{"id":57204,"date":"2024-04-15T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/?p=57204"},"modified":"2024-04-14T23:38:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T03:38:49","slug":"the-last-shall-be-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/devotionals\/the-last-shall-be-first\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Shall be First","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever felt like the black sheep of your family?\u00a0
Are you surprised by the prophetic words that the Lord has spoken to you concerning His will for your life?\u00a0
Do you ever feel that your business is among the least in the industry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So he said to Him, \u201cO my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Judges 6:15 (NKJV)<\/a><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Last Shall be First<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I am always amazed by the people God chooses to use for His purpose, as it is often those whom you would least expect. In Judges 6<\/strong>, we read that because the Israelites had done great evil in the sight of the LORD, He had given them over \u201cinto the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains\u201d <\/em>(Joshua 6:1b-2)<\/strong>.<\/em>

Because of their tribulation, the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance. In response, God sent a powerful angel to visit a man named Gideon, and \u201c<\/em>the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, \u2018The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>(Judges 6:12). <\/strong>The angel went on to tell Gideon that God would use him to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites, their cruel oppressors for the past seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This visitation and messages were a great surprise to Gideon, who did not see himself as a \u201cmighty man of valor.\u201d<\/em> Instead, by his own account, his clan was \u201cthe weakest in Israel,\u201d <\/em>and he was \u201cthe least in his father\u2019s house\u201d<\/em> (Judges 15).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Gideon was defining his identity and his destiny based on where he was born and the family he was from. God sent an angel to speak to Gideon because he needed Gideon to see his destiny based upon God\u2019s view of him, and God\u2019s purpose for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of all of my family members, just like Gideon, I seemed the least likely to succeed. I did not take school very seriously throughout my youth, and I played more than I studied.\u00a0 Furthermore, I was raised by a woman who had an 8th-grade education, and whose first child was born out of wedlock. My father left her when I was a baby, and she became a second wife to a man who was already married. Very few people thought she would amount to anything. In spite of this, she became very successful in business and politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were not a Christian family, and my family supported a corrupt government. I even made a case against Christianity while in high school during a class debate because I saw Christians as hypocrites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a huge surprise to many people when the Lord saved me and called me to preach the Gospel and start a ministry that teaches people how to do business<\/a> based on His Word. Now I am one of the \u201chypocrites\u201d I once argued against. God has a sense of humor! In spite of my background \u2013 and perhaps even because of it \u2013 God calls me \u201ca mighty man of valor,\u201d<\/em> just like Gideon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are also a \u201cmighty man (or woman) of valor.\u201d<\/em> If you have accepted God\u2019s call to deploy your gifts, skills, and abilities for His Glory, and to honor Him in the marketplace, you are God\u2019s mighty man of valor. You are God\u2019s warrior. Although your background does shape you to some extent, in God\u2019s scheme of things, it will never limit you. Where you come from is insignificant; your circumstances irrelevant; and your \u201csmarts\u201d unnecessary; because God will do it all. He just needs you to yield your members to His use.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God loves taking small, insignificant, least-likely-to-succeed individuals (and businesses), and turning them into success stories. This way, God and God alone will receive all the glory for the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities before you, but assured of your call?\u00a0
Are you certain of the direction, but have limited resources?
Are you intimidated by the competition, but strong in your faith?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get ready because God is about to \u201cmake the last first\u201d<\/em> (Luke 13:30)<\/strong> so that He can show you and others that He is God, and He alone is God. He will elevate whom He chooses. Reflect on the passage below, written by the Apostle Paul, and give God all the Glory, for He alone is great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. <\/em>
<\/em>
<\/em>But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God \u2013 and righteousness and sanctification and redemption \u2013 that, as it is written, \u201cHe who glories, let him glory in the LORD. <\/em>\u2013 <\/em><\/strong>1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NKJV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My prayer for you is that God will show you the way that He sees you, so that your future will not be limited by your thinking, your background, or your circumstances, and that as you rise up on wings like eagles through the revelation of who you are in His sight, that God will use you mightily for His Glory, just as He used Gideon and the Apostle Paul.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE Have you ever felt like the black sheep of your family?\u00a0Are you surprised by the prophetic words that the Lord\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":57205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotionals","pmpro-has-access",""],"spectra_custom_meta":{"affwp_submission_forms_hashes":["a:0:{}"],"_edit_lock":["1713777263:1"],"rank_math_internal_links_processed":["1"],"rank_math_seo_score":["74"],"rank_math_primary_category":["28"],"rank_math_focus_keyword":["First"],"rank_math_description":["In this week's devotional, Patrice Tsague shares about how the last shall be the 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Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/author\/ecmembersadm-2\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE Have you ever felt like the black sheep of your family?\u00a0Are you surprised by the prophetic words that the Lord\u2026","comments_count":0,"content_native":[{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE<\/em><\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE<\/em>"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

