{"id":5932,"date":"2022-06-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-12T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5932"},"modified":"2022-05-03T20:35:11","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T01:35:11","slug":"little-things-can-mean-a-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5932","title":{"rendered":"Little Things Can Mean a Lot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-1024x731.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5935\" width=\"254\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-1024x731.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-300x214.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-768x549.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-600x429.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-1536x1097.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Little-things-can-mean-a-lot-churchartpro-2048x1463.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 254px) 100vw, 254px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When governor Zerubbabel was faced with the task of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, he faced many obstacles. Fifty years had passed since the Babylonian invasion left Jerusalem desolate and Solomon\u2019s Temple (also known as the First Temple) burned to the ground. It became obvious this second temple would never have the grandeur of the first. Even after the foundation was laid, some old timers wept thinking of the comparison (Ezra 3:12). &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, amidst this small beginning, God told the people not to be discouraged for the second temple would be completed through Zerubbabel. He also asked a rhetorical question that contains a life lesson for all of us. \u201cFor who hath despised the day of small things?\u201d (Zechariah 4:10 KJV). The people could only see what was in front of them, not what God would do with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I admit that I suffer from this kind of tunnel vision. In a world that measures significance by size, it\u2019s easy to think small things have little value. Yet little things mean a lot to God. Things like\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Giving someone a cold drink of water (Matthew 10:42)<\/li><li>Feeding the hungry (Matthew 25:43-45)<\/li><li>Visiting those in prison (Matthew 25:43-45)<\/li><li>Helping the fatherless and the widows (James 1:27)<\/li><li>A widow\u2019s mite (Mark 12:41-44)<\/li><li>Sharing what little you have (John 6:9-13)<\/li><li>Little children (Matthew 18:1-5)<\/li><li>Little flocks (Luke 12:32)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The parables are full of analogies made with small things: one talent, sowing seeds, a lost coin, one lost sheep, a grain of mustard seed, and a little leaven. The list could go on and on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What about people? David, a mere shepherd boy, used a slingshot to kill Goliath. A small boy helped feed a multitude with three fishes and five loaves of bread. Jesus was born in a stable in some obscure town, yet offers salvation to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, Jesus\u2019s life was spent doing small things for others. We could call them acts of kindness. He comforted the sick. He befriended the sinner. He hung out with the fishermen. He paid attention to little children. He washed the disciples\u2019 feet. He told us if we wanted to be great we should do the same thing\u2014learn to serve others (Mark 10:42-45).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God does not measure significance by size. There can be power in small things. A little match can cause a big fire. A tiny acorn can produce a giant oak tree. Little drops of water can fill an ocean. Tiny grains of sand can make a beach. I\u2019m thankful that God can take any little thing I do and multiply it for His glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>*****<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cIt is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord..<\/em><em>.\u201d ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026 When governor Zerubbabel was faced with the task of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, he faced many obstacles. Fifty years had passed since the Babylonian invasion left &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5932\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}