COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW, IN UNITY

 

1 Peter 3:8

 

"Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind." ESV 

 

Can we move beyond insisting on our own opinions and ways of living so that we can be free to live in unity with other believers in Christ Jesus? Can we make it a point to be more understanding and supportive of those who are spiritually weak and having difficulty in their walk? Can we be open minded with Godly discernment to those who are mature in Christ and look for those things that speak of the gospel of Jesus Christ? The Lord did not tell us He would unify us. He told us to be moldable in His hands toward our fellow believers so that we would choose to live in unity.

 

Lord, help us to set aside our own agenda and to become sensitive to our fellow Christians. Give us willing hearts to live in harmony with one another, without judging, but with understanding. We all stand in need of Your grace and mercy. In Your great name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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HAVE A PIECE OF HUMBLE PIE

 

Psalm 25:9

 

"He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way." ESV 

 

Without humility, we are choosing to make decisions and live by our own abilities. Because we are so limited in our knowledge and understanding of the Truth as a whole, we have no hope of staying on the path of Truth. We acceptingly stumble around in the darkness with the rest of the crowd. If we put on true humility, we give up our right to follow what we think is right, and we walk by faith with our Lord leading our every step.

 

Lord, we know we cannot know You and have true relationship with You if we do not have humility. We ask that You show us when we are not wearing our cloak of humility so we can get back to Your will for our lives. In Your name we pray, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

 

Matthew 5:3

 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." ESV 

 

Being poor in spirit is an attitude of humility toward ourselves that keeps us aware of our total need of God's grace and mercy. Without this attitude, we have no access to the riches of Christ. With it, we have the fullness of the kingdom of heaven right now.

 

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we become prideful and forget that humility is the cloak we wear that reflects Your glory. Be glorified in us we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE!

 

Proverbs 13:10

 

"By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom." ESV 

 

If we insist that we have the answers, that we need no further information, that we know all there is to know, we are close minded and full of pride. We can have our own beliefs, but if we listen to those that we know to be full of Godly wisdom, we will gain more than we ever thought or imagined. We are never so wise that we don't need more of God's wisdom.

 

Heavenly Father, forgive us for being full of pride and believing we have all the answers. Help us to surround ourselves with Godly people who are full of Your wisdom, and to have the humility to accept the Truth You so long to reveal to us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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HOLEY BUCKETS

 

Haggai 1:5,6

 

"Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes." ESV

 

The Lord gives us so many opportunities to be aware of our intentions and to examine ourselves. If we don't have a true, humble commitment to the Lord, the things we do for Him will be like putting water into a bucket full of holes. If we pat ourselves on the back when we do something good, that pat on the back is our reward. If we are dedicated to the Lord, what we do for Him is just second nature.

 

Heavenly Father, help us each day to examine our intentions, to be totally committed to You. Keep our hearts pure and humble in Your sight. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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THE VOICE

Mark 1:2,3

 

"As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" ESV

 

John grew, staying in the desert to prepare for his mission. He attracted crowds with the message of repentance and getting ready for the soon coming Christ. By the grace and mercy of God, He gives us a the message, a voice to open our hearts and minds to His plan. When John had used his heart and his voice to prepare those who would hear, he decreased. He dropped out of the limelight so the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, could be the shining Star.

Heavenly Father, we are so blessed with the gifts You give so that we can be witnesses to the Gospel. Forgive us for being so caught up in our successful ministries that we fail to remember who the only Star of this life really is. In His precious name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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LOWLY AND HUMBLE ENTRY

 

 

1 Corinthians 1:28,29

 

"God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." ESV

 

It was God's plan to have His Son enter humanity in a lowly and humble way. The lesson to learn here is that royalty and riches in the Kingdom of God have nothing to do with material things.

 

Heavenly Father, let this time we celebrate the birth of Immanuel, God in flesh, remind us of the important things in life. Riches and pleasures of this world are not what brings us true peace, joy, and eternal life. We bow humbly in Your presence and ask that we remember what is truly important. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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HAPPY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOTEM POLE

 

John 13:17

 

"If you know these things, blessed are you if  you do them." ESV

 

Jesus Christ spoke these words after having washed the feet of His disciples. Once we realize the significance of what He did that day, we will know that we are all on an equal footing with everyone else in the eyes of God Almighty. In fact, it is pleasing to Him and Christ-like for us to see others as more important than ourselves.

