“‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God.”—James 4:6–7

I read an interesting article about how narcissistic our culture is today. It said, “A new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has accumulated data for the past 47 years from 9 million young adults, reveals that college students are more likely than ever to call themselves gifted and driven to succeed, even though their test scores and time spent studying are decreasing.

The article went on to talk about how because of Facebook and Twitter, everyone can act like they are a rock star. They can live in the fantasy world of video games as an Olympian or sharpshooter.

But then there are those who have a realistic assessment of themselves, and here is some good news: God can do amazing things through those people. In fact, God goes out of His way to find people like that—people who see their shortcomings, but also the greatness of God.

When Simon Peter saw himself in light of God’s greatness, he told Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). In other words, “Don’t waste your time on me Lord. I will only let you down!”

The people God uses are not proud and arrogant, but see themselves for what they are.

This gives hope to all the people out there who are not extraordinary, but ordinary.

• Those who are not necessarily the best students, class president, or on the homecoming team.
• Those who are not the first chosen for the team, but the last.
• Those who have not made the cover of People magazine’s “World’s Most Beautiful People.”

If we humble ourselves, examine our gifts and abilities realistically, and then hand them over to God to use as He pleases, God can and will use us for His glory.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10 NKJV).

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. —Romans 12:5

When someone loses a loved one, perhaps a grandparent, a parent, a spouse, or even a child, where does that person usually turn? Many people will turn to the church. Even if they aren’t a part of the church, they often will come to the church looking for help. And they find help and solace there.

Think of the ways that God has met your needs through the church over the years. When you needed direction in life, where did you find it? You found it at church. Maybe you were having problems with your kids, so you went to church, where the youth pastor intervened and helped you out.

And where did you find Christ? Chances are that you found the Lord in the church.

Maybe it was in the church where you discovered that you have musical ability. I am amazed at how many professional vocalists today have said they got their start by singing at church.

I met my wife at church. She was there with her two sisters, and I invited them all out for coffee afterward. The church is the best place to meet someone who loves the Lord.

Not only that, but the church is good for you physically. Scientific studies have shown that the blood pressure of people who attend church is lower than those who don’t.

These are not the reasons we should go to church, of course. We should go to church because it’s a place where we can draw closer to God. It’s a place where we can grow spiritually. It’s a place where we can give. And it’s a place where we can receive.

I know the church has its flaws. I know it has its shortcomings. But there is nothing out there like the church. It stands apart.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”—Psalm 122:1

I think we sometimes approach church more from the standpoint of consumers than communers. We may think of going to church the way we think of going to a movie: What time does the movie start? At seven? Well, they roll the trailers for the first twenty minutes, so we’ll get there at about seven. We’ll park and grab some popcorn first. And when the movie is over, we don’t want to wait for the credits to roll, so we’ll get up and leave.

We can have the same mentality toward church. Oh well, it’s just that worship stuff at the beginning. . . . I’ll get in late and maybe check my texts and e-mail while I’m waiting. Oh, and I’ll leave early.

But that is not the way to go to church. It is a place of worship, it is the house of God, and believers are the family of God. So we need to change the way we think about it. Worship is not the opening act; worship is prayer set to song. It is a time of communing with God.

And we should not go to church merely to have our needs met. Sometimes people will hop around to different churches because they like the style of music at one church or the teaching at another church. But that is actually not good for us spiritually.

We need a consistent place so we can get a consistent theology. We also need a place to be accountable to those who know us and can check in with us and help us in life—as we help them as well. We need a place to develop our gifts and serve the Lord.

The church is like an oasis of hope in a desert of hopelessness.

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. . . .

—Mark 16:9

Of all the people Jesus could have appeared to first after His resurrection, He appeared to Mary Magdalene. It is interesting to think about, because among the Jews of the day, the testimony of a woman was not held in high regard. In fact, some of the rabbis falsely taught that it was better for the words of the Law to be burned than to be delivered by a woman. Yet Jesus chose a woman to be the first herald of His resurrection.

