The second counter intuitive principle Jesus taught is, we rise by lowering.
Luke 14:11 “For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.”
All my life, I was taught and encouraged to be proud. After all, it is the American Way. I was taught I could be anything I wanted to be and do anything any man could do. My family were the proverbial “bootstrap” people, you know the ones who pull themselves up by their bootstraps. By the time I was introduced to Jesus, I was the queen of pride. I didn’t even know that I was a sinner and that Jesus had paid the price for all my sins until I was 22 years old. It was a very hard thing for me to wrap my head around coming from the world of the self-made man. Kip and I received Jesus at a little home Bible study over 50 miles from our house, and the people there advised us to find a church close to home.
I remember when I first walked the aisle at that little Baptist Church to make a public declaration of my commitment to Jesus, I sobbed and wept my way up the aisle. Others probably thought it was because I was so broken by the realization of all my sin, the actual truth was more like I was embarrassed that the people I was walking up the aisle in front of would know I was a sinner . . . I was proud. But God was merciful and saved me anyway.
Our whole system is we rise by rising – fight your way to the top.
This runs cross-grained to everything Jesus taught, once again we find Jesus at odds with our culture.
Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be great will be the servant of all.”
So whose culture do we subscribe to?
Ephesians 2:6 says, we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies . . . we’ve got God’s perspective.
Take a seat and say God, how would you want me to be a servant?
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S. Courtney Lawson
Writer and speaker Sandy Lawson recently hit two Amazon.com best-seller lists with the new business book, "Transform," co-authored with best-selling author and speaker Brian Tracy.
Sandy Lawson serves as a Care Pastor at Element Church, in Wentzville Missouri, one of the fastest growing churches America. Sandy recently joined noted business development expert, best-selling author and speaker, Brian Tracy, along with a select group of the world's leading experts, to co-author the book titled, Transform: The World's Leading Entrepreneurs and Professionals Get to the Heart and Soul of Transforming your Life, Business & Health. The book was released on September 18, 2014 by CelebrityPress™ - a leading business book publisher.
On the day of release, Transform reached best-seller status in two Amazon.com categories - reaching as high as #6 in the "Direct Marketing" category. The book also reached best-seller status in the "Marketing and Small Business" category. Sandy contributed a chapter titled, "The Relationship Transformation...Taking Relationships From Terminal to Transformed."
Sandy Lawson has over 30 years of experience partnering with her husband, Kip, in family ministry and outreach. She's had the privilege of serving on staff at three mega churches prior to Element Church. In addition, she and her husband also had the honor of building the bus ministry of the Oneighty Youth Group at Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 400 riders weekly to nearly 1,500 riders each week.
Her biggest joy is coaching people in their personal relationships and helping them reach their God-given potential. She and her husband have helped hundreds of couples turn failing marriages into happily-ever-afters, as well as assisting parents in their quest to create healthy thriving families. In their career, Sandy and her husband have been a major influence in the lives of thousands of children, teens, and adults around the world. Sandy is the mother of three, and the grandmother of eight wonderful grandkids. She and her husband have been married over 46 years.
She is the author of a parenting book, "Parenting Through the Mirror" which explores the concept that great parenting must begin with personal transformation. She is also the author and illustrator of a children's geology book, "Iggy and the Volcano" that teaches kids the cycle of igneous rocks. Sandy is a freelance writer, speaker, blogger and was a major contributor to an internationally distributed children's curriculum.
After such a successful release, Sandy Lawson will once again be recognized by The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™, an organization that honors authors from many of the leading independent best-seller lists.
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