 

Heavenly Father, oh how short we fall of seeing ourselves as we truly are. We fail at accepting that we are not better, but equal to all other people. How much more do we fail at following Christ's example of considering others as more important. Forgive us and fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we will see ourselves from Your eyes and accept the gift of humility toward all of Your children. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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IT'S THE INSIDE THAT REALLY COUNTS

 

 

Isaiah 66:2

 

"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." ESV

 

The most elaborate and ornate churches, temples, and shrines are only impressive to the human senses. God is not impressed with them at all. After all, He made the awesome universe. What gets God's attention as the most beautiful temple, is the individual that is humble in spirit. One who grieves the sin in this world and gives total respect to the things of God.

 

Heavenly Father, continue to work with us on our perspective of what is really important. Help us to keep our human senses in control and keep our lives humble and in communion with You. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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IN A NUTSHELL

 

 

Micah 6:8

 

 

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." ESV

 

 

Often we sit and wonder just what it is we are supposed to be doing for the Lord. We pray and we do not get a clear answer. He has told us in His Word, in a nutshell, what we are to be doing. He requires us to be always fair and just, to long for and seek after kindness, and to live our lives humbly as we walk daily with Him. Such a simple request, but we spend our whole lives aligning ourselves with it.

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us everything we need to meet your requirements. Forgive us for not meeting up to Your expectations, but You know our hearts and we trust that You are working within our lives and surroundings to bring us to this place You want us to be. We pray in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

 

 

 

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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THE PRIDE SYNDROME

 

 

Romans 12:3

 

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." ESV

 

We can have pride and joy in those we love and cherish. This is a love great enough that we want others to share it with us. There is another kind of pride that God warns us about and it can destroy us. This sinful pride is an unrealistic, high opinion of one's own importance and superiority, whether it begins in one's own mind or in one's actions seen and known by others. If we have the fullness of the Spirit of the Lord within us, directing our thoughts and actions, we will never take credit for any good we do. But by faith, we will let it be known that without Him, we can do nothing.

 

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for allowing pride to enter our minds. Keep us from judging our worth on what we think we are and what we do. Help us to always compare ourselves to Jesus Christ and we will become friends with humility. We pray in the name of Jesus our Lord, Amen.

 

          

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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DIRTY BATH WATER

 

 

2 Kings 5:9-12

"So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, 'Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.' But Naaman was angry and went away saying, 'Behold, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?' So he turned and went away in a rage." ESV

We all have our pride and dignity don't we? Whatever our station in life, there will be a time, if not already, when the Lord will tell us to do something that is so beneath what we ever thought He would. After all, there are more "acceptable" ways God could have chosen to answer our prayers. Many Christians react the same way Naaman did. Obedience to God is what gives Him pleasure and causes Him to lavish us with His blessings. Often times obedience requires humility.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for our human pride and believing we are above doing the things we need to do in order to obey Your Word. Open our spiritual eyes to see ourselves compared to Christ so that we will eagerly put on the cloak of humility. In Jesus' name, Amen.

         

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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DO IT OR GOD WILL

 

 

James 4:10

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." ESV

To humble ourselves is to see others as more important. Being humble is thinking about ourselves less and about others more. If we refuse to humble ourselves, God will do it for us, because He loves us and desires for us to walk in humility as He did. If we walk in humility, He will lift us up.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for our self-pride. Help us to see ourselves as we really are so that we will walk in humility and thereby be pleasing to You. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

         

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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ARROGANCE

 

Romans 11:18   "Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you." ESV   It is human nature to become overly confident and proud when we learn new things from the Word and we begin to think we have great spiritual insight and maturity. We tend to walk with our heads held higher than others and notice how much less they know about God than we do. What arrogance! We cannot possibly know how mature and close to the Lord another person is. Nor can we think we have advanced far above those Christians in our circle of acquaintances. We are but grafted on branches that are totally dependent on the True Vine and live only by His grace. We cannot compare ourselves to others. If we remember to compare our spiritual status to that of Jesus Christ, the perfect holy One, we will find no reason to proud and arrogant.   Heavenly Father, forgive us for our pride and arrogance. Show us the root of this pride and give us the ability to get it out of our hearts. By Your grace, give us hearts of humility and love for all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Remind us that we cannot compare ourselves to others because that will result in pride. But help us to compare our lives to that of Christ so we will see how we truly are. In His name we pray, Amen.          ©2013 Daily Grace Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC drbobbijo@yahoo.com http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/ No Copyright Infringement Intended Personal Use Only

LOVE, UNITY, AND PEACE

 

 

Ephesians 4:2

"With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love." ESV

So many things in this life are unfair and it is a challenge to interact with difficult people. If we are walking in the Spirit of the Lord, we will be able to put our natural feelings of superiority, resentment, and impatience aside. We will allow His Spirit to work through us and make us peacemakers.

