A Prayer to Cultivate Humility and GraceBy Amanda Idleman Bible Reading"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." – James 4:10 Read or Listen Below: God opposes the proud (James 4:6) and gives grace to the humble. This is a theme we see all throughout the scripture. We watch the Israelites wander because they want to do things their way rather than God's way. King Saul was taken from the throne because his pride stopped him from following God as King. Zacahiah's voice was taken when he heard that a son was coming because he was not humble enough to believe God was capable of giving him a child in his old age. There are so many examples of how human arrogance has frustrated the plans and will of God. God wants us to be open, teachable, and obedient people. When we believe we have all the answers and fail to trust God to meet our needs, his anger starts to rise against us. One thing God will not violate is our free will, and pride essentially tells God we don't need him. It’s a choice to be independent that he cannot undo until we humbly come back to him.  This posture separates us from God, making it impossible for him to lead us as our good Father. Our way without God is always the hard way, even if, in the moment, it seems better to feel in control. God is the only one who knows all things and holds all things together. Our efforts to force his hand and manipulate our circumstances only alienate us from God because he is the only one who has the power to take care of us with all grace and knowledge.  How do we remain humble so grace can abound in our lives? Humility starts with repentance. It's a posture that recognizes that we need a Savior every day. A repentant heart is one that is dependent on God's grace to cover its insufficiencies.  Humility is expressed through the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control are all ways that we show others God's goodness through our actions. When we seek to embody these fruits, we are living in alignment with God's way. Each of these fruits requires us to consider others better than ourselves, which is key to living with humility. Humility produces grace. When we start to see that we need God it's then we are able to see ourselves in proper perspective. It's almost impossible to be gracious when we believe we are superior to another person or to God. Humility gives us eyes that allow us to dispense grace because when we know how much we need grace, we see how much our neighbor needs it, too.  God's grace is available to us when we ask. We are only able to ask God with sincerity to meet our needs when we approach him with humility. Our needs show us our place in this grand universe God has made. He is the Creator, and we are the Created. It's not our place to dictate the terms of the Creation to our Master but to gratefully stand in awe of what he has done. Asking him to keep making beautiful things out of us because he is a beauty-making God. Goodness is his nature, and grace is his default. We never have to demand grace from a God who embodies love.  Let's Pray:  Father, help us live with humility. We know you show grace to the humble and we want to live our lives covered by your grace. Remind us when we want to grab for control that you are the only one who knows the beginning from the end. The only safe place we can be is under the shadow of your wing. Let us through the power of humility see ourselves in proper perspective, not considering ourselves better than others. Let us be givers of grace. Remind us that we can boldly come to you for all we need because you are good. Grace is who you are and we never have to wonder if you want good things for us. We thank you for your provision, your love, and your sufficient grace in our lives. Amen.  Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Suwaree Tangbovornpichet Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for My Daily Bible Verse Devotional and Podcast, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, the Daily Devotional App, she has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com. She has most recently published a devotional, Comfort: A 30 Day Devotional Exploring God’s Heart of Love for Mommas. You can find out more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram. Related Resource: Remember God’s Enduring Love for You in this Guided Meditation on Psalm 100! This guided Christian meditation from Psalm 100 will help you experience and praise God for his unending love for you. Become aware of God's presence with you, and praise God for his loyal and enduring love from the beginning of time and into the future. Listen to every episode of the So Much More Podcast on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode! Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below! The post A Prayer to Cultivate Humility and Grace – Your Daily Prayer – September 18 appeared first on GodUpdates.

Written by co-founder Syd Barrett, See Emily Play gave the fledgling Pink Floyd their first UK Top 10 single

