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A Small Beginning, A Faithful God by Patti Greene

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Sometimes God begins His work in the smallest, quietest ways. I recently wrote an article for The Baptist Standard about one of those moments, and how the Lord wove His faithfulness through it all. If you need a reminder that God is present in the little things, this may bless you today.

Voices: A small beginning, a faithful God

Over the past five years, I have had the privilege of watching God do what only he can do. I’ve watched it through a Bible study we started in our subdivision.

I am not sharing this story to highlight my role, because this Bible study did not begin through human planning or strength. I am sharing it because remembering God’s faithfulness helps us see his heart more clearly.

Looking back on what he has done among us changes the way we view ministry. It reminds us God often begins with something small, quiet, and ordinary and then breathes life into it.

Pink New Testament

A testimony of God’s faithfulness

The Bible study in our subdivision began with a simple desire to open God’s word with others. From the beginning, it was unmistakably a work of God. He gathered people, opened hearts, built community, answered prayers, and sustained us through seasons we never expected. He did it all in ways no one could take credit for.

As we look back, we see his grace. People have come to faith in Christ. Hearts have opened to Scripture for the first time. Those who once felt unsure or intimidated by the Bible have developed a hunger for it. Many of the ladies have grown deeper in their walk with Jesus, finding strength, comfort, and direction in his word.

One of the sweetest surprises has been watching people fall in love with the Old Testament. Books they once skipped or did not understand have become treasured parts of their faith. God has shown us every page of Scripture reveals his voice, his character, and his promises.

Through it all, God has never failed to provide a place for us to meet. Whether in homes, community spaces, or borrowed rooms, he has opened doors. He has given us places to gather, learn, pray, and share meals. He has provided what we needed, often before we knew we needed it.

Friendships have formed—sweet, unexpected, lasting friendships. People who weren’t connected to a church are now worshiping faithfully. Some have found church homes for the first time in years, while others have returned after long seasons away. God has used this study to gently draw people back into fellowship with his people.

Ladies’ prayers have been answered in ways only God could arrange. We have prayed for healing, direction, comfort, provision, and reconciliation. Time after time, God has shown himself faithful. Sometimes the answers came quickly, sometimes slowly, and sometimes in ways we did not expect—but they came.

We have walked with one another through loss. We have said goodbye to people we loved. We have watched others endure illness, grief, family struggles, and financial challenges, yet remain standing—not because the road was easy, but because God walked with them, and we walked together.
Community Women’s Bible Study

For many, the Bible has become alive and real. It has moved from being a book on a shelf to a daily companion, a source of strength, and a place of refuge. People are reading it with new eyes, a deeper understanding, and fresh joy.

Care groups began and multiplied. What started as a simple gathering of 12 has grown into a network of people who care for one another, check in, pray, help, and encourage. Servant leaders have stepped forward. People are quietly helping people—not for recognition, but because they love the Lord and his people.

And there is so much more God has done that we may never see or hear about. Ministry often happens behind the scenes: in private conversations, quiet prayers, small acts of kindness, and unseen sacrifices. Even when we do not see it, we know God is moving. He has been moving all along.

Reflecting on five years

Five years of grace.
Five years of growth.
Five years of God’s faithfulness.

As I reflect on these years, I believe our story can encourage any ministry, anywhere. God works through simple obedience. He blesses gatherings centered on his word. He grows ministries that make room for new, seasoned, hurting, and curious believers. He honors humility, faithfulness, and love.

It starts with the Word

Other ministries can take heart in these reminders:

  • Keep Scripture at the center. God honors his word.
  • Stay humble and flexible. He will provide the place, people, and timing.
  • Let relationships grow naturally. Ministry often grows through quiet friendships.
  • Expect God to work behind the scenes. Much of his work happens where no one is looking.
  • Trust him in hard seasons. Loss, change, and challenges do not stop his work; they often deepen it.
  • Make room for all kinds of people. God brings exactly whom he wants to bring.
  • Let God set the pace. Ministry grows best when we follow his lead rather than forcing our own.

