There's Always Hope

Do you ever feel like there are things in your life which you are helpless to overcome?  Maybe sins you keep committing over and over again?  Maybe circumstances that are difficult, painful and seemingly without end?  I came across a compilation of scriptures that is so hope-filled that I have to share it.  God offers us love, hope and help.  I hope these words encourage you today…

Our God is sovereign over the whole universe. 

He has your best interests at heart.

Jeremiah 29:11 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Matthew 6:7-8

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Romans 8:28

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

He will accomplish His purposes in your life.

Isaiah 46:9-11

⁹ Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹ From the east I summon a bird of prey;
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned, that I will do.

Romans 8:29

²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Philippians 1:6

⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13

¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

He promises to meet your EVERY need.

Psalm 34:10

¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:15-18

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 37:23-24

²³ The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Matthew 6:33-34

³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

He promises to provide whatever you need for every good work He wants you to do.

1 Corinthians 12:7

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1 Peter 4:10-11

¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

He promises to be with you through everything and all the time.

Psalm 23:1-6

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 121:1-8

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

2 Timothy 4:18

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 John 5:18

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.

*All scripture is from the New International Version (NIV)

**The concepts and groupings of scripture are from “Self-Confrontation: A Manual for In-Depth Biblical Discipleship” developed by John C. Broger.

***The pictures are not recent.  But I have HOPE that it will warm up and that I will soon see flowers like these.

Off with the Old, On with the New

Look at all the people you can see in this grainy picture... is there any doubt about which one is the bride-to-be?  Obviously not!  Her sister and mother (me!) are standing back there in jeans and some other lady is wearing a somber-looking black skirt.  The one who has "put off" her old clothes and "put on" a new white gown is definitely the bride.  Don't worry-- this isn't the gown she chose for her wedding which is coming up in July.  I wouldn't publish those pictures!  But isn't she lovely?

I am showing you this because one of the most important concepts I have learned recently is that of "putting off" and "putting on."  Check this out from Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV):  "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

Start thinking about things you've done, said and thought recently.  That snide comment about your co-worker.  That flash of anger toward your spouse.  That condescending tone you used with your... friend/son/daughter/mother/father/spouse/fellow-committee-member/subordinate.  Well, you get the idea.  Just think about it.  Are those things reflections of your old self or your new self?  You get a new self by trusting in Jesus Christ to transform you.  But then you also have to commit to daily "putting off" that old self and "putting on" the new one.  

The Bible is chock full of these "put offs" and "put ons" once you start noticing them.  Just note that every time you find something you need to put off, you're supposed to put on the whole list that's given.  For example:  suppose I just muttered to the person behind me in the grocery store line that the checker was ridiculously slow.  I think that could qualify as "unwholesome talk" according to Ephesians 4:29.  It didn't help anyone or improve the situation.  Better that I had put off that unwholesome talk and put on some words that would build up, that the person needed to hear and that would benefit anyone listening.  See?  Here is the "put off", the "put on" and the verse that it comes from:

Unwholesome talk                Words that build up, that they need to hear,

that benefit others

Eph 4:29   Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Let's rewind.  I'm in a long grocery store line.  I could pass the time by saying to the person behind me, "There's sure a lot of people shopping today.  I had to come in for my Easter ham-- Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  Are you celebrating Easter this year?"  Wouldn't that be better?  Then if they wanted to talk to pass the time, Jesus could be brought into the conversation, or some kind of encouragement could be offered.

Try to think about and pray about what you need to put off today.  And what you need to put on to become a fitting bride of Christ.  You can find all kinds of biblical help for whatever your "old self" issues are.  Here are a few (pages) to get you started.  Obviously the put off is in the left column and the put  on is in the right.

Selfish ambition                    Humility, considering others better than myself,

Vain conceit                           looking for interests of others, being a servant

Phil 2:3-7  ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; ⁷ rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Self centeredness                 Deny self, take up cross daily, follow Christ, lose your life

Luke 9:23-24  ²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Own ways, haughty             God’s ways, doing what is right and just

eyes, proud heart

Prov 21:2-4  ² A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. ³ To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. ⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.

Prov 3:6  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Is 55:8  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

Proud or arrogant talking    Letting all boasting be of God and His glory

I Sam 2:3, 6-8  “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.

6“The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.
⁷ The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.

