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

Tuesday... Let's be smart.

Tuesday... Let's be smart. Proverbs 12:16a (CEV) says, "Losing your temper is foolish." It really is. And it is so hard to take it back. That is not smart. There are always consequence when we lose our temper and they are usually not good. Think of the last time you lost your temper at home, at your kids, at your spouse, at your pets. at your life, at where you live, at where you work. There are always repercussions and they are not good. The New Living Translation says, "A fool is quick-tempered." The Message says, "Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly." The Amplified Bible says, "The [arrogant] fool's anger is quickly known [because he lacks self-control and common sense]." It just is not a good thing. is it? But then the rest of this verse, this proverb (CEV) says, "ignoring an insult is smart." It really is. I have striven in dealing with people to give them a benefit of doubt. They didn't mean that, they

Friday... But, can be such a beautiful word.

Friday... But, can be such a beautiful word. It really can be life changing. Look at what Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians. In 2:1-3 (NLT) he says, "Once you were dead because of your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil - the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else." There it is, there it is. That is the way we are living or have lived. Dead is a definite word of finality. At least the devil thought so and maybe you do too. And then verses 4-5 starts by saying, "But", that beautiful life changing word of opportunity even though we are dead. Yes, we are subject to God's anger, "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even t

Todays Beginning

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