OUR ESTEEM IS GRACE-ESTEEM

“Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.”  (Ephesians 2:7-9 MSG)

The greatest need of any person is to be known and loved. The cry is strong; the human desire is deep. "I want to be somebody. I want my life to count." Closely related to the feeling of worth is the perception of who we are. When we esteem something or someone, we highly value it or the person. To esteem ourselves is to have high regard for ourselves. Many of the problems in human relations stem from a person's lack of self-esteem.

[However,]... our worth and value is given. We are called not to muster it up within ourselves, but to receive the gift given to us, a gift of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. God has declared our value. Our value is not rooted in self-esteem, based only on ourselves. Our value is discovered in grace, which is rooted in the greatness and graciousness of God...

God's love makes it possible to know we are valued. We cannot put ourselves down or debase ourselves. We can know our true worth because we are children of God. Our esteem is rooted in the amazing grace of God. Our esteem is grace-esteem.

-- H. Eddie Fox in “Grace-Esteem” 

#6456

YOU ARE LOVED BEYOND MEASURE

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.”  (1 John 3:1a NIV)

Imagine the Creator of the universe, the One who painted the skies and molded the mountains, leaning in to call you His child. Not because of anything you’ve done, but simply because of who He is, our loving Heavenly Father, and what Christ, God’s Son, has done for us on the cross. What an incredible truth! You are a “Child of God and Person of Worth” (COGPOW) and it isn’t something you earn, it’s a gift freely given. But like all gifts, it is one that must be received.

In a world that often tries to define your worth by achievements, appearances, or possessions, God’s message cuts through: You are already enough. You are infinitely valuable, not because of what you do, but because of Whose you are. You are His.

Sometimes, life might make you question your value. Past mistakes or the opinions of others can cast doubt on your identity. But remember, God sees you as His masterpiece, created with purpose, loved without condition, and cherished forever. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

You are a reflection of His image -- a bearer of divine worth. You are not defined by your flaws or failures but by His grace and love.

Today, as you go about your day, remind yourself: I am a Child of God and a Person of Worth. Bonnie Crandall coined the phrase “COGPOW” to represent this essential truth about who you are. Remind yourself that this is who you are because of Whose you are. Let that truth shape how you see yourself and how you treat others. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources 

#6183

GOD OF THE LEAST, THE LAST, AND THE LOST

Throughout Scripture, we see God's unwavering love for the least, the last, and the lost. While the world often overlooks, rejects, and forgets these individuals, God seeks them, lifts them up, and calls them His own.

THE LEAST: God Exalts the Humble

In Matthew 5:3, Jesus proclaims: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The world may see weakness in the least -- those who lack wealth, status, or power -- but God sees value. He calls us to humility, reminding us that greatness in His kingdom is not measured by possessions but by a surrendered heart.

THE LAST: God Raises the Lowly

Jesus said in Matthew 20:16, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Those who are pushed aside -- ignored, forgotten, or considered unworthy -- are the very ones Jesus embraced. He flipped human expectations, showing that His love knows no ranking, and His grace extends beyond worldly judgment.

THE LOST: God Seeks the Wandering

Jesus makes His mission clear in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” No matter how far someone strays, no matter how broken their past, Jesus searches for them. Like the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6), He relentlessly pursues those who need Him most.

THE CALL TO US

God’s heart has always been for the outcast, the forgotten, and the wandering. He calls us to reflect His love -- embracing the least, uplifting the last, and seeking the lost. Whether that means caring for the vulnerable, offering kindness to the overlooked, or sharing the gospel with the hurting, we are invited to be His hands and feet in this world. 

 -- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources 

#6117

THE SURPASSING WORTH OF KNOWING CHRIST

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ -- the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”  (Philippians 3:7-9 NIV)

Our value does not depend on our ability to earn people's acceptance. People change their minds. Instead, true self-worth is God's love and acceptance, which are unchanging. He created us. He alone knows how to fulfill all of our needs.  