Bitter envy, selfish                Humble deeds, peace-loving, considerate of others,

ambition                                 submissiveness, mercy, having good fruit, impartiality,

                                                sincerity, peacemaking

James 3:13-18 ¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Judging others                      Judging myself first then can see clearly

Matt 7:1, 5  “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Quarreling                             Kind, able to teach, not resentful, gently instruct

2 Tim 2:23-25  ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.

Anger                                     Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger

James 1:19-20  ¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Bitterness, rage, anger        Kindness, compassion, tenderheartedness, forgiving

brawling, slander, malice

Eph 4:31-32  ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Anger, rage, malice,             Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, slander, filthy lang., lying    bearing with one another, forgiveness, love

Col 3:8-14  ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew,circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.  ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Harsh word                            Gentle answer

Proverbs 15:1  A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Paying back evil for evil       Blessing

I Peter 3:9  ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Jealousy, rage, selfish         Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness

ambition, envy                       gentleness, self-control

Gal 5:20-23  ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Grumbling (complaining),   Rejoice, be gentle, pray with thanksgiving

arguing

Phil 2:14  ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

Phil 4:4-6  ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

Anger, contention                 Forgiveness, reconciliation, peacemaking

Matt. 5:22-24  ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. ²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Matt. 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Living for myself                   Living for Jesus who died for me & was raised

2 Cor. 5:15  And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Quarreling, jealousy,            Faith, excellent speech, knowledge, earnestness, love,

anger, factions, slander,      generosity in giving

gossip, arrogance, disorder

2 Cor 12:20  For I am afraid when I come… I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

2 Cor 8:7  But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

Fear                                        Love, power strong mind/self-discipline

 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Living unwisely, careless    Careful use of time, living wisely, making the most of

use of time, foolishness       every opportunity, redeeming the time, understand what

                                                the Lord’s will is

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Trying to win human                        Trying to win God’s approval, being a servant of God

approval or please people

Gal 1:10  Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

P.S.  I am thankful to my friends Gloria and Flo who have been teaching me these concepts.  I sure didn't come up with this myself!

Dawn's Early Light

Don't you love a fresh new day?  It's especially nice having a fresh new day at the beginning of a fresh new year!  I've been learning that what happens in my head and heart before I even get out of bed in the morning makes a big difference in my day-- even before dawn's early light at this time of year.

I used to wake up and lay in bed for a while thinking about everything that I needed to do that day-- and dreading it.

The grumbling in my head would continue while I'd stumble out of bed, hair spiking out every which way, patting the nightstand to find my glasses. "Why does it have to be dark when I wake up?"  "I'm gonna shoot that dog!  Does he really have to go out NOW?"  "Ugh. I don't waaannna get up yet."  "I don't even want to step on the scales this morning."  Charming, huh?  It didn't really matter how early or late it was, I'm just not a naturally happy riser.

For about a month now, I've been trying to change things a bit.  When I wake up, I try to remember to  "take my thoughts captive" right away.  You know that verse?  It's from 2 Corinthians 10:5.  Taking thoughts captive is no easy task.  They fight back and they often escape-- they are quite slippery and devious.  But if I can remember to corral them in the morning, it really helps.  I just stay in bed for a few minutes, praying, focusing on thanking God for the coming day and trusting Him with it, and then thinking about some good aspects of the day in front of me.  Although this practice does nothing to tame my crazy morning hair (or breath), it's refreshing to get up with a heart at peace.  Just so you know, this is also a good idea because the Bible tells me so.  Check out these verses:

Psalm 101:8  "Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked (thoughts) in the land."

Psalm 143:8  "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you."

Psalm 90:14  "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalm 59:16  "But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."

Of course, the hard part is maintaining this joyful, peaceful heart after my feet hit the floor--just ask my  long-suffering husband!  But it's easier to return to a peaceful place when I've already been there earlier in the day.  I bet you're already out of bed now, but if you need some "early morning peace", why not visualize yourself back under those cozy covers and give what's left of your day to God, thank Him for something, and think of something good to look forward to yet today.

I can imagine how great it would be to do the same thing after I crawl back into bed for the night. 

I Chronicles 23:30"They were also to stand [or curl up in bed?] every morning to

 thank and praise the Lord.  They were to do the same in the evening."

Point taken. Too bad it had to reek.

"What is that STENCH!" I exclaimed as our dog, Ozzie, came trotting in the door this morning.  Ozzie is quite famous for getting into all kinds of trouble.  (You can read a classic involving a fish hook here).

When Ozzie drinks too much water, he pukes a little puddle of it onto our kitchen floor.  This morning it looked like that was about to happen again so I quickly hustled him outside.  I tried to avert a small inconvenience and ended up with a BIG inconvenience which reeked like scorched skunk. Seriously, it didn't smell like "regular" skunk.  Don't ask me why.

Doesn't he look so innocent and precious?

What to do, what to do??!  I scooped him up and plopped him right into the bathtub to scrub him down immediately with dog shampoo.  Dog shampoo didn't seem quite up to the job this time.   My daughter KM was home sick, poor thing, but I pressed her into service briefly as we concocted a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, Dawn dish detergent and baking soda.  Ozzie had been skunked before and scrubbing him with this combination seemed to work pretty well.

