Christian Living on Selflessness

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Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, John 3:30, Ephesians 4:2, 1 Peter 5:5, Galatians 5:13

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.

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Wherever Help is Needed

Author

B. B. Warfield

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Romans 12:1, Matthew 10:39, 1 John 3:16, Ephesians 5:25

While written well over a century ago, this excerpt (from the great Princeton theologian) B.B. Warfield’s sermon “imitating the Incarnation continues to inspire the kind of life Christ calls us to: ...

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Free us, Lord, from our obsession with

Author

Walter Brueggemann

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 16:24, Acts 2:44-45, James 2:14-17, Mark 10:43-45, 1 John 3:17-18, John 13:14-15, Isaiah 58:6-7

Free us, Lord, from our obsession with ourselves long enough to care for others; to be so concerned about the well-being of the human community that me don’t have to worry about our place, our church,...

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Author

John Oxenham

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 4:8, Luke 10:25-37, Ephesians 4:32, John 3:16, 1 John 4:7-8, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love ever gives, Forgives, outlives, And ever stands with open hands, And while it lives it gives. For this is love’s prerogative, To give – and give – and give.

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Author

Pope Francis

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:13, Proverbs 19:17, Isaiah 58:10, Galatians 6:2, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-17

Like the Good Samaritan, may we not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer, but try to heal them with concrete acts of love.

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God of mercy, we ignore the needs of

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:35-36, James 2:15-17, Proverbs 19:17, 1 John 3:17-18, Isaiah 58:6-7

God of mercy, we ignore the needs of people around us all too often. We get caught up in our own issues and forget that there are millions of people who struggle for basic necessities on a daily basis...

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Sarah Smith of Golder's Green

Author

Eunice McGarrahan

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 3:18, Mark 10:43-45, Colossians 3:12-14, 1 Peter 4:10, Galatians 5:13

One of the most powerful expressions of humble, servant-like caring for others is found in C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce , in the character of Sarah Smith of Golders Green. Her quiet life of love tra...

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Author

Thomas à Kempis

Keywords

Humility

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:5, Micah 6:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, Philippians 2:5-7, Proverbs 27:2, John 3:30

Love to be unknown.

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Gracious God, your Son Jesus came not

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 10:45, Romans 12:10, 1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 5:2-3, Ephesians 4:32, John 10:11, Matthew 20:28

Gracious God, your Son Jesus came not be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He is our Good Shepherd, whose leadership is less about the love of power, and more about the ...

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Author

Alexander Pope

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2, Galatians 6:2, Colossians 3:13, James 5:16, 1 John 3:17

Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see, that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me.

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A Soldier's Sacrifice

Author

Source Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:2, 1 John 3:16, Philippians 2:8, Romans 5:8, Galatians 2:20, John 15:13

A chaplain was speaking to a soldier on a cot in a hospital. “You have lost an arm in the great cause,” he said. “No,” said the soldier with a smile. “I didn’t lose it–I gave it.” In that same way, Je...

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All: Gracious God, we have become

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:31-46, Micah 6:8, James 2:15-17, Luke 6:27-36, Isaiah 58:6-7, 1 John 3:17, Zechariah 7:9-10, Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 21:13

All: Gracious God, we have become callous to those in need, holding back compassion yet unsparing with judgment. We defend our motivations, rather than using all you have given us to love and care for...

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Savior Jesus, we confess that all too often we are incapable of looking

Author

Jonathan Cornell

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 10:35-45, Philippians 2:3-7, Psalm 139:23-24, John 3:1-17, Mark 10:17-27

Savior Jesus, we confess that all too often we are incapable of looking beyond our own ambitions. We get wrapped up in prestige and position, leaving you behind for our own aspirations. Forgive our mi...

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Author

Thomas Kelly

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:10, Micah 6:8, John 3:30, Colossians 3:1-2, Isaiah 26:3

Humility rests upon a Holy blindedness, like the blindedness of him who looks steadily into the sun. For wherever he turns his eyes on earth, there he sees only the sun. The God-blinded soul sees naug...

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You have Called Me Brother

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:31-46, Galatians 3:28, 1 John 3:17-18, James 2:15-16, Romans 12:10, Genesis 1:26-31, Psalm 8:, Matthew 10:24, Mark 12:31

One day, as Leo Tolstoy, the renowned Russian author, was walking down the street when he encountered a man in worn, shabby clothing. The homeless man asked him if he had any money to spare. Tolstoy s...

