JUNE 24, 2025 ~ FROM A PASTOR'S HEART

JUNE 24 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: 1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31

Have you ever noticed how we treat the people of faith in the Bible almost like superheroes from a DC Comic? We have built them up to the place where we place them so far above we mere mortals that we can never measure up. We view it as if somehow God looked real hard to find these extraordinary people so that His work could get done and His message could be shared. Truth is, these wonderful people of the Bible are no different than God's wonderful people today. They each had their weakness, failings, doubts, insecurities, issues, inadequacies and their limitations...just like we do. One of the wonderfully remarkable things about the Bible is that it is so honest about its "heroes"...and read properly we always see that the real hero is God.

When we think of conceited people, we think of those who are self-centered and stuck on themselves. Most of the time we attribute this to people who think "they're all that and a bag of chips!” But there is another side of being self-centered and self-focused. It is the person who says things like, there is no way God can use me...I can't offer anything of value...I'm a worthless, ungifted, untalented person. Every person has their shortcomings, and we can dwell on them and let them set us on the sideline, or we can give them to God...because "in our weaknesses, His strength is made manifest.” God doesn't want or need our human strength, His work is a supernatural work, done only by His power through we flawed and limited people. The people of the Scripture that we read being used of God in a supernatural way we're not supernatural people...they we limited, normal people who were submitted to God and He did a supernatural work through them. And you know, by faith, we can see that happen in our lives too!

Please share your thoughts.