God Calls The Lowly

 

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

That no flesh should glory in his presence.

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

                                                                                      (1 Cor 1:26-31 KJV)

David a mere shepherd boy; the youngest in his family, was chosen by God to be king over Israel. 

Joseph, the youngest son of Israel was despised by his older brothers. They sold him into slavery. Yet, God had a plan for Joseph. Although, he began his life as a slave in Egypt he became the second most powerful man in all of Egypt saving the country including his brothers who had betrayed him from starvation. 

And... there in a time when women were nothing we find Deborah leading the Israelite army and defeating the Canaanites. Yet, it was not Deborah who defeated the enemy. Deborah gave the honor and glory to God for making them victorious. 

God can and does use some of the least expected of people to save the people.  He sent Jesus to us to be born of humble beginnings; born of a virgin, born in a barn, to save the world. Even as an adult he had no place of his own to call home. (Luke 9:58)  He and his disciples stayed wherever someone would invite them in. He lorded over nothing in this world; yet, he is the Lord of all. 

All glory belongs to God! Those who exalt themselves will be humbled. According to words of Jesus: 

"But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

                                                                                       (Matt 23:11-12)

The disciples also wanted to be first in Jesus' life. They let their egos take charge of them and they argued about who among them were the greatest. 

"But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all." 

                                                                                        (Mark 9:34-35)

God calls whom He will call and most often he does not call those who depend on or glory in their titles and their own honor. He calls those who trust in Him. He most often calls those who the world would least expect to lead them. He calls those who are willing to serve Him and not themselves.

The last shall be first and those who place themselves first in this world; above all; better than others, shall in the end be last. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Marvelous Things

Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jer 33:2-3 KJV)

I wish that I had figured out that I could really talk to the Lord when I was much younger. I made so many foolish mistakes and followed in ways that were definitely not good for me or anyone else. But, I did not comprehend that talking to God mean more than just asking for things. I wasn't asking him to help me to better understand who he really was. I wasn't asking for a closer relationship with him. I was asking for much more worldly things. Things like: get me out of the trouble I just put myself in! 

Now, I hope that the younger people (and not just younger) that I know and love would have enough sense to want to get to know this great and awesome and loving God that we have. Having him in our lives is enough. He is more than enough! 

Talk to him and not just talk to him; but, listen to him and he will show you great and mighty things which you cannot know or understand without him.

Our God is an awesome God. Call upon him and then listen and follow in the way that he would have you go and you will better understand and appreciate all of the marvelous things he has done for you.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Build Upon A Rock

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”  (Matt 7:24-27 NRSV)

The house that will stand; the congregation that will stand, must be build upon the rock, who is Jesus the Christ. (1 Cor 10:4) A congregation built on any other foundation other than faith in Jesus, will not stand as a church of God. The building may survive. The people may even gather often. But, without Jesus as the foundation of all that is done in that building, as a church it will fail.

Let faith in Christ be the rock of our foundation that we might stand tall and give all glory to God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

A Fool's Lips

Proverbs 26:5 -6; 11-19 NIV

Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or he will be wise in his own eyes.
Sending a message by the hands of a fool
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
 As a dog returns to its vomit,
    so fools repeat their folly.
Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
    There is more hope for a fool than for them.

A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
    a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
As a door turns on its hinges,
    so a sluggard turns on his bed.
A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven people who answer discreetly.

Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears
    is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

Like a maniac shooting
    flaming arrows of death
is one who deceives their neighbor
    and says, “I was only joking!”

Just totally disturbing to read the nasty comments about the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. It is unbelievable to me that anyone could have such a lack of empathy! Yet, those comments are out there. Thankfully there are not too many of them; but, enough to realize how foolishly hateful some people are in this world.

Proverbs 26 warns us of the downfalls of being a fool, not just a fool, but a lazy fool with deceitful lips. It also warns us to be careful when it comes to trusting a person who is foolhardy. He or she should not be honored for their ways. They should not be lifted up. It would be foolish for us to enable them to continue in their ways.

What then should we do with the one who acts foolishly? "Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes." (Prov 26:5 NIV) Speak the truth, not rashly or harshly. But, with love; correct them, guide them, teach them the way in which they should go. Teach them to honor and respect others so that others may live pleasant and peaceful lives and not on edge when they are around. Teach them that it is better for everyone to live in peace than to be constantly starting quarrels. It is better to live in peace than to continue instigating division.

There are very few things that bother me more than to hear someone lying to or insulting another person and then when the person responds in a hurt manner, the first person will say "JK," just kidding.  Jokes that hurt other people are not funny. They are not jokes! "Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”  (Prov 26:18-19)

The wise person will respect others for who they are. They will be kind, not acting out of anger or revenge. But, they will also speak the truth to the one who is acting in a foolish, hurtful manner. They are unable to empathize with anyone other than those who agree with their foolhardiness. Freedom does not give us the right to hurt others. Freedom is given so that we can all live in peace, reconciled to one another. The foolish one does not comprehend this living in peace. They much prefer to cause divisiveness by feeding their foolish egos.

May God be with all the victims and families of the horrible massacre in Las Vegas. May God help us all to learn to empathize with and love one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J