Archive for July, 2025
All the Beautiful People
Have you ever felt unworthy? The next time you feel God can’t use you, consider these valueless Bible characters who were indeed unworthy, yet used.
Noah had trouble with alcohol.
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer.
Jacob was a liar.
Leah was ugly.
Joseph was an outcast.
Moses was a murderer.
Gideon was afraid.
Samson was a womanizer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Jeremiah was too young,
David was lustful and a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Isaiah was overwhelmed by God’s holiness.
Jonah ran away from God.
Naomi was a widow.
Job went bankrupt.
John the Baptist was a poor dresser.
Peter denied Jesus.
Martha was a chronic worrier.
The Samaritan woman was divorced several times.
Zaccheus was a political thief.
Paul was a religious bigot.
Timothy was sickly.
A little unnamed boy who had only five loaves and two fishes.
Lazarus, well, he was dead.
Now, how would you put your name on that list for the “Most Unworthy” trophy?
God wants to use you as you are. He respects who you are, including all your strengths and weaknesses. After all, like all on that list it wasn’t as though God looked at each individual and said, “My kingdom can’t come without such a special person as you.” No, it was as though He said, “My strength is made perfect through you.”
It is not what God wants you to do for Him that counts, but what you will let Him do through you.
GOD DOESN’T CALL THE QUALIFIED, HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED.
God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9).
The Fear of God
Americans live in a “No Fear Zone.” A prominent shoe line uses as its promotion line: “No Fear.”
A disregard for the law and fear of the consequence adds to lawlessness. Children show no fear of the consequence of misbehaving.
We have lost the meaning of the fear of God. We have taken Him off the throne and made Him our Good Buddy.
Isaiah (6:1-13) tells of his vision when he saw the Lord “high and lifted up” and heard the seraphim cry out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
In that setting can you imagine Isaiah walking up to God and saying, “Hey, good buddy, give me five!”
Isaiah said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips…”
Joshua exhorts us to: “…fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth…” (Joshua 24:14).
In Romans 3: 18 after giving a description of sinners a summary statement is made: ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The lack of a fear of God in America is the reason sin is rampant.
Solomon in his wisdom was inspired to write: “…by the fear of the Lord one departs from iniquity….” (Proverbs 16:6).
When people don’t have a sense of respectful awe of God, sin abounds. Immorality happens when people forget the fear of God.
This fear is not a fear of punishment or retribution. It is not fear that God will lay His hand on us. It is a fear God will take His hand off of us.
The Old Testament Hebrew word for fear, “yare” means “reverence,” whereby an individual recognizes the power and position of the individual revered and renders him proper respect.
It means to stand in respectful awe of God.
Simply stated it means to submit yourself to God in respectful love.
There are several Greek words translated as “fear.” Various ones mean fright, to run away, or a coward. “Eulabeia,” the Greek word used in this regard, means “to reverence and show respect for.”
The more reverence and respect we have for God the less likely we are to be frightened or run away like cowards from the difficulties and evil we encounter.
I feared my dad. He was a big strong man, a man of justice. I did not fear him in the sense I was apprehensive he would punish me. I had awe, respect, and love for him that prompted me to want to please him. I feared disappointing him, letting him down, not living up to his expectations of me.
I knew that he loved me and I was grateful. I knew something of what he had done for me and I was thankful. I had awe for who and what he was and I wanted to please him.
That is how we are to respond to our Heavenly Father.
Solomon in his wisdom was inspired to write: “…by the fear of the Lord one departs from iniquity….” (Proverbs 16:6).
Transforming Power
Augustine of Hippo, often called Saint Augustine, wasn’t always a saint. For years he lived on the dark side of lustful carnality. By the grace of God he was saved in the late summer of 387 A.D. The dramatic change in his life illustrates the fact that conversion involves moral transformation. He believed that only the power Jesus offers could break the bonds of his moral failure. Becoming reliant on that power motivated his life and influenced his writing.
His conversion was followed by a period of solitude and inner spiritual training like that of Paul after his salvation.
The first city in the new world bears his name St. Augustine, Florida. Austin, Texas is also named for Him. Not only are cities named for him, but our entire nation is indebted to him.
His brilliant mind was drawn by reading Cicero, who was not a Christian. Nevertheless, Cicero’s writing motivated him to seek after things that were true, honorable and just. In that search he was attracted to the Scripture.
As an aside, his writing influenced John Calvin, who directly influenced the formation of our Constitution and government. Most of the Founding Fathers were well schooled in the writing of Calvin and Augustine.
Augustine’s philosophy was based on his belief that you must “… not seek to understand in order to believe, but that you must believe that you may understand.”
