Who Qualfies?

WHO QUALIFIES?

 My power works best in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT)

Do you ever feel that God can't use you because you aren't qualified? Many of us feel the same way. In fact, there were very few men or women in the Bible who were used of God who didn't have a personal struggle or challenge of one kind or another. Moses and Mary weren't the only ones who didn't feel qualified for the work God was calling them to do!

Someone has pointed out that "Moses stuttered. John Mark was rejected by Paul.  Hosea's wife was a prostitute. Jacob lied. David had an affair. Abraham and Sarah were too old. David was too young. Peter was impulsive. John had a temper. Naomi was a widow. Paul was a murderer, as was Moses. Jonah ran from God. Gideon and Thomas both doubted. Jeremiah was depressed. Elijah was burned out. Martha worried too much. Matthew was a despised tax-gatherer. Noah had a drinking problem."

We are in good company.  

Let go and get the job done.



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DON’T GIVE UP.

 Years ago a certain Mr. Darby, a wealthy insurance broker, was caught up with gold fever and headed out to Colorado.  He did some prospecting and discovered a very rich vein of gold in the Rockies. He returned to his home on the East Coast and convinced all his friends to invest their money in a mining venture.  They formed a corporation, bought a great deal of equipment, and mined this very wealthy vein of gold ore in Colorado.

 About the time that corporation paid off all its debts, the vein of gold ran out.  The investors kept digging until they ran themselves into debt again. Finally, one day,  a discouraged Mr Darby ordered an end to the excavation.  He closed the mine, went into Denver, and sold the mine and equipment to a junk dealer for a few hundred dollars.  

Mr Darby headed home.
 The junk dealer hired a geologist to study the mine and the area.  The geologist came back with a report:  “If you dig three feet past the point where Mr Darby quit, you’ll find the same vein of gold.”.  The junk dealer became the wealthiest mine owner in the state of Colorado.  Just three more feet!.  

I wonder how many times we too, stop three feet short of victory?
 Maybe you been praying for someone in your family for many years and there seems no change.  You are questioning whether your prayers are having any effect.  You know it is God’s will for men and women to be saved.  You know that He has promised that if we ask anything according to His will He will grant it.  But the long delayed response is causing you moments of doubt.


Don’t be discouraged, don’t be dismayed, don’t be disheartened.  God has said it so it is as good as done so keep persisting.

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TOUGH TIMES

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10, NKJV)

Difficult times that are bitter to our souls put our belief in the loving sovereignty of God to the test.  They reveal our basic attitudes toward His perfect control.  If we see His hand in everything our complaints will be replaced with settled trust.  No one has said that when you accepted Christ as your Saviour you would have a trouble-free life.  

It is our responses to these problems that are important.  It is the tough times of life that can lead us into closer and sweeter fellowship with God and greater fruitfulness in His service. Men and women of God are fashioned on the anvil of affliction.  The pressures of life can be used of the Holy Spirit to mould us more and more into the image of Christ.  Everything depends on our responses

SPIRITUAL SUICIDE

"A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—" (Proverbs 6:10, NKJV)

You sit in your car on a cold evening with the heater on the motor running; the next day they find you dead behind the wheel.  Carbon monoxide doesn’t warn you.  It makes you a little drowsy…then a little more drowsy…then you sleep…then you die.

Is this the story of your spiritual life?  You gradually lose your energy and slowly yet surely the motivation subsides.  Before you realise it you are spiritually dead.
The apostle Paul said, "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:11-12, NKJV)

FAILURE BACK DOOR TO SUCCESS

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair (2 Corinthians 4:8, NKJV)

Walt Disney went broke seven times and had a nervous breakdown before he became successful. At age 40 Henry Ford was broke. Enrico Caruso, who became one of the world's greatest tenors, was advised by his voice teacher to quit singing because he failed so many times to carry his high notes. Thomas Edison failed more than 6,000 times before he could get an electric light bulb to work, one of his teachers once called him a dunce. Abraham Lincoln was well known for his many failures but became one of America's most beloved presidents. And Albert Einstein and Werner von Braun both flunked courses in mathematics. History is filled with similar stories.

Failure is not a dead end street.  It may well be your stepping stone to something better, greater and wonderful.  Don’t despair

Consider the Ant

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! (Proverbs 6:6, NLT)

Among other lessons, the ants "who store up their food in the summer" teach us the importance of being prepared ahead of time for whatever might come our way. The Chinese proverb, "Dig your well before you're thirsty" makes the same point. Children need to be prepared for life, teenagers and young adults need to be prepared for entering the work force, and for taking care of themselves. Those who are planning to be married should prepare ahead for it; unfortunately, too many don't. And all adults need to prepare ahead for retirement and old age.

And most important of all, we need to be prepared for life after life when we will meet our Maker face to face. As God's Word says, "Prepare to meet your God," (Amos 4.12). How tragic beyond all measure for those who aren't prepared for life after death.

Soul Winners Crown

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?   For you are our glory and joy. 

1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20 (NKJV)

The fact that we shall one day stand at the judgment seat of Christ ought to motivate us to be faithful in spite of difficulties.

Paul said that the believers themselves would be his crown when he met them at the judgment seat.  To be sure, some of the believers in the church were not living as they should, and some were a burden to Paul.  But when he looked ahead and saw them in glory, they brought joy to his heart.

However we will lose some of that joy if we go to Heaven empty-handed.  The Christian who has not sincerely tried to win others to Christ will not experience this glory and joy when Christ returns.