I am writing this post my friends to encourage you that no matter what you have gone through in life, God still wants to use you in mighty and powerful ways. No, you may not be the next Billy Graham or Mother Teresa, but then again you may!, but you are still a valid vessel that can be used by God to good things!
Romans 11:29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
You may say, oh but you don’t know what I have done. The mistakes I have made, the sins I have committed. Honestly, I don’t want to know. I do know this. God throws them as far as the east is from the west, into the sea of forgetfulness.
You might say, but I am divorced, or I have fallen away from Jesus, or I hate too many people, or I can’t speak good, ect. All of these things have been faced by others and God still used them. I always tell people, if God used Balaam’s donkey, then He can use me! God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. That means us people! We truly are the foolish things.
He could have chosen the rich, mighty, or wise, but instead he chose to find pearls of great price in the stickiest of clay. You have not made too many mistakes, committed too many sins, or been too downright ornery for God to use! Think of Paul, He condoned the murder of Christians, Peter, He denied Christ, David committed murder and adultery, ect. Just think about this. If, as we all believe, that God is all knowing then He knows the past, present and future, then when He called and gifted you all those years ago, did He not know what you would go through, fail at, and screw up? If knowing that, why would He call and gift you? Because He knows that He is bigger than your falling shorts! Pun intended! LOL Just as Paul came to understand, His grace is sufficient for you.
Now that is something to think about!
About the Author:
Pastor Duke Taber has been a believer in Jesus for 33 years. He has been a pastor for over 20 years currently serving at the Vineyard church in Pine Haven Wyoming and was formerly the secretary treasurer of White Pine County Ministerial Association. He is an alumnus of LIFE Bible College and Multnomah Biblical Seminary. He is a syndicated blogger at The Christian Post and Believe.com You can connect with Pastor Duke on Google+, Twitter, or on Facebook
PastorDuke – who has written 727 posts on Taber's Truths Christian Living Magazine.
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As long that you repent and bring your life to Him nothing to be guilt for if you truly repented your sin. Only God knows but, continue serving Him don’t be guilt for only God knows what is the right judgement.Yes. it was said in His word it cannot be forgiven but, God is a merciful God.He saw you and your heart only Him knows what is for you. So, continue and obey what is in your heart.I pray for you.Be strong and of good couraged don’t be afraid to serve Him continue by His grace and mercy.Remember, He is merciful God believe what He haas promised don’t mind the bad saying of all people but, listen what is in your heart to glorify the name of the Lord.
Any sin must be renounced, and repentance then should be demonstrated. For those who divorce, the sciptures are clear. God HATES divorce. His instructions are to reconcile or remain single. Please don’t use his grace as a means to justify sin.
Dale until you understand WHY God hates divorce, I think you might be better served keeping your opinions to yourself. http://taberstruths.com/does-god-say-about-divorce/
There are no big sins and little sins and sir you just committed one. So I would like to see you repent and denounce your judgmentalism. Your accusations also do not line up with the rest of the scripture. Try reading http://taberstruths.com/biblical-reasons-for-divorce-does-bible-teach-about-divorce/ Then repent of taking your opinions and making them “The word of God”.
"Friendly fire" is anything but. I don't know why divorce is the unforgivable sin in certain Christian circles, but the gifts and calling of God are without repentance and God will not be limited by human prejudice.
Obey God and leave the consequences with Him….
The pain I received over the years due to rejection from believers and churches was very hard to swallow. The very family that I was adopted into 32 years ago, didn't think I had anything to offer because of failure, but I kept my eyes on Jesus (well most of the time) and how He treated Peter who had denied Him 3 times. Finally a church who understood, called me to be their pastor and I am so grateful to them and God.
When attending a women's Bible study for the first time, I was made to feel wrong/bad/unacceptable/more-imperfect-that-others because I was divorced.
I have said it many times and will say it again. A Christian's worst enemy can be other Christians.
I did not ever go back to that Bible study.
Rick you are so right! Grace has to have the boundaries removed. And in fact until we do remove the boundaries, we do not see the miraculous (amazing) in our lives, nor in the lives of those around us. Thanks so much for your great comment!
While singing the Chris Tomlin version of Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) last week, the word "Amazing" got stuck in my mind. How do we measure grace in terms of our own lives? Do we measure it with what we feel we deserve? That's not amazing. Do we measure it with what we have seen God do in others? That can be impressive, but probably not amazing.
It is only when we choose to remove all human boundaries from Grace that it can become Amazing. It is only when we challenge God by saying "Here's all the stuff that is broken in my life" and watch in…amazement…as He restores, repairs, and rebuilds that which we thought was beyond hope that Grace can be seen as Amazing.
So we can cling to our brokenness, or cling to the Jesus whose ability to build things from broken parts, to see a functional, beautiful piece of furniture in some scraps of wood, was even in evidence in His earthly career as a carpenter.
I know the feelings that she went through. I felt like, and sometimes I honestly think it was true, that when I walked into a church as a single male, the first reaction was "what? are you hear to prey on our women?" You don't get welcomed or greeted the same way, and at least for me, all I wanted to do was worship.
I loved that part about Balaam's donkey….I had totally forgotten about that in the Bible, so I went and read it again.
My twin sister's husband left her for another woman, and her marriage ended in divorce. She struggled with this for a long time, because she felt that she was less of a Christian for being divorced. She felt that people in her congregation were looking down on her for this, as if she could or should have done something to stop her husband from leaving her.