Great Failures
Good Friday Morning Joes and Janes;
Do you feel like a failure at times? Did you miss opportunities to be a good parent, be the best husband or wife, or let God down when you could have acted differently? I think we all have. In fact sometimes it helps to look at other peoples failures to learn that we are not so different. Here are a few other people with problems in a book I read regularly;
Noah was a drunk, (well he got drunk and did some really bad things)
Abraham was too old
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Job went bankrupt
Peter denied Christ, (3 times)
Martha was a worrier
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Lazarus was dead!
The worldly person would say; “What a bunch of hypocrites.” God says; “What an opportunity to reveal my power, strength love and grace.” The Bible is filled with people who were down on their luck, lost in sin, spiritually or physically weak and in short failed at times in their lives. The world today is no different, we are no different. But, God loves each of us, wants the very best for us and through Jesus Christ we can change all of the things that we find disappointing in our weaknesses.
Each of the above people in the Bible you will meet one day in heaven. You will be able to share with them the challenges you had in your life.
I am headed out to conquer the day! God Bless you in your challenges today.
Regular Joe
Posted on June 22, 2012, in DAILY DEVOTIONAL and tagged Daily Devotional, great failures, hypocrites, Philippians 4:13, Regular Joe, Religion and Spirituality, the Bible. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
One thing that has always stuck with me from my bible studies of yon is the way that Christ always hung around the folks who needed guidance. The prostitutes, the sinners, etc. He didn’t sup with the Pharisees and say ‘Look at me, I’m so holy and upright’. But growing up Catholic, that’s all my (extended) family did. My immediate family wasn’t like that, but the rest of the family, especially the older folks, refused to dine with anyone that wasn’t a Catholic. Which just struck me as pure horsepuckey from the word go. The reason I bring this up, is that many people I see who ‘claim’ to be Christians, act an awful lot more like Pharisees and Catholics, and not very much like the man they presume to worship. Instead of the “look at me, aren’t I so holy and righteous?” kind of attitude, perhaps a bit of humility may be in order with folks like that, and an honest inquiry of “How may I be of service to my fellow man?” Love thy neighbor, as thyself after all.
Ye forgot one: It’s kind of a biggie.
Christ: Was a criminal under Jewish law.
(He also claimed to be the son of God. Can you imagine the treatment someone would get if they claimed that today? They’d be locked up in the looney bin.) His death may have fulfilled a prophecy, but he was KILLED for purely political reasons. The Pharisees couldn’t stand that he was exposing their corruption and they couldn’t have him gain in popularity, as the people very much liked his message of redemption and salvation. So, in short, he threatened their power base, and so they had him killed as a criminal. Even though our buddy P.P. said he could find no fault with this man under Roman Law.
To note, a ‘criminal’ isn’t necessarily a bad individual. They’re just someone who violates a ‘law’. The law itself can (and often is) corrupt. Like those folks who helped get the slaves in America to freedom via the ‘underground railroad’. Every single one of those white people who helped to free the black slaves were criminals. But history would not judge them that way.
Also ye said: “Job went bankrupt”
This struck me as funny. Hilarious even. No wonder the day to day grind that keeps us all just above abject poverty is called a JOB!
LOL! (And when you lose your JOB, you too may go bankrupt.) Funny, no?