How God can use you to change eternity.

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For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.            1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Don’t you hate that feeling you get when you realize you’ve been completely wrong in your estimation of people? It can be so easy to make snap judgments on character, ability, attitude, or personality, only to realize later you were totally wrong in you first impression of someone! Now, this tendency can go two ways. You can underestimate someone by thinking they’re unqualified or incompetent when they’re actually quite intelligent. Or you can overestimate someone by immediately seeing them as skilled and able when, in fact, they’re completely unable to do anything right! The same is true when it comes to looking for gifts among Christians. Often, people like to pick the attractive, seemingly-gifted individuals to work with them, but end up disappointed when they realize their lack of spiritual depth and commitment. All the while, the person they never would have picked is on fire for Jesus Christ and faithfully serving Him! When God chooses to build a servant, He uses different timber. God delights to use the nobodies! So if you feel like you’re not the smartest or most gifted, remember that God wants to use the faithful who seemingly have nothing to make an eternal impact! YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE SMART OR GIFTED IN THE WORLD’S EYES FOR GOD TO USE YOU. SO SERVE FAITHFULLY IN EVERYHTING YOU DO AND GOD WILL USE YOU TO MAKE AN ETERNAL IMPACT!

Being One of the Righteous

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
Genesis 18:24–26

It is easy to discern that we are living in an increasingly wicked society. Things that once were against the law of both God and man are now not just accepted or tolerated, but praised and held up as something good. The open flaunting of immorality and sin in Sodom was deserving of the judgment of God, and America is hurtling down the same path. But while we rightly say Sodom was judged for its great evil, if the righteous people who lived there had been doing what they should, the judgment would have been averted. It was the failure of the righteous people that sealed the fate of Sodom.
In answer to Abraham’s earnest prayers, God agreed not to destroy the city if He found fifty righteous people there. Abraham kept lowering the number needed until he got to ten, and God promised He would spare the city for just ten righteous people. But even that low bar could not be cleared, as it seems that Lot, a righteous man living in Sodom, had not influenced even a handful of people for God and righteousness. Sodom was evil, but it was not without hope. There are examples of entire cities and even countries repenting of great wickedness and turning to God, and who knows but that Sodom would have been one of those had Lot cared to direct the hearts of those around him to God.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

We have a huge responsibility to be the righteous people whose faith spreads to others in an evil world.