May 20 – True Value Over False Glory

1
00:00:02,440 –> 00:00:05,800
Welcome to Bible Chat, where we
have devotional conversations

2
00:00:06,120 –> 00:00:11,160
rooted in Scripture and relevant
for today, May 20th.

3
00:00:11,600 –> 00:00:15,520
True value over false glory.
Scroll through any social media

4
00:00:15,520 –> 00:00:17,960
feed for 5 minutes and you’ll
start to feel it.

5
00:00:18,080 –> 00:00:22,000
That quiet comparison that
creeps in someone else’s

6
00:00:22,000 –> 00:00:25,320
highlight reel, making your
ordinary life feel not quite

7
00:00:25,320 –> 00:00:27,760
enough.
Someone getting recognition for

8
00:00:27,760 –> 00:00:29,480
something you worked just as
hard for.

9
00:00:30,560 –> 00:00:34,280
The temptation to cut corners,
to play a role, to do whatever

10
00:00:34,280 –> 00:00:37,640
it takes to get ahead or fit in.
Because the pressure to measure

11
00:00:37,640 –> 00:00:42,440
up is constant and loud.
Proverbs chapter 16, verse 8

12
00:00:42,640 –> 00:00:45,720
offers a perspective that runs
completely counter to that

13
00:00:45,720 –> 00:00:47,800
pressure.
Better is a little with

14
00:00:47,800 –> 00:00:50,480
righteousness than great
revenues with injustice.

15
00:00:51,000 –> 00:00:55,640
In other words, a small life
lived with integrity is worth

16
00:00:55,640 –> 00:00:57,920
more than a big life built on
dishonesty.

17
00:00:59,000 –> 00:01:02,360
That might not sound exciting,
but sit with it for a second.

18
00:01:02,960 –> 00:01:05,840
God is saying that the quality
of how you live matters

19
00:01:05,840 –> 00:01:08,680
infinitely more than the
quantity of what you accumulate.

20
00:01:09,720 –> 00:01:13,480
The likes, the status, the
achievements, none of it means

21
00:01:13,480 –> 00:01:15,880
much of the way you got there
compromised who you are.

22
00:01:16,880 –> 00:01:21,040
Second Corinthians chapter 10,
verses 3 and 4 remind us that

23
00:01:21,040 –> 00:01:23,600
the battles we face aren’t
primarily external.

24
00:01:23,760 –> 00:01:26,760
They’re spiritual.
For though we walk in the flesh,

25
00:01:27,800 –> 00:01:30,040
we are not waging war according
to the flesh.

26
00:01:31,080 –> 00:01:34,080
For the weapons of our warfare
are not of the flesh, but have

27
00:01:34,080 –> 00:01:36,360
divine power to destroy
strongholds.

28
00:01:37,000 –> 00:01:40,520
The real fight isn’t about who’s
more popular or who has more.

29
00:01:41,560 –> 00:01:43,160
It’s about what’s happening
inside you.

30
00:01:43,360 –> 00:01:46,720
The fear, the comparison, the
pride, the need for approval.

31
00:01:47,160 –> 00:01:50,480
Those are strongholds, and they
don’t crumble through willpower

32
00:01:50,480 –> 00:01:53,200
alone.
They crumble through the power

33
00:01:53,200 –> 00:01:56,880
of God access through prayer,
truth, and genuine faith.

34
00:01:58,000 –> 00:02:01,520
And then Paul says something in
Second Corinthians Chapter 11,

35
00:02:01,520 –> 00:02:05,160
verse 30 that flips the whole
idea of success on its head.

36
00:02:05,640 –> 00:02:08,960
I will boast in what pertains to
my weakness, not his

37
00:02:08,960 –> 00:02:13,120
accomplishments, not his
influence, his weakness.

38
00:02:13,480 –> 00:02:16,520
Because that’s where God’s power
showed up most clearly in his

39
00:02:16,520 –> 00:02:18,640
life.
He wasn’t performing for an

40
00:02:18,640 –> 00:02:20,760
audience or building a personal
brand.

