Check your pride at the door

My SOAP devotional for 4/9

S - Psalm 5:4-7
4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
for you hate all who do evil.
6 You will destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.

7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.


O - The ultimate sin really is pride. God cannot tolerate ANY sin because it is against His very nature, and when we are too proud to claim we are without sin then that is really where the fault lies. For God is not about punishment, but this is for our own good. Why would we want a God that will pick and choose who He will save? Isn't it simpler to say that even while we are sinners, God in His mercy provided a way? And that way is to put aside our pride and worship Him with our whole heart, mind and spirit. (Luke 7:23 and Romans 5:8)

A - We must check our pride at the door. When we knock on God's door and He says, "Come in", it is because we have accepted that
1. we have sinned in some form or fashion
2. we cannot do life on our own, or become whole, without God
3. we desire to respond to God's gift of salvation in the blood of Jesus by taking a step without pride.

P - You are not a God created by human hands. You are not a God dependent on any mortal man. You are not a God in need of anything we can give, By YOUR plan, that's just the way it is. (Philips, Craig and Dean "You are God alone")