The following testimony is recalled to the best of my recollection.  Accurate in spirit, some of the details might be off by small amounts.

On July 19, 2008, I stood in the driveway of my wife’s dream home and sold her kitchen table and chairs for $20.  We were gutting our dream house because we knew that 3800 square feet of house stuff would not fit into a 1400 square foot townhouse.

Three days later, on her birthday, we moved out of our house and stuffed a garage full of stuff that we would never unpack.

We packed into the townhouse and begin to slowly dig our way out of over a million dollars debt.  Financially, we had nothing to show for it.  We were broke.  And broken.

Things were not easy.  But, with God, they were good.

And He absolutely used circumstances to teach us, to refine us, to draw us together.

In October of 2016 as I walked through the beautiful home that we now live in, my eyes filled with tears.

God had worked … no matter how foolish I had been—He had worked MANY things together for good.

I had been such a fool.  But God had been wise.

I had squandered all that He had given me.  But He found a way to restore what was lost.

I had been angry, and impatient, and quick to decide.  He had been merciful, and patient, and right on time.

God had shown me that He, not I, was the King of my Universe.

Not a universe that He lorded over me, but a universe with a King who would dare come and live the trials that I faced every day.

He … was the God of all creation.

Don’t be hasty to discount yourself.

Or quick to give up.

Or constrained by guilt.

Don’t lose hope because you messed up and now live in “the bed that you have made”.

Think about Rahab.

She was used by men.

Defiled.

Broken.

Without hope.

But God …..

What a cool phrase:  “But God … ” 

Usually when we use the word “but” it is followed by something negative:

“You did a great job, but …”

“I loved your song, but …”

“Great job on your paper, but …”

… and so on …

But when you use the phrase “but God” it is immediately followed by something encouraging, and hope-driven, and logic-defying.

Rahab was used by men, defiled, broken, and without hope … but God saw something He LOVED in her, and he decided to use her.

When God decides to use you, it is not at all like when people use you.

It is incredible.  And miraculous.  And beyond your sin, your talent, and your small vision.

And I would tell you today that He wants to use you.

That very phrase is scary because most of us have been, at one time or another, sold out or tricked or used in a way that made us feel emptied or without hope.

But God doesn’t want to use you to empty you.  He wants to use you to bless you.

And you should not be afraid.

Joshua 2 1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

God does everything with purpose.  In this text, He chose to use the names of the men who looked at the city as “the spies”, but goes ahead and uses Rahab’s name specifically.  Why?

I don’t know the answer.

There are many things that I do not know the answer to.

But I know the Answer.

And that Answer is Jesus Christ.

He is the One who pours mercy on us when we deserve judgement and punishment.

He is the One who takes the blame for the very things that WE DID.

He is the One who came to earth, stood on the hill, and defied the enemy and all of his evil plans.  In doing this, He would pay for His actions with His life.

I don’t know if any of this blog writing makes any sense at all tonight, but as I began to write, this song came on.  And I simply sat kneeled down on the sink and wrote this as a tribute to Him … and all the good that He has done.

I hope it brings Him honor.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J