Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 10:22, “And they said, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.’”
I have an elderly acquaintance who attends a rather large church which has an accordingly sizeable staff, a full range of ministries, a couple dozen deacons, and a whole host of small groups. A few years back, as he and his wife began to get more plugged in and connected with the fellowship there, I began to notice that any discussions we had regarding his church would take on a certain distinctive slant. Whenever he noted how good the small group lesson was, or how wonderful and impactful the sermon was, he always made it a point to include the full name of the speaker and the accompanying academic qualifications that he had attained. Invariably, any commentary as to the quality of the message would eventually take on the feel of a job interview, complete with a resumé including PhD’s from whatever seminary they attended or wherever they happen to be currently teaching. One day, I asked my friend why he always felt compelled to include the extent of training and degrees of expertise of the one whose teaching he appreciated, making it clear that for one, I realized and congratulated their ability to draw from a large pool of qualified instructors, and secondly, that I didn’t need to know whether the speaker was a professor at the seminary rather than a construction worker to accept that he delivered a powerful talk from scripture.
I don’t recall what his response was, but I do know that we agreed that no amount of knowledge or levels of accomplishment could replace the necessity and sufficiency of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing God’s will. There is no formal education which allots to you a greater portion of Him, and there is no job or status that disqualifies you from being used by our Lord. Nothing you bring helps God, as if He cannot do it without you. Likewise, you need not excuse yourself from the table because you have no formal letters after your name. A heart attuned to Christ, seeking Him and His will and glory, is a brush in the Divine Painter’s hand that needs no further accolades, nor could garner any higher approval.
As we seek Him today, let Jesus qualify you for whatever He has called you to do, and go and be a faithful servant.
Have a diligent Monday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