Have you ever felt like the black sheep of your family?\u00a0
Are you surprised by the prophetic words that the Lord has spoken to you concerning His will for your life?\u00a0
Do you ever feel that your business is among the least in the industry?<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Have you ever felt like the black sheep of your family?\u00a0
Are you surprised by the prophetic words that the Lord has spoken to you concerning His will for your life?\u00a0
Do you ever feel that your business is among the least in the industry?"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/table","render":"

So he said to Him, \u201cO my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/em> - Judges 6:15 (NKJV)<\/a><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>","content":"
So he said to Him, \u201cO my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/em> - Judges 6:15 (NKJV)<\/a><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>","data":{"rows":[{"style":{"background-color":"","text-color":"","is_head":false},"columns":[{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"So he said to Him, \u201cO my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/em> - Judges 6:15 (NKJV)<\/a><\/strong>","content":[{"type":"a","data":"So he said to Him, \u201cO my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/em> - Judges 6:15 (NKJV)<\/a><\/strong>","src":"https:\/\/www.bible.com\/bible\/114\/JDG.6.15.NKJV","style":[]}],"data":{"html":"So he said to Him, \u201cO my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/em> - Judges 6:15 (NKJV)<\/a><\/strong>"},"style":{"align":"center"}}]}]},"style":{"textColor":"","layout":"regular","parent_style":{},"hasFixedLayout":false}},{"type":"core\/heading","render":"

The Last Shall be First<\/h3>","content":"The Last Shall be First","data":[],"style":{"align":"left","parent_style":{},"textAlign":"center","header":"h3","fontSize":"21px"}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

I am always amazed by the people God chooses to use for His purpose, as it is often those whom you would least expect. In Judges 6<\/strong>, we read that because the Israelites had done great evil in the sight of the LORD, He had given them over \u201cinto the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains\u201d <\/em>(Joshua 6:1b-2)<\/strong>.<\/em>

Because of their tribulation, the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance. In response, God sent a powerful angel to visit a man named Gideon, and \u201c<\/em>the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, \u2018The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!\u2019\u201d  <\/em>(Judges 6:12). <\/strong>The angel went on to tell Gideon that God would use him to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites, their cruel oppressors for the past seven years.<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"I am always amazed by the people God chooses to use for His purpose, as it is often those whom you would least expect. In Judges 6<\/strong>, we read that because the Israelites had done great evil in the sight of the LORD, He had given them over \u201cinto the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains\u201d <\/em>(Joshua 6:1b-2)<\/strong>.<\/em>

Because of their tribulation, the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance. In response, God sent a powerful angel to visit a man named Gideon, and \u201c<\/em>the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, \u2018The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!\u2019\u201d  <\/em>(Judges 6:12). <\/strong>The angel went on to tell Gideon that God would use him to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites, their cruel oppressors for the past seven years."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

This visitation and messages were a great surprise to Gideon, who did not see himself as a \u201cmighty man of valor.\u201d<\/em> Instead, by his own account, his clan was \u201cthe weakest in Israel,\u201d <\/em>and he was \u201cthe least in his father\u2019s house\u201d<\/em> (Judges 15).<\/strong><\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"This visitation and messages were a great surprise to Gideon, who did not see himself as a \u201cmighty man of valor.\u201d<\/em> Instead, by his own account, his clan was \u201cthe weakest in Israel,\u201d <\/em>and he was \u201cthe least in his father\u2019s house\u201d<\/em> (Judges 15).<\/strong>"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

But Gideon was defining his identity and his destiny based on where he was born and the family he was from. God sent an angel to speak to Gideon because he needed Gideon to see his destiny based upon God\u2019s view of him, and God\u2019s purpose for him.<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"But Gideon was defining his identity and his destiny based on where he was born and the family he was from. God sent an angel to speak to Gideon because he needed Gideon to see his destiny based upon God\u2019s view of him, and God\u2019s purpose for him."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

Out of all of my family members, just like Gideon, I seemed the least likely to succeed. I did not take school very seriously throughout my youth, and I played more than I studied.  Furthermore, I was raised by a woman who had an 8th-grade education, and whose first child was born out of wedlock. My father left her when I was a baby, and she became a second wife to a man who was already married. Very few people thought she would amount to anything. In spite of this, she became very successful in business and politics. <\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Out of all of my family members, just like Gideon, I seemed the least likely to succeed. I did not take school very seriously throughout my youth, and I played more than I studied.  Furthermore, I was raised by a woman who had an 8th-grade education, and whose first child was born out of wedlock. My father left her when I was a baby, and she became a second wife to a man who was already married. Very few people thought she would amount to anything. In spite of this, she became very successful in business and politics. "}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