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The Voice returns next week with country music royalty, “Queen” Reba McEntire, back as a judge. Not only do fans love her but so do her fellow judges. Gwen Stefani Gushes Over Reba McEntire—The “Queen” Of “The Voice” Coaches Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, and Michael Bublé were on hand to praise Reba in a promo for Season 26. As fans know, the Grammy winner is the reigning champion after Asher HaVon took the last crown. As Snoop pointed out, everyone loves Reba. People are drawn to her charm, wit, and sincerity. She’s so magnetic that the cast and crew dubbed her “Reba Magnet-Tire.” “I feel that there is a force that Reba McEntire has,” said Micahel. “When she turns, and she looks at you with those big blue eyes and that smile that lights up a room, it is hard not to get sucked into that tractor beam… She’s this nurturing, beautiful human being that it’s impossible not to love.” Gwen Stefani added, “I do know from working with her before that she is really good at hearing stuff that maybe I don’t hear.” Then, she continued, “And then later on, you’re like, ‘wow, you knew that’ because she is just experienced.” Gwen admitted that Reba is a threat to all of The Voice judges. She won the last season earning her the title of “Queen” Reba. In the video above, Reba also surprised everyone by getting down and doing push-ups alongside Gwen Stefani. And her form was impeccable. Snoop Dogg cheered yelling, “Let’s go, Reba, let’s go, Queen!” before telling Gwen, “You can’t outdo the Queen.” Talent, Personality, And Heart The Voice coach seems to be relishing in the spotlight of her new title of “Queen” Reba. While fighting for one contestant, she took her award from last season and walked up to her on stage to say, “I just wanna come up here and show you. You can hold it. And this is what it feels like to be a winner on The Voice.” While Reba wore a tiara and a sash Snoop Dogg confirmed, “It don’t get no better than that baby. All hail the Queen.” The source of the featured image is here. The post “The Voice” Coaches Gushes Over “Queen” Reba McEntire In Sweet Video appeared first on InspireMore.

Humans were not the only ones fleeing the tragic fire in Nevada. A herd of wild horses was caught on camera running from the flames, as well. While the reason these beautiful creatures fled was sad, the scene of the herd running together was quite majestic for everyone who witnessed it. Nevada Fires Send Wild Horses Fleeing Fox Weather reported that “a massive fire that burned nearly 6,000 acres in western Nevada” is what caused this herd of horses to find safer ground. The fire had gotten so bad that “more than 700 personnel were assigned to the blaze.” Additionally, the fire “was thought to have destroyed over a dozen structures” and caused a state of emergency. Local firefighters attribute a combination of dry terrain and winds to the fire’s ability to move rapidly and erratically. Fox Weather also shared that the latest U.S. Drought Monitor showed “the entire state of Nevada was dealing with unusually dry conditions with around 33% officially drought conditions, which can cause smaller plants to dry up.” When in drought, fire danger increases. Now, the estimated 70,000 wild horses in the Reno-Tahoe area are all in danger from these Nevada fires. The Internet Is In Awe Despite the solemn reason for this rare sight, the internet is in awe of this impressive herd of wild horses. ABC News shared a video of the event on its Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ABC News (@abcnews) The video was captioned, “A herd of wild horses was spotted earlier this month running alongside traffic while fleeing the Davis Fire burning near Reno, Nevada.” In the video, viewers can see the horses begin to run alongside traffic on a highway. Eventually, the wild horses make their way onto the street and move with the traffic. The threat of the Nevada fires is larger than the threat of the vehicles on the road. The herd casually makes its way down the road, even turning at one point and halting traffic. The comments of the event came rushing in. One user wrote, “I could watch this forever! Run my beautiful wild horses. .” Another added, “So beautiful. I hope they all made it to a safe place.” A third chimed in, “I’ve seen them many times over the years, truly spectacular.” Differing Opinions While many were swept up with the beauty of the wild horses, others were frustrated at the cause of their fleeing — the Nevada fires — and the lack of support these creatures receive. One user wrote, “OMG! I hope these beautiful creatures made it to safety. Humans constantly destroying their homes or slaughtering them for consumption. This world had gone MAD!” Another added, “For all those so concerned about these majestic animals, put that concern into action and follow then protest the Bureau of Land Management’s horrible, tragic wild horse round-ups. They’re left in holding pens, and many end up on the slaughter pipeline ” A third said, “First they battle government roundup by helicopter but NOW NOW wild fires… Please God watch over these beautiful animals.” It is evident that no matter where people stand on certain issues, everyone loves this majestic herd of wild horses and wishes them safety from the tragic Nevada fires. The source of the featured image is here. The post Heartbreaking But Beautiful Footage Shows Wild Horses Fleeing Nevada Fires appeared first on InspireMore.

Humility is expressed through the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control are all ways that we show others God’s goodness through our actions. When we seek to embody these fruits, we are living in alignment with God’s way.

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