-- Robert McGee in "Search for Significance"

#5817

THREE DOLLARS WORTH

I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please. Not too much -- just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don't want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust. I certainly don't want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture. I want ecstasy, not repentance; I want transcendence, not transformation. I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don't want to love those from different races -- especially if they smell. I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged. I would like about three dollars worth of gospel, please. 

-- D. A. Carson in “Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians”

#5803

THE LOVER OF SOULS

“The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in His love He will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”  (Zephaniah 3:17)

A gem dealer was strolling the aisles at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show when he noticed a blue-violet stone the size and shape of a potato. He looked it over, then, as calmly as possible, asked the vendor, "You want $15 for this?" The seller, realizing the rock wasn't as pretty as others in the bin, lowered the price to $10.

The stone has since been certified as a 1,905-carat natural star sapphire, about 800 carats larger than the largest stone of its kind. It was originally appraised at $2.28 million.

It took a lover of stones to recognize the sapphire's worth. It took the Lover of Souls to recognize the true value of ordinary-looking people like us.

--Wanda Vassalo

#5587

BELONGING TO GOD

“You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body."  (1 Corinthians 6:20 Amplified Bible)

It frequently happens that the value of a thing lies in the fact that someone has possessed it. A very ordinary thing acquires a new value, if it has been possessed by some famous person. In any museum we will find quite ordinary things -- clothes, a walking-stick, a pen, pieces of furniture -- which are only of value because they were possessed and used by some great person. It is the ownership which gives them worth. It is so with the Christian. The Christian may be a very ordinary person, but he acquires a new value and dignity and greatness because he belongs to God. The greatness of the Christian lies in the fact that he is God's. 

-- William Barclay (1907-1978) in “The Letters of James and Peter”

LOVE BEYOND REASON

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the LORD's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”  (Ephesians 3:17b-19 NIV)

There is such a love, a love that creates value in what is loved. There is a love that turns rag dolls into priceless treasures. There is a love that fastens itself onto ragged little creatures, for reasons that no one could ever quite figure out, and makes them precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. This is the love of God.

-- John Ortberg


#4270

SOMETHING OF IMMEASURABLE WORTH

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”  (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT)

When we trust in Christ, we make an exchange: He takes our sin and makes us right with God. Our sin was laid on Christ at His crucifixion. His righteousness was given to us at our conversion. This is what Christians mean by Christ’s atonement for sin.

In the world, bartering works when two people exchange goods of relatively equal value. But God offers to trade His righteousness for our sin – something of immeasurable worth for something completely worthless. How grateful we should be for His kindness to us!

-- from “The Life Application Study Bible”


#4222

IMMEASURABLE AND UNIMAGINABLE

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 NLT)

The Gospels are like a tapestry, woven together with two incredible points: the immeasurable value of each person and the unimaginable depth of God's grace.

-- Max Lucado

#4204

YOUR WORTH

“Keep me as the apple of Your eye,
hide me in the shadow of Your wings
from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.”  (Psalm 17:8-9)

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.  "My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us, "as the apple of His eye."

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we are but in WHOSE WE ARE! You are special.

-- Author Unknown


#4108

YOUR VALUE

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.”  (Luke 23:43 NIV)

Now why did Jesus do that? What in the world did He have to gain by promising this desperado a place of honor at the banquet table? What in the world could this chiseling quisling ever offer in return?... Nothing!

That’s the point. Listen closely. Jesus’ love does not depend upon what we do for Him. Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to look nice or perform well. Your value is inborn… Period.

Think about that for just a minute. You are valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are. Remember that. Remember that the next time you are left bobbing in the wake of someone’s steamboat of ambition. Remember that the next time some trickster tries to hang a bargain-basement price tag on your self-worth. The next time someone tries to pass you off as a cheap buy, just think about the way Jesus honors you… and smile.