We were not a Christian family, and my family supported a corrupt government. I even made a case against Christianity while in high school during a class debate because I saw Christians as hypocrites.<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"We were not a Christian family, and my family supported a corrupt government. I even made a case against Christianity while in high school during a class debate because I saw Christians as hypocrites."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

It was a huge surprise to many people when the Lord saved me and called me to preach the Gospel and start a ministry that teaches people how to do business<\/a> based on His Word. Now I am one of the \u201chypocrites\u201d I once argued against. God has a sense of humor! In spite of my background - and perhaps even because of it - God calls me \u201ca mighty man of valor,\u201d<\/em> just like Gideon!<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"It was a huge surprise to many people when the Lord saved me and called me to preach the Gospel and start a ministry that teaches people how to do business<\/a> based on His Word. Now I am one of the \u201chypocrites\u201d I once argued against. God has a sense of humor! In spite of my background - and perhaps even because of it - God calls me \u201ca mighty man of valor,\u201d<\/em> just like Gideon!"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

You are also a \u201cmighty man (or woman) of valor.\u201d<\/em> If you have accepted God\u2019s call to deploy your gifts, skills, and abilities for His Glory, and to honor Him in the marketplace, you are God\u2019s mighty man of valor. You are God\u2019s warrior. Although your background does shape you to some extent, in God\u2019s scheme of things, it will never limit you. Where you come from is insignificant; your circumstances irrelevant; and your \u201csmarts\u201d unnecessary; because God will do it all. He just needs you to yield your members to His use.<\/strong><\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"You are also a \u201cmighty man (or woman) of valor.\u201d<\/em> If you have accepted God\u2019s call to deploy your gifts, skills, and abilities for His Glory, and to honor Him in the marketplace, you are God\u2019s mighty man of valor. You are God\u2019s warrior. Although your background does shape you to some extent, in God\u2019s scheme of things, it will never limit you. Where you come from is insignificant; your circumstances irrelevant; and your \u201csmarts\u201d unnecessary; because God will do it all. He just needs you to yield your members to His use.<\/strong>"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

God loves taking small, insignificant, least-likely-to-succeed individuals (and businesses), and turning them into success stories. This way, God and God alone will receive all the glory for the outcome.<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"God loves taking small, insignificant, least-likely-to-succeed individuals (and businesses), and turning them into success stories. This way, God and God alone will receive all the glory for the outcome."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

Do you feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities before you, but assured of your call? 
Are you certain of the direction, but have limited resources?
Are you intimidated by the competition, but strong in your faith? <\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Do you feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities before you, but assured of your call? 
Are you certain of the direction, but have limited resources?
Are you intimidated by the competition, but strong in your faith? "}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

Get ready because God is about to \u201cmake the last first\u201d<\/em> (Luke 13:30)<\/strong> so that He can show you and others that He is God, and He alone is God. He will elevate whom He chooses. Reflect on the passage below, written by the Apostle Paul, and give God all the Glory, for He alone is great.<\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"Get ready because God is about to \u201cmake the last first\u201d<\/em> (Luke 13:30)<\/strong> so that He can show you and others that He is God, and He alone is God. He will elevate whom He chooses. Reflect on the passage below, written by the Apostle Paul, and give God all the Glory, for He alone is great."}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. <\/em>
<\/em>
<\/em>But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption - that, as it is written, \u201cHe who glories, let him glory in the LORD. <\/em>- <\/em><\/strong>1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NKJV)<\/strong><\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. <\/em>
<\/em>
<\/em>But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption - that, as it is written, \u201cHe who glories, let him glory in the LORD. <\/em>- <\/em><\/strong>1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NKJV)<\/strong><\/p>"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"center","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{},"align":"center"}},{"type":"core\/paragraph","render":"

My prayer for you is that God will show you the way that He sees you, so that your future will not be limited by your thinking, your background, or your circumstances, and that as you rise up on wings like eagles through the revelation of who you are in His sight, that God will use you mightily for His Glory, just as He used Gideon and the Apostle Paul.<\/strong><\/p>","content":[{"type":"text","data":"My prayer for you is that God will show you the way that He sees you, so that your future will not be limited by your thinking, your background, or your circumstances, and that as you rise up on wings like eagles through the revelation of who you are in His sight, that God will use you mightily for His Glory, just as He used Gideon and the Apostle Paul.<\/strong>"}],"data":[],"style":{"textAlign":"left","color":"","dropCap":false,"parent_style":{}}}],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"bb_access":{"can_access":true,"restrict_message":null},"app_access":{"can_access":true,"restrict_message":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}