Good Morning Friends,
“Think of what you were when you were called. Not
many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many
were of noble birth. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the
wise; the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly
things of this world and the despised things -- and the things that are not --
to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is
because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from
God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is
written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in
the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)
The apostles were uneducated, but God chose
them to launch a movement of faith that is still strong today. No educated
group could have been more powerfully used than were these eleven simple men. Where
did they get the power to accomplish what they did? It couldn’t have come from
them, it had to come from the Lord!
Zacchaeus was so small he had to climb a tree
to see Jesus. He was an outcast and called “a sinner” because of his
dishonorable profession. They laughed at his stature behind his back. But
something happened when he met Jesus. You can’t explain it through Zacchaeus’s
intelligence or his sensitivity to spiritual things. God did something in
Zacchaeus’s heart that was so radical that God is the only explanation.
Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. A woman can’t
get any more disreputable than that. That prostitute was given the very first
glimpse of the Risen Lord. Only God would have chosen a witness like her. Man’s
wisdom would have chosen someone more upstanding, someone people would have
listened to more readily. God chose one whom He had changed so radically it was
almost unbelievable.
The apostles, Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene, and
millions of others are testimonies to God’s power and grace. None of us is a
testimony to our intelligence, abilities, and power. The only testimony that is
worth giving is a testimony to His wisdom, His gifts, and His power. He
deserves all the credit and the praise!
His, by Grace, Steve
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