Issue 1617 – Ordinary – December 2, 2024
On Saturday, Kathy and I took a stroll in a local park. Yesterday, we attended worship at our local assembly. I greeted at the door, and she worked with the children’s ministry. We had leftover meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots, and turnips for supper.
This morning, the house is quiet. The only sounds are the buzz of my laptop’s power supply and the dripping/gurgling of the coffee pot. Kathy has already headed off to work. She works part-time as a guest educational assistant at a local Christian school.
As I type this, I pause to look out the window at a pair of golden-crowned sparrows moving between their perch in the dogwood and the bird feeder. A dove is cooing nearby, and I hear a dog barking in the distance.
The narration has a brief intermission as Kevin gets his morning cup of coffee.
It’s a good cup. Sometimes, in the morning, I’m not the best at counting the number of scoops so that the first taste can be an adventure. I must have measured right today.
So what? Well, the subtitle of this daily devotional is “Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life.” You have just seen a snapshot of our very ordinary lives. We’re ordinary, everyday people having an ordinary day. We’re just “plain folk”. Some say we’re boring, but I prefer the term content.
The good news is that God works through ordinary people daily.
Moses was an aging shepherd with a warrant out for his arrest for murder. Abraham was an aging businessman. Gideon worked secretly in the family winepress out of fear. The disciples were an odd combination of blue-collar workers, petty criminals, and zealots.
It’s the power of our righteous and holy God who transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.
The all-powerful God of creation could have accomplished His goals in any way He wished. Yet He chose to give us the blessing of participating with Him. He’s given you and me, ordinary people, the task of sharing His love with the world. He’s made us salt and light in a dark world.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16 NIV
That means that while our lives may be ordinary and the world may think we’re ordinary, we’re truly extraordinary people. Not because of who we are but because we’ve allowed a holy God to accomplish His work through us. You are an instrument of peace, love, joy, and transformation.
Absolutely nothing short of God Himself could be less ordinary.
The flip sign of the coin is that we never know what other ordinary people are being used extraordinarily by God. That behooves us (I know behooves is a dated word, but I love the sound of it) to treat all people as if they were special in the eyes of God. We have no reason not to do so.
Until next time, I pray you get a grasp on how truly extraordinary and how valuable you are for all eternity when Jesus works through you and may you learn to see all people as He sees them.
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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