From Augustine, we learn that conversion and discipleship are like a lock and key or a bow and arrow, they are meant to work together. We learn that conversion, far from being the end of the journey, only sets us on our spiritual journey that goes from trial unto trial, and faith unto faith. It is a growth experience. Don’t give up on yourself, neither be overly lenient on yourself.
He asserted that evil is not a created substance in itself, but a corruption of good. Basically that means evil is really a good thing used in the wrong way. It is the perversion of good.
Augustine is exhibit “A” of the Lord lifting a person from the basement floor of depravity to the top floor, the penthouse, of spiritual productivity. He became an example of the transforming power of the Lord and reason why not to give up on anyone no matter what.
That same transforming and energizing influence is applicable to “whosoever.” It can enable your growth if you are spiritually stagnant as a result of arrested spiritual growth. Let the example of Augustine be a motivating and enabling influence in your life. Start today on the journey of growth. We must all realize we are not what we can be. Therefore, “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (II Peter 3: 18). Grow on!
Depression
Dr. Paul Tournier, a celebrated Swiss physician and psychiatrist, noted, “Most illnesses do not, as is generally thought, come like a bolt out of the blue. The ground is prepared for years, through faulty diet, intemperance, overwork, and moral conflicts, slowly eroding the subject’s vitality. Man does not die, he kills himself . . . . Every act of physical, psychological and moral disobedience of God’s purpose is an act of wrong living and has inevitable consequences.” “Inevitable,” means you can’t cheat the results of such conduct.
God’s word proposes antidotes to these health eroding factors. By taking His spiritual correctives, taking medicine can often be avoided. Tournier’s statement, “Man does not die, he kills himself,” should be taken seriously. It has been said no one has ever died from old age.
Consider just one emotional bandit, depression. If you have it you are not alone. It is estimated eight million Americans a year suffer from depression so deep they miss work or have to see a doctor. Have you ever felt like Abraham Lincoln who wrote, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would be not one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell. I awfully (regretfully) forebode (foretell) I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or be better, it appears to me.”
Hippocrates, the ancient Greek philosopher and physician, was the first person known to write about depression, calling it melancholy. There are various kinds of depression. The central nervous system along with the endocrine glands produce most of the chemicals needed for normal body functions. At times there is an imbalance which is one cause of depression. In this instance a doctor should be seen.
Spiritual depression generally refers to a loss of spiritual vitality and joy. In this instance Scriptural principles should be used. Our Lord appeals to us:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Pause, meditate, memorize, and resolve to apply that several times a day.
God has promised, “‘For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:10)
“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” (Isaiah 41:13)
Again pause, meditate, memorize, and resolve to apply these daily. A medicine is no good unless taken. These truths are of no value unless applied.
Mother’s Maze
Proverbs 23: 22 – 25
Everyone has a mother, so Mother’s Day should involve each of us.
Happy Mother’s Day to all moms. Formerly it was an easy topic on which to write. Our current complex culture makes it most difficult today. Nevertheless, to all mothers, may you so brace yourself and so dedicate yourself annually to being a good mother that you deserve a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.
Jesus echoed the command of the Father when He quoted the O.T. challenge to “honor your father and your mother.” This command is in need of present application.
This is that occasion when once a year we pause to pay tribute to one who is our listening post, servant-in-waiting, constant companion, and scapegoat. Affectionately she is called mother. She willingly walked through the valley of the shadow of death to give us birth. Wisely Solomon urged that we not forget her in her old age.
When French sculptor Bartholei was planning and working for nearly 20 years on the Statue of Liberty he chose as his model his own mother. Today we need model mothers to:
Be Affectionate. Give love.
Be Attentive. A child needs the mother’s attention.
Be available. A child has more brain cells from birth to six than will ever be the case again. The brain has its greatest capacity for learning during this time.
Bill Lowe writing in “Asia Magazine” contends that a child’s mind is inhibited by being with its peers. The TV program “In Search” went searching for exceptional children, those they considered geniuses. They found these children not in advanced learning centers but in relaxed loving homes. They have been spared the company of their kind and have been exposed to available adults who love and teach them.
Be Aspiring. I recently told a group of attentive teens three games played as a child. They are games played by every human being:
“You are…” “I wish…” “I am…” Teach your child to enjoy saying before a mirror “I’m glad to be me just like God made me.” Self-esteem and confidences are needed.
A young mom’s children insisted that she not lift a finger on Mother’s Day. They were going to do all the cooking. They got out three pots, two frying pans, six measuring spoons, eight serving dishes—and Mom was thrilled. She said it was the best Jello she had ever eaten.
You can be good to mom by helping her.