God uses foolishness of this life to confound  the wisest people. He wants to get their attention and bring them to the truth of His unending love for them.

1 Corinthians 1:

¹⁸ The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.¹⁹ As the Scriptures say,

²⁰ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. ²¹ Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. ²² It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. ²³ So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

²⁴ But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

²⁶ Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. ²⁷ Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. ²⁸ God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. ²⁹ As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

³⁰ God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.³¹ Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

My desire is to stay near to God everyday of my life and that includes being involved in church as much as I can.

Psalm 27:

The one thing I ask of the Lord—
    the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lordall the days of my life,
    delighting in the Lord’s perfections
    and meditating in his Temple.
⁵ For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
    he will hide me in his sanctuary.
    He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
⁶ Then I will hold my head high
    above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
    singing and praising the Lord with music.

As a Christian, I strive to live a life of integrity  (not doing good deeds to earn God’s acceptance). But then when big struggles come I cry out to Him with a foundation that is already well established of daily looking to God. He hears and helps.

Psalm 25:

Manasseh was the king of Judah. He went against God but then he became humble and God was moved by his cry and his prayers changed things.

2 Chronicles

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. ² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. ¹¹ So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. ¹² But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. ¹³ And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lordbrought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!

Paul preached unity between the Jews and Gentiles.

Romans 15:

⁵ May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.⁶ Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. ⁸ Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.⁹ He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

¹⁰ And in another place it is written,

¹¹ And yet again,

¹² And in another place Isaiah said,

Hezekiah was the king of Judah. He was a good king. Other Kings before him had disrespected the temple and it no longer was being used to honor God. But at the beginning of his reign Hezekiah cleaned it up and put the Levites back in service to give offerings to God. The people also sang songs to honor God. It’s a good read, here’s the link.

2 Chronicles 29:

³⁴ But there were too few priests to prepare all the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more priests had been purified, for the Levites had been more conscientious about purifying themselves than the priests had been. ³⁵ There was an abundance of burnt offerings, along with the usual liquid offerings, and a great deal of fat from the many peace offerings.

So the Temple of the Lord was restored to service. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly.

Romans 13:

8 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

Live a peaceful life. Don’t seek revenge. Overcome evil by doing good.

Romans 12:

¹⁷ Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸ Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

¹⁹ Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

²⁰ Instead,

²¹ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

If I feel like God is being mean to me or if I’ve been doing wrong, I say promises from the Bible aloud so I can settle myself down and stop worrying. Instead I trust God.

           Lam. 3:22-23   +   Rom. 8:28   =

                              Phil. 4:7

Lamentations 3:22-23

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
²³ They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

Romans 8:28

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Philippians 4:7

⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Great is the richness and knowledge of God.

Romans 11:

³³ Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

³⁶ For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.