Friday... Let's not minimize what can be done through us.

John 6:9 (NLT), "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd."

It is so easy in life to minimize what we do. It really is.

Now there was this woman who got up early on this particular morning and probably every morning. She knew that her son had a great adventure planned for his day but she also knew that he had to eat so she went into her kitchen and got a few loaves of bread and some fish for her son to take on his adventure. Listen, don't ever minimize what you do. She did it because she knew her son would need it.

Do you wake up each morning and minimize what you do? Well, it is so easy to do, isn't it?

So, this young man headed out. He was going to see Jesus but when he got there, there was a huge crowd. John 6:10a says "The men alone numbered about 5,000." And of course there were way more than that. But this young man had some food because his mother prepared it for him.

Verses 5-6 says, "Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, 'Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?' He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do." You see he had this mother.

Again, let's not minimize what can be done through us.

There also was another person who did something small but that God used to do something great.

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." Yes, he minimized what he knew but Jesus used what he knew and what he shared with him.

Again, let's not minimize what can be done through us.

Now that mom, that son, that disciple did not realize what they had to offer and what a difference it was going to make that day.

Again, "he already knew what he was going to do." You see, Jesus had this mother, this son and this disciple. And he also has us. And yes, his plan is to use us each and everyday. So, let's not minimize what can be done by God through us each day if we are faithful to do what he's given us the opportunity and responsibility to do.

By the way, after Andrew told Jesus what he knew and after Andrew minimized what he knew, verses 10-11 says, "'Tell everyone to sit down.' Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterwards he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted." And they were all full and there also were leftovers, of at least twelve baskets full."

What a story that son had to tell his mom. Yes God used her to feed over 5,000 people.

Again, let's not minimize what can be done through us by God if we are faithful to do what he has given us to do. Mom, don't minimize what you do, dad, don't minimize what you do and also don't minimize what you know. It is God's plan to do amazing things through us if we are just faithful. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...

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