfless...

1. The flesh must die continually in order to live a selfless life... It's a daily/hourly/moment-to-moment battle.
2. Do you keep giving and giving when you see need, regardless of what your own needs may be? Is that being foolish or is it trusting God to take care of you while you are acting as His hands and feet?
3. Selflessness is not only an action, but a way of thinking. If you're giving/serving/what-have-you, but you're not doing so cheerfully, it no longer is being selfless, but rather being prideful. (Yikes! I've definitely been guilty of that in the past...)
4. I wish that I was more selfless in the things that I say/do/think, but I've been a rather selfish person for the majority of my life. God's been working on that, but my goodness, how the sinful human nature loves to rear its ugly head! I'm so thankful that He continues the work that He's begun in us!
5. Praise God for HIS selflessness, in giving us His Son, Christ Jesus. Without Him, we wouldn't have a chance to even be COUNTED as righteous!

I don't know where exactly I was going with these points, other than the fact that I've been made more and more aware of the choice between selfishness and selflessness. Kicking my flesh to the curb is something that must happen continually, and I thank God that He's helping me every step of the way!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17