God’s longing highlights my inadequacy
God … looks around … for someone not stupid— one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman.
Psalm 14v2 Message
God looks for people whose hearts are focused on him.
He comes up empty. A string of zeros.
Psalm 14v3 Message
I too fail him. I am far from what I aspire to yet, mercifully he receives the worst of us.
Useless, unshepherded Sheep, taking turns pretending to be Shepherd. The ninety and nine follow their fellow.
Psalm 14v3 Message
The thing is that leaders will always be sheep whom other sheep follow.
Only when I, a poor sheep, keep my focus on the Shepherd will those who follow be following some semblance of the Shepherd they need.
Don’t they know anything, all these impostors? Don’t they know they can’t get away with this— Treating people like a fast-food meal over which they’re too busy to pray?
Psalm 14v4 Message
The temptation of leadership is to play the imposter, as if really the shepherd. That takes so much work that the leaders relationship with Jesus is sacrificed. So inevitably –
Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison Rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop.
Psalm 14v1 Message
The more we lose sight of Jesus in an effort to gain or maintain an audience, the more our message becomes poison gas. We poison those we are attempting to help.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.
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