3 John 1:3 - "It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it."
When I was a kid, I had a coach who loved to play "Small Ball." Small Ball was what he called his philosophy for coaching little league baseball. He believed that if his own team was good at bunting, which is intentionally hitting the ball a very short distance, then the other team would never be as good at fielding the ball and getting his team out. In sum, my coach felt that making a little progress a lot of times added up to scoring runs and winning games.
That's what God is also talking about in today's Bible verse from 3 John 1:3; a believer's "faithfulness to the truth" and continuing "to walk in it" happens one small step at a time. But small steps add up and contribute to victories.
There are small steps we all can take to claim God's promises and advance the Kingdom of God by making time every morning to 1) praise God out loud for all believers and our ministries in our various communities, 2) praise God out loud for those who he will bring to Christ through all of us each day, and finally, 3) sing the doxology out loud, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye, heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
Realistically, doing those three things each morning takes about one minute of time. It's Small Ball. But it's God's Small Ball, so if my baseball coach's small ball philosophy added up to victories, then how much more does God's small steps philosophy add up and contribute to victories? Indeed, that's exactly what God promises for us all--small praises to God add up to big victories for those who praise Him.
So, 1) generally speaking, I invite you to believe, as in today's verse, that "faithfulness to the truth" will bring you great blessing and victory today as you do the little things, the small steps that honor God and love others. And 2) specifically, I invite you to join a group of people who read this and are committed to daily praising God for ministries, for new believers, and by singing the doxology of praise which is a small, one minute commitment, which will advance God's Kingdom and bring blessing to us all.
Thank you all for your partnership in Christ! I praise God for you!!!
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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