Becoming Less

Devotion: Day 1: We Must become Less so that Christ becomes More (these next 5 entries are devotions I wrote for a missions worship team, but are some of my favorite devotions based on some of my favorite passages of scripture)

Psalm 34 says, “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.”

This devotion focuses on one central thing: We must become less so that Christ can become more.

One of the most incredible depictions of this comes from John the Baptist. John knew that his purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus—to get the word out. But he also knew that Jesus was the main man—that all people wouldn’t be saved through John and his great works and testimony, but that all people would be saved through Jesus. Read Mark 1:7-8: “And this was his (John’s) message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” Once Jesus came, and was baptized by John, John’s visibility decreases, and Jesus’ increases. That’s how we should be. We have a message to proclaim—and through the proclaiming of that message, we need to become less and Jesus should become more!

In a church as big as ours, and a congregation as diverse, how do we unite and work together—we who see each other in passing, but don’t collectively really KNOW each other?

Philippians is probably my favorite book of the Bible, and I believe it answers that question. Read Philippians 2:2-4:
“…make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Those are easy words to read and understand, but they are difficult words to act out! Stop with me right now. Pray right now that you would be able to place every selfish ambition and every self-interest aside. That’s no small task in our own strength, but God can purify our hearts and help us to focus on Him if we ask Him. Read on—Philippians 2:5-11.

If Jesus could make himself nothing, who are we to make demands or hold ourselves in high esteem? He made himself nothing….and became obedient to death. I never fully understood the depth of the words to the great hymn “I Surrender All” until my last trip to Cuba. I am terribly afraid of flying. We had to get from one side of the island to the other, and our only option was a Cuban plane. As we prepared for take-off, there were two stark reminders that I was no longer in control: 1. The “emergency rope” above us (we decided that was so you could hang yourself before the plane crashed because there certainly was no place to climb to!!!) and 2. The smoke and exhaust that filled the cabin as we took off. I remember singing that song to God, thinking He really did have a sense of humor. But I remember saying to Him, “Okay…if we die on this plane, I’m okay with that. That means that you have accomplished everything you needed to accomplish through me. I don’t think you have (hint, hint), but I want you to know that I truly do surrender all to you right now.” You can’t help but laugh a little with God when you’re in a situation like that. Things were TOTALLY out of my hands, and TOTALLY in His.

God’s not asking us to risk our lives on a daily basis—thank God we live in a free society. He’s asking us to take a much more challenging risk. He’s asking us to surrender—to make ourselves nothing so that His glory can be revealed…so that His purposes can be achieved. We must become less, so that He can become more. Read that passage again: Philippians 2:5-11—it’s the Gospel message in a nutshell. Bask in those wonderful words of who Jesus is!

Every knee WILL bow, and every tongue WILL confess—one day. But we need to share the joy now! People who choose later miss out on so much joy, and so much LIFE! It is up to us to share His love and His life with the lost. It is up to us to bask in His glory with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Read Philippians 2:12-16

What powerful words in verse 16 – “as you hold out the word of life…”

We are “stars”, shining. …Perhaps the only stars some of the people we encounter will ever see! Start off this journey right. Surrender every expectation, every opinion, every selfish desire, every comfort to the Lord. Turn it over to Him. Let’s make the commitment to fade into the background, leaving only God’s Glory, Love and Truth to shine!

Finally, trust Him—He’s been working way ahead of us!!!!!

God, help us to do nothing out of our own agendas. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on You. Place Your hand on us this very moment. Make Your presence known. We humble ourselves before You. We desire to be Your obedient servants. We surrender all to you, and know that we are in Your precious hands. Please, take what little we have to offer and multiply it to Your Kingdom. May the love of Christ radiate from our faces, our hearts, our voices, our instruments. Lord, we are Yours. Use us. Accomplish what You desire through us in this world. Here am I, send me!