Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Heart God Revives

When I was cleaning, I found a bookmark behind the furniture.  
What timing.
He who formed my soul calls me back to Him, draws me to Himself,
loving me enough to show me how sinful I really am, 
in my heart, where only He sees.

On the bookmark, Nancy Leigh DeMoss has contrasted characteristics of proud, unbroken people who are resistant to the call of God on their lives 
with the qualities of broken, humble people
who have experienced God’s revival.

I encourage you to read each item on the list as you ask God to reveal 
which characteristics of a proud spirit He finds in your life. 
Confess these to Him, then ask Him to restore the corresponding quality
of a broken, humble spirit in you.

Proud People:                                                                 

  1. Focus on the failures of others                                          
  2. A critical spirit , fault finding                                              
  3. Self-righteous                                                                  
  4. Independent, self sufficient spirit                                       
  5. Have to prove they are right                                            
  6. Claims rights; have a demanding spirit                              
  7. Self protective of their time, rights, and reputation             
  8. Desire to be served                                                        
  9. Desire to be a success                                                        
  10. Desire self advancement                                                 
  11. Have a drive to be recognized and appreciated               
  12. Wounded when they are overlooked                              
  13. Think of what they can do for God                                 
  14. Feel confident in how much they know                           
  15. Self conscious                                                               
  16. Keep other’s at arms length                                           
  17. Quick to blame others                                                  
  18. Defensive when criticized                                              
  19. Work to protect their own image and reputation             
  20. Do not want others to find out about their sin                  
  21. Have a hard time saying, “I was wrong, please forgive me.”    
  22. Tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin               
  23. Concerned about the consequences of their sin               
  24. Sorry they got caught in their sin                                           
  25. Wait for other to ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding      
  26. Compare themselves to others and feel worthy of honor                        
  27. Blind to their true heart condition                                   
  28. Don’t think they have anything to repent of                      
  29. Don’t think they need revival, but everyone else does.   

Broken People:
  1. Sense their spiritual need
  2. Compassionate
  3. Can forgive much
  4. Esteem others better than self
  5. Recognize their need for others
  6. Yield the right to be right, Meek in spirit
  7. Self-denying
  8. Motivated to serve others
  9. Makes others a success  
  10. Desires to promote others
  11. Thrilled God would use them at all 
  12. Rejoice when others get lifted up
  13. Know they have nothing to offer God
  14. Humbled by how much they have to learn
  15. Not concerned with self at all
  16. Takes the risk to love
  17. Accept personal responsibility when wrong
  18. Open and humble
  19. What matters is what God knows
  20. Willing to be exposed
  21. Quick to seek forgiveness and admit failure
  22. Acknowledges specific sin
  23. Grieved over the root of their sin
  24. Genuinely repentant  
  25. Takes initiative to reconcile
  26. Compare themselves to the holiness  of  God and feel desperate for His mercy
  27. Walk in the light
  28. Have a heart attitude of repentance  
  29. Sense their need for a fresh encounter with God.

I confess that I identify far too much with the proud person. 
I want to change, be changed. 
Lord help me become one whose heart is truly revived!

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise.” 
Psalm 51:17

1 comment:

  1. Oh how I needed that just now! Thank you for sharing!~ tracyb

    ReplyDelete

Your comments and input are very much appreciate
- Blessings!
Julianne

Living Counter Cultural: Femininity

Popular culture has a decidedly feminist bent.  Recent movies, tv shows and prominent women  are displaying heroins as   to...