When the effort seems to be futile, and the returns so small...

Reading in Acts today reminded me of the great expanse of differences the Body of Christ may have.... from heathens to the most heavenly minded, from kings to paupers.... I see new works grow in communities full of small mainline denominations, and am glad to know folks who have never darkened the door of a traditional church might come to a theatre or a storefront, but at the same time have a sense of sadness that those of us who pour our lives into our smaller works which somehow seem to have no impact and touch no lives.... and yet, I know that when we do the best we can with the place we are and the tools at hand, God has not forsaken us for the shiny, new and seemingly fantastically dynamic places...

It is with prayer that the works and tears we offer are made with the hope that our efforts bring a smile to God's face, and I must then trust the word of God that warns me to not despise small beginnings and to do all that I do as unto my Lord... so, this day, when I see the fast-growing contemporary groups around me, when I find my efforts seem to mean so little to this world, I pray that the One for Whom I work will accept my "widow's mite" and smile down on my efforts as I continue to forge ahead with the prayer and hope that Covenant Bible, its teachings, its linkage to so many other opportunities and outreaches, its prayers for others, and its consistant stand for the full and unadulterated Word of God, may make a difference in someone's life, and that difference leads them to heaven's gates, not hell's terrors..... vcj