Heavenly Father, O how we seek to be gracious and merciful to others as You are to us. Forgive us for lacking patience and humility when others grate on our nerves. Help us to remember that we are someone else's challenge. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

 

        

©2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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HUMBLE ENTRY

 

1 Corinthians 1:28,29

 

"He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one could boast before Him." NIV

 

"And the base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and the things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." KJV

 

It was God's plan to have His Son enter humanity in a lowly and humble way. The lesson to learn here is that royalty and riches in the Kingdom of God have nothing to do with material things.

Heavenly Father, we confess that we are a people who think of material things, not just necessities, but things for comfort, pleasure, and status. Forgive us for being selfish and worldly. Search our hearts and place a hunger for the things of God rather than the things of this world. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

HUMBLE PEOPLE

 

 

1 Peter 5:6

 

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." NIV

 

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." KJV

It is a very humbling thing to take the lowest position in the kingdom of believers. It is so easy to make sure we're seen or to tell others about the things we have done for the Lord. If we lift ourselves up in front of others, that is our only reward and God will make sure we are humbled in His time and His way. God promises that He will lift us up in His perfect time. It is far better to humble ourselves now than to have the hand of God humble us later.

Heavenly Father, how far we are from being where You want us to be. Forgive us for our pride and put within us the desire to put You and all others first. Help us to see the humility Jesus displayed always while He was here on earth. We pray in His precious name, Amen.

       

©2012

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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OTHER PEOPLE SIN, NOT ME!

 

Mark 14:29

"Peter declared 'Even if all fall away, I will not.'" NIV

"But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I." KJV

Could it be that we see ourselves as more strong and mature spiritually than we really are? Haven't we found ourselves in the middle of such a thing that we would never have thought we would be doing? It is so easy to get to a place where we believe we can stand strong through any trial or temptation, or we may find ourselves believing that our loyalty to Christ cannot be tainted. But, the Word of God tells us pride comes before a fall. If we walk our spiritual walk with humble hearts, we will be more aware of pitfalls and understand when we need to get on our knees for God's grace to get us through. None of us are in such a high place spiritually that we are immune to falling.

Heavenly Father, we stand in need of Your forgiveness for our pride and belief that we are far too spiritually mature to fall and sin. Search our hearts and help us to see just where we are and where we need to work on our weaknesses. Help us to understand that we can fall from any level and that staying in prayer and in Your Word will keep us growing and maturing as Christians. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

       

©2012

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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FASHION STATEMENT

 

Colossians 3:12

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." NIV

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering." KJV

We can tell a lot about people by the clothes they wear. So many different styles and ways to dress. One thing for sure, most people wear clothing and would be embarrassed or arrested if they were caught naked. If we stop for a minute and look at the spiritual world, many people, including Christians, are spiritually naked. They don't seem to be concerned about it at all. God expects His people to be fully clothed spiritually so that we won't be ashamed when we represent Him to the lost in this world. The greatest spiritual fashion statement a Christian can make is being compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. These things never go out of style and look holy and majestic to our Lord.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for neglecting to dress spiritually appropriate. Search us and reveal to us the spiritual clothes we wear. Help us to never be naked of those things that You consider holy and pleasing in Your sight. Help us to be aware of how we dress spiritually and make us pleasing in Your sight. In Jesus' name, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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WATCH OUT FOR THAT DROP OFF!!!

 

2 Corinthians 10:12

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" NIV

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." KJV

Don't we all get a good sense of ourselves when we think we are doing well and our spiritual walk is strong? Actually, that is one of the most dangerous times for us as Christians. At those times, we tend to lose our humility and the reality that we have no strength at all, but the Lord's. The enemy loves to take advantage of these moments when we get off guard with thinking we are doing right well. We get a little too relaxed. Before we know it, we find ourselves at the edge of a cliff, the verge of temptation. If that doesn't get our attention, we will fall right off the edge. The Word warns us about this. If we remember that we only stand firm because our God is holding us up, we will be aware of just where the edge of the cliff is.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for those times we get proud of our spiritual walk and think we have it all together. Help us to keep on the cloak of humility, knowing You are our strength. Give us ongoing awareness of the cliff edges so that we can walk on solid ground by Your grace. We thank You for watching over us and we pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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