If our story says anything, it is this: When God begins something, he sustains it. When his people gather around his word, he does more than we could plan, predict, or take credit for. When we stay small in our own eyes, he shows himself great.

This five-year story is not about us. It is about him—his kindness, provision, wisdom, timing, people, word, and glory.

May every ministry—large or small, new or established—be encouraged to trust God with the unseen, the unexpected, and the ordinary. He delights in taking simple beginnings and turning them into testimonies of his faithfulness.

To him be all the glory.

Patti Greene is a graduate of Baylor University and Dallas Baptist University, a member of a Texas Baptist church in Houston, and the author of several books. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

GreenePastures.org

Bible Verse: You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:14

Prayer: Lord, help me to be prepared to hear Your voice when You speak to me. May Your wisdom guide me into all truth, and make me honor You in all I do.

Faith

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Books by Patti Greene

Coming Soon: Luke 2: The Christmas Story: Discover the Birth of Jesus in Scripture

Unstoppable: Go the Distance with God ISBN: 979-8284335017 

Answer Me: Developing a Heart for Prayer ISBN 978-1512760453

Bible Word Search Puzzles: The Gospels ISBN 979-8218070465

Bible Word Search Puzzles: Acts and Epistles ISBN 979-8218092696

Bible Word Search Puzzles: Epistles and Revelation ISBN 979-8363612046

Christian Caregiving: Practical Advice for a Happy Ending ISBN 978-0692115381

Awaken Me: A Devotional Prayer Journal ISBN 978-1490893181

Anchor Me: Laying a Foundation in Prayer and Bible Study ISBN 978-1490893174

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The Coumadin Confessional

From my lips, to God’s ear. He had His answer ready long before I even asked.

Guest Contributor Ellsworth Johnson

If you were raised Catholic, like I was, chances are you spent some time in a confessional.

When I was in the fifth grade, growing up deep in the boroughs of New York City, my mother put me in a program organized by our local church called “Release Time.” On Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. I, my brother and about 50 other kids from local elementary schools got to leave early, walk the half mile to Sacred Heart and spend the afternoon (and, often, into the evening) in classrooms being lectured by the nuns on various topics, attending services in the sanctuary and, occasionally, indulging in my least favorite part of the whole experience: going to confession.

Oh, how I hated the confessional! Not only did we have to wait in long lines, to visit one of what were essentially small closets built into the wood paneling which lined the sanctuary’s walls, but once there you closed the door behind you and, in the darkened space, had to bare your sins to the priest invisibly on the other side of the porous cloth partition.

I often found myself confused. Embarrassed. Fumbling for things to say to a perfect stranger about the bad stuff no one knew about but God and me (“should I mention THAT one?”).

I had forgotten that agonized feeling from my childhood — until last Tuesday, when it came back full-force.

The apostle Paul reminds us many times to trust that God already has things mapped out for us:

… for we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Currently, I am under medical care at home. Jackie, my nurse (not her real name), comes by once a week to take my vital signs and do a procedure called an INR, where she pricks my finger to draw blood and uses a portable device to test how well and how quickly it clots.

One of the medications I take is called Coumadin®. It is used to control the blood’s clotting ability. I had been prescribed to take one pill a day, but twice a week I had been advised to take an additional half a pill to further inhibit blood clotting.

Well, that was the plan, but… cut a pill in half? How on earth was I supposed to do that? With a knife? Scissors? Chisel? How do you keep the pieces from flying to Kingdom Come when you split the tablet? It sounded like a huge hassle, with the possibility of making a mess and chasing pill fragments all over the room, so I decided to just take an extra whole pill (instead of half) on those days and be done with it.

(DISCLAIMER: Do NOT try this at home, or anywhere else! This was a VERY BAD thing to do, and I thank God that it didn’t result in any medical harm. Always take your medicines exactly as prescribed!)

There were consequences, though.

“Your numbers are way up. They are about as high as they should be. We should look at lowering your dose.”

Oh no! My blood was way thinner than expected. Jackie was considering making medical recommendations under false pretenses, and I was the source of the falsehood!

The numbers from the INR test were at the upper end of the acceptable range, probably because of the additional whole Coumadin® pill I was taking instead of cutting it in half as directed.

Jackie was sitting in the chair across from me in my office, busily entering information into the tablet computer she brought with her to manage all my patient-care data. Should I tell her? She might freak out and get mad. On the other hand, it would explain the result, and allow us to make decisions based on reality and, hopefully, get the expected outcome.

Contemplating Confession

I stared out the window, flipping the issue over and over in my mind, evaluating possible eventual reactions (in increasing order of severity):

#3: Jackie getting mad

#2: any medical consequences

#1: wife clubbing me senseless

I took a deep breath. “Here goes,” I thought to myself.

I told Jackie what I did and braced myself for her response.

She did not even look up from her tablet.

Experiencing Grace

“That’s OK,” she said in an even tone. “I have an extra pill cutter out in my car. You can have it.”

WHAT?

She continued.

“I bought it for another patient some time ago. It turned out he didn’t need it, so I’ve been carrying it around in my car ever since. Here… let me go get it for you.” I watched her as she put down the tablet and left the room.

Can you say “grace”? The way it was all once explained to me involved blatantly speeding and a cop car pulling you over. “Justice” is getting the hefty ticket you rightly deserve. “Mercy” is overlooking the infraction, though you were obviously very guilty. “Grace” is where the cop says, on top of letting you slide, “Oh, and here are ten courtside passes to the next Lakers home game for you and your friends.”

“Mercy” is overlooking the infraction, though you were obviously very guilty. Ellsworth Johnson
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My mouth hung wide open. Jackie’s calm and grace-filled reaction was TOTALLY unexpected! I was completely flabbergasted at the astronomical coincidence which had just taken place.

Rationalizing God’s Provision

My rational mindset about putting together the sequence of events which must have taken place in the non-specific past to bring this all about:

  • One of Jackie’s patients needed a pill cutter.
  • Jackie bought the pill cutter.
  • The patient ended up not needing it.
  • Jackie left it in her car until now.

Just as important are all the things that did NOT happen, each of which is entirely plausible:

  • Jackie could have, at some point, for any reason (or no reason) taken the pill cutter out of her car.
  • Another patient could have needed it.
  • Jackie could have forgotten it was there or remembered yet not mention it.

This is hardly a complete list, but only the more obvious things. “Less obvious” is that the car could have been in an accident and been unavailable, or even a different nurse than Jackie showed up at my house that day.

Or… I could have chickened out and not said anything.

Appreciating God’s Care

 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Yet again, I am amazed in my humanness that God had it all under control, and that all the pieces fell together as He had obviously planned. And, yet again, I remind myself that I shouldn’t be surprised, considering who God is and where He sits in the scheme of things.

He has the whole universe under His dominion, yet He saw fit to make sure that I, Person #3,975,467,002 on this one obscure rock out of a trillion planets, with nothing special about him and much worthy of condemnation, still got what I needed.

Not only did I end up getting it, but He also arranged events (and non-events!) in other people’s lives to bring it all about.

I should indeed not be surprised. That’s who He is.

And I praise His name forever.

Thanks for the pill cutter.

Amen.

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Bible Study, Christian Living

Humility

What humility!

Hudson Taylor was scheduled to speak at a large Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia. The moderator of the service introduced the missionary in eloquent and glowing terms. He told the large congregation all that Taylor had accomplished in China, and then presented him as “our illustrious guest.” Taylor stood quietly for a moment, and then opened his message by saying. “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master.”¹

Humility is not a fashionable word to throw around. You don’t hear many people talking about it; it is very rarely spoken about from the pulpit; and if one says they are humble, it usually means they are not.

I knew when I wrote about PRIDE last week that I was obligated to tackle the tough topic of humility next. On a personal level, I desire to be humble, but I fear true humility is way beyond my reach. I feel more comfortable writing about topics I have some degree of knowledge about. But humility can’t be bought or achieved by intellectual means. It can only be obtained as we grow closer and closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. So, because the Bible addresses humility, I will attempt to give some perspective on it.

