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20514 Man in Mirror

Fri/Sat/Sun—December 1–3•The Foolish and the Weak Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:26–29a) When I first left real estate, and went into full-time ministry, I was inexperienced and untrained. I started praying and felt that somehow God wanted me to do something in Jackson, Mississippi. I called two guys there whom I knew—a pastor and a layman—and they agreed to meet with me. I guess I thought I was supposed to go up there and be the next Billy Graham or something, because I proposed a city-wide outreach event. These two men said, “That’s great, but that’s not our problem.” They added, “Our problem is that 50 percent of our community is black, and 50 percent is white, and we don’t know each other. We have a great need for racial reconciliation.” I had a close African American friend named Tom Skinner who agreed to go with me to see if we could address this issue. We met with a group of pastors, and after the event one of them said to me, “This is exciting. I’ve been praying for years that God would send someone to help us heal our city. I’m just a little surprised that He sent you.” You see, I was one man with not much to offer, but I offered what I had, and God used it. I haven’t been involved in that program since its inception, but 20 years later it’s still going strong, with about 20 branches throughout the state of Mississippi. God’s plan never depends on our ability. If you’re willing to offer what little you have, God will use it.  WEEK Week 8 How does your experience demonstrate the truth of today’s Scripture passage? FOR YOUR SMALL GROUP November 26– December 3 List three things that you are passionate about. ■ Are you actively participating in one or more those passions? ■ Why or why not? If you don’t feel like God is using you, why do you think that is? Daily Reading: Daniel 8:1–11:35, 1 John 2:1–3:24, Psalm 120:1–122:9, Proverbs 28:25–29:1 What are you passionate about? 45


20514 Man in Mirror
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