Devotional for Saturday and Sunday January 2-3

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthat, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.” Hebrews 11:32-34 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We are inspired by examples of true greatness.”

 

In Hebrews chapter 11, which is commonly known as “The Faith Hall of Fame”, the writer was attempting to inspire his readers to greater faith of their own, by recalling the examples of heroes of the faith from times past. Some of them were well known, such as David and Samuel, but many of the other examples he cited in that chapter were regular people whose names would not be recognized by most readers but whose examples of faith were heroic and inspiring.

 

One of the reasons I love small-group Bible studies is because those are perfect settings to get people talking and sharing stories from their own lives. With respect to examples of true greatness, most Christians know common everyday people, many from our pasts, who fit that description.

 

I know of one family whose mother was a great woman of God. The family was dirt poor. The father had abandoned the mother and I believe it was seven children. The mother was raising that large family by herself and with no support from the husband. But to hear those adults now talk about their childhood, and the influence of their godly mother, you immediately realize that she was a great woman of God who did an incredible job raising that family under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. An example like that makes the rest of us want to be better people.

 

I know another man who had a similar example set for him by his grandpa. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard this man tell stories about his godly grandpa and the profound impact that man had on this grandson’s life.

 

Those are examples of true greatness. None of the people involved were rich by the world’s standards; they didn’t have advanced educations; they were not politically powerful; nor were they famous. They were just godly. And they were great.

 

This weekend when you gather with your church family there will probably be people in your congregation who meet the criteria of true greatness from a Godly perspective. I encourage you to spend time with them, get to know them, and allow yourself to be influenced by their good example. Who knows, maybe someday people will remember you as having been a truly great man or woman of God whose example had a profound impact on them.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim