Inexhaustible Grace

I'm so glad you are here! I hope during your visit you get a glimpse of God's heart for we become what we are gazing at. I pray that God refreshes you and gives you readiness to persevere in what He has for you today.  

My desire is to be a blessing to you in helping you know God more and make Him known so I've made these Resources available to you and have the Missional Living blog tab for practical ideas of how to live on mission right where you are. And currently I am writing my way through Judges sharing glimpses of God's heart and character for a weekday devotional. To check out the entire series so far head on over the the Judges Devotional.      

"Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh." The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No," they said, "All right, say 'Shibboleth.' " If he said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time. Jephthah led Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in a town in Gilead." Judges 12:4-7

What a sad thing that 42,000 men died because some guys called some other guys some names. "This type of infighting among the people of God is a distressing thing to see. The blood of the Ephraimites was now mingled with the blood of the Ammonites. Even the bright spots in Judges are smudged with calamity." Believers Bible Commentary 

But I take comfort in  a couple things. First, the fact that in the earlier war, God lead and filled Jephthah with His Spirit to accomplish it, but not here. God did not lead Jephthah to kill these guys, their very own people. That is comforting to see that just because something bad happens, it doesn't mean God was the one that wanted it to happen. And secondly, that though Jephthah messed up pretty royally, God still listed him in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. It's comforting that faith, not perfection is what pleases God.  (Though perfection pleases Him too, we are just incapable of it. But by faith in Jesus shed blood, we can receive Jesus' perfection to our account.)What a privilege to serve a God who never runs out of grace for those who have surrendered their life to Jesus and are seen through His perfection!

If you haven't already,  Subscribe to receive a FREE copy of the Life Purpose Plan; discovering how your uniqueness, current reality and the mission fit together for the glory of God.  

I'm linking up with:
A Holy Experience, Good Morning Girls, Women Living Well, My Daily Walk in His Grace,Internet Cafe Devotions, Reflections of His Grace, We Are That Family