“The parts we notice, honor, and praise are the parts that matter the least.”

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Kindle Locations 2228-2229). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Now that doesn’t make sense, does it? If I honor it and praise it and notice it then it must matter the most. Right?

Here is what Larry says, “In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul said that the body of Christ is just like our physical bodies. The parts we notice, honor, and praise are the parts that matter the least.” Check out 1 Corinthians 12: 22-25.

He goes on, “For instance, you’ll never make the cover of a glamour magazine because you have a marvelous liver, kidney, or pancreas. You might make it if you’ve got great hair, beautiful eyes, a fabulous complexion, a body that won’t quit, or killer abs.”

“But none of those are very important to life itself. You can live a long and productive life with a rat’s nest of unmanageable hair, a homely face, and a pear-shaped body. But you won’t survive long with a diseased heart, a poorly functioning liver, or a failing pancreas.” That is true isn’t it?

He then says, “In the same way, the body of Christ can go a long way without the gifts that get most of the glory and without the roles we tend to envy. Just look at the persecuted church. Every time the platformed gifts are forced underground, the church goes on just fine — some would even say better.”

Don’t devalue yourself and who God created you to be and to do. You are important to him.

So what is your gift?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog