1 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever. Praise the LORD!

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! — Philippians 2:5-8 "Lord, humble us gently." That is one of my friends' favorite prayer requests. I like it, too. I want to be humbled, but not humiliated. Thank God, however, Jesus was willing to be humbled, but not gently humbled. He humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! He was willing to be humiliated to save us! I hate that he went through such agony. I grieve that his self-emptying humility was stark, brutal, drastic, humiliating, and outrageous. Jesus' self-sacrificing love challenges me to have the same attitude as he had! Jesus' example challenges me to examine what I am willing to give up and endure to forgive those who have wounded me. I am humbled by Jesus' love for me, so I ask myself what I am willing to do to serve and reach others who are lost. God, you are all-powerful, and yet you emptied yourself to redeem me. May I be more selfless in my attitude and treatment of others, more like Jesus has been with me. Dear Lord, I need an infusion, a special empowering of the Holy Spirit, so I can be humble and live before others with the same self-emptying "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" as the Spirit transforms to be more like my Savior (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Corinthians 3:18). In Christ Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Why did Jesus use mud made from his own saliva to heal a blind man? He healed others with just a word. So why this time was it different? In one of the most unusual miracles in the Bible, Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud and places it on a blind man's eyes. Sounds strange right? But here's what most people miss: The man wasn't JUST blind! he was blind from BIRTH! He didn't LOSE his sight, HE NEVER HAD SIGHT! So, this wasn't healing, this was CREATION! In Genesis, God formed man from the dust of the ground. When Jesus mixed His saliva with dust to make mud, He was doing THE SAME THING AGAIN! He was not fixing eyes, He was CREATING them! Then Jesus told the man "go wash." Still blind, covered with mud, he obeyed! And when he washed it off, HE COULD SEE! Jesus didn't use mud because He lacked power. He used it to reveal who He truly IS, the Creator, STILL CREATING! Amen!