AUGUST 30, 2024
READ: Zechariah 4 (Focus vs. 6-10)
MEMORY VERSE
“Do not despise these small beginnings.” Zechariah 4:10 nlt
BACKGROUND
At our wedding shower, our shy friend Dave stood in a corner clutching an oblong, tissue-wrapped object. When his turn came to present his gift, he brought it forward.
Evan and I unwrapped it to discover a hand-carved piece of wood containing perfect oblong concentric woodgrain circles and the engraved sentence, “Some of God’s miracles are small.”
The plaque has hung in our home for forty-five years, reminding us again and again that God is at work even in the small things. Paying a bill. Providing a meal. Healing a cold. All tallying up to an impressive record of God’s provision.
Through the prophet Zechariah, the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel received a similar message from God regarding the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.
After returning from their Babylonian captivity, a season of slow progress began, and the Israelites grew discouraged. “Do not despise these small beginnings,” God declared (Zechariah 4:10 nlt). He accomplishes His desires through us and sometimes in spite of us. “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (v. 6).
When we grow weary at the apparent smallness of God’s work in and around us, may we remember that some of His miracles may be “small.” He uses the small things to build toward His greater purposes.
By: Elisa Morgan
INSIGHT
Zechariah was one of Israel’s post-exilic prophets. This means his ministry took place after some of the people returned following their seventy years of captivity in Babylon.
The Talmud—a written rabbinical commentary on Jewish history and law—says that Zechariah, along with Ezra and Nehemiah, was of the Great Synagogue. This was an assembly of 120 of the leading rabbis and scholars of the day.
Zechariah was a Levite born in Babylon and is referred to in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 as well as in Nehemiah 12:16. Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, he was both a prophet and a priest. The book of Zechariah contains a significant amount of messianic prophecy.
The prophet uses messages of encouragement to call the people to repentance and, having physically returned to the land, to spiritually return to God. We too can be challenged spiritually as we consider how wonderful God is.
By: Bill Crowder
APPLICATION
Where have you seen God’s small miracles in your life? How has He used small things to provide for your needs and the needs of those around you?
PR’s RE-EMPHASIS (From Post)
“When we grow weary at the apparent smallness of God’s work in and around us, may we remember that some of His miracles may be “small.” He uses the small things to build toward His greater purposes.”
PR’s (PASTOR RICHARD) TAKE
Each time we pause to “link” the threads of our lives what a beautiful tapestry of God we see. pr
“God is big enough to care about the little things” Jennifer Dukeslee
“God is at work even in the small things. Paying a bill. Providing a meal. Healing a cold. All tallying up to an impressive record of God’s provision.”
PRAYER
“Dear God, thank You for working Your small miracles in my life. Please help me to notice all Your works!”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“HE IS A MIRACLE WORKING GOD”
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
MY GOD IS A WONDER
MY GOD IS A MIR-A-CLE
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
HE’S ABOVE, BELOW, BEFORE, BEHIND, AROUND ME
HE’S ABOVE, BELOW, BEFORE. BEHIND, AROUND ME
MY GOD IS A WONDER,
MY GOD IS A MIRACLE (WORKER)
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
MY GOD I A WONDER
MY GOS IS A MIR-A-CLE
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD
HE’S ABOVE, BELOW, BEFORE, BEHIND, AROUND ME
HE’S ABOVE, BELOW, BEFORE. BEHIND, AROUND ME
MY GOD IS A WONDER,
MY GOD IS A MIRACLE
HE’S A MIRACLE WORKING GOD…
READING THROUGH THE BIBLE THIS YEAR (DAILY)
ACTS 11
