ODJ: doing good

October 30, 2014 

READ: Galatians 6:3-10 

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up (v.9).

Edward Kimball was a Sunday school teacher determined to win his class to Christ. A young Dwight Moody would fall asleep during his lessons, but Kimball remained resolute and even met Moody at the shoe shop where he worked and urged him to give his life to Christ. Kimball left the shop thinking he’d failed miserably, but because of that encounter, Dwight Lyman Moody did commit his life to Christ, and he became one of the most prolific preachers of his time. Moody’s conversion and ministry places him in a select group of influential evangelists who were used by God to bring millions to Christ: Frederick Brotherton Meyer, J. Wilbur Chapman, Billy Sunday, Mordecai Ham and Billy Graham.

Our propensity to sin, pressing responsibilities and a lack of appreciation all give us convenient excuses for not doing good. But the apostle Paul reminds us to not become tired of doing good, especially to those in the family of believers. For at the right time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9-10).

Perhaps the reason we become weary in doing good is that we’re working for the approval of others and not for God. But if we pursue doing the right stuff for God’s cause, we’ll gain satisfaction and joy that only He can give (vv.4-5).

A Sunday school teacher might understandably feel less than enthusiastic about preparing a lesson for a group of uninterested children. If Edward Kimball had given up on the students in his class, we might never have had the likes of Dwight L. Moody and Billy Graham. Moody once said, “There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.” —Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

365-day plan› Acts 15:1-21

MORE
Read James 2:14-17 to see how doing good to others is evidence of our faith in Jesus. 
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Where can you do good this week, especially among the family of believers? If you’ve become weary in doing good, pause and ask God if you’re still doing what He wants you to do. Regain your strength and don’t give up!