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Tag: gospel

  • Ordinary People with a Holy Calling

    Ordinary People with a Holy Calling

    Golden-crowned sparrow on a dogwood branch
    Golden-crowned sparrow

    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

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  • Running Late

    Running Late

    Come to Jesus while there is still time

    A man looking at his watch with a panicked expression, he's running late

    The sound of the alarm going off this morning  reminded me of a morning many years ago. That morning, too, started with the sound of the alarm.

    I was a little tired, so I hit the snooze button. And again. Now, I was running a few minutes behind, but things were still manageable. I spilled the coffee as I filled the pot. Another minute gone. So it went. There were more annoyances here and there, but I managed to get ready. 

    I headed for the doors. Darn! Where were my keys? I searched frantically, overturning everything in my wake, and finally found them. Now, I was really late and stressed, too.

    I stepped out the door to find snow. I had to brush and scrape the car off. Where was the scraper? Another few minutes lost. Finally, I was on the road. 

    Red light at the first intersection and the second. By now, my stress levels were getting high, and I was mumbling very unchristian and unking words at traffic lights and crazy drivers.

    I pulled into the parking lot just in time for the day, but I was stressed and grouchy. My entire day was off-kilter.

    Can anyone relate?

    Jesus told a parable about being late. It’s well worth reading.

    “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matthew 25:1-13 ESV

    He is coming back. That won’t be the time to be scrambling and running later. Are you ready?

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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