 I still wasn't sure this was actual skunk odor.  I just knew it was awful. After three washings and rinsings the dog was shivering like crazy, but he did smell more like wet dog and less like barbecued skunk.  The house still carries a bit of the unfortunate "fragrance," but it's not too bad.  And now I must admit, when I left the house and came back in, it does smell decidedly skunky.

A wet, miserable creature.

Is he begging for mercy holding his little paws so delicately?

Well, here's the funny thing.  I like to spend time first thing in the morning praying, reading the Bible, and generally trying to learn some things from God.  This morning I was reading Isaiah 55:8-9 which says, "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.  'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"  Of course, it's not good to read God's words without applying them to your life somehow, so I was thinking and praying about how to put these wise words into action.

Here are some of the thoughts that I thought:  I like to plan out my day before I dive into anything.  I like to have an idea of what needs to be done and when I'm going to do it.  Of course, very often those plans get blown to smithereens by interruptions and unexpected events of the day. This generally irks me.  I am often frustrated because I can't do what I plan to do when I plan to do it.  After reading that passage this morning, I thought, "I need to be more flexible with my plans.  God might have better plans for me today than I do.  I need to make my plans in pencil (literally and figuratively) so I'm available to 'allow' God to interrupt my carefully crafted schedule."  About 30 minutes later, cue the entrance of my stink-ridden dog.

Now I'm not saying God sent a skunk to spray Ozzie.  But He knew it was going to happen!  He knows everything. It's a good thing that  I had already decided that I needed to be more flexible when suddenly my day was interrupted by multiple dog baths, a load of laundry, a tub cleaning and taking a shower myself.  My original plans for this morning involved none of these.  But, for a change, those plans were altered and I didn't even feel the need to rant and rave about it. God didn't send a skunk, but He did use a skunk and a dog to quite powerfully highlight something He wants me to learn: flexibility and willingness to abandon my schedule for His.  Point taken!  His ways sure aren't my ways, but He knows best and I am content with that.

Ozzie, thanks (?) for the powerful  illustration!

The Weak and Lowly

It's Christmas time!  I can tell because there are lots of sparkly lights everywhere, the Wal-Mart parking lot is packed all the time, and my credit card balance is... up  (don't worry, we pay it off in full every month-- and we will this month too).  But that kind of gift-and-glitz holiday is not the Christmas we Christians really need.  That's just the Christmas we get caught up in-- the one causing me to bake dozens of sand tarts and peanut blossoms.

The Christmas we truly need to celebrate is the one where God became a man and walked among us.  He became somehow fully human even while He was fully God.  Emmanuel-- God with us.  A supernatural, supremely powerful, completely authoritative creator, and a radiant redeemer, all wrapped up in a tiny little package of a fragile vulnerable baby boy-- Jesus.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

 he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: 

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.  

Luke 2:11-12

God, in a helpless baby's body.  Incredible!  Why would He do such a thing?  I think one reason He would do this is so He can identify with the lowest and least of the people He created and loves.  God couldn't have chosen to become much lower than becoming a helpless baby born into scandal and abject poverty, forced to use an animal's feed trough for his first bed.

And things didn't get a lot better for him as an adult.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.  

Isaiah 53:3

You see, Jesus was very familiar with pain and grief and suffering.  When we hurt and grieve and suffer, He hurts and grieves and suffers with us.  

Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,

 which stood against us and condemned us; 

he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, 

he made a public spectacle of them, 

triumphing over them by the cross.  

Colossians 2:14-15

2,000ish years ago,  it looked like Jesus had lost and Satan had won.  Jesus died a horrible death, being excruciatingly crucified on a Roman cross.   Then everything was turned upside down.  Satan's evil plan was thwarted.  Jesus didn't stay dead.  Not only did He rise from the dead, He's bringing every believing person with Him!  Did you ever notice how much God enjoys irony?  The story of Jesus gaining the greatest triumph the world has ever known after being brutally and  publicly executed is the ultimate plot twist.

God is still using irony today.  

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; 

God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—

and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.

  I Corinthians 1:27-28

I truly believe that one day Jesus is also going to redeem every degrading, impoverishing, humiliating, grievous, painful evil that happens on this earth.  He loves us and will never let our suffering or the suffering of those we care about to go unanswered.  He was born as a baby.  He lived, loved, rejoiced, laughed, suffered, wept and died like everybody else.  The difference is that He was not just human, He is God.  His motive is always love and His power is for redemption.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  

John 10:10-11

Places the thief has come to steal and kill and destroy:  your own hometown; Newtown, Connecticut; Hakahana, Namibia...  But don't ever forget about the power and love and victory of the Good Shepherd.

Hakahana

Jesus knows what it's like to be one of the foolish, weak and lowly ones.   Take note of who and what He chooses...

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; 

God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—

and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.

  I Corinthians 1:27-28