Good Morning Small and Mighty, Spirit-Led, Servants of the Lord! Amen! All things are possible for God. When we are weak, He is strong. Small is BIG and slow is fast in the Kingdom dynamics. These biblical truths speak to our hearts and are part of our thinking, yet we often feel small, usesless or like we have nothing to offer God or others. BUT GOD! These truths speak into this one, He who is faithful in little things, much will be added. 's Our Daily Bread and Upper Room devontionals and the Connection blog speak truth to our hearts about us, our "small" offerings and our Mighty God with whom all thing are possible. He has great plans custom made for you and according to your circumstances. As we seek first His Kingdom (you do that daily, right?) He promises to add all we need to accomplish what He has for us. As we follow Him, yoked to Jesus, His Kingdom will come and His will is accomplished because of our surrendered, open and following hearts. He is speaking to you . What do you have to offer that He might use? Start with your open heart and willing to follow feet and give Him all you have, even if it's a couple of sardines and some melba toast. He will multiply, provide abundantly and lead you to accomplish what you are made to do for such a time as this. And then watch what He does, recount His many blessings to some others and worship! He loves that! Stop leaning on your own thinking. Acknowledge and surrender to Him and Hs plans and He will direct your steps to some good fruit . Then rejoice! Well start with worship. Abide. Receive. Listen and follow. And your gratitude lists will grow as He works with what you offer Him. Yes rejoice and follow well . Adjust and allow Him to use what "lttle" you have to offer. He will and multiply it mightily! Amen
ODB:
Small and Mighty
Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many? John 6:9
On , 1987, a squirrel chewed through a power line in Connecticut, and the Nasdaq’s vast financial machinery blinked, sighed, and went dark. Some of the world’s largest corporations stood limp and listless. Global economies watched, sweating bullets for nearly an hour and a half. All because of one tenacious, furry rodent.
Scripture tells many stories of something or someone small making a big impact. But God can turn meagerness into something mighty. John recounts how Jesus fed a hungry crowd (five thousand men, probably fifteen thousand with women and children included) when “a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish” handed over his small lunch (John 6:9). In the Old Testament we remember that a young shepherd boy named David trusted God and slayed a giant (1 Samuel 17). And Christ repeatedly insisted that the kingdom of God is something like a mustard seed, “the smallest of all seeds” (Matthew 13:32).
When we ponder the many complex global crises in addition to the bewildering concerns in our own neighborhoods and families, we’re tempted to believe that our seemingly small efforts lack power. But Scripture tells us to act in obedience and trust as God helps us—assured that with Him, small things can become mighty (John 6:10-12).
By Winn Collier
REFLECT & PRAY
Where do you feel small or powerless? How do you sense God inviting you to surrender your smallness to Him?
Dear God, I often feel small, with nothing to offer. Please help me remember that with You, small things become mighty.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
After the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:5-13), a crowd again found Jesus (v. 25). He knew they were there to see another miracle, so He said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life” (v. 27). He explained, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (v. 29). Just as a boy’s small gift of food had a momentous impact, so too the decision to trust Christ in the midst of a crisis has tremendous ramifications—for us and for the lives God will touch through us.
Tim Gustafson
UR: God Is with Us!
Come near to God and he will come near to you. - James 4:8 (NIV)
I was at a loss and feeling depressed as I finished a difficult freshman year of college. I had dreamed of becoming a doctor, but I had failed a class and lost my scholarship. Then at the end-of-semester gathering of my choir, we selected slips of paper with Bible verses on them from a basket. I got James 4:8, and I took it to heart.
That summer I volunteered at a camp ministry, where I was more than assured that God was still with me. In the forests, fields, and creek, while working to make a difference in kids’ lives, God met me. I knew that God was still very real and attentive to my situation.
Hebrews 11:6 emphasizes the importance of faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” And the whole of Hebrews 11 offers the encouragement of those who have gone before us, responding in faith to God. Times of closeness with God encourage us to look ahead in hope, knowing that there is a God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20).
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's Prayer
Dear God, give us hope and faith so that we may reach out and embrace what you call us to, knowing that you are always with us. Amen.
Connection blog:
- The Holy Spirit Guides to Truth
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh… If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25).
Do you fear falling into temptation ? Does sin seem to be crouching at your door? Scripture calls us to not be afraid. Instead, choose this day to walk in step with the Spirit of God. When we follow His leadership in our life, sin cannot misdirect or sabotage His good plan for us.
Spirit of the Living God, examine my heart and show me what actions or thoughts in my life are out of step with You. I want to walk in holiness continually! Please bring me a sense of Your refreshing and renewing presence in my life.
--Adapted with permission from The Summit Church (thesummitchurch.org) we are inviting you into 21 days of prayer and fasting at the beginning of this new year! Each day will focus on a different biblical attribute of the Holy Spirit.
The founding pastor of Summit Church is Bill Elliff, who is now the pastor Emeritus and serves on the Executive Leadership Team of OneCry (onecry.com). You can find one of Bill’s books, The Essential Presence at prayerleader.com.
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