"You Can Be Great"

There are many great men and women of the Bible, who are examples for us to follow. Have you ever noticed the beginnings of those God chose to do some of the greatest things in the history of the world? They were, virtually, all ordinary people, just like you and me.

Gideon was a farmer, and when he was first introduced to us in Judges 6. He was a farmer who was afraid and as a result he was threshing wheat at the winepress instead of at the threshing floor. He was hunkered down because he was afraid of the Midianites, of whom Israel had been under bondage for seven years. God sent a prophet to Gideon who called him a "mighty man of valor" and chose Gideon to lead the defeat of Midian.

I think of Daniel. Taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar when he was only a teenager. With two of his teenage buddies he endured captivity with great aplomb. Daniel had been raised by Godly parents who taught him to always be true to God and never deviate from God's holy will. He always remained steadfast and it did not go unnoticed by the hierarchy of the day. Daniel rose to power and remained through the Babylonian years and well into the Medo-Persian years. God chose Daniel for his great faith, continual prayer life and unwavering Godly conduct.

We all know the story of David. He was just a shepherd boy when God sent Samuel to find the next king of all Israel. God chose David to lead his people during some of the most difficult years.

Moses, likewise, had made the decision to leave the house of the Pharaoh of Egypt to "endure hardship with God's people. He killed an Egyptian for mistreating an Israelite and fled, in fear, to the land of Midian. He was tending sheep for his father-in-law when God talked to him from the burning bush. God had chosen Moses as a baby…now it was time for Moses to choose God. He did and became one of the truly great ones of history.

When Jesus came, he chose fisherman to follow Him and become the leaders of the kingdom.

You do not have to be famous, powerful, wealthy, or extremely talented to do great things in God's kingdom. You just have to have the desire to work and God will use your talents in His kingdom. This is the way we "lay up treasures for ourselves, in heaven"
(Matthew 6:20).

In Christian Love,