Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Fresh Encounters”
Our Bible verse for today: “Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by him.” Genesis 18:18 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God wants to use you to bless others.”
The other day an old friend sent me a gift in the mail. It was a beautiful little book by one of my favorite authors, Andy Andrews. The title of the book is “The Butterfly Effect”.
The Butterfly Effect is a scientific theory originally developed by Edward Lorenz and presented to the New York Academy of Science in 1963. The theory states, “A butterfly could flap its wings and send molecules of air in motion, which would move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air – eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet.”
Initially the theory was laughed at and rejected by other scientists. But in the half century since then it has proven to be true. All of creation is inter-connected to varying degrees. That’s why destruction of the Rainforest in South America affects weather patterns in Norway.
But the Butterfly Effect also holds true for people and for their individual lives. Abraham from the book of Genesis is a great example. From that one man came the world’s three greatest religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. And because Jesus Christ was born from the line of Abraham, the entire world was blessed through that one man.
But Abraham is simply an extreme example of what’s true of you as well. Your life matters more than you know. People are impacted by you more than you realize.
For example, your act of kindness is this moment is a blessing not only to that particular person, but they in turn could be motivated to pay it forward and to bless someone else. And then that person pays it forward, and then the next person, etc. In fact, the recipient of your original act of kindness might remember it ten years from now and be motivated then to go and do likewise. That would mean that your simple act of kindness today spawns acts of blessing and kindness ten years from now, maybe in another part of the country, or maybe in another part of the world, to people you never knew or met. And that’s just one simple example. You can use your imagination to extrapolate this out. That’s the premise of Andy’s book and it’s worth your time to read it.
Here are a couple of closing quotes from the book which will give you a feel for it: “You have been created in order that you might make a difference.” “The very beating of your heart has meaning and purpose. Your actions have value far greater than silver or gold.” “Your life … And what you do with it today … Matters forever.”
One of the reasons God wants us to be a revived people, people who have a close and intimate relationship with Him and who are living in obedience to His commands, is because He wants to use us to be a blessing to people living in a broken and bleeding world. The healthier your relationship with Him is the more use you will be to Him and the more He will bless others through you.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 