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Author

John Calvin

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 100:3, Romans 14:8, 1 John 3:1-6, 1 Corinthians 6:19, Romans 8:15, Psalm 24:1, John 17:9

We are not our own: therefore, let us not set our own will as our rule, but submit ourselves wholly to God.

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A Gift That Requires Swallowing your Pride

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 5:8, Titus 3:4-5, Luke 19:1-10

Christmas is about receiving presents, but consider how challenging it is to receive certain kinds of gifts. Some gifts by their very nature make you swallow your pride. Imagine opening a present on C...

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Practicing Compassion

Author

Mark Scandrette

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Psalm 86:15, Isaiah 42:3, Isaiah 42:3, 1 John 3:17, Luke 7:13, Matthew 9:36, Colossians 3:12

Imagine making the shape of a valentine heart with your hands and holding it up to your face. That’s the posture of seeing with compassion. You might picture yourself looking through the heart at a pe...

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Caring Christians

Author

Ralph Neighbor

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 2:12, Matthew 5:16, Luke 6:32-35, Romans 5:8

Even if people reject the gospel, we still must love them. A good example of this was reported by Ralph Neighbour, pastor of Houston’s West Memorial Baptist Church (in Death And The Caring Community ...

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Gracious, almighty God, we think of

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 115:1, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Matthew 5:16, James 4:10, Proverbs 3:34, Micah 6:8, John 3:30

Gracious, almighty God, we think of John the Baptist, who was a faithful witness to you. He understood that this role was pointing people toward you and not himself. Yet we know that all too often we ...

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Author

Jeanne d'Arc

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 2:20, 1 John 3:16, Matthew 16:25, Hebrews 11:1, 2 Timothy 4:7, Philippians 1:21

Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing, and so they give their lives to little or nothing. One l...

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Author

Gerald G. May

Keywords

Love

Scripture

John 3:16, Romans 5:5, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 John 4:10

The invitation of love is not a proposal for self-improvement or any other kind of achievement. Love is beyond success and failure, doing well or doing poorly.... Love is a gift.

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Skutniks and Samaritans

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:36-37, 1 John 3:18, Hebrews 13:16, Proverbs 14:31, Matthew 22:39

If you have ever watched the President of the United States deliver the State of the Union Address in recent years, you know that at some point in his speech, he will point to the balcony and introduc...

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Christian Character Defined: John Stott

Author

Mark Labberton

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:16, Isaiah 58:10-11, Colossians 2:9-10, Romans 8:38-39, Psalm 16:11, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:11-12

As a study assistant to the Anglican pastor and writer John Stott during my early years as a believer, I witnessed John’s faithfulness in public and private, as a highly visible speaker and as a nearl...

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Scene Stealing through Pride

Author

Brian Dembowczyk

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:30, Philippians 2:3-4, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Matthew 23:1-12, Galatians 6:14

One of the cardinal rules of improvisational theater is that actors must never steal scenes. In her book Improvisation for the Theater , Viola Spolin bluntly puts it this way: “Any player who ‘st...

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Author

Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 58:1, 1 John 3:17

Both the Old and New Testaments indicate that caring for the poor is one of the primary indicators of saving faith (Isa. 58:1–12; 1 John 3:17–18). Doing nothing is simply not an option for a follower ...

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A Brother’s Sacrifice

Author

Anne Lamott

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:2, 1 Samuel 18:20, Ruth 1:16, 1 John 3:16, Romans 12:1

An eight-year-old boy had a younger sister who was dying of leukemia, and he was told that without a blood transfusion she would die. His parents explained to him that his blood was probably compatibl...

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Gracious God, our hearts are often

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Matthew 5:8, Romans 7:21-23, James 4:8, Ezekiel 36:26, 1 John 3:3, Psalm 73:1, Psalm 24:3-4, Matthew 15:19-20, Romans 12:2, Psalm 139:23-24, Titus 1:15, James 1:2-8, Matthew 12:25

Gracious God, our hearts are often divided between what is good and what is evil. Not one of us is pure in heart yet we long to have a whole heart.

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A Deeper Faith

Author

Bob Goff

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 John 3:18, Romans 12:15, John 15:12-13, James 5:16, Galatians 6:2

In his introduction to Scott Sauls’ Book, Irresistable Faith, Bob Goff tells a story about a summer adventure hitchhiking across New England, which would ultimately lead to staying with a hermit in Ma...

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Author

Amy Carmichael

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:7-14, Mark 10:17-22, Galatians 2:11-14, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, 1 John 3:16, Romans 5:8, John 15:13

If I fear to hold another to the highest goal because it is so much easier to avoid doing so, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

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