page-0146-1 – We Love God!

1. Ask God to illuminate your heart so you can begin to see the fruits of pride in your life. Ask friends to point out the fruits of pride in your life realizing your heart is exceedingly deceitful. Be self-suspicious. 2. Ask God to convict you point by point (Psalm 139:23-24) and trust that He will. You don't want or need general condemnation, only specific, godly conviction. 3. Confess your pride to God point by point and ask for His forgiveness. Just as importantly, ask Him to cleanse you of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). 4. Don't ask God to humble you – the Scripture says to humble yourself (1 Peter 5:6). Humility isn't an emotion; it's a decision of the will to think and act differently. 5. Confess your sins of pride to those you have affected and to your friends. They can help to hold you accountable and bring the on-going encouragement and correction you will need. 6. Ask God to give you a holy hatred for pride and its fruits in your life. Be continually on the alert. Don't allow pride to grow in your heart. 7. Ask God to give you a love for anonymity. Encourage and serve others each and every day. Associate with the lowly. 8. Think much about God and little about yourself. Regularly study the goodness and greatness of God. 9. Live to promote the reputation of God and not your own. Be impressed with God – don't be impressed with yourself. Find your satisfaction in Him and not in your vain accomplishments. 10. Remember your war against pride is life-long. It is not a battle won in a day. But as you faithfully put pride to death and put on humility, you will experience greater freedom and more importantly greater conformity to image and likeness of Christ. In so doing, God will be glorified in your life!

Brent Detwiler