DATE POSTED: Sunday, April 14, 2024, and I was blessed to be at Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE New Living Translation (NLT) IS FOUND IN Isaiah 45:4-6

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: “And why have I called you for this work? Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.
I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know me, so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God….

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: Having been a member of several Pastor Search Committees, I can reflect on reasons why someone may have wondered if we were interviewing a super human being, or a very saintly person, or perhaps even God himself, based on the questions and the expectations we had for a prospect. We established many rules for our committee to ensure that our final decision was pure and perfect in the sight of God. However, as I read this Scripture I was caught aback with the choice of God to fulfill the mission He had in mind, for it bore no resemblance to the way we operated our Pastor Search Committees. In trying to learn the heart and will of God, I believe the Holy Spirit caused me to ponder the following:
1. God’s choice of a man who didn’t personally have a relationship with Him – To help you see why I was distracted by this, imagine your pastor and/or elders coming before your church body and announcing their selection for the open church leadership position. While we’re always thrilled to see vacant church leadership positions filled, I’m not so sure we would accept a candidate with no prior church affiliation or experience, nor one who had not accepted Jesus as Lord yet.
2. For the sake of Jacob and God’s chosen people, Israel – If your head elder was presenting this, he might say that this is a man who an old patriarch of the church once told them to keep an eye out for, because he was influential in a nearby town where they were hoping you would open a satelite church, so treat him royally. But most important in this reference, is that God was making an unusual decision for mankind, but primarily due to the prayers, and life of His servant Jacob, and for the ultimate benefit of God’s chosen people Israel. I wonder, would God make decisions because of either of us, and our godly influence in the local church or community? Don’t most of us simply slip into church at the last minute, sit near the back, and dash out the doors the minute you hear the pastor say ‘Amen’? Or, are you truly praying for the work of Jesus Christ in your own life, and in full and meaningful ways in the life of your pastor and your church, so that God would be glorified in your community? Are you taking time to encourage the downhearted and hurting, while also lifting up and promoting the awesome work of those committed to the Lord and His church? Are you showing appreciation for all that God has blessed you with, by giving back to God and His local ministry as taught in the Bible?
Friends, I believe that this Scripture today reminds us that God’s perfect will can be fulfilled in and through each of us, our churches and those committed to Him. He can use anyone and/or anything to align His will in our lives, if we open our heart to accept Him and seek to serve Him. Ours is not to question how God will do all this, or why He would look at assigning a godly assignment to someone who has no godly background, but we are to simply be willing servants who will obey His commands and accept His powerful, and often unusual, alignment of people and things to miraculously work in and through us for our good and His glory. What a Mighty God We Serve!!

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Thank You Lord for the song writer who penned the words to ‘Why Me Lord’, for I’m sure that Cyrus must have said similar words many times as he experienced the call on his life, rather than the holy and righteous, top church officials of that day. But then we are led to also ponder who it is today that God might consider holy and righteous in His sight? We live in a world torn by sin and one that eats away at the very core of our being, whether we consider ourselves righteous or not. Lord, please teach us to stand in a mode of readiness for Your commands, by living out what we learn from our daily relationship and encounters with You. Only You are holy, but I beg You to make us so much like You that others will be drawn to the cross of Calvary and willingly surrender their lives to you. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. For my podcast, go online to Apple Podcasts or, using the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word to hear more episodes, or click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home nearby your home and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!