The next time you feel like GOD can’t use YOU, just remember the following list produced by John Thomas Oakes:
- Noah was a drunk
- Abraham was too old
- Isaac was a daydreamer
- Jacob was a liar
- Leah was ugly
- Joseph was abused
- Moses had a stuttering problem
- Gideon was afraid
- Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
- Rahab was a prostitute
- Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
- David had an affair and was a murderer
- Elijah was suicidal
- Isaiah preached naked
- Jonah ran from God
- Naomi, Ruth and Tamar were widows
- Job went bankrupt
- John the Baptist ate bugs
- Peter denied Christ and was a big mouth
- The Disciples fell asleep while praying
- The guy hanging on a cross next to Jesus was a notorious criminal
- Martha worried about everything
- The Samaritan woman was divorced…five times
- Zacchaeus was too small
- Paul was a murderer and a religious snob
- Timothy had an ulcer
- AND Lazarus was dead!
Never forget, you cannot out sin God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8&9 are verses that each of us need to remember every moment of our lives. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. No matter how damaging and hurtful your personal sin has been, your salvation was bought and paid for by the grace of God through the death of His Son on a cross. When Jesus shouted out, “It is finished!” He meant what He said. What was needed to forgive your sins in the eyes of God is done. Each of us should at this very moment bow our heads and praise our eternal, loving, grace filled God. Then, full of grace, let everyone around you know what He has done for you and for them by your words and deeds. God wants to use YOU!
Barnabas Man 