NOT WORTHY!

 

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

 

NOT WORTHY!

 

Gen 32:10

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

 

Mark 1:6-7

6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

 

          I have been in the service of the King of Kings for more than fifty years. Through those years He has brought me through many trials and showered blessings upon me. The Scriptures we have selected this morning show two reasons for feeling unworthy.

 

          My inferiority makes me feel unworthy. Jacob surveyed his life and remembered that he was a schemer, a cheat, and a liar. He sold a pot of beans for the dear price of his brother’s birthright and then, with the help of his mother, lied to his father to receive the patriarchal blessing. He began his career as a con man working a shell game. Now, as he prepares to return, he has two wives and, as he said, “two bands.” He started his journey with nothing but a staff in his hand and a stone for his pillow. He knows he has been blessed. This speaks of the grace of God.

 

          Jesus’ superiority makes me feel unworthy. John the Baptist knew he was unworthy to loosen the ties of the Master’s sandals. This would be the beginning motion of washing feet, a task reserved for the meanest of servants. But John did not see himself small. He saw Jesus great! He knew Jesus to be the Son of the Great God whose feet had walked the starry heavens. All the synoptic gospels record John’s opinion, and it is then repeated in the Acts. “I am not worthy to loosen his shoe!” This speaks of the greatness of God.

 

          Both witnesses testify against me. I am unworthy because of who I am, and I am unworthy because of who He is. Ah, but He has declared me to be worthy of adoption. He has forgiven my sin and made me His peculiar treasure.

 

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

 

Great God, I started with nothing because I am nothing. You have made me significant and valuable by your grace alone. Thank you, Lord! AMEN

 

CASTING MY CROWNS!

 

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

 

CASTING MY CROWNS!

 

Rev 4:10-11

10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

          We are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) but we are not God. We have installed in us the power of self-determination. We are permitted to make choices and either enjoy or endure their consequences. But we are not God.

 

          I am ashamed to realize that much, if not most, of my happiness is dependent upon God yielding to my will. I pray a twisted form of The Lord’s Prayer saying, “MY will be done on earth as it is in my thinking.” I am spoiled by God’s grace and wear that crown too proudly. Oh, I love God – if He does what I ask Him to do.

 

          But in Heaven, the twenty-four elders fall down in worship. They know what we will ultimately learn. His will is worthy to be followed, and He is worthy to be praised. Their crowns are cast at His feet, and they know and welcome their place.

 

          One day I will fall at His feet as well. I will have shed the body because mere flesh cannot survive the intensity of God’s glory. Only the spirit survives that encounter.

 

1 Tim 6:15-16

{He} is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

 

Lord, help me to cast the crown of my own will at your feet and know and follow your will. AMEN

 

THE CHALLENGE OF HOLINESS!

 

Monday, August 31, 2026

 

THE CHALLENGE OF HOLINESS!

 

Ex 15:11

11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

 

1 Peter 1:15-16

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

 

          The word “Holiness” is found 43 times in the Authorized Version. It means “sacred.” In First Peter the word “Holy” is hagios which means “an awful thing, sacred, physically pure, morally blameless, sanctified.”

 

          Holiness is quite a challenge. Isaiah saw himself as “a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips.” Then an angel touched his lips with a coal from off the altar. (Isaiah 6) I understand holiness as a gift and not a product and yet we are commanded to be holy.

 

          Being holy requires a conscious recognition of and discrimination between right and wrong. Those lines are horribly blurred in our culture today, but we are required to make right choices. We see moral absolutes in few places outside of Scripture.  “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” (Psalm 119:9)

 

1 Thess 3:12-13

12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

 

Dear Lord, the pressure of sin and the longing for purity battle within us daily. Help us to be holy! AMEN