Judges 11, Proverbs 19, Hebrews 4

God wants you. If you think you're a nobody and that God can't possibly use you to accomplish His purpose, then you read the right chapter today. Jephthah's experience dispels those thoughts. If we think some one else is unworthy of Christian fellowship because of their pedigree or their past, reading about Jephthah will disprove those notions. He is one example of many in the Bible where God chose the most unlikely candidates to carry out His missions.

Take it seriously. Jephthah is also an example of the seriousness of promising God we'll do something. The incident with his daughter is hard to understand. But a couple of things are clear.
1. A vow to God must be kept. 
2. We should carefully consider the vows we make and not spout off whatever pops into our heads in a moment of excitement. Consider the cost.

Wisdom, words, and action all go together. The wise person speaks only after careful thought and only the truth. She then acts in ways that are kind and merciful. A foolish person speaks without regard for truth or the well-being of others and her actions result in destruction.

The Power of Word. God spoke the world into existence, and then rested. The gospel of salvation brought through the work of the cross has been spoken, or preached, to us. The Word of God, scripture, is living and powerful. Jesus is our High Priest, to whom we can go for mercy and grace in our times of need. Let us hold fast our confession. If we say Jesus is Lord, we need to be prepared to live it out so we can enter the rest of heaven.

Live your words. Let's recognize that God wants to us each of us in His plans, accept the gift of salvation and live it out with wise words and actions.