#819 - RECONCILED

Tonight, one of my dearest friends from my high school/college years from the Bay Area visited Las Vegas, and we were able to spend some quality time together, in conversation, for the first time in 10+ years.

It was life-giving. It was encouraging. It was a blessing.

I’m so thankful God made a way for us to catch up in the way we did. It had been a really long time, and in light of some ways in which I had previously said/did some things to hurt our relationship, he could’ve rejected re-connecting in the way that we did and I would’ve completely understood. God is so gracious.

Here’s one of my big takeaways from the night:

When reconciliation in a relationship is possible…reconcile.

Re-connect. Re-engage. Re-establish.
Apologize. Confess. Ask for forgiveness.
Make the effort. Invest the time. Try.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18

I’d rather exercise the humility required to make a relationship more healthy than live with the guilt of knowing my pride is what kept the relationship less healthy.

#818 - 941 DAYS

It’s been 941 days.

941 days since Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors played in an NBA basketball game.

941 days since he tore his ACL. 941 days it took to recover from both an ACL injury and an Achilles injury. (The Achilles injury happened while he was rehabbing from the ACL injury!)

941 days of missing the game you love. 941 days of sitting on the sidelines. 941 days of cheering for your teammates. 941 days without being able to contribute your skills to an actual game to help your teammates win. 941 days of watching others play and enjoy the game you’ve invested your life mastering.

941 days of persevering mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Then, today, Klay played.

I got emotional. I got teary-eyed. I was inspired.

The level of grit, character, and resolve required to work that hard for that long to return to the game of basketball reminds me of a principle I do not want to soon forget:

LOVE IS ONE HELLUVA’ MOTIVATION.

#817 - YOU ARE MOST LIKE JESUS WHEN...

You refuse to retaliate.

Today, I heard Rick Warren mention the above quote in a podcast.

For the rest of my life, I want this to be a character trait I that cultivate—a refusal to retaliate.

I refuse to retaliate when I’m wronged. I refuse to retaliate when I’m misunderstood. I refuse to retaliate when I don’t get my way.

Not because I’m a pushover. Not because I’m lazy. Not because I’m apathetic.

Simply because…

Vengeance is mine says the Lord.

#816 - A WORD OF CAUTION TO THE AMBITIOUS

Let them extend the opportunity.
Let them ask for your opinion.
Let them give you a seat at the table.
Let them provide the platform.

Don’t work yourself into the spotlight;
don’t push your way into the place of prominence.
It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor
than face humiliation by being demoted.
Proverbs 25:6-7 (MSG)

When you trust the leadership God has placed in your life, let them lead you.

They very well may be providing the protection from your ego, your unhealthy ambitions, and your immaturity that you didn’t know you needed. Instead of feeling insulted, praise God that you’re being insulated.

And in the case that they may not be making the right call on whether or not you’re “ready”…

I’d rather have my leaders have to answer to God for why they didn’t steward my gifts than for me to have to answer to God for why I felt the need to take matters into my own hands and rush the process.

#815 - AN OVERWHELMING NIGHT

Tonight is a night I will not soon forget.

I was “set apart,” prayed over, and commissioned with 3 other pastors to be on the directional team (Senior Leadership Team) for Hope Church.

Here are 10 quick reflections in light of this significant moment in my life…

  1. I am undeserving of and under qualified for this opportunity.

  2. God’s kindness and goodness to me is disproportionate to my faithfulness to Him.

  3. The purposes and plans God has for my life are far more satisfying than the desires and dreams I have for myself.

  4. When God moved me from Oakland to Las Vegas, I was, very likely, aware of, at the most, 10% of the reasons why He was doing so.

  5. When God decides that it is time for something to take place, everything bends to His will and nothing can thwart His plans.

  6. Seasons of harvest and joy make the seasons of intense sowing and difficulty worth it.

  7. Every previous season of leadership has prepared me for the next.

  8. This is the most exponential increase in leadership responsibility I have ever experienced.

  9. To whom much is given much is required. Or, as Uncle Ben and Aunt May are famously quoted as saying, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

  10. God is faithful. It’s all grace. The best is yet to come!

#813 - CORE CONVITION

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6

Who are you ultimately trying to please? From whom are you ultimately desiring praise?

The Apostle Paul’s answer was clear: God; not people.

He would not allow his ministry to be hindered by his desire to please or be praised by people.

But for me, the temptation is so real: Please the people so the people will praise me.

But as much of a temptation as this may be, I’m convinced, it’s way too temporary and small of a goal.

#812 - 22 REASONS I'M DISCONNECTING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA IN 2022

  1. To better steward my time.

  2. To limit my distractions.

  3. To force myself to invest more time cultivating actual relationships.

  4. To be more present with my wife.

  5. To exchange the time I spend scrolling feeds for thinking criticaly.

  6. To prioritize creating content over consuming it.

  7. To eliminate a potential pathway to sexual immorality.

  8. To free myself from the illusion that I “need” social media.

  9. To blind myself from how people are posturing themselves online.

  10. To prevent unnecessary comparison and envy.

  11. To reject a common way I’m tempted to self-promote.

  12. To remove the temptation of capturing moments rather than experiencing them.

  13. To reduce the influence of “the algorithm.”

  14. To decrease the amount of marketing messages I’m bombarded by.

  15. To enjoy a more quiet life.

  16. To experience the mental and emotional impact of being off social media.

  17. To focus on adding subscribers to my text updates rather than adding followers to my social media accounts.

  18. To create a beautifully designed monthly update for subscribers to my text updates.

  19. To drive traffic to edwardpaz.com.

  20. To make edwardpaz.com the hub of my online presence rather than my social media accounts.

  21. To re-think what I want my future social media approach to be.

  22. To obey what I believe the Holy Spirit is convicting me to do.

#811 - ON STARTING OVER

It takes humility to start over.

Prideful people don’t start over because they are obsessed with the idea that they should have never quit in the first place. Prideful people don’t start over because they worry about what people think about them trying again. Prideful people don’t start over because they are fearful of exposing themselves to the possibility that they might fail again.

Prideful people don’t start over because they are more consumed with the potential loss rather than the potential gain.

Humble yourself, start again.

BUT…with all this talk about humility, it must be stated for the record, it also takes humility to know when to quit.

#810 - NEW YEAR. NEW WRITING APPROACH.

Something every single day. Not necessarily long. Not necessarily profound. Not necessarily for anyone to read.

The goal is to think critically everyday about my experiences and publish a few thoughts.

I do have a conviction to write most consistently on the topic of humility, but I’m not exactly sure what that will look like or how it will flesh out.

All I know is that I must, once again, recommit myself to the discipline of publishing a post daily.

This is less about the content I want to create. It’s more about the person I desire to become.

I want to become a person who writes…daily.

#809 - INCREASE

Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance… Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)

…walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10 (ESV)

I’m often tempted.

To become complacent. To get comfortable. To be satisfied with what I already know.

I get lazy.

I don’t want to do the work of growing. I don’t want to put in the effort to go deeper. I don’t want to exert the energy required to wrestle with the truths of God’s Word towards the end of understanding them at another level.

But the admonition is clear…increase.

Increase in learning. Increase in the knowledge of God. Increase.

There’s more to know. There’s more to understand. There’s more to behold.

Don’t settle for less. Increase.

#808 - THIS WEIGHT IS TOO HEAVY

There is a spiritual weight that comes with spiritual leadership—a spiritual “weightiness” that comes with the responsibility for and awareness of (among many other things):

  • The salvation of souls.

  • The health of hearts.

  • The brokenness of humanity.

  • The opposition of the enemy.

This is a weight that is overwhelming. This is a weight that, if we’re not careful, can become all consuming. This is a weight that is much too heavy for me to carry.

Heavenly Father, please help your servants, today, carry this weight with your grace and in your power. In Jesus name, Amen.

#807 - FIRST PLACE ON THE WRONG LIST

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (ESV)

These six things the Lord hates; Indeed, seven are repulsive to Him: A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others]…
Proverbs 6:16-17 (AMP)

“Hate is a strong word.”

My mom used to say this all the time to us growing up as kids. Why? Because words like hate shouldn’t be used flippantly. “I hate school.” “I hate vegetables.” “I hate doing the dishes.” In those cases, hate is too strong of a word for not serious enough of a situation.

