Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

July 20
Sunday


SMALL WAYS IN
SMALL PLACES

READ:
Isaiah 49:1-6
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For who has despised
the day of small things?
__Zechariah 4:10
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Often I meet with people who serve in what they think are seemingly small ways in small places. They are frequently discouraged by loneliness, feeling that their acts of service are insignificant. When I hear them speak, I think of one of the angels in C. S. Lewis' book Out of the Silent Planet. He said: "My people have a law never to speak of sizes or numbers to you....It makes you do reverence to nothings and pass by what is really great.

Sometimes culture says bigger is better--that size is the truest measure of success. It takes a strong person to resist that trend, especially if he or she is laboring in a small place. But we must not "pass by what is really great."

It's not that numbers aren't important (after all, the apostles counted their converts; see Acts 2:41). Numbers represent living people with eternal needs. We should all work and pray for large numbers of people to enter the kingdom, but numbers mustn't be the basis for self-esteem.

God doesn't call us to find fulfillment in the amount of work we do for Him, or the number of people who are a part of that work, but in faithfully doing our work for His sake . serving our great God with His strength in a small way is not a stepping-stone to greatness__it is greatness. __David Roper

`````````````````````Lord, help me remember that there are not`````````````````````
````````````````````small places or small people. All are precious```````````````````
````````````````````in Your sight. May I see the value of my work```````````````````
````````````````````````````and cherish it as You do.`````````````````````````````
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Anyone doing God's work in God's way
is important in His sight.

***********************Today's Bible Reading __ Isaiah 49:1-6*********************

1 Listen, O coastlands, to
Me, and take heed, you
peoples from afar! The
LORD has called Me from
the womb; from the matrix
of My mother He has made
mention of My name. 2 And
He has made My mouth
like a sharp sword; in the
shadow of His hand He has
hidden Me, and made Me as
polished shaft; in His quiver
He has hidden Me.

3 And He said to me, "You
are My servant, O Israel, in
whom I will be glorified."

4 Then I said, "I have
labored in vain, I have spent
my strength for nothing and
in vain; yet surely my just
reward is with the LORD,
and my work with my
God."

5 And now the LORD says,
Who formed Me from the
womb to be His Servant, to
bring Jacob back to Him, so
that Israel is gathered to
Him (for I shall be glorious
in the eyes of the LORD, and
My God shall be My
strength), 6 indeed He says,
"It is too small a thing that
You should be My Servant
to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the
preserved ones of Israel; I
will also give You as a light
to the Gentiles, that You
should be My salvation to
the ends of the earth."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Isaiah prophesied under Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
meaning that his ministry may have continued for more than 64
years. He was the son of Amoz (Isa. 1:1), was married (his wife was
referred to as "the prophetes," 8:3), and had two sons, whose
names symbolized the turbulent times in which Isaiah served his
God. His first son's name, Shear-Jashub (7:3), means "a remnat
shall return" and his second son's name, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz
(8:3), maeans "spoil quickly, plunder speedily."