DAY 264--CALLED INTO THIS LIFE
2008-10-26

I wasn't home Friday night or Saturday morning. We had a marriage retreat with our church. We went to a really nice camp down in Glen Rose (only a few minutes away from the cabins we stayed at for our anniversary) called Camp Arrowhead (note--didn't see any arrowheads). The main thing that I came away with was how blessed I am. I have a truly wonderful wife. We are still very much in love after 23 years. Our relationship is pretty dysfunctional in that it doesn't fit in any of the models that you read about. But it's a great relationship. I love my wife. "Truly, Madly, Deeply." Heh.

Psalm for Today: Psalm 119:1-8

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,

I'll be breaking 119 up as it is typically divided in our Bibles. About 8 verses a day.


Day 264 in The Message//Remix:Solo

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

The first thing that sticks out in this passage is the type of people that Paul refers to who have been called to this life of following Christ. Not many of the "brightest and best." He says that God "deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these 'nobodies' to expose the hollow pretensions of the 'somebodies.'"

Isn't that interesting? How many of us are "high society" people? How many of us were "misfits" in school? I know I was. I was never part of the popular crowd. I will never hold a political office. I will never be a person in a top position of authority.

That certainly doesn't mean that people in these positions can't become Christians. What it does mean is that this is not what God looks for. He looks at the heart, and the heart is seldom exemplified by what is seen on the outside. At least not until that heart is captured by the love of Christ.

So what this means is that none of us have the right to "blow our own horn before God." Everything that we have comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. Everything. The sooner you realize that, the better. We have nothing that we can call our own. Well, Horatius Bonar clarifies that a bit. Nothing except our sin. he says, "With what shall I come to God? My sin, for I have nothing else that I can call my own."

So who were you when you got called into this life? I was a child, born into a family that loved God. That didn't make me a Christian, but it certainly influenced me in the right direction. I can also see how his calling on my life has influenced me through the years. Sure, I have my issues. I have fallen into some pretty serious patterns of sin. But He always brought me out, just as he brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt. He continues to grow me day by day. I am always aware of Christ's presence in my life, and it colors the things I do every day. It makes a difference in who I am today.

If Christ were not in my life, I would be a pretty horrible person. I would, no doubt, be neck deep in a mire of moral depravity. Or perhaps I wouldn't even be alive today.


Father, I thank you for what you have done in my life. You chose me, before the foundations of the earth. You chose me, knowing what kind of person I would be. You placed in my spirit the desire to worship you and to lead others to do the same. I am eternally grateful for this. I will never be able to repay this kindness, nor will I try, as it would be an offense to you for me to try to repay this debt. However, I will live out my life in service to you, however you direct me. No doubt, I will still sin, perhaps even daily. But I will acknowledge this daily and confess it to you. My heart is yours.

We should all live a life of confidence, knowing that God wants to use us in his plan. That's why he chose us. We are instruments of God in a world that is desperately of hope.

Grace and peace, friends.



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