1. This week's Quiet Times: September 12-16, 2011
The Attitude of Christ: Humility & Pliability
MONDAY
A necessary factor to be able to
serve in the Kingdom of God
and grow to know the love of
our Lord is possessing a
moldable heart. The heart of a
disciple of Jesus is one that is
pliable. Look this word up in a
good dictionary and write down
the definition. It will be helpful
to look back upon the definition of pliability as we continue throughout the week.
Read Jeremiah 18:2-6. What do you think was the reason the Lord sent Jeremiah
to the potter’s house? How is it that we, like Israel, can be like clay in the Lord’s
hand? The desire to have a moldable heart comes from knowing that you are a
sinner and in need of correction (Ezekiel 7:20)! When you heed correction is when
you allow the Lord to mold you for His purposes. Write Ephesians 2:10 on an
index card and memorize it. Realize that you are God’s vessel, His workmanship!
Created to do and to walk in the ways of the Lord. Be like soft clay in His hands!
TUESDAY
The hardest thing to do when working on having a moldable heart is learning to
accept correction. When someone tries to correct you, how do you respond? Do
you show your annoyance at once (Prov. 12:16)? Do you turn away from
discipline, or do you seek it (Prov. 15:5)? Read Psalm 141:5. Doesn’t this make a
good memory verse? This is the attitude of a disciple, one who seeks after the
Lord’s own heart. Maybe you should begin to seek good rebukes rather than empty
praises! Write Psalm 139:23-24 on an index card and memorize it. Remember,
don’t be angry at the one who corrects you, be angry at your sin!
WEDNESDAY
Even our Lord had to be tested and perfected! What do you think His attitude was
throughout all this? Read Hebrews 5:7-9. How did Jesus learn obedience? What
was the attitude He possessed that enabled Him to be heard by God? Why was it
necessary for Him to be made perfect? The phrase "learned obedience by the things
which He suffered" does not mean that Jesus was ever disobedient but rather that
2. He learned through experience as a Man and through all His trials and tests, and
suffering what it meant to suffer and triumph in a way He did not experience
before the incarnation. His humanity was in this sense "completed," which is the
meaning of the Greek word translated "perfected" in this context. Would you have
trusted in Jesus if He decided not to be pliable in the Lord’s hand? Write Isaiah
28:16 on an index card and memorize it.
THURSDAY
When faced with correction, do you think about your will, or the will of God?
Have you trained yourself to act upon the correction or do you just react to it? Do
you want to get better or do you want to remain bitter? Read 2 Corinthians. 7:10-
11. What do you think is the difference between the sorrow of the world and the
sorrow that is godly? What does sorrow of the world lead to? What does godly
sorrow lead to? What other godly attitudes does godly sorrow produce? Does
worldly sorrow motivate you to be pliable? Write Ecclesiastes 7:3 on an index
card and memorize it. From the Believers Study Bible : “Sorrow tends to produce
a saddening reflection, while laughter may indicate a frivolous frame of mind. In a
serious mood, one is more ready to think reflectively about life. From this comes
the motivation for a purification of the heart.”
FRIDAY
You can be a servant of the Lord, only by having a submissive and pliable attitude.
I quote Matthew Henry: “Younger Christians are to submit to their elders, and to
yield with humility and patience to God, and to be sober, watchful, and steadfast in
faith...” Read 1 Peter 5:5-9. Why should we be submissive to the elder? Why
should we serve one another? Let your anxieties about receiving discipline and
correction drive you to God’s throne in prayer, rather than giving the devil a
foothold. Remember! The battle is against the evil powers that influence, not
against the people who are trying to love you! Write James 4:10 on an index card
and memorize it. “Submit yourself to God, for he is ready to do you good. If you
yield to temptations, the devil will continually follow you; but if you put on the
whole armor of God, and stand out against him, he will leave you. Let sinners then
submit to God, and seek his grace and favor; resisting the devil. All sin must be
wept over; here, in godly sorrow, or, hereafter, in eternal misery. And the Lord will
not refuse to comfort one who really mourns for sin, or to exalt one who humbles
himself before him.” -- Matthew Henry
