Deliver me, O Lord

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, deliver me from;

the desire of being esteemed,
the desire of being loved,
the desire of being extolled,
the desire of being honored,
the desire of being praised,
the desire of being preferred to others,
the desire of being consulted,
the desire of being approved,

the fear of being humiliated,
the fear of being despised,
the fear of suffering rebukes,
the fear of being calumniated,
the fear of being forgotten,
the fear of being ridiculed,
the fear of being wronged,
the fear of being suspected...

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt. 111:29)
       

For Him, break your alabaster jar

[Mark 14:3-6] While Jesus was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard— very costly. She broke the jar, and poured it over his head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, saying, “Why has this ointment been wasted? For this might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor.” They grumbled against her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me."

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Don't hold on to your fragrance that is so precious to you. Break your alabaster jar and pour out all that is in it on the Lord's feet. Don't hold back anything. Give your all to Him. Surrender your ways to Him and embrace the path He has appointed for you.

      

Your dream in God's way

In my younger days, I dreamed of having power to lord over people. But as I grow older, wisdom taught me to fear the Lord, so I chose to live a life of servanthood under His lordship. And He taught me that the way to truly lord over people is to serve them in love.

[Mark 10:42-45] Jesus said to them, “You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be servant of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”