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Bethlehem Ephrath, you are one of the smallest towns in the nation of Judah. But the Lord will choose one of your people to rule the nation—someone whose family goes back to ancient times. Micah 5:2 (CEV)
It was one small stone, flung from the sling of a teenager that dropped the giant and saved the nation.
It was a handful of barley and a few drops of oil that fed the prophet, the woman and her son for weeks.
It was a few small loaves and fish that fed over 5,000 men women and children.
It was a small, insignificant nation made up of men who’d never fought before, that routed the Promised Land.
It was a tiny village in Judah that produced the one who would save the world of their sins and bring them into a renewed relationship with the Father God of the universe.
It was a small band of uneducated, arrogant, self-seeking men that turned the world upside down with their teaching.
God has never sought the large and spectacular to accomplish the great and impressive acts. God has always used insignificant people in impossible situation to accomplish spectacular things. Our heavenly father doesn’t need Shock and Awe to accomplish his desires. God’s power is shown best in brokenness and humility. He does his best work with willing hearts and humble attitudes.
Why is it then that we are surprised when famous people come from small towns, or great athletes come from obscure schools?
Why is it that we dream of having a large church so we can accomplish great things for the Kingdom when Jesus changed the world with 12 broken and Spirit-filled men?
Why is it we dream of the great things we could do for others if we had a big bank account when most people really need what we can give them without cost: compassion, grace, forgiveness and love?
From humble beginnings the Father raises up mighty warriors. You have what it takes to make a difference in your world today. You may be able to change someone’s world, even for just a few minutes, with a kind word, a smile or a heartfelt prayer.
Don’t wait for God to do a great things in your life before you do great things for others through ‘small’ acts of Christ-likeness. Don’t let your past or our perceived weaknesses and shortcomings keep you from being a blessing. Your Father specializes in making insignificance grow into significance. All he needs is your heart.
PRAYER: Father God, there are times when I look at the task before me and feel too insignificant to accomplish all I want to do for you. Then I realize the problem. It’s what I want to do for you, not what you want to do through me. Make me a vessel you can use to give living water to those in need. Amen.
The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven. He was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed, “God, have pity on me! I am such a sinner.” Luke 18:13 (CEV)
When I was about four years old my father, a pastor, invited some regionally famous friends and musicians to our church for special evangelistic meetings. One afternoon my dad and the musicians were in the living room discussing the upcoming service and I eagerly listened in.
Then it came time to pray. I kneeled as the men did and listened as my dad prayed. He was a passionate pray-er. When Dad prayed it was as if he left the room to talk with a friend. We listened, but we were not part of the conversation. Then one of the men followed in prayer, equally eloquent as I remember.
I don’t remember much of what happened next. What I do remember is that I decided I was next and began to pray what I thought was an eloquent, theologically based, Holy Spirit empowered prayer. I began by lifting my voice loudly and saying “OH LORD GOD IN HEAVEN! WE COME BEFORE YOU THIS AFTERNOON IN PRAYER!”
It was about that time my dad interrupted me. It was a gentle interruption but the lesson stuck with me all these years. Prayer isn’t about fancy words. Prayer isn’t about voice inflections designed to conjure up the Spirit of God and make him see the value of listening to us. Prayer isn’t about trying to get an alienated God to pay attention to us. Prayer is talking to a loving Father, a dear friend, an intimate lover.
Thus it was in the temple that day. The Tax Collector entered the far part of the temple. His guilt was ever before him. His burden too great to bear. His heart heavy with disgrace and embarrassment. We aren’t told what his sin was. It doesn’t matter. What we do know is that his simple prayer of just seven words was far more powerful than the 30 some eloquent words of the Pharisee up front at the altar.
No one, except the Pharisee, even noticed the tax collector in the corner, head bowed, fists clenched against his chest, a demeanor that spoke of humility, repentance and simplicity.
He was aware of the fact that there was nothing, absolutely nothing that he had to offer God.
He was aware of the reality that only because of God’s grace and mercy was he even able to take the next breath.
Yet, he was aware that there was no place on earth where he could find forgiveness than at the feet of his father.
When we pray, the angels aren’t holding score cards to judge our words and eloquence. The Father is looking at us to see the sincerity and simplicity of a broken and contrite heart. Our religious and social activity doesn’t impress him, our brokenness before him is what moves him to act in our lives.
PRAYER: Holy Father. I confess to you that from time to time I still try to impress you with my many words and activity when all you want is my heart. I’m so unworthy of all you have given me. Thank you for your grace and mercy to help me on the way. Amen.
On that day when the Law of Moses was read aloud to everyone, it was discovered that Ammonites and Moabites were forbidden to belong to the people of God. Nehemiah 13:1 (CEV)
For those who think there is no hope; who feel that you’ve messed up too bad, that your rebellion has exhausted God’s ability or desire to forgive; who have resigned yourself to the ‘fact’ that the bad choices of your past have will plague you for the rest of your life, take a look behind the scenes of Nehemiah 13:1.
It had been years since the Law of Moses had been read to the people of God. At that time there were no dusty scrolls sitting on the coffee table. The only way to know the word of God was to go to the priest and have them read it to you. With the Israelite exile, and rebuilding the wall, there had been little time for reading.
When the scrolls were opened, the people were awakened to God’s demands for purity among his people. The Israelites had defiled themselves by associating with Moabites and Ammonites. This was a great issue for all those who wanted to follow God.
