Monday... Give us eyes to see even if it is little.

John tells this occurrence over in chapter 6 of his gospel. There was this huge crowd that was coming out to where Jesus was. It was not close to a town so that was a problem. Verse 5 (NLT) says, "Jesus soon saw a huge crowd coming to look for him. Turning to Philip he asked, 'Where can we buy bread to feed all these people.'" That was a big problem and verse 6 says, "He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do."

What problem are we facing today? Is it way bigger than we can handle? Maybe He is testing us and he already knows what he is going to do. But he is letting it happen because he wants to see what we see no matter how small it is

Verse 7, "Philip replied, 'Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!'" And that was true, very true if you are looking at the problem from your ability to handle it. Remember, he was testing Philip and maybe he is testing us. He is testing our view of the situation and it's not a good one but it is a real one.

Now there was another view, another person who said something. Verses 8 & 9 says, "Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother spoke up. 'There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?'" He at least saw a possibility. He wasn't sure if it would make a difference but he let Jesus know what was there. He had eyes to see even if it was small. At least he saw a very small possibility.

Of course Jesus saw the situation from his point of view and in verse 10 he said, "Tell everyone to sit down." And maybe that is what he is saying to us today especially if we see a possibility even though it is small. Maybe he is saying to us, "Give me what you have and sit down. I've got it covered."

So as we start this day with this problem that is greater than we can handle let's give him what we have and sit down and watch him go to work.

The rest of verse 10 says, "So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)" Yes, it was an impossible situation. Yes, all they had was five loaves and two fish but they also had Jesus. And that was way more than enough.

Could it be he is testing us in what we see? Now here is a good thing. He didn't kick Philip out of the twelve disciples. He just showed him the real answer to the problem. He showed him what he, Jesus could do with what we give him.

Verses 11 & 12 says, "Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God." Let me stop here. He gave thanks in what he saw was going to happen before it happened. And that is real faith. Maybe that is what we need to do. Thank him before it happens because we believe in him. That is real faith. That is real trust. Thank him before it happens.

After he did that he then goes on, "and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted."

Catch this, he took what little that Andrew saw, found, the five loaves and two fish, and used it to feed over 5,000 people.

So what problem do you see this morning and what do you have to give to Jesus to solve the problem? So give him what you have and believe that he can use it and thank him before it happens. Give him your life, your problem, what you have, give him your faith and give him thanks. You have what it takes to handle the problem when you have Jesus in your life. Believe it and thank him before it happens! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is!

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is! Look at this, Proverbs 5:21-23 (CEV) says, "The Lord sees everything, and he watches us closely. Sinners are trapped and caught by their own evil deeds. They get lost and die because of their foolishness and lack of self-control." That is true of so many. Now look at this, Luke 15:1-7 says, "Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, 'This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.' Then Jesus told them this story: If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, 'Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep.' Jesus said, 'In the same way there is mo...

Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together! They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2. Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you." Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed i f you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." And verses 9-11, " Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives. So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort. Verses 5-6 in the Ampli...

Todays Beginning

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