SOAP for the past couple of weeks has had us reading the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...the patriarchs of faith.
And they were. They were men who believed God's promises to them in the midst of ungodly people. They held to their faith and their commitments to God over three generations.
But they sure weren't perfect!! And that always brings me encouragement!
Perfection is NEVER the standard by which God chooses people to do amazing things for him. These three patriarchs were liars, and swindlers, and cheats, had multiple wives, and did all kinds of things that we would frown upon (and we probaly did, if we took the time to reflect on the stories). In fact, if Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were in a lot of Bible schools or churches today, they wouldn't even qualify for leadership. And yet....they are considered Biblical examples of great faith.
Does that mean we can just go live any way we want and God will still do amazing things through us? That may be stretching things just a bit. But we do serve an amazing, loving, passionately patient God, Who will work with us and through us, as long as our hearts are moving toward Him. Our actions can be very wrong. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did things that we would consider wrong....but it was all with the heart of obedience toward God. But GOD IS STILL GOD and He is at work, IN SPITE OF US.
The point is: don't disqualify yourself over a choice you made in the past. Just get up and keep moving toward God. You will be amazed at what HE CAN DO through you.
The emphasis must ALWAYS be on GOD!
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