41
00:02:21,800 –> 00:02:24,160
He was living as a channel for
something much greater than

42
00:02:24,160 –> 00:02:27,240
himself, and the proof of that
was most visible in his

43
00:02:27,240 –> 00:02:31,400
limitations, not his strengths.
That’s deeply freeing if you let

44
00:02:31,400 –> 00:02:34,240
it be.
You don’t have to have the most,

45
00:02:34,440 –> 00:02:36,800
be the best, or look the most
impressive.

46
00:02:37,320 –> 00:02:40,040
You just have to be willing to
let God work through who you

47
00:02:40,040 –> 00:02:42,880
actually are, including the
parts you’d rather hide.

48
00:02:43,960 –> 00:02:47,320
Your real story, your real
struggles, your real character.

49
00:02:47,600 –> 00:02:50,160
These are not obstacles to being
used by God.

50
00:02:50,760 –> 00:02:53,720
They’re often the very things he
works through most powerfully.

51
00:02:54,720 –> 00:02:58,200
True success, the kind that
actually satisfies, the kind

52
00:02:58,200 –> 00:03:01,600
that lasts, the kind that God
honors, isn’t measured by what

53
00:03:01,600 –> 00:03:04,720
the world applauds.
It’s measured by faithfulness,

54
00:03:05,760 –> 00:03:08,880
by integrity in the small
moments, by choosing what’s

55
00:03:08,880 –> 00:03:10,440
right when it costs you
something.

56
00:03:10,760 –> 00:03:14,120
That’s the life God calls us to,
and it’s a life worth living.

57
00:03:14,400 –> 00:03:17,920
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for

58
00:03:17,920 –> 00:03:21,680
reminding me that my worth and
my success are found in You, not

59
00:03:21,680 –> 00:03:24,720
in what I own, how I look, or
what people think of me.

60
00:03:25,760 –> 00:03:29,280
Help me to resist the pull of
comparison and the temptation to

61
00:03:29,280 –> 00:03:34,040
cut corners just to get ahead.
Teach me to live with integrity,

62
00:03:34,320 –> 00:03:37,360
to embrace my weaknesses as
places where your power can

63
00:03:37,360 –> 00:03:40,640
shine, and to trust You in the
battles that feel bigger than

64
00:03:40,640 –> 00:03:43,160
me.
Let my life reflect your

65
00:03:43,160 –> 00:03:46,360
righteousness, not for applause,
but because you are worth it.

66
00:03:46,800 –> 00:03:50,400
In Jesus name, Amen.
What if the battles hitting your

67
00:03:50,400 –> 00:03:53,640
family are not random and your
home can become a place where

68
00:03:53,640 –> 00:03:55,720
darkness loses every right to
stay?

69
00:03:56,400 –> 00:03:59,560
The Secured Home is a powerful
six book prayer series for

70
00:03:59,560 –> 00:04:02,200
believers who want to guard
their households with biblical

71
00:04:02,200 –> 00:04:05,000
authority, peace and confidence
in Jesus Christ.

72
00:04:05,640 –> 00:04:10,320
Book 1, Guarded Thresholds,
fortifies every doorway, room,

73
00:04:10,440 –> 00:04:12,440
and entry point with prayerful
protection.

74
00:04:13,240 –> 00:04:17,480
Book 2, Cleansed Rooms, helps
reclaim spaces marked by fear,

75
00:04:17,800 –> 00:04:19,880
unrest, and spiritual
defilement.

76
00:04:20,680 –> 00:04:25,360
Book 3, Closed Breaches, exposes
hidden access points and severs

77
00:04:25,440 –> 00:04:29,960
every agreement with darkness.
Book 4, Broken Assignments,

78
00:04:29,960 –> 00:04:33,680
confronts oppression, torment,
and attacks against your family.

79
00:04:34,440 –> 00:04:39,040
Book 5, Consecrated Walls,
dedicates every space and rhythm

80
00:04:39,040 –> 00:04:43,040
of the home to God.
Book 6, Abiding Peace, shows how

81
00:04:43,040 –> 00:04:46,520
to maintain spiritual order,
rest, and holy presence every

82
00:04:46,520 –> 00:04:49,640
day.
Order now on Amazon or visit

83
00:04:49,640 –> 00:04:53,840
prayerscripts.org.
Now I invite you to spend time

84
00:04:53,840 –> 00:04:56,360
with God in today’s three-year
Bible reading plan.