But unlike children, God doesn’t use the wrong word for the wrong occasion. He says what he means and he means what he says. God doesn’t exaggerate. Therefore, when God has a list of things that He hates, we need to pay attention. We need to know, he really does deeply detest and despite these things.

And what comes in first place on this list? Haughty eyes.

John Phillips in his commentary on the Proverbs explains haughty eyes this way…

We use a similar expression when we speak of a person “looking down his nose” at someone else. Pride is the father of all sin. The proud look is scornful and contemptuous, the person who imagines himself to be much better than others.

Haughty eyes is the sin of our day!

Politics. Vaccines. Masks. Social Justice. Abortion.

The problem isn’t that we hold views on these issues, the problem is how we hold our views on these issues. For most of us, we hold our views on these issues in a way that belittles, discounts, and even disrespects those who hold a different view.

OUR DIFFERING VIEWS AREN’T OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM. OUR POSTURE OF SUPERIORITY TOWARDS THOSE WHO HOLD DIFFERING VIEWS IS OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM.

This is haughtiness, and God hates it!

Consider this. With each of your views, you are very likely taking a particular side because you believe you are hating what God hates. But, if you are holding that view in a prideful way, God also hates the way you are standing for what he hates!

Are you aware?

God might hate racism, but he also might absolutely hate the way you are standing against it. God might hate abortion, but he also might absolutely hate the way you are standing against it. Position and posture. Both matter deeply to God. God hates haughty eyes. Recognize.

Please pray with me…

REVERENCE
Heavenly Father, we praise and worship you as God. You can love what you want to love, and hate what you want to hate. You are God. Thank you for making it crystal clear to us today that you hate haughty eyes.

RESPONSE
Forgive us for our arrogance. Forgive us for our moral superiority. Forgive us for not realizing that the posture in which we are holding our positions is just as important to you as the positions we are taking. We surrender every injustice and every “wrong” we see to you. Not our will, but your will be done. Your will. Your way.

REQUESTS
Give us humility. Give us a kindness, respect, and love for those who hold different positions than we do. Give us a desire to understand others more than desiring to be understood. Give us grace. Give us compassion. Give us empathy.

READINESS
Lead us not into the temptation of thinking more highly of ourselves, our positions, and our views than we ought to. Deliver us from the evil of an over-inflated self-importance that leads to haughtiness. Help us God by the power of your Spirit to stay humble. We love you and pray all of this in Jesus name, Amen.

#806 - GOD'S POSTURE TOWARDS THE PROUD

Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.
Proverbs 3:34 (ESV)

Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners, Yet He gives His grace [His undeserved favor] to the humble [those who give up self-importance].
Proverbs 3:34 (AMP)

I had no idea.

Every time I willfully ignored the commands of God. Every time I foolishly took for granted the grace of Jesus. Every time I arrogantly avoided the counsel of the Holy Spirit. Every time I ungraciously corrected a friend. Every time I selfishly didn’t consider the feelings of others because I was pridefully believing my feelings were more important than theirs. Every time I hastily disregarded feedback.

Every time. Every. Single. Time.

EVERY TIME I TOOK A POSTURE OF PRIDE, I WAS UNKNOWINGLY, NEGATIVELY SHIFTING GOD’S POSTURE TOWARDS ME.

About Proverbs 3:34 Matthew Henry comments…

Those who exalt themselves shall certainly be abased: Surely he scorns the scorners. Those who scorn to submit to the discipline of religion, scorn to take God’s yoke upon them, scorn to be beholden to his grace, who scoff at godliness and godly people, and take a pleasure in bantering and exposing them, God will scorn them, and lay them open to scorn before all the world. He despises their impotent malice, sits in heaven and laughs at them, Ps. 2:4. He retaliates upon them (Ps. 18:26); he resists the proud.

But this explains it.

This explains why, during the seasons in my life where I prioritized my pride, I lacked intimacy with my Heavenly Father. This explains why I could sit in a life-giving church service, but not feel the presence of God. This explains why everything I did always felt like striving. This explains why every pursuit felt like an uphill climb. This explains why the winds of life always felt like they were blowing against me…hard.

My pride was causing God to resist me. To scorn me. To have contempt for me.

Are you aware?

Are you aware that your pride and arrogance towards God and others pits God against you? Are you aware that at the exact point that you resist God, God resists you? “Towards the scorners he is scornful.” Recognize.

