Tag: daily devotional

  • The ripple effect of a simple act of love

    Faith in action

    The ripple effect -Concentric ripples spreading across a clear, shallow stream over smooth brown and gray pebbles, with green trees and sky reflected on the water.

    I love to throw stones into water. When I’m sitting beside a body of water, I enjoy tossing a rock in and watching the ripples spread. Sometimes I toss in one rock and then another nearby so I can see how the ripples change when they intersect. It’s fascinating to see how far the effects of a simple action can travel.

    We never know who or where our Christian faith walk and testimony will reach. It could reach people we’ve never met through the ripple effect. I’m reminded of an old shampoo commercial that said, “We told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.”

    A smile. A kind word. An act of forgiveness and love can reach people you might never encounter. That’s why Jesus compared the kingdom to a mustard seed.

    He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:31-33 ESV

    The grain of mustard or a single yeast cell can multiply in ways far beyond what we can imagine. The ripple effect travels farther than we might know and intersects or rebounds in ways we don’t anticipate.

    It’s why we are called to love one another and love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s why the Bible calls us to treat strangers with hospitality. The smallest act of love and obedience might produce a harvest beyond our comprehension.

    It’s a simple truth that we don’t often consider.

    Let’s walk together in obedience, love and compassion. When we do, God is glorified in ways that transcend our simple steps.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Like a ripple on the water, a small act of love can reach people we may never meet. When we walk together in obedience, love and compassion, God is glorified in ways that transcend our small steps.

    TAKEAWAY

    A smile, a kind word, or an act of forgiveness and love can ripple out to people we might never meet.

    We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves and treat strangers with hospitality. 

    The smallest act of love and obedience might produce a harvest beyond our comprehension.

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  • Living Sacrifice – worship beyond Sunday

    Hands washing a white plate with a soapy sponge at a sunlit kitchen sink, with evergreen trees and a mountain outside the window

    I recently read a very old book, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It collects the teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicolas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite friar, compiled posthumously by Father Joseph de Beaufort. While there is much Brother Lawrence and I would likely disagree on theologically, I think He’s on to something here.

    His book is short, easy to read and available for free online or for purchase from a variety of sources

    Brother Lawrence understood that worship wasn’t just what we do at the Sunday service or mid-week prayer meeting. It’s what we do in our daily lives.

    The apostle Paul wrote:

    I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 ESV

    Present our bodies as living sacrifices? He doesn’t say present your heart, mind or emotions, although those are part of worship. He’s pointing at something practical.

    Worship isn’t only a feeling on Sunday. It’s what your body does on Monday through Saturday. The way you work. The words you speak. The things you say. Your hands and feet helping someone or walking away.

    I love the way one writer describes it:

    “Paul calls this “your spiritual worship.” The word, latreia, described the service priests performed in the temple. Ordinary life becomes temple service. The office becomes an altar. The kitchen becomes an altar. The car ride, the classroom, the hospital shift. Under the old system, worship meant going to the temple. Now, Paul says, you are where the offering happens.”

    This idea is reinforced in Colossians.

    Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

    Don’t just worship on Sunday; let everything you do be an act of worship.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Paul calls us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, so worship isn’t confined to Sunday. Let everything you do this week, your work, your words, your hands and feet, be an act of worship.

    TAKEAWAY

    Worship isn’t only a feeling on Sunday. It’s what your body does Monday through Saturday: the way you work, the words you speak, your hands and feet helping someone or walking away.

    Your office, your kitchen, your car ride can all become an altar. Under the old system, you went to the temple; now you are where the offering happens.

    Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Don’t just worship on Sunday; let everything you do be an act of worship.

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