Pride goes before destruction And a haughty spirit before a fall.
Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

He who heeds the word wisely will find good,
And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.

The wise in heart will be called prudent,
And sweetness of the lips increase learning.

Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it.
But the correction of fools is folly.

The heart of the wise teaches his mouth,
And adds learning to his lips.

Pleasant words are like a honycomb,
Sweetness to the soul & health to the bones.

There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.

The person who labors, labors for himself,
For his hungry mouth drives him on.

An ungodly man digs up evil,
And it is on his lips like a burning fire.
And a whisperer separates the best of friends.
A violent man entices his neighbor,
And leads in a way that is not good.
He winks his eye to devise perverse things;
He purses his lips & brings about evil.

The silver haired head is a crown of glory,
If it is found in the way of righteousness.

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD.
Proverbs 16:18-33 (nkjv)

This is the middle verse in the of the entire book of Proverbs ( speaking of Prov 16:18, from this chapter )
& in view of the obviously structure of the original verse divisons all through the Book of Proverbs. It may
well have been divinely designed this way.
In any case, the sin of pride is so deadly, it is appropriate that the sole purpose is to give a heed of warning ( or a "Hey, watch yourself" ) concerning it should be placed here right at the heart of God's book of "True Wisdom."

The sin of pride was the main thing that casted Satan out of heaven.

"Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you."
Ezekiel 28:17 (nkjv)

It was the sin by which Satan led Adam & Eve to fall :

"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, & you will be like God, knowing good & evil."
Genesis 3:5 (nkjv)

It is always the "easily besetting" sin of Christian leaders, leaders/elders in the ministry, especially those who have been placed in leadership prematurely. Paul writes this ,about the Qualifications of Overseers, in his 1st letter to Timothy.

( for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? );
not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach & the snare of the devil.
1 Timothy 3:6-7 (nkjv)

Even Jesus was 30 yrs old before He began to teach.

But we got to remember that pride is not named as such in the Ten Words ( Commandments ), in reality it is implied in the very 1st one.

"You shall have no other god's before Me."
Genesis 20:3 (nkjv)

The essence is of all false religion is humanistic- meaning those who are worshipping & false idols, men, the creation rather than the Creator, & or believing in yourself or on your own ability or power.

Here is what happens ,of the failure to glorify Go

"Professing to be wise, they became fools, & changed changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man-& birds & four-footed animals & creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who blessed forever.
Amen.
Romans 1:22-25 (nkjv)

Pride & unbelief are 2 sides of the same coin. When men & women decide to or refuse the word of God, their Creator, it is fundamentally because they want their own "god's,"as did Adam & Eve. Human pride is the hidden root of humanism.

"casting down arguments & every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
1 Corinthians 10:5 (nkjv)

It is the very sinful nature that we all inherited from our 1st parents Adam & Eve, because of their sin, we are all born into sin. We need to be careful, we need to guard against this secret sin of pride. If we don't, it would lead us to humiliation & defeat.

**** Johnny ****

"Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good & the right way."
1 Samuel 12:23 (nkjv)

Samuel had served the children of Israel as their faithful judge for many years, & the LORD had blessed them & their land. Even after his many years of service to the children of Israel, they began to want a king & pressed Samuel to get them one.

And then finally, Samuel anointed Saul to be their king, but both Samuel & the Lord Himself were displeased with their demands.
After all this, Samuel's great heart, for both the Lord & for His people, is revealed in the promise of our passage. Although he was hurt & disappointed, because he had led them successfully & justly his whole life, he would still pray for them & teach them.

This is a great example for Christian leaders (Pastors)
& workers today who, through no fault of their own, have been replaced by someone else.

Intercessory prayer is not an easy ministry in & of itself. Especially if our prayers are not appreciated by some of those we pray for. Nevertheless it is the type of prayer ministry that especially pleases the Lord, & that is more important than man's approval.

Paul says, this to young a Timothy in his 1st Epistle :


Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings & all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all godliness & reverence.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (nkjv)


Paul would even urge prayer for the emperor, Nero, who had imprisoned him & would eventually have him put to death.
Even Jesus had said that we should pray for those who despitefully use you, & persecute you.


"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor & hate your enemy.'
"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you & pray for those who spitefully use you & persecute you,
"that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil & on the good, & sends rain on the just & on the unjust.
Matthew 5:43-45 (nkjv)


Our Lord Jesus is the greatest intercessor of all. For when we sin (& all sin is sin against the Lord), He is our "Advocate with the Father"


My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 John 2:1 (nkjv)


In fact He is Interceding for us :


Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since
He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25 (nkjv)

Therefore should we not also be prayer warriors in intercessory prayer.

And Furthermore :

We have to make it a point in prayer to also pray for your Pastors & their families, because they also go through the hardships, get attacked spiritually. We have to be mindful of what the Lord wants to show us in prayer. Also intercessory prayer. Helps us to able to be faithful to our fellowship.
To be involved in intercessory prayer & pray for the need for a certain situation. And to be involved into this type of ministry & to even be in spiritual warfare during this, but one things for sure we got an Advocate in Jesus Christ...

Please always find time to pray.

Lord Bless

**** Johnny ****

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This a post from an awesome woman Laurie Ishii

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope."
* Romans 5:3-4 *

It has been said, "It's not so much what we go through but how we go through it." Many times when we are going through a "trial", we spend most of our energy on getting out of it, when I seems God has done so much to get u into it. Our life is supposed to be about godly, eternal things but sometimes the physical, temporal things get in the way. So God will allow the physical to be shaken in order to minister to the spiritual.
Additionally, God not only wants to cause us to grow spiritually through trials but he wants to reach others through (our) trials.

One of the results of a trial, according to Romans 5:3-4, is proven character. This word literally means "approved or fully weighted". This is something that is seen by others based on how we conduct ourselves over a prolonged period of time through various circumstances. It is easy to say I love God when all is good but when others see me go through hard times & still love God with joy in my life that gives our message substance & reality. So the question is, when we go through trials, do we use it as an opportunity to seek the Lord & allow Him to shape & mold us or do we spend it complaining & panicking?
That answer to that will tell us if we have approved character...

**** Johnny ****

"Not that I speak in regards to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, & I know how to abound. Everywhere & in all things I have learned both to be full & to be hungry, both to abound & to suffer need."
~Philippians 4:11-12~

In a personal manner the LORD can teach you or is teaching us already that our joy comes from Him. Satisfaction comes from Him. If we look to anything outside of Him to meet our needs for these things, it's not going to fulfill.

Wouldn't it be cool to look to the Source of all we ever wanted, all we'll ever need? God has given us examples to following throughout the Scriptures.

"By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward."
~Hebrews 11:24-26~

I HOPE THIS MESSAGE SPEAKS TO YOU FOR THOSE WHO READ...

**** Johnny ****