Please pray with me…

REVERENCE
Heavenly Father, we praise you for truth that clarifies. We praise you for truth that explains. We praise you for passages of Scripture that give us insight into your nature. You have resisted us, because we have, first, resisted you. We praise you for this revelation. We worship you as a God who reveals.

RESPONSE
Forgive us of this grievous sin. We repent of our sin of pride. We surrender our pride, our arrogance, our desire for our way, in our time, into your hands. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Not ours. Not ours!

REQUESTS
Open up our spiritual eyes to the spiritual reality that a posture of pride shifts your posture towards us. Help us to not be fooled into thinking that we can be prideful and not experience adverse effects in our relationship with you. Convince us Lord, by the power of your Spirit, that pride pushes you away. Convince us. Convict us!

READINESS
Lead us not into the temptation of thinking we know best. Lead us not into the temptation of disregarding your will and your way. Deliver us from our ego. Deliver us from the naïveté that minimizes the impact of our pride on our relationship with you. Help us Lord. Help us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

#805 - A NEW WRITING FOCUS STARTS TODAY

For quite some time now, I’ve had a deep conviction about doing some extensive writing on the topic of pride and humility. Though I have many fears, hesitancies, and insecurities about why I shouldn’t take on this task, I also have some compelling and convicting reasons why I should…

  1. Because thinking more highly of myself than I ought to comes way too easily to me.

  2. Because writing clearly about humility will require me to think critically about my own pride.

  3. Because if there was ever a time when I needed to be more on guard of becoming susceptible to greater degrees of pride, it’s now—when the platform from which I minister from has grown larger and opportunities for wider impact may become greater.

  4. Because I need to crystallize in written form, for myself and for the benefit of others, what God has taught me about pursuing a life of humility.

  5. Because not being able to get a handle on pride has been the reason why so many people destroy their lives and their ministries.

  6. Because I have experienced, in increasing measures, the blessing and favor of pursuing a humble life, and I want others to experience this blessing and favor also.

  7. Because one’s view and vision of God is directly proportional to one’s humility.

  8. Because one’s potential for growth is directly proportional to one’s humility.

  9. Because one’s potential for glorifying God is directly proportional to one’s humility.

  10. Because the spiritual pandemic beneath this viral pandemic is pride.

In summary…

Because I have, for too long, personally experienced the destructive effects of pride, I must, in this hour, thoroughly engage God’s clarion call to a life of humility.

With these motivations and convictions in mind, over the next month, each day, I will write a blog post with…

  • A scripture referencing pride and/or humility.

  • A personal reflection.

  • A practical application.

I encourage you to join me on this journey. Interact with me in the comments. Provide feedback. Ask questions. Let’s grow in humility together! First post goes live tomorrow at 8am…stay tuned!

#804 - MAUI DAY 7

  • Slept in.

  • Poke Bowl, Fish Tacos, and Volcano Fries for a late lunch. Decent.

  • Enjoyed the best shave ice I’ve ever had. Ululani’s. ICE HIT DIFFERENT!

  • Makena beach. Huge waves. Watching the locals bodyboard was pretty epic. They’re fearless.

  • Great final dinner at Monkey Pod. Poke tacos. Fish and chips. And a delicious ribeye with great jalapeño mashed potatoes and tasty greens!

  • So thankful and blessed to have these days away with my wife. God is so kind to us.

#803 - MAUI DAY 6

  • Loco Moco and Poke Bowl for brunch. Delicious!

  • Chilled at the VRBO.

  • Classic Katsu and Galbi plate lunches for dinner. Also tasty.

  • Windy 30+ mile drive to the Haleakala Crater. 10,000+ feet elevation. 42 degrees at the summit. Beautiful views. Incredible sunset.

  • Long drive back home.

  • Great night’s sleep.

#802 MAUI DAY 5

  • FREE breakfast at The Lanai.

  • Had to check out, but still enjoyed the rest of the day at The Westin.

  • Spent morning writing. Everyday Humility is not coming together as easily as I would like, but I have to push through.

  • Rested poolside. Nachos poolside.

  • Swam in ocean. DIDN’T lose sunglasses.

  • Drove back to Kihei.

  • Chicken over rice and fish and chips for dinner. Decent again. Still blessed and thankful!