Never Too Small

By Jarrod Spencer  –

I remember when I was young and was able to sleep in during the summer – those were good times!  One of the things I also remember during that time of my life was the occasional house fly buzzing around my head. This was annoying. It would land on my nose just long enough for me to be bothered, I would swat it, but it would fly away. I can remember putting the covers over my head just to “protect” myself from this little bitty fly.

It was also during that time that I was going through a rough point of social development in my life.  Having a father as a principal during the adolescent years was not the most enjoyable thing for me.  I wanted to “be something” because I saw practically everyone else as “something” and it was difficult not to envy what they were doing or able to do.

How would “little ol’ me” be able to make any difference at all? But then I heard this quote from an unknown author – “If you think you are too small to make a difference, you’ve never had a mosquito in your bedroom.”

My small, difference maker was not a mosquito but a fly, which was in my bedroom.  Regardless, it made a big difference.  It didn’t allow me to sleep peacefully.  It bothered me greatly.

As I have grown, I realize that small things can make a big difference.  A kind word during a rough day. A small gift can lift up a person just when he needs to know someone cares. A paid check can make someone’s day. An unexpected message sent to someone in need through texting or on their Facebook wall – the possibilities are endless.

Another way to make a difference is to make a change that benefits others. Who do single parents find to babysit? Maybe you, little you, could develop a program to offer single parents a person who will volunteer to watch their children.

You may be one, small person, so how are you going to make a difference?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for giving me the strong desire to want to use my individualism to be a benefit to others. Help me see opportunities to be of benefit in the days to come.

BIBLE VERSE: “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people” (Philemon 1:7 NIV).

Seeking His Face

By Janet Morris Grimes –

I love this particular phrase from the Bible. It is so visual; describing an intimate moment with a personal God–as if God himself tilts our face toward his, just in time to catch the twinkle of approval in his eyes.

But seeking His face is not a one time occurrence. It is much more than a fading moment. It is a way of life; an ongoing journey; the defining characteristic of who we are as Christians.

To seek His face is to seek His grace. To seek His face is to seek His will. To seek His face, we must trust Him to direct our paths, just as He promised to do. To seek His face requires us to be watching. Always. To seek His face is to rise above our circumstances and challenges, redirecting our focus away from ourselves and upward to His ability to handle our struggles in a way that glorifies Him in the end.

To seek His face, we must become like a young child, riding a bike for the first time and periodically checking back over our shoulder to make sure Daddy is still watching. We feel the need to keep him in our sight at all times. Like a toddler playing peek-a-boo with his father, we break into a fit of giggles each time our eyes meet.

True joy waits for those who learn to do this. To seek His face, we must constantly be looking upward, and there will be no mistaking the moments that God allows His face to shine on us.

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank You for allowing us to seek Your face, and for revealing Your love for us in return. Our souls crave that approval; we long to make You proud. Make Your face to shine on us, shielding us from the darkness that waits around hidden corners. With You, we can do anything. 

BIBLE VERSE:  “My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8 NIV).

 

Letting Go to Take Hold

By Rosemary Flaaten –

Letting go is hard for me, especially with something precious or significant to my life.  It seems like only a few sleeps ago that I chose to let go of my first born so the neonatal nurse could take him to the nursery.  Then there was his first day of preschool.  As I walked to the parking lot, my arms felt heavy in their emptiness.  My “baby” had left my embrace for the big world.

Tears dripped down my cheeks as I commiserated with a mother’s emotions as she described her sense of loss as she pinned her son’s corsage on his wedding tuxedo.  She realized that no man can be held by both his mother and his wife.  It was her job to let go so he could grasp onto what lay ahead of him.

This truth permeates our lives.  We must move our belongings out of an old, familiar house in order to move in and live in our new home and neighbourhood.  We must let go of the emotional ties to our old job and move with conviction and perseverance into new opportunities.  We must leave our old life, ruled by sin, in order to take hold of the grace and love that God offers through Jesus.

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14 NIV).

Has God put before you a new goal for the fall of 2011?  There may be something that has brought you pleasure or significance last year, last month or even yesterday, but today God is saying He has a new thing.  “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.  Be alert, be present.  I’m about to do something brand new.  It’s bursting out!  Don’t you see it?” (Isaiah 43:18, 19 MSG)

May we have open hearts that can hear and discern the movement of God’s Spirit that is propelling change in our lives and in our church.  Be alert.  Be Present. Let go of the old.  Take hold of the new.

PRAYER: Lord, shift my focus onto the goal that You have set before me.

BIBLE VERSE:  “I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus.  I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back” (Philippians 3:19 – 20 TM).

God Power and Light

By Cheri Cowell –

Several years ago we went without power at our Florida home for just a few days during our “hurricane summer.” I didn’t realize how dependent life had become on having electricity until we were forced to live without it. Not only is it the big things like A/C and lights, but it is also the little things, like a night light in the bathroom. Without power our whole lives were turned upside-down.

As Christians we talk about Jesus being our power source, but how many of us really live that way? One woman in the Bible did.

This woman knew in her heart Jesus held the power to heal her, so much so that she knew if she could simply touch the edge of His garment, she would be healed. She also knew touching Him would cause Him to be made unclean in the eyes of the religious rulers. She was afraid her sins would sully Jesus, yet her belief in His power caused her to push through her fears.

When we say Jesus is our source of power, are we really saying we believe He holds the power to cure us from all disease and free us from all bondage? When we are willing to risk it all, and push past our fears, just to touch the hem of His robe, then we will hear Him say, “Go in peace and be free.”

PRAYER: I praise you, God, for the power You hold and Your willingness to restore the power in life by the touch of Your hand. Help me become more bold in reaching out to secure the power for my life that You so freely give.

BIBLE VERSE: “At once, Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering”  (Mark 5:30 – 34 NIV).

Living in Context

By Donna McCrary –

Forest Gump said, “My mama always says, ‘life is like a box of chocolates.’”

Renee Zellweger romantically confessed, “You complete me” in the movie, Jerry Maguire.

Martin Luther King shouted, “I have a dream!”

All of these famous quotes bring a smile to our face and an immediate reaction to the context in which they were stated. The context provides the punch. Many people claim, “I have a dream.” However, the context (position, person, and particular moment) of these spoken words are the cement that places them into the fabric of our culture. Same with the movie lines, it is the context (emotion, story line, and setting) that breeds recognition in the expressions.

Context is what gave new life to a powerful scripture for me. Context is what made it stand apart with a new and fresh perspective. “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). Pull this out of context and it appears to say, “Ask for your wants, desires, dreams and all the things that will bring you temporary joy and I, Jesus, being in complete control will fill you with abundant joy just because you asked.” I must admit my prayers at times resemble this logic. However, after reading this in context of the setting, the Person, the emotion of the moment, I grasped a deeper understanding in Jesus’ Words.

In context, Jesus was speaking to His closest followers, His disciples; the people who walked away from normal to live radical. The people willing to forsake all they knew to exist daily trusting in Jesus to provide, teach, protect, and direct their steps. Jesus didn’t say these words to the miracle spectators. He said them to the dedicated men and women willing to walk by faith, take up their cross, and follow Him. In context, He proclaimed these words to the very people He called friends.

When I looked at the context of Jesus in my daily life, I had to ask myself some tough questions. Am I dedicated to living the radical life of a disciple? Do my actions resemble great miracles and mountain moving prayers? I know Jesus is true to His word! Will I put myself in the right context to experience His joy for me?

Are you living in the right context to experience joy in Christ?

PRAYER: Father, help me draw close to You and live my life in the context of Your plan for me.

“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full”  (John 16:24 NIV).

 

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