Not Even Close..

   The Scripture for today is John 5:30-47.

   Jesus, in this passage from John, confronts the religious leaders in Israel with some facts about their unbelief in who He was and claimed to be. He tells them, that because they only seek glory from those that matter to them, from each other, they are condemned because they do not seek it from God, even though they say that they serve Him.

   I have touched on this before..glory from men, because that has always been a real sticking point for me. When people around me begin saying such good things about me and putting me in places of leadership that I don't feel worthy of, or even called to assume, I get worried. When folks say, "look how God is using you", I get scared. I know my tendency to react to this last phrase is with the emphasis on me and not on God.

   So I get a call last evening telling me that the ordination for new elders is to be this coming Sunday at the end of each service. My reaction to that action is to say, good, now I can begin to do what I feel God has called me to. Not because of any special merit on my part, but because God has worked through other men in the church to place this position in my keeping for now. He has also confirmed this in my prayers, so, that even as I accept the role, I do so with a sense of real humility, and a feeling of expectancy for what He will do.

   The first key is God; His will, His testimony, His glory, His Kingdom.

   The second is the knowledge that I am not He.... not even close.