any good?

hey guys! i know that it's been awhile, and i apologize. while the monster isn't quite dead yet, we do have it on the run! so, thanks to all who know and have been helping.

this week, i want to cover a new topic. ok, so it's not really all that new, but i haven't talked about it in my blogs yet. i want to talk about excuses. yeah, excuses. i'm not talking about "no, i can't, i'm doing my hair tonight", excuses. follow along and hopefully, by the end, you'll see what i'm trying to say........

how many times have you heard someone say "he'll never amount to anything. just look where he came from"? or, "oh yeah, he'll be a drunk one day, just like his dad"? how many times have you said yourself "i wish i could change where i came from"?

many people think that because someone comes from a broken home, they can't have a meaningful relationship. many people think that if your parents are drunks, so will you be. many people think that if you live in the "hood" you're bound to be no good. in fact, i'd be willing to say that everyone who reads this has, sometime in their lives, said something to that affect. i ask you, how much stock can you really put into that? before you answer, let me tell you a story.

in john chapter one, the bible tells how Jesus started calling His diciples. when phillip went to tell nathanael about Jesus, he said "we've found the messiah. it's Jesus of nazareth" and to this nathanael replied
Joh 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

can there any good thing come out of nazareth? wow. what a statement. to understand this, you need to know a couple of things. nazareth was kinda like a "port" town. because of it's location, they had more contact with "heathens". they spoke a cruder dialect. and it was really kinda like the "red light district" if ya know what i mean. so, knowing this, you kinda understand what he was trying to say.

that's like saying "hey, did ya hear about that new prophet that comes from vegas?" be honest, what would be your first response?

however, when he went to meet Jesus, he was floored. how could this be. surely God, in his infinite wisdom, would not send his messiah out from nazareth!!!!!!!!

you see, my friends, it doesn't really matter where you came from. trust me, i know where i came from. God chooses those with a willing heart. those who will be faithful. you are still worth more to God than you could ever imagine.

you may say, "but i've failed in so many ways", "i've been unfaithful", and any number of other "excuses" to say that you aren't worthy of God's mercy, or that you're not good enough for His purposes.

let me say this. did you know that we define what something is worth by how much we would pay for it? take a $20 bill. now, crumble it up. throw it to the ground. step on it. spit on it. tear the top left corner off. do you still want it? or are you going to throw it away because it's been abused? i bet you don't just throw it away.

knowing this, let me remind you of something. you are so precious, so valuable to God, that He paid one Jesus for your soul. still think you're worthless?

it doesn't matter where you came from. it doesn't matter who your parents are. it doesn't matter what you've done. if you'll just surrender, and accept His gift as payment for your sin, then something good can surely come out of nazareth.

God bless