The inspiring example of others

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The Great Adventure”

Our Bible verse for today: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The inspiring example of others”

This morning, I want to thank you for your patience over the past week as I was away on a mission trip and there were no daily devotional messages from me. One of the reasons I love mission trips is because of the inspiring example of other Christians that I get to meet on the mission field. I love to see what God is doing in and through other Christians in other places and their examples inspire me to try harder and to do better in my own work for Jesus here at home.

Take for instance, the El Arca Children’s Home in the Amazon Jungle of Peru. The home was founded and has been run by my friend Bud and Laura Lenz and their family. They have been in Peru for more than twenty-five years (Laura is now in heaven). Bud is my age now and says he expects to continue caring for children until the day he dies. Doing so is not an easy thing. Living and ministering in places like the Amazon Jungle can be a hard life. But it is what God has called Bud to do and the Holy Spirit has therefore empowered him and provided for him for more than a quarter of a century. His commitment and dedication are inspiring to witness and I love getting to sometimes be a part of the work during my short visits to see him.

In the Spring of 2025, we will take a team from our church to minister with our friends, the Gayhart family, in southeast Asia. They are Southern Baptist International missionaries on long-term assignment in a predominantly Muslim country. We are one of their sponsoring churches and so we get regular reports about their ministry efforts, and that is helpful – but being there with them for a short time will be much better. Again, their example is tremendously inspiring to us. It makes us want to do a better job on our own mission field right here in Cumberland County, Tennessee.

But God doesn’t call or equip most of us to do what the Lenz and Gayhart families do. That’s their adventure of being on-mission with Jesus. Your adventure with Jesus will almost certainly be different. We can participate in and be inspired by those who do work like the El Arca children’s home, and missions in Southeast Asia, or other ministry efforts like that – maybe even go there for short periods, but still, your adventure and my adventure with Jesus will probably look different – but it too can be inspiring to others. If you conduct your ministry with the same enthusiasm and commitment you observe in people like Bud Lenz and Jeff and Rachel Gayhart, other people will be inspired by your example too.

We will talk more about this in the days to come. The fact is that wherever you are; whatever season of life you are in; whatever your current calling from God is; life with Jesus is and should be a great adventure.

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

Share this:

Related

Leave a comment Cancel reply