Are we really making a difference?

Posted byoakhillcrossvillePosted inUncategorized
Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “Are we really making a difference?”
 
In yesterday’s devotional we looked at the example of Ezra and the faithful remnant of God’s people in that day. They were faced with a hostile culture and overwhelming odds against them. But they were determined to be resilient, courageous, and steadfast in their faithfulness to God. Let me repeat a passage from that devotional:
 
But there is hope. The truth is that God always has a faithful remnant and there is always hope – it was true for the Israelites in Ezra’s day and it is true for us in our nation today. In churches all across this land God has blessed His people with many modern-day Ezra’s who are committed to faithfully teaching God’s Word to God’s people. And all across this land there are multiple millions of Christians gathered in local churches every week worshiping, learning, growing, and renewing their commitments to living faithfully for the Lord in the midst of a lost and hostile culture.
 
In view of the increasing hostility and resistance Christians face today, and considering that the morals and values of our culture are declining at a rapid rate, it can cause us to wonder if we are really making any difference at all. Does our faithfulness really make a difference, or is our society a lost cause?
 
I’m reminded of the old story about the boy and the starfish. A young boy was walking along the beach after a storm and there were literally hundreds and hundreds of starfish that had washed up on the shore and which were lying in the sand slowly dying. The boy was anguished about that and began picking them up, one-by-one, and tossing them back into the sea. A man observing this smiled, walked up to the boy and said, “Son, there are many hundreds of starfish on this beach and you can’t save them all. What you’re attempting to do won’t make any difference.” The boy thought about that for a moment, looked at the starfish he had in his hand and said, “Well, it will make a difference for this one.” and he threw it back into the ocean.
 
Your job as a faithful Christian is not to save the world. It is to make a difference in one life at a time. Maybe you can’t make a big difference all by yourself for everyone. But you can make a difference for the one the Lord has put in front of you right now. We make a difference one person at a time. And yes, that does matter. With respect to lifelong learning what we learn from Paul in Ephesians 6:10-11 (above), is that by being a committed lifelong learner and doing the things that lifelong learners do, we stay strong in the Lord and we are able to continue with the task of making a difference in one life at a time.
 
This is an important understanding so we will continue thinking about it in the days to come.
 
God bless,
Pastor Jim
 
(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville)
 
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