85
00:04:58,200 –> 00:05:02,880
Proverbs chapter 16, verse 8
World English Bible Better is a

86
00:05:02,880 –> 00:05:06,120
little with righteousness than
great revenues with injustice.

87
00:05:06,640 –> 00:05:12,200
Second Corinthians chapters 10
to 11 World English Bible Now I,

88
00:05:12,200 –> 00:05:15,480
Paul myself, entreat you by the
humility and gentleness of

89
00:05:15,480 –> 00:05:19,320
Christ, I, who in your presence
am lowly among you, but being

90
00:05:19,320 –> 00:05:23,760
absent and bold toward you.
Yes, I beg you, that I may not,

91
00:05:23,880 –> 00:05:27,120
when present, show courage with
the confidence with which I

92
00:05:27,120 –> 00:05:30,520
intend to be bold against some
who consider us to be walking

93
00:05:30,520 –> 00:05:34,120
according to the flesh.
For though we walk in the flesh,

94
00:05:34,400 –> 00:05:36,480
we don’t wage war according to
the flesh.

95
00:05:36,920 –> 00:05:40,160
For the weapons of our warfare
are not of the flesh, but mighty

96
00:05:40,160 –> 00:05:41,960
before God.
To the throwing down of

97
00:05:41,960 –> 00:05:46,520
strongholds, throwing down
imaginations, and every high

98
00:05:46,520 –> 00:05:49,880
thing that is exalted against
the knowledge of God, and

99
00:05:49,880 –> 00:05:51,760
bringing every thought into
captivity.

100
00:05:51,760 –> 00:05:56,200
To the obedience of Christ, and
being in readiness to avenge all

101
00:05:56,200 –> 00:05:58,480
disobedience.
When your obedience is made

102
00:05:58,480 –> 00:06:02,480
full, do you look at things only
as they appear in front of your

103
00:06:02,480 –> 00:06:05,600
face?
If anyone trusts in himself that

104
00:06:05,600 –> 00:06:08,640
he is Christ, S, let him
consider this again with

105
00:06:08,640 –> 00:06:12,440
himself, that even as he is
Christ S so we also are

106
00:06:12,440 –> 00:06:15,560
Christ’s.
For even if I boast somewhat

107
00:06:15,560 –> 00:06:18,720
abundantly concerning our
authority which the Lord gave

108
00:06:18,720 –> 00:06:22,240
for building you up and not for
casting you down, I will not be

109
00:06:22,240 –> 00:06:26,920
ashamed that I may not seem as
if I desire to terrify you by my

110
00:06:26,920 –> 00:06:30,520
letters.
For his letters, they say, are

111
00:06:30,520 –> 00:06:33,880
weighty and strong, but his
bodily presence is weak, and his

112
00:06:33,880 –> 00:06:37,520
speech is despised.
Let such a person consider this,

113
00:06:38,520 –> 00:06:41,800
that what we are in Word by
letters when we are absent, such

114
00:06:41,800 –> 00:06:43,840
are we also indeed when we are
present.

115
00:06:44,880 –> 00:06:48,360
For we are not bold to number or
compare ourselves with some of

116
00:06:48,360 –> 00:06:52,640
those who commend themselves,
but they themselves, measuring

117
00:06:52,640 –> 00:06:55,440
themselves by themselves, and
comparing themselves with

118
00:06:55,440 –> 00:06:57,520
themselves, are without
understanding.

119
00:06:58,560 –> 00:07:01,800
But we will not boast beyond
proper limits, but within the

120
00:07:01,800 –> 00:07:04,800
boundaries with which God
appointed to us, which reach

121
00:07:04,800 –> 00:07:07,720
even to you.
For we don’t stretch ourselves

122
00:07:07,720 –> 00:07:09,880
too much, as though we didn’t
reach to you.

123
00:07:10,960 –> 00:07:13,720
For we came even as far as to
you with the good news of

124
00:07:13,720 –> 00:07:17,320
Christ, not boasting beyond
proper limits in other men’s

125
00:07:17,320 –> 00:07:21,920
laborers, but having hope that
as your faith grows, we will be

126
00:07:21,920 –> 00:07:25,560
abundantly enlarged by you in
our sphere of influence, so as

127
00:07:25,560 –> 00:07:28,240
to preach the good news even to
the parts beyond you.

