17 Mar, 2008
Donkey duty?
God Uses The Ordinary For The Extraordinary
(not actual photo of donkey used by Jesus)
ONLY A DONKEY
The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride.
He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. "I’ll show myself to them," he thought.
But they didn’t notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.
"Throw your garments down," he said crossly. "Don’t you know who I am?"
They just looked at him in amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move.
"Miserable heathens!" he muttered to himself. "I’ll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me."
But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the market place.
"The palm branches! Where are the palm branches!" he shouted.
"Yesterday, you threw palm branches!"
Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.
"Foolish child," she said gently. "Don’t you realize that without Him, you are just an ordinary donkey?"
Just like the donkey who carried Jesus in Jerusalem, we are most fulfilled when we are in the service of Jesus Christ. Without him, all our best efforts are like "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) and amount to nothing. When we lift up Christ, however, we are no longer ordinary people, but key players in God’s plan to redeem the word.
SOURCE: Edited from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice. Copyright 1994 by Youth Specialties, Inc. & photo courtesy images.google.com
Zechariah 9:9
The Coming King of Zion
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Matthew 21:1-11
The Triumphal Entry
21:1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (ESV)
After reading today's God's Story scripture about Christ's Palm Sunday Parade, what are some questions to help us think about the impact on our lives?
The prophet Zechariah foretold this infamous, lowly ride by Jesus on a donkey. WHY IS THE FACT THAT JESUS' ACTIONS FULFILLED THE PROPHET'S WORDS SIGNIFICANT?
Consider the details of the story. As Jesus and His disciples approached Jerusalem, He actually sent two of them ahead telling them that they would find a specific donkey for Him to ride. WHAT DOES THIS TELL YOU ABOUT JESUS' POWER TO CONTROL CIRCUMSTANCES AND DETAILS? HOW CAN YOU APPLY THIS TO CHRIST'S IMPACT ON YOUR DAILY LIFE?
Think about the fact that Jesus knew that the disciples would be questioned about their "donkey recruiting" and they would be given the OK by just saying, 'The Lord needs them'. HOW CAN YOU APPLY THE FACT THAT JESUS USES ORDINARY PEOPLE (AND EVEN AN ANIMAL) TO ACCOMPLISH HIS EXTRAORDINARY PURPOSES?
Remember that without Jesus, we're just ordinary. But when we serve the humble King of Kings, He uses us to help build His Kingdom in extraordinary ways.
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Remember that Christ has already fulfilled most Biblical prophecy about Himself and He will eventually fulfill all of it for eternity. This means that God will always keep His promises to you!
- Thank Jesus for His power and control over the details of life. Ask Him to show you this Easter season how you can have a "mule ministry" for Him. Praise Him for His humble ways and invite Him to be King of your life.
- Pray every day that Jesus will lead you to do "ordinary" acts of service for His extraordinary purposes.
- Keep a written list of how God gives you opportunities to be a "donkey". As you serve in different ways, write down what God is teaching you.
- If you're making Easter cookies this week, forget the bunnies and baby chicks. Make some mules!
How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture and our story to others?
- Between now and Easter, look for an opportunity every day to lift up Jesus by lifting someone else up. By doing a little "donkey duty" act of kindness for someone else, God will probably give you the opportunity to learn more about their story and share a little more about your story and God's Story.
- Invite someone in your storysphere who needs Jesus to go to church with you this week.
- Encourage another follower of Christ by sending them today's DAILYBIDE.
- May 2008 [9]
- April 2008 [22]
- March 2008 [21]
- February 2008 [19]
- January 2008 [21]
- December 2007 [20]
- November 2007 [18]
- October 2007 [20]
- September 2007 [19]
- August 2007 [20]
- July 2007 [18]
- June 2007 [19]
- May 2007 [18]
- April 2007 [13]
- March 2007 [17]
- February 2007 [14]
- January 2007 [9]
- December 2006 [6]
- November 2006 [15]
- October 2006 [18]
- September 2006 [12]
- August 2006 [17]
- July 2006 [14]
- June 2006 [4]