– Max Lucado in His Passion: Christ’s Journey to the Resurrection

#3924

A KINGDOM OF BLESSING

“To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, [Jesus] gave the right to become children of God…”  (John 1:12 NIV)


The Child in Bethlehem would grow up to be a friend of sinners, not a friend of Rome. He would spend His life with the ordinary and the unimpressive. He would pay deep attention to lepers and cripples, to the blind and the beggar, to prostitutes and fishermen, to women and children. He would announce the availability of a kingdom different from Herod’s, a kingdom where blessing -- of full value and worth with God -- was now conferred on the poor in spirit and the meek and the persecuted.


-- John Ortberg in Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus




#3888

THE PEARL OF GREAT VALUE

"When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"  (Matthew 13:46)

Jesus confronted people directly about the choice to become a follower. He came with the gracious announcement that it is now possible to live in the presence and under the reign of God -- that was His Good News. It is possible to live in such a way that when people see us, they will say to themselves, "Wow! I didn't know that a life could look like that." It indeed happens. It has happened for many who have followed Christ, and it really is possible for us. This is the "pearl of great value" of which Jesus spoke, for which any sensible person would sell everything. This is the race for which we were born. But we will not drift into such a life. We must decide.

-- John Ortberg in The Life You've Always Wanted

#3794

VALUES OUT OF SORTS

A prankster broke into a hardware store. He didn’t steal anything, but he did switch price tags throughout the store.  The store manager knew something was wrong when a customer stepped up to the cash-register with a claw hammer and it rang up for $199.95. The customer’s jaw dropped and asked: “What’s this hammer made of, Platinum?” An employee noticed that a big screen TV was priced at $14.95. Many items for sale had their values out of sorts.


We need to be careful that we don’t get values in our life switched and create a chaos of price tags for things we value most. The Apostle Paul made it clear what we should value most:  "The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash -- along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant -- dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by Him… I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally."  (Philippians 3:7-8,10 The Message)


--  Ray Ellis in a sermon entitled "I'd Rather Have Jesus"




#3793

THE AUDIENCE OF ONE

The One, of course, is God. And His demand of you is your absolute best, your utmost integrity. He calls you to apply His commands in all your decisions and interactions.

In a perfect world, this kind of excellence would always be recognized and amply compensated. It would earn you the highest respect from your colleagues and coworkers. It would anchor your job security and even promise you steady promotion through the ranks. But even when it doesn't -- even when it seems like no one is noticing -- there is no satisfaction like knowing that God can say of you, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21).

The next time you start to feel unappreciated, undervalued, and overlooked, take your feelings of inferiority to the Lord in prayer. Let Him be the One with the last word on how valuable you are. When you're pleasing Him, you're doing your job.

-- Joe Gibbs, from his blog GamePlanForLife.com


#3323

EXAMINING THE HEART

The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart: (1 Samuel 16:7)

Those words were written for the haggatons of society, for misfits and outcasts.  God uses them all.

Moses ran from justice, but God used him. Jonah ran from God, but God used him.

Rahab ran a brothel, Samson ran to the wrong woman, Jacob ran in circles, Elijah ran into the mountains, Sarah ran out of hope, Lot ran with the wrong crowd, but God used them all.

And David?  God saw a teenage boy serving him in the backwoods of Bethlehem, at the intersection of boredom and anonymity, and through the voice of a brother, God called, “David!  Come in.  Someone wants to see you.”  Human eyes saw a gangly teenager enter the house, smelling like sheep and looking like he needed a bath.  Yet, “the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!’”  (1 Samuel 16:12)

God saw what no one else saw: a God-seeking heart.  David, for all his foibles, sought God like a lark seeks sunrise.  He took after God’s heart, because he stayed after God’s heart.  In the end, that is all God wanted or needed…wants or needs.  Others measure your waist size or wallet.  Not God.  He examines hearts.  When He finds one set on Him, He calls it and claims it.

-- Max Lucado in Facing Your Giants


#3245

YOUR IMPORTANCE

If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.

-- Fred Rogers, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood


#2383