Pride Comes Before the Fall – Embracing a Renewed Mind

Scripture Reference:

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." – Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)

In a world that places such a heavy emphasis on identity—whether it's physical appearance, mental fortitude, or emotional expression—pride can often take root. Our culture encourages us to craft identities that are seen, admired, and envied. We define ourselves by our success, beauty, intellect, or even by our struggles and the labels society offers us. While knowing who we are is important, there is a danger in becoming too fixated on our own sense of self. The Bible warns us that pride comes before the fall. It happens when our identity becomes so wrapped in ourselves that we leave no room for God to guide and reshape us.

The Danger of Pride in Identity

In this age of self-branding and endless pursuit of validation, pride can creep in unnoticed. When we focus solely on who we are in the eyes of others, or even in our own estimation, we risk becoming blind to our need for God. We elevate our own abilities, achievements, and personal identity to the point that God’s sovereignty is overshadowed. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that pride leads to destruction, not only because of arrogance but because it creates a barrier between us and the transforming work God seeks to do in our hearts.

Joyce Meyer’s Battlefield of the Mind speaks powerfully to the significance of controlling our thoughts and the war that wages in our minds. She teaches that the thoughts we entertain directly impact our actions and ultimately shape our lives. When our minds are filled with pride, comparison, or even insecurity, we allow the enemy to take ground. But when we surrender our thoughts to God and allow Him to renew our minds, we step into freedom. Romans 12:2 encourages us not to conform to the patterns of this world, but to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

The Power of a Changed Mind

There is incredible power in a changed mind. The world may push us to obsess over self-identity—over who we are physically, mentally, or emotionally—but God calls us to find our true identity in Him. The transformation begins when we take control of our thoughts and submit them to Christ. As we allow God to renew our minds, pride diminishes, and humility takes its place. We begin to understand that our worth is not in our accomplishments or in how others perceive us, but in being children of God, made in His image.

When we focus on who God says we are, rather than who society says we should be, our minds shift. We experience the freedom that comes from resting in His love, grace, and purpose for our lives. This freedom protects us from the downfall that pride brings. As Joyce Meyer writes, the mind is where battles are won or lost. When we discipline ourselves to think according to God’s truth, we find peace, victory, and purpose beyond the world’s definition of identity.

Taking Control of Your Thoughts

If you find yourself overwhelmed by society’s pressure to fit into a mold or define yourself based on the latest trends, remember that God has already called you by name. You are His, and He desires to renew your mind so that you walk in the fullness of who He created you to be.

How do we take control of our thoughts?

Daily Surrender: Start each day by surrendering your thoughts to God. Ask Him to guard your mind and to renew your perspective.

Meditate on Scripture: Fill your mind with God’s Word. The more you meditate on His truth, the easier it becomes to reject the lies of pride, fear, and insecurity.

Be Mindful of What You Consume: The media, conversations, and environments you expose yourself to can shape your thinking. Be intentional about what you allow into your mind and spirit.

Pray for Humility: Pride is a natural inclination for all of us. Pray regularly for a humble heart, recognizing that all you are and have is by the grace of God.

In a society obsessed with self, may we choose to humble ourselves before the Lord, knowing that pride leads to destruction, but a renewed mind leads to life and peace. Let us seek to find our identity in Christ, the only One who gives us true worth, and walk in the freedom of a mind that is set on Him.

Prayer:  

Lord, I surrender my mind and my identity to You. In a world that encourages pride and self-obsession, help me to find my worth in You alone. Renew my mind daily and guide my thoughts so that I may walk humbly in Your will. Keep me from the fall that pride brings, and remind me that my true identity is as Your beloved child. In Jesus' name, Amen.

4th of July Poem: Freedom's Call

On this day of freedom's call,

Amidst the cheers and fireworks' sprawl,

Let's remember the One who gives us grace,

Our Savior, whose love we embrace.

In the land of red, white, and blue, 

With hearts united, faithful and true, 

We celebrate the birth of a nation so grand, 

Guided by God's merciful hand.

As we honor the flag, so proudly unfurled,

Let's pray for peace that will traverse the world,

For on this 4th of July, we comprehend,

The freedom we cherish, from Him does descend.

So, let our joy be joined with divine delight,

As we worship, reflect, and shine His light,

In this blessed land, where liberty resides,

God's grace forever, our spirits guide.

God bless you. And God bless America!

War in the Spirit

There is a war waging. Many cannot see it, because of spiritual blindness. The darkness has covered the earth and the war wages on all around us. These are the times when we must have spiritual senses that are in tune with the Holy Spirit. Our prayer should be for God to give us eyes that see and ears that hear. We should also pray to receive the Spirit of Discernment.  It is going to take the Holy Spirit to help us discern good from evil.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that the gift of discernment can help us (1) “detect hidden error and evil in others,” (2) “detect hidden errors and evil in ourselves,” (3) “find and bring forth the good that may be concealed in others,” and (4) “find and bring forth the good that may be concealed in us” (“Quick to Observe,” Liahona, Dec. 2006, 19).

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

The hearts of men are corrupt and evil in this day, as if they are the walking dead. They move about from place to place as if they are wandering aimlessly.  Many come and go and it does not appear there is a reason for all the migration and movement. It appears to have no meaning or thought about the purpose of the journey from here to there. 

