Message from June 5, 2020

On May 19th this year, Ravi Zacharias, died to us but lives now in the Lord’s Presence.  He had an enormous apologetic ministry around the world and leaves the legacy of a worldwide ministry team that continues to help “Thinkers to Believe and Believers to Think”!  It all started in a hospital room in India when Ravi was 17 years old.  He was very sick after a suicide attempt.  Whilst in that hospital bed, a man dropped by a Gideon New Testament.  Ravi prayed that if God existed, He would save him and he vowed to turn over “every stone” until he knew the truth.  The truth, of course, is not just a concept but resides in a person!  Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life….no one comes to the Father except through me.”  Ravi’s life verse was John 14:19 and in particular Jesus’ phrase “Because I live, you also will live.”
What if that man, unknown to just about everyone in the world, had never given that New Testament?  Have you ever though about how small things can make a big difference?  One of the space shuttles exploded on take-off killing everyone on board because a small “O” ring had become brittle with overnight cold and failed to do its job.  In the Bible, there are a number of nameless individuals who have influenced history in profound ways. Three examples:   Naaman’s servant girl, Saul’s servant when Saul was looking for his father’s donkeys, and the widow and her offering of a “mite”.
When we are young, we perhaps have the idea of doing something significant for God.  When we are old, we wonder if we ever did anything really significant.  
Wrong ideas!  God uses insignificant, sometimes nameless individuals to accomplish significant things, often without their own awareness.  The secret is only one:  to stay close to Jesus and when he commissions us, to say in return “Here am I, send me.” and “make me the person that you want me to be.”