NO ROOM FOR PECKING ORDERS

Pecking orders are a part of life. Ranking systems can clarify our roles. The problem with pecking orders isn’t the order. The problem is with the pecking!

A friend who grew up on a farm told me he saw their chickens attacking a sick newborn. His mother explained, “That’s what chickens do. When one is really sick, the rest peck it to death.” Such a barnyard mentality may fly on the farm, but not in God’s kingdom. In Matthew 23:6 (NIV) Jesus is critical of the Pharisees who “love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues.” Through this passage Jesus blasts the top birds of the church, those who spread their plumes of robes and titles and choice seats. Jesus won’t stand for it. Jesus has no room for pecking orders in his kingdom.

Devotion by Max Lucado | The Almighty Jehovah | https://thealmightyJehovah.com

Where Joseph Stood

On the night when Jesus was born, I wonder if Joseph prayed, “Father, this all seems so bizarre. The angel you sent? Any chance you could send another?”

You’ve stood where Joseph stood. Each of us knows what it’s like to search the night for a light. Not outside a stable, but perhaps outside an emergency room or the manicured grass of a cemetery. We’ve asked our questions. We’ve wondered why God does what he does. If you’re asking what Joseph asked, let me urge you to do what Joseph did: obey. He didn’t let his confusion disrupt his obedience.

What about you? You have a choice: to obey or disobey. Because Joseph obeyed, God used him to change the world. Can he do the same with you? Will you be that kind of person? Will you serve, even when you don’t understand?

Out on a Limb

”After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18 NKJV).

Joseph was perched firmly on his branch in the tree. Predictable and solid, Joseph had no intention of leaving it. That is, until he was told to go out on a limb. “Conceived by the Holy Spirit? Come on! Who will believe me?” Pride told him not to do it, but God told him to do it.

Have you been called to got out a limb for God? I have a feeling you can relate to Joseph. One foot in your will and one foot in his. His or yours? Disrupting, isn’t it? You can bet it won’t be easy. Limb-climbing has never been. Ask Joseph. Or better yet, ask Jesus! He knows better than anyone the cost of hanging on a tree.

NO ROOM FOR PECKING ORDERS