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. (Amos 8:12)

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, help us to be vigilant and watchful in this day and time on earth. There are many passages and warnings that we need to heed, in a world that is darkened with greed and many needs. I pray you soften hardened hearts so that we can perceive the leading of the Holy Spirit now more than ever.  Help me to keep my gaze fixed on Jesus and my ears ever open to Your Word of truth, for Your Word is life and light, health and wholeness. Thank You that You did not give up on Israel, and thank You that You will never give up on me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Understanding the Times

“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.” (1 Chronicles 12:32)

This chapter lists the numbers of men from each of the tribes of Israel who cast their lot with David in his conflict with King Saul. All these numbers are given except those of Issachar, but of these it was said that all their brethren followed their 200 leaders in turning to David. The reason for their unanimity in this decision was that these leaders “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” It was time to “turn the kingdom” to David, “according to the word of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 12:23). God had given them a Benjamite, Saul, as king for a time, but now David had been anointed, and it was the time to give “the sceptre” to Judah, according to the prophecy of their father, Jacob, given over 600 years before (Genesis 49:10).

How desperately we need leaders today who are spiritual “sons of Issachar,” understanding these times! Christ told the apostles: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons” (Acts 1:7); it was more urgent that they proceed to witness for Him “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (v. 8).

Nevertheless, He would return to the earth in some generation, and that generation should be expected (when they would see all these things) to “know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33). They could understand the signs, and even though they should never attempt to guess the date, they could “look up...for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28) when they would see “these things begin to come to pass.”

The signs are everywhere, yet few of our leaders—even many Christian politicians—seem to understand the real meaning of these times. Christ is “even at the doors!” HMM (Institute for Creation Research)

Good Affliction

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” (Psalm 119:71)

This seems like a strange testimony. Affliction is often accompanied by complaining or discouragement, but seldom by a statement of satisfaction and thankfulness such as in our text for today.

Nevertheless, in terms of the long-range goal of character development, afflictions are often good for us, helping to make us more Christ-like and preparing us for our ministry of service to Him in the age to come (Revelation 22:3), if only we profit from them and submit to them as we should.

“Before I was afflicted I went astray,” testifies the psalmist, “but now have I kept thy word.…This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:67, 50). Such testimonies have been echoed innumerable times throughout the centuries as godly men and women have drawn closer to the Lord through His comforting Word during times of affliction than they ever were during times of ease.

In fact, afflictions often draw even the unsaved to the Lord. They would never come when things are going well, but many do come when in times of sorrow or rejection they are forced to the end of their resources. It is then that “godly sorrow [literally ‘sorrow from God’] worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

As for those instances when God’s people suffered in ancient times, it was said: “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them” (Isaiah 63:9). Although no such affliction “for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11). (HMM - Institution for Creation Research)

 

God's Phone Number

Jeremiah 33:3 is known in the Enduring Word Bible Commentary as the promise from prison.  Our modern day prisons are true, but some today are imprisoned to debt, status, titles, sexual immorality,  and idolatry. We idolize and try to be live like those on reality shows. We spend money like we are on reality shows also. All who suffer from this imprisonment also suffer from anxiety, depression, and loneliness. 

This scripture is a way to begin again. Calling on the Lord and asking Him to show you great and unsearchable things you did not know is the first step towards freedom. Great and mighty things are spoken of in Jeremiah 33: 1-3. They are the great things that bring freedom and restoration.

Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, “Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know: God invited Jeremiah and all who heard to come to Him in faith-filled prayer, confident of His answer. This promise is especially remarkable considering the circumstances: enduring the terror of a siege and the soon fulfillment of promised judgment. As the judgment was even at the door, God spoke of word of hope and invitation and faith to Jeremiah and Jerusalem.  He is still speaking to you today.

i. “He cries to us, Call unto Me, call unto me. Little prayer, little blessing; more prayer, more blessings; much prayer, much blessing.” (Meyer)

ii. Mighty things: “The MT besurot (RSVhidden things) usually means ‘that which is inaccessible’, and here that which is beyond the normal reach of human knowledge.” (Harrison)

iii. “The things to be revealed are ‘unsearchable’ (basur, literally, ‘inaccessible’) because they are beyond the grasp of human knowledge. The principle adjective basur is used of the strongly fortified cities of Canaan in Deuteronomy 1:28 (‘walled up’); here it refers to matters so far beyond human insight that they require divine revelation.” (Feinberg)

God's number is never busy. He always answers. All you have to do is call and wait for Him to answer you. The first step is to surrender and then give Him a ring. 

The Power of One

God created one man, Adam, and from the one man one woman, Eve.

One act of disobedience caused all of mankind to suffer spiritual and physical death.

One brother, Cain, killed another, Abel, and caused the ground to be cursed.

One man, Noah, heard the voice of God and saved his righteous seed and animals.

One man, Abraham, believed and it was counted unto him as righteousness through faith.

One man, Moses, spoke with God and was used to lead a people out of captivity.

One prostitute, Rahab, had mercy on Joshua's spies and is in the lineage of the Messiah.

One woman, Mary, heeded and accepted the call from God and gave birth to a

divine seed called the Messiah Jesus.

One day on a cross and Jesus died or our sins.

One day in a tomb and Jesus rose from the dead and defeated sin and death.

One person can save their soul and live in eternity by crying out and asking Jesus to rule and reign in their life. 

One cry can be the difference between eternal life evermore and the finality of death.

One believer can preach by giving their personal testimony to a non-believer about the Good News of a Savior named Jesus who is a deliverer and life-giver.