It is also worth noting that women were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb. Mary had courage that many of the men did not have when Jesus was crucified. She stood by Him through it all. In fact, the Bible tells us that after He was crucified, Mary “observed where He was laid” (Mark 15:47). She watched as they took His crucified body from the cross and wrapped it and placed it in a tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. And Mary, along with the other women, was at the tomb very early on Sunday morning to demonstrate her love for Jesus by anointing his body with spices (see Mark 16:1–2).

And her love was rewarded. God said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God rewards the person who is diligent. And for those who will take time in their day to seek the Lord, for those who will take time to read His Word, for those who will take time to wait upon Him, He will reveal His truths to them.

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”—Mark 14:34

Have you ever felt lonely? Have you ever felt as though your friends and family had abandoned you? Have you ever felt like you were misunderstood? Have you ever had a hard time understanding or submitting to the will of God for your life?

If so, then you have an idea of what the Lord Jesus went through as He agonized at Gethsemane.

Hebrews tells us, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it” (4:15–16 NLT).

The Bible tells us that Jesus was “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3 NLT). But the sorrow He experienced in Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion seemed to be the culmination of all the sorrow He had ever known and would accelerate to a climax the following day. The ultimate triumph that was to take place at Calvary was first accomplished beneath the gnarled old olive trees of Gethsemane.

It is interesting that the very word Gethsemane means “olive press.” Olives were pressed there to make oil, and truly, Jesus was being pressed from all sides that He might bring life to us. I don’t think we can even begin to fathom what He was going through.

But look at what it accomplished. It brought about your salvation and mine. Because of what Jesus went through at Gethsemane and ultimately at the cross, we can call upon His name. Though it was an unfathomably painful, horrific transition, it was necessary for the ultimate goal of what was accomplished.

Maybe you are at a crisis point in your life right now—a personal Gethsemane, if you will. You have your will; you know what you want. Yet you can sense that God’s will is different.

Would you let the Lord choose for you? Would you be willing to say, “Lord, I am submitting my will to Yours. Not my will, but yours be done”? You will not regret making that decision.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. —1 Peter 5:7

Some time ago I was playing with my grandkids, and they were pretending to choke me—and I was letting them. They were having a great time. A few days later, my granddaughter came over and said, “Grandpa, I want to choke you again.”

I thought, I don’t really know if I want to do that again.

Worry does the same thing to us. It chokes us. The word worry comes from an old English word that means “to strangle” or “to choke.” It cuts the air off. And it’s hard to breathe when you are getting choked.

Life is full of troubles, and there are all kinds of concerns we have every day about our health, our safety, our family, and our finances. Yet Philippians 4:6–7 reminds us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

The next time you start to panic, pray. Maybe it is in the middle of the night. (Isn’t that when panic often strikes?) When that happens to me, I say, “Lord, there isn’t anything I can do about it right now. This is Your problem. I’m giving it to You. I’m going back to sleep, and I’ll see You in the morning.”

There is no good in worry; it doesn’t help anything. In fact, worrying is a complete waste of time. The Bible says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7). So don’t worry. Pray. And as you pray, it will help you overcome your anxiety and worry. Commit your cares to the Lord.

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. —Luke 18:1

Why should we pray? Here’s the short answer: because Jesus told us to. In Luke 18:1 we read, “Then [Jesus] spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

Of course, Jesus himself provided us with an example. Though He was God in human form, Jesus had a very deep prayer life. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). On the cross, Jesus started with a prayer: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

Prior to raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus first spoke to God the Father. Looking up to Heaven, He said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me” (John 11:42–43). Then He shouted, “Lazarus, come forth!”

Before Jesus fed the five thousand, we read that He looked up toward Heaven and asked God’s blessing on the food (see Matthew 14:19). And why did the mothers bring their little children to Jesus? So He would pray for them (see Matthew 19:13).

If Jesus felt the need to pray, then how much more should we feel the need to pray? He gave us an example to follow.

And here is another thing to consider. Even if prayer were extremely difficult, which it is not, even if prayer were very unpleasant to engage in, which it isn’t, and even if we never received answers, which isn’t the case, we still should pray. Why? Because we are commanded in the Scriptures to do so.