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Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:57:36 +0000
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- -- Wednesday, 8/11/10 -- GOD'S AMAZING GRACE -- Judges 11:1-3; 1
Corinthians 6:9-11a [1 Update]
http://groups.google.com/group/takeaminute/t/15dd3b5a9b8ccc80
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Topic: -- Wednesday, 8/11/10 -- GOD'S AMAZING GRACE -- Judges 11:1-3;
1 Corinthians 6:9-11a
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/takeaminute/t/15dd3b5a9b8ccc80
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From: "J.R. & Bonnie Ricks" <j-r-and-bonnie@dogwoodministries.org>
Date: Aug 10 05:19PM -0500
Url: http://groups.google.com/group/takeaminute/msg/10468480ebe1e77f
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GOD'S AMAZING GRACE -- Judges 11:1-3; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11a
Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his
mother was a prostitute. Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they
were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any
inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another
woman." So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob,
where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him. Judges
11:1-3 NIV
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not
be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor
male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And
that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11a NIV
Jephthah was in trouble before he ever got started. He was the illegitimate
son of a prostitute and a worthless no-good. He grew up in a home filled
with jealousy, strife, and probably a lot of child abuse. His half-brothers
hated him. While he was just a teenager, they threw him out. He took off
and landed in Tob, a place nearby. Pretty soon, he had a gang of followers
- a group that probably would have felt right at home in a number of places
today. You know the group they'd feel at home with... long, greasy hair,
more skin covered with tattoos than not covered, sleeveless vests, lots of
body piercing, motorcycle boots - with a marked propensity towards drinking,
drugs, violence and generally gross behavior. Get the picture? And
Jephthah was their leader. They hung around Tob, creating quite a bit of
mayhem. Nice guy, Jephthah. Not someone you'd want to take home to meet
Mother. However, when Israel got in trouble, they needed a warlord, a
leader to help them defeat the Ammonites. Who did they call on? The
biggest, baddest man on the block - Jephthah So Jephthah came to the
rescue, won the battle and ended up judging Israel for six years.
Obviously, this man was not the kind of person you or I would have picked to
lead a nation, right? But neither would we choose a younger son over an
older one for inheritance and leadership, as God did in the case of Jacob
and Esau. Nor would we choose an uneducated fisherman (Peter) to be one of
the leaders of the church. Nor would we choose the greatest enemy of the
church (Saul/Paul) to be the man who one day would convey God's Word through
nearly half of the books in the New Testament.
But through God's grace, each of these people achieved what God wanted of
him. Neither their former positions in life nor their attitude nor their
sins kept God's purpose from being accomplished. And through God's grace, a
multitude of other people have also served the Lord and accomplished
tremendous tasks in His name.
Think about this fact next time you wonder how God could use you for
anything at all. And think about it, too, the next time you wonder the same
thing about your neighbor.
Brothers, 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. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God
chose 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 NIV
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