When the people found out they were living against God they removed all the ammonites and Moabites. Cruel, you say? Perhaps. But God didn’t forget the Moabites. Turn the clock back a few hundred years.
Picture a young Moabite woman in a strange land. She’s still mourning the death of her young husband. He’d died way too soon. He left no son, no legacy to be remembered by. Now, all she has was memories, the challenges of being a Moabite woman in a strange culture, and a mother-in-law who gave her love, but no guarantees of a future.
Ah, yes, Ruth. Remember her? Young, alone and widowed in a foreign land. Looked down upon by most, pitied by few…that is until Boaz came along. Then her world changed Fear turned to confidence. Loneliness melted into hope. Poverty gave way to wealth. Separation from God dissolved in grace.
The result? A place in the lineage of the Messiah, the son of the Living God! There was nothing she could do to deserve her position of grace. She was unworthy of any sort of blessing or privilege. But God sought her out and blessed her richly.
God sees hope in us regardless of our actions or our past. No matter how alone you feel; how deeply you have been hurt; how forgotten you feel; how hopeless the situation you find yourself in, the God of Heaven has provided a path through the wilderness to bring you home.
PRAYER: Father, I worship you today for the reminder that I am never far from your loving, merciful and guiding hand. I thank you for the provision of Jesus and the hope we have through your grace. Amen.
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9 (NLT)
When you find something that works, you stay with it. After all, if ‘it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
At first glance one might think the Apostle Paul is just an arrogant Bible thumping preacher. “Just do what I do and everything will work out just fine…” But a study of the life of Paul reveals quite the opposite.
This great orator and defender of the faith says in other writings, things like:
“Not that I have already attained it, but I press on towards the mark.” (Philippians 3:12)
“All those things I want to badly to do, I don’t do. Rather I find myself involved in doing the very things I hate.” (Romans 7”15)
“For I am the least worthy of any of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9)
There are other places as well where Paul bears his soul to say, in essence, I’ve not attained the standard of living I desire in my life. I’m weak, I fail. I’m unworthy. Yet here, in Philippians 4:9 he offers a testimonial of hope to those of us who struggle on a daily basis. He encourages each of us to take a good look at reality.
Remember what you’ve learned [about your faith], he says. Too often life situations, doubts, and our own failures will lure us away from the fundamentals. A championship team in any sport is one that continually practices the fundamentals, the little things so that the victory can be won. Rarely does a team sound in the fundamentals, lose.
In the same way, Paul is telling us from his personal experience that as he has learned to follow the basics, he has seen God work in mighty ways.
Does that mean hardship won’t come? Unlikely, since Paul wrote this letter from prison.
Does that mean we won’t fail through our own weakness or outright rebellion and sin against the God we chose to love? Paul reminds us that we battle continually with the old sin nature. Only reliance on the Holy Spirit will change that.
We are instructed to be a holy people, separated unto God, to live a life above reproach. But holiness in the human realm doesn’t mean perfection, it means we deal correctly with sin as soon as it enters our life. We go to the throne of grace, confess our sin, as forgiveness, and repent (change our attitude).
Stay the course. Remember the simple truths you learned as a child, or seek them out from God’s word. Trouble will come. You will fail. Others will fail you. But as you remain true to the basic tenants of our faith (love, grace, forgiveness and mercy) the God of peace and comfort will encourage you today.
PRAYER: Father God, help me to live in such a way that I can say, as Paul says, that my walk with you has taught me the way to peace. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to live in the basic truths of my faith so that others may find the peace I have found. Amen.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 NIV
We live in a world that idolizes heroes and rightfully so. A Good Samaritan stops to pull an injured person from a burning car and then, the mayhem that follows, disappears when emergency crews arrive.
A fireman or by-stander races into a burning home to rescue a person inside, only to die in the attempt.
A mother dies saving the lives of her children as a tornado pours debris down on her. The children survive because of the body shield she made.
A child calls 9-1-1 and as a result a loved one is taken to the hospital just in time, a life is saved.
We love hearing these stories. Stories of people in the right place at the right time, performing a feat of bravery and ignoring the risk to their own lives. They make us smile. They give us hope. They become a bright light in the darkness.
But what would we think if every time someone tried to save another person that person climbed right back into the danger? The wounded person drags himself across the pavement to climb back into the burning fire; the rescued person dashes back into the burning house; the injured loved one refuses treatment once the ambulance arrives and dies on the floor.
Preposterous you may say and you’d be right. But such is the story of Jesus Christ. He went to the cross knowing that the very people he died for would continue to sin. He went to the cross realizing that for many, his death would be in vain, not because their sin was too great, but because of their refusal to seek his forgiveness.
Jesus is the ultimate hero. The heroes we read about in the newspapers save people from physical harm and death, Jesus saves us from the hidden wounds of the heart and gives us eternal life. The wounds on our bodies can heal with time, but only Jesus can heal the eternal wounds of the heart. He is our ultimate hero and he did it knowing we’d rush right back in and need to be rescued again.
As one writer said, “It wasn’t the nails that held Jesus to the cross. It was your sin.”
PRAYER: Lord Jesus I thank you for rescuing me. There is no reason I deserve your kindness. There is no reason you should have endured the pain of the cross on my behalf. But I thank you for your mercy, grace and forgiveness. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 