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

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

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