Are you worthless?

A nagging thought sometimes forms at the edge of consciousness: "Jerry, are you growing obsolete? Are your ideas and skills of value in a world that re-invents itself every couple of years?" It’s a Self thing, and I repent when I let it take over. Still, I know that I am not unique in that temptation. Feeling undervalued, overlooked, or useless is a problem I hear about often from those with whom I counsel. Young mothers can feel useless when their life becomes consumed with mini-vans, diapers, and runny noses. People who live with chronic illness often feel useless. The aged sometimes feel forgotten. Those who can’t 'fit in' at their church, school, or place of work because of social awkwardness often feel rejected and worthless. Those feelings are not just imagined, are they? Ours is a world that is very clear in marking who is 'in' and who is 'out!'

Fact! We don't have to be young, smart, thin, chic, healthy, or rich, to be useful to our Lord or valuable in this world. Do you think you must lead a group, sing a song, write a poem, or inspire thousands to be valued in the Kingdom of God? It true that some disciples occupy more prominent positions than others. Some remain hidden away even as they are given critically important assignments. Tragically, too often we crave recognition more than calling! In our culture of celebrity, being known is the prize most valued by many, but does a thousand voices yelling our name mean we have true value? Not in God’s economy.

Give Jesus Christ control of your life and invite the Spirit to clean away the dirt of sin and Self. Then, you will be God’s own treasure! The Words says: "In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work." (2 Timothy 2:20-22, NLT)

It is important to remember that the Lord equips each of us with spiritual gifts and calls us to serve. His purpose, however, is to build His Kingdom, not to make us famous or to build up our self-esteem. The paradox about being content is this: when we forget ourselves, set aside pride, and serve for His glory; the by-product is fulfillment. If you chase happiness, it will probably always be just out of reach. If you pursue faithfulness to the call of God, satisfaction will find you.

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A vessel of honor for God,
A vessel of honor for God.
Sanctified, wholly, so I might be,
A vessel of honor for God.

Vessel of Honor

© 1981 Garpax Music Press (Admin. by Copyright Management, Inc.)
Denny Duron
CCLI License No. 810055

Giving away your blessings?

At 5 am today, I awakened to a flood of concerns: my Mom’s health, wondering how best to lead the church I pastor, some major problems that are plaguing some of my congregants, the failure of a contractor do to a good job on a project at the church, etc. The temptation was to let anxiety take over, to seek some quick fixes, to complain, or to run! Does that ever happen to you?

Jonah, the run-away prophet, heard God’s call to preach to the city of Nineveh. He refused to go and tell them to repent from their evil ways. He didn’t think they were worth salvation. God belonged to the children of Abraham exclusively, so he thought. Besides that, he was worried about the future of his country if the Assyrians were not destroyed since that empire was growing in strength on the northern borders of Israel. Jonah shut God out and bought a ticket on a boat to far away Tarshish. You remember the story! God sent a storm and the prophet ended up tossed into the ocean, where a big fish swallowed him. He recounts, “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you." (Jonah 2:7, NIV) But it is the next line that arrests my attention: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." (Jonah 2:8, NIV) In choosing to serve Self, Jonah gave away his blessings and found himself in desperate straits!

Are you ‘clinging to worthless idols?’
Do not make the mistake of thinking only in terms of little god figurines. Idols come in many forms! Are you trying to solve life’s riddles with self-help books? Are you seeking meaning and purpose in things that are destined to perish like money, sex, or power? Are you substituting your own wisdom for God’s true wisdom? Then, you, like Jonah, are giving away God’s grace!

Early this day, I gave my concerns to my Father. I asked for His insight, for courage to wrestle with the challenges of this day. He met me with peace! I will still go to work today, still have to confront the challenges, but not alone, nor without divine resources.

Here is a word from the Word. Thank the Lord for the promise and take the grace that is your heritage as His child.
"Don’t chase after ghost-gods. There’s nothing to them. They can’t help you. They’re nothing but ghost-gods!


God, simply because of who he is, is not going to walk off and leave his people. God took delight in making you into his very own people." (1 Samuel 12:21-22, The Message)

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In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song!
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground;
Firm, through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the pow'r of Christ in me!
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand.
Till he returns or calls me home,
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand!

In Christ Alone
Townsend © King's Way - Thank You

A fool in the eyes of most

My Mom, recently diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, spent much time praying and contemplating her medical choices. When we met the oncologist on Monday, she told the doctor that she was going to forego standard medical treatment at this time. The young physician’s eyes widened in disbelief. It was obvious she thought Mom’s choice to be foolish! Naturally thinking, perhaps it is. However, it was not a decision made in fear, nor is she ignoring the possible consequence of an earlier death, nor is she suicidal! She is wisely able to deal with mortality and firmly has her final hope already fixed in heaven. Mom went to a higher Counselor and gained His insight, which sees beyond tomorrow. Should every disciple make the choice she made? Not at all! My point is that she is doing what many think to be irrational because she is centered in faith in the eternal.

