Stretch-out Arms

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… “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” --James 4:6 The single biggest obstacle between people and God is pride. So you and I must be diligent to always remain humble before the Lord – intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Intellectual pride is when people trust what they know, rather than living by faith. But Jesus told us to come to him like little children. It’s his desire that we be teachable, transparent, and open with him and with others. Social pride is when people want to feel important and try to surround themselves with the “in” crowd. But think about who Jesus’ friends were. They were sinners… people who were rejected by the religious system of their day. Spiritual pride is when people think they can somehow earn salvation. But they can’t! Instead, grace demands that we humble ourselves before the Lord. Today’s verse says it so clearly: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Please don’t let pride or any of its subtle forms keep you from knowing and following Jesus!   WE MUST BE DILIGENT TO ALWAYS REMAIN HUMBLE BEFORE THE LORD –INTELLECTUALLY, SOCIALLY, AND SPIRITUALLY. Angels by Jack Graham Walk through Scripture,  to reveal the truth about angels and what they offer us. Focusing on practical application, Dr. Graham separates fact from fiction and demonstrates that the main role of angels isn't to draw attention to themselves, but to point us toward Christ.

Stretched Out Arms

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:”
Jeremiah 32:17–19

The first and most visible evidence of the power of God that any of us experience is His creation. Despite the efforts of scientists and educators to convince people otherwise, there is proof of God everywhere we look in our world. The precise distance of the earth from the sun and the precise angle of the earth’s tilt on its axis are both required for life to exist. Change either by a tiny amount, and we would either burn up or freeze and there would be no life. Yet we are told to believe that it is all a matter of random chance over the passing of billions of years. How foolish! Jeremiah described creation as the result of God’s “stretched out arm.”
Recently as I was thinking on this passage from Jeremiah, I was reminded of another place where God’s arms were stretched out—in the death of Jesus on the cross. The nails could not have held the Son of God. A single word from the lips of the One who created everything by speaking it into existence would have freed Him. Yet that word never came. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

The amazing love God has for us is measured by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.