128
00:07:28,680 –> 00:07:31,280
Not to boast in what someone
else has already done.

129
00:07:32,320 –> 00:07:34,760
But he who boasts, let him boast
in the Lord.

130
00:07:35,320 –> 00:07:38,160
For it isn’t he who commends
himself who is approved, but

131
00:07:38,160 –> 00:07:41,760
whom the Lord commends.
I wish that you would bear with

132
00:07:41,760 –> 00:07:45,960
me in a little foolishness, but
indeed you do bear with me, for

133
00:07:45,960 –> 00:07:48,320
I am jealous over you with a
godly jealousy.

134
00:07:49,320 –> 00:07:52,280
For I married you to one
husband, that I might present

135
00:07:52,280 –> 00:07:57,320
you as a pure virgin to Christ.
But I am afraid that somehow, as

136
00:07:57,320 –> 00:08:01,120
the serpent deceived Eve in his
craftiness, so your minds might

137
00:08:01,120 –> 00:08:03,720
be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ.

138
00:08:04,720 –> 00:08:07,960
For if he who comes preaches
another Jesus whom we didn’t

139
00:08:07,960 –> 00:08:11,000
preach, or if you receive a
different spirit which you

140
00:08:11,000 –> 00:08:14,400
didn’t receive, or a different
good news which you didn’t

141
00:08:14,400 –> 00:08:17,440
accept, you put up with that
well enough.

142
00:08:18,480 –> 00:08:21,200
For I reckon that I am not at
all behind the very best

143
00:08:21,200 –> 00:08:23,880
apostles.
But though I am unskilled in

144
00:08:23,880 –> 00:08:26,680
speech, yet I am not unskilled
in knowledge.

145
00:08:27,160 –> 00:08:29,600
No, in every way.
We have been revealed to you in

146
00:08:29,600 –> 00:08:32,679
all things.
Or did I commit a sin in

147
00:08:32,679 –> 00:08:36,240
humbling myself that you might
be exalted because I preached to

148
00:08:36,240 –> 00:08:38,280
you God’s good news free of
charge?

149
00:08:38,840 –> 00:08:42,039
I robbed other assemblies,
taking wages from them that I

150
00:08:42,039 –> 00:08:45,400
might serve you.
When I was present with you and

151
00:08:45,400 –> 00:08:49,160
was in need, I wasn’t a burden
on anyone, for the brothers,

152
00:08:49,160 –> 00:08:52,640
when they came from Macedonia,
supplied the measure of my need.

153
00:08:53,720 –> 00:08:57,280
In everything I kept myself from
being burdensome to you, and I

154
00:08:57,280 –> 00:09:00,840
will continue to do so as the
truth of Christ is in me.

155
00:09:01,000 –> 00:09:03,560
No one will stop me from this
boasting in the regions of

156
00:09:03,560 –> 00:09:05,080
Achea.
Why?

157
00:09:06,120 –> 00:09:09,720
Because I don’t love you.
God knows but what I do that I

158
00:09:09,720 –> 00:09:12,800
will do, that I may cut off
occasion from those who desire

159
00:09:12,800 –> 00:09:16,360
an occasion that in which they
boast they may be found, even as

160
00:09:16,360 –> 00:09:19,600
we.
For such men are false apostles,

161
00:09:19,840 –> 00:09:23,040
deceitful workers, masquerading
as Christ’s apostles.

162
00:09:23,560 –> 00:09:26,840
And no wonder, for even Satan
masquerades as an Angel of

163
00:09:26,840 –> 00:09:29,800
light.
It is no great thing, therefore,

164
00:09:29,800 –> 00:09:33,080
if His servants also masquerade
as servants of righteousness,

165
00:09:33,360 –> 00:09:35,480
whose end will be according to
their works.

166
00:09:36,000 –> 00:09:40,960
I say again, Let no one think me
foolish, but if so, yet receive

167
00:09:40,960 –> 00:09:43,600
me as foolish, that I also may
boast a little.

168
00:09:44,200 –> 00:09:46,520
That which I speak.
I don’t speak according to the

169
00:09:46,520 –> 00:09:50,000
Lord, but as in foolishness.
In this confidence of boasting,

170
00:09:50,960 –> 00:09:54,720
seeing that many boast after the
flesh, I will also boast for

171
00:09:54,720 –> 00:09:56,360
you.
Bear with the foolish, gladly

172
00:09:56,400 –> 00:10:00,080
being wise for you.
Bear with a man if he brings you

173
00:10:00,080 –> 00:10:03,960
into bondage, if he devours you,
if he takes you captive, if he

174
00:10:03,960 –> 00:10:06,920
exalts himself, or if he strikes
you on the face.

175
00:10:07,920 –> 00:10:10,760
I speak by way of disparagement,
as though we had been weak.

176
00:10:11,280 –> 00:10:14,400
Yet in whatever way anyone is
bold, I speak in foolishness.

177
00:10:14,400 –> 00:10:16,680
I am bold also.
Are they Hebrews?

178
00:10:16,880 –> 00:10:18,480
So am I.
Are they Israelites?

179
00:10:18,600 –> 00:10:21,480
So am I.
Are they the offspring of

180
00:10:21,480 –> 00:10:22,880
Abraham?
So am I.

181
00:10:22,880 –> 00:10:26,880
Are they servants of Christ?
I speak as one beside himself.

182
00:10:27,400 –> 00:10:31,080
I am more so in laborers, more
abundantly in prisons more

183
00:10:31,080 –> 00:10:34,080
abundantly, in stripes above
measure, and in deaths.

184
00:10:34,080 –> 00:10:39,040
Often five times I received 40
stripes -1 from the Jews.

185
00:10:39,440 –> 00:10:41,400
Three times I was beaten with
rods.

186
00:10:41,680 –> 00:10:44,440
Once I was stoned.
Three times I suffered

187
00:10:44,440 –> 00:10:46,880
shipwreck.
I have been a night and a day in

188
00:10:46,880 –> 00:10:50,000
the deep.
I have been in travels often,

189
00:10:50,240 –> 00:10:53,080
perils of rivers, perils of
robbers, perils from my

190
00:10:53,080 –> 00:10:56,520
countrymen, perils from the
Gentiles, perils in the city,

191
00:10:56,520 –> 00:11:01,040
perils in the wilderness, perils
in the sea, perils among false

192
00:11:01,040 –> 00:11:04,880
brothers, in labor and travail,
in watchings often, in hunger

193
00:11:04,880 –> 00:11:08,560
and thirst, in fastings often,
and in cold and nakedness.

194
00:11:09,640 –> 00:11:12,320
Besides those things that are
outside, there is that which

195
00:11:12,320 –> 00:11:15,800
presses on me daily.
Anxiety for all the assemblies.

196
00:11:16,200 –> 00:11:20,320
Who is weak and I am not weak?
Who is caused to stumble?

197
00:11:20,480 –> 00:11:22,200
And I don’t burn with
indignation.

198
00:11:22,680 –> 00:11:25,840
If I must boast, I will boast of
the things that concern my

199
00:11:25,840 –> 00:11:29,080
weakness.
The God and Father of the Lord

200
00:11:29,120 –> 00:11:32,720
Jesus Christ, He who is blessed
forevermore, knows that I don’t

201
00:11:32,720 –> 00:11:35,440
lie.
In Damascus, the governor under

202
00:11:35,440 –> 00:11:38,760
King Aretas guarded the
Damascene city, desiring to

203
00:11:38,760 –> 00:11:42,040
arrest me.
I was let down in a basket

204
00:11:42,040 –> 00:11:44,800
through a window by the wall and
escaped his hands.

205
00:11:46,840 –> 00:11:49,280
Thanks for.
Joining us on Bible Chat, where

206
00:11:49,280 –> 00:11:53,320
Scripture meets everyday life.
If today’s devotional encouraged

207
00:11:53,320 –> 00:11:56,960
you, share it with a friend and
be sure to follow the podcast so

208
00:11:56,960 –> 00:11:58,760
you won’t miss the next
conversation.

209
00:11:59,120 –> 00:12:02,600
Until next time, stay rooted in
truth, anchored in hope and

210
00:12:02,600 –> 00:12:04,080
walking.
Daily with Jesus.