Michael M. Smith, the author of Becoming more like Jesus, defines humility as a trait that is “indispensable for growth in Christian character – for becoming like Jesus.”² As believers, we are called to be humble people. 2 Chronicles 7:14 states, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

To become humble we must be willing for the Lord to peel pride from our character and be totally God-centered like the Lord Jesus. However, we each have areas in our lives that usually hinder our quest for humility. And, we usually do not like sharing this personal information with others lest they glean something into our character that we don’t want them to see. As you read the next few paragraphs, think about some of the triggers that affect you from becoming more Christ-like, i.e. jealousy regarding a friend’s fabulous vacation; pride because your child received a higher SAT score than their peers; or coveting the larger, custom home of a co-worker.

Characteristics of Humility [a humble person]

  • Asks for forgiveness and says, “I’m sorry” quickly;
  • Rejoices and praises others, but not themselves;
  • Follows Christ’s example the best they can;
  • Possesses Authenticity;
  • Listens to God
  • Possesses a grateful/thankful spirit;
  • Gives generously;
  • Shows modesty regarding their achievements;
  • Enjoys serving others;
  • Loves others;
  • Possesses the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’;
  • Enjoys seeing God in everything;
  • Projects sincerity;
  • Holds wisdom close by;
  • Retains control over their tongue;
  • Waits patiently upon God;
  • Admits faults easily;
  • Overlooks the failures of others;
  • Enjoys giving others credit that is due them;
  • Understands that they have so much to learn in the spiritual realm;
  • Accepts personal responsibility;
  • Desires daily encounters with God;
  • Longs for a touch from the Holy Spirit;
  • Agonizes over sin;
  • Compares themselves to the Lord rather than other people;
  • Recognizes their need for continual repentance; and
  • A humble person will NEVER boast of their humility.

Jesus – A Biblical Example of Humility

The Bible has many examples of humble people: Samuel, Esther, David, Daniel, and more. But, the most humble person in the Bible has to be the Lord Jesus Christ. He washed the feet of his disciples. [John 13:12-17] He gave his heavenly father all glory and honor [John 5:19,30,41] But, the biggest act of humility anyone could give, is that he submitted to God so fully that he took the form of a servant, humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of dying on the cross for our sins. His love for God and us was that strong.

It is one thing to talk about how to recognize a humble person, but we need to get to the point where we pursue or desire to pursue that kind of life ourselves with our entire heart and soul. But how?

Pursuing a Life of Humility involves:

  • A willingness and desire to rid ourselves of pride and be humble like Christ;
  • Praying for humility;
  • Faith in God’s ability to humble us;
  • Studying His Word continually;
  • Depending daily on the power of the Holy Spirit;
  • Following His leadings;
  • Living a disciplined life free from sin; and
  • Understand that God expects us to be humble.

Humility does not appear overnight. It is a trait that takes time to develop. We need time to grow into a person who is permeated with wisdom and grace. We will be tested to see if we will follow Him in many different circumstances. We need time to be taught what is right and wrong. We need time for the Word of God to blend into our life and character. But, as we experience more of God, we will find following him much easier as days pass by. With His grace, God’s strength will be perfected in us. As we find ourselves falling more in love with God, His Word, and our time communicating with Him, we will grow in humility. We might not even notice it, but others will. Look for opportunities to practice humility. Pray for those opportunities. Let’s stop tooting our own horn and let God have His way with us because he really is our “Illustrious Master.”

Blessings Always,

Patti

Bible Verses:

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:3

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Romans 12: 10-16

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

Prayer:

Oh Jesus, I confess my proud spirit to you right now. Please give me the discipline to develop my character to become more like you. I desire your presence in all areas of my life. Make my prayer life and Bible reading be filled with your Holy Spirit’s leading, so I can be the person you designed me to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

¹Wiersbe, Warren. Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers. 7 Dec. 2015. p. 243.

²Smith, Michael. Becoming More like Jesus. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1999.

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid (BG²) is an international network of independent bloggers who meaningfully blog—and who are serious—about matters relating to the Bible. Follow the members on Twitter using our BG² List.

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid (BG²) is an international network of independent bloggers who meaningfully blog—and who are serious—about matters relating to the Bible. Follow the members on Twitter using our BG² List.