When we put ourselves in the care of the Heavenly Father, set our hope on the Resurrection Life promised through Christ Jesus, and make our treasure the things of the Spirit- we will do some really ‘foolish’ things. We will offer forgiveness when hatred makes the most sense. We will live and work in a place where we can do the Lord’s work, rather than where we can make the most money. We will work on true beauty of character rather than trying so hard to be physically attractive. We will seek purity and holiness instead of indulging every sensual appetite. And, we will have to accept the scorn that will inevitably be heaped on us.

I heard a radio personality discussing moral standards and he laughed dismissively at those who still held to the ‘archaic, prudish, and ignorant’ ideals of life-long monogamy. He went on to tell how there were just so many opportunities to explore relationships with others in this mobile world that people just had to accept that either one’s spouse would have to tolerate some philandering on the side, or the new norm would be several marriages in a lifetime. After all, he insisted, who could expect a anyone to be satisfied by the same person for 50 years? His comments were met with applause. Sorry, Dr., but I will subjugate the temptations that are natural to my human nature to the will of God and be guided by the will of God so that not only can I know the joy of a deep and intimate relationship with my wife, but also please my God. I am sure he would call me naïve and a fool!

"We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ!" (1 Corinthians 4:10, NIV) So, Paul sarcastically addresses the ‘worldly wise’ Christians in the church of Corinth. His words echo to us today who are confronted with the same label if we choose a live that is centered on God and His will. Are you ready to be dismissed as a ‘fool’ because you radically trust and serve Jesus Christ?

Here’s a word from the Word for your thoughts today. I pray that the Spirit will use it to pierce our pretensions, to guide us to true wisdom.

"Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture, He exposes the chicanery of the chic. The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls. … you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.


Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless." (1 Corinthians 3:18-4:3, The Message)

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Now walk with God
And He will be
your dearest Friend
Where'er you go
In everything you do.
And may your life
Reflect His love to ev'ryone.
Now walk with God
And He will walk with you.

Now Walk With God
Skillings, Otis

© 1969 Lillenas Publishing Company (Admin. by The Copyright Company)

CCLI License No. 810055

Spend the night in sackcloth!

Few things ache like a guilty conscience. From childhood to old age, the pain of shame and guilt that follow doing wrong are as common as a cold. In a moment when our resolve is weak, we make a fateful choice. A cruel word can be uttered, an immoral choice made in just a moment’s time, but the memory is indelibly burned into our mind. “Why did I do it?” we ask; “What was I thinking?” Not far behind those thoughts comes the fear of discovery. “If I’m found out, what then?” Have you ever experienced that kind of torment? It takes away sleep at night, robs us of the ability to appreciate the most beautiful day, makes song like scraping of fingernails on a chalkboard in our ears.

King David, a man who loved God and yet sinned in the most egregious ways, describes the feelings that followed his sin. "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." (Psalm 32:3-4, NIV)

All guilt is not bad! Guilty pain is God’s gift that calls on us to come back to right living. Sure, there is false guilt. Our conscience can be damaged, made too sensitive by constant criticism or scarred into uselessness by constant abuse. But, if our conscience is functioning in a healthy way, responsive to the Holy Spirit of God and informed by the truth, we should thank the Lord for the ache that comes when we cross the line from right to wrong.

That ache that David felt was assuaged when he made another important decision. Take a look. "Then I let it all out; I said, “I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to God.” Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared. These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray; when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts we’ll be on high ground, untouched." (Psalm 32:5-6, The Message) Confession is so hard, yet so liberating! It allows us to experience God’s forgiveness. Often sincere confession will also win the forgiveness of another person, even those we have wronged in the most serious way.

Confession must be followed by something that seems largely absent in our culture of tolerance and relative standards: repentance. In my experience, I find that many desire the release from guilt and even regret their actions because of the negative consequences, but they feel little need to change their ways! The ancient people of God disobeyed the Lord, knew they were estranged from Him, confessed, but often failed to turn back to Him! They only wanted release from the consequences of their sins. They had no hunger for righteousness, no appetite for real holiness.

The prophet Joel tells us that we need to let ourselves feel sorrow for our sins and then to make real change in our lives. Read his call. "Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; … (Joel 1:13, NIV) “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." (Joel 2:12-13, NIV)

Is guilt over sins past plaguing you?
Are you alienated from the Lord who gives you peace, from His church that is your home?

Spend some time truly mourning your disobedience, but do not stay there! Go and own up to your sins, without excuse, without self-justification. Accept forgiveness, then take the steps that will produce real change of repentance. "God, the Master, The Holy of Israel, has this solemn counsel: “Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me. " (Isaiah 30:15, The Message)

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