07.29.09
A Two Piece Fish Dinner
There are so many lessons which can be taught from Mark 6 where Jesus feeds the five thousand with a little boys lunch! In this story the disciples and Jesus were trying to go off by themselves after coming back from a ministry tour. However, alone is hardly what they were. The Bible says there were five thousand men and that was not counting women and children. So being alone was far from what these men were. However, Jesus in His love and compassion does not send them away but ministers to them. And not only does He minister to them spiritually, He instructs the disciples to minister to their very need of food. Jesus does not do the easy and convenient thing; send them home. He instructs the disciples to feed them! “Feed them!!” I can hear them answering in rebuttal. As a matter of fact they say “With What?” Can you hear the amazement in their voice as if they are saying “Can Jesus not see how many are here, thousands of hungry people and the place is a remote area, so how are we to do that?” Jesus instructs them to prepare for a meal. He plans on feeding the entire crowd with a two piece fish dinner!!!
One of the things I love is Jesus knew there were thousands and He knew there was only 5 loves of bread and 2 small fish, remember this meal was packed for a little boy, not a multitude! Jesus even goes so far as to count the amount of people when He gives specific instructions for them to sit in groups of fifty or a hundred. Why would Jesus do that? Just pray over the meal and start passing it out I say. Why count them? I think Jesus was not only going to show God’s mighty power by providing, He wanted it known just how powerful and mighty God is, that NOTHING is impossible for God! NOTHING! But Jesus was not concerned with the odds which faced them. He was not concerned with lack. He knew His Heavenly Father would show up and provide! Jesus was showing those present and His disciples that He could overcome this and so could they!
So many feel as if the odds are stacked against them. They feel like they have over five thousand to feed and only a “snack” to do it with. And it’s during those times that doubt can begin to overrun our understanding of “how.” How is God going to change my situation, when is He going to step in and turn it around? The situation you are facing may seem insurmountable, it may seem like over five thousand are waiting on you. But we must remember Jesus is not concerned with the odds, He can, will, and has overcome any obstacle. Your two piece fish dinner is what He needs to turn the situation around!
When they brought to Jesus the only thing they had – this little boy’s lunch, Jesus took it and then in verse 41 He blessed it. We have to give God something for Him to bless! That was the answer to their problem and it is the answer to yours. What do you have that you can put into Jesus’ hands and have Him raise it up to the Father and bless it. Whatever Jesus blesses is more than enough! In verse 41 it says he kept giving the bread to the disciples. They brought what they had, Jesus blessed it, and it was more than enough!
Whatever odds you are facing remember through Jesus anything is possible. You give Him something to bless, give Him your faith and trust in Him, give Him your finances, give Him whatever He asks you to give so He can bless it. Do not allow doubt to step in and stop your blessing from Jesus. Move forward in faith, give Him something to bless and watch as you too “eat as much as you want… with baskets left over.”
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07.22.09
Do You Like Gifts?
I do not know if you have heard of “Love Languages” before. However, we all have a love language. A love language is how we receive and perceive love from others; how we feel love emotionally. My love language happens to be gifts, which means I am more likely to treasure any gift as an expression of love and devotion. Unfortunately lack of gifts can cause me to feel a lack of love or feeling as if I am not cared about. Now today is not a lesson in love languages (I did that a while ago) But, knowing that gifts are what makes me feel loved, today as I was in my quiet time with the Lord I came across John 14:27 where Jesus is saying, “ I am leaving you with a gift” Woohoo! A Gift YES I am so listening Lord! He goes on to say, “ … peace of mind and heart.” As I thought about the gift that Jesus has given to us-peace of mind and heart, I realized more now than ever this world needs this wonderful gift from Jesus. We need peace of mind, we need our hearts to be at peace. This peace which Jesus has so wonderful wrapped up and handed to us as a gift is the confident assurance that in ANY circumstance we can have peace. And that gift of peace from our Savior gives us no reason to fear the future!
If my husband gave me a beautiful gift wrapped up in a brightly colored package with a pretty bow, then I opened it to reveal a brand new pair of shoes (hint honey cause I know you are reading this). Now lets say I needed to dress for an occasion in which those shoes would work perfectly. However, I do not go and get those shoes I had ALREADY been given, but I left them there in the box and kept saying “I wish I had a pair of shoes to wear, I wish I knew what I was going to do about having a pair of shoes.” That would be silly right? Well we do the same thing when we have turmoil and things come against us and we don’t know what to do, or we fret and allow doubt, fear, and worry to over take us. We have ALREADY been given the gift of peace from Jesus, He has ALREADY given us peace in our minds and peace in our hearts. That peace is there to comfort us in those places of conflict. That peace is there so we can turn our worries into prayers as Philippians 4:6 instructs us to do!
You and I have been given an amazing gift from our friend Jesus and He only wants us to take it, open it, and accept it. We accept it when our situation tells us one thing, but our faith and trust in Him assures us another. We trust in this gift of peace when peace is not how our situation would want us to react but we react instead with the peace that surpasses all understanding. When the situation surrounding us is one of fear and doubt; we can accept our gift of peace and we can be assured of God’s love and faithfulness. It is the assurance that God IS in control and His peace will guard our hearts and our minds. So open your gift today He has peace for your situation!
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07.20.09
Fact or Truth; Which will you believe?
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07.13.09
How to unleash your faith and change your situation!
Lately I have gotten a flood of emails regarding those who are concerned about their future. I even picked up my local newspaper this weekend and read a letter sent into a minister asking “why?” Why seems to be the word I hear repeatedly. Why is this happening in my life? Why is God not doing something? This takes us right where the Word of God is and tells us that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Notice first it says NOW faith, that is faith for the right now, whatever your right now is…. Healing, finances, restoration of a relationship. Whatever you need right now – you have to have NOW faith. Second notice it says faith is the substance. The word substance according to the dictionary means the essential part of a thing. So this is saying Now faith is the essential part of a thing hoped for. It is essential you have faith. Without faith the word says it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) Why? I have often thought about that. Why is it impossible to please God without faith? Simply because if you do not have faith to believe, how can you even believe He exists? How can you believe all that Jesus did for you on Calvary? If you read the entirety of that scripture it says “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” God rewards our faith and rewards us as we diligently seek him. Our faith is the substance we have which brings about what we are hoping for. We must have faith in what God will do! The Bible talks about faith over and over again hundreds of times. “According to your faith will it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29) “Have faith in God,” (Mark 11:22) “he had faith to be healed.” (Acts 14:9) are just a very fraction of examples.
Jesus told us in Matthew 7:20 “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Very simply He tells us “if” you have faith of a mustard seed. Do you know how small a mustard seed is- it is very tiny, about one-sixteenth in diameter! Now that is small! But Jesus said that is all the faith you need to move a mountain. So what is a mountain? Anything in your life you need moved! So if your faith is one sixteenth in diameter as the mustard seed Jesus Himself said even with the tiny amount of faith all you have to do is what? SAY MOVE!!!! And Jesus said if you have this small amount of faith and “Say” move then NOTHING will be impossible for you! Nothing! Now lets don’t miss the important points here. First I know you have faith that small because you believe God is your father right? So that is established you have faith (plus Romans 12:3 tells us God has given every person “the measure of faith” they need!) So the faith part is done, ok now all that is left for you and I to do is – say! We are to speak to our situation! Tell it to move and with our tiny bit of faith believing that God is taking care of it! When we believe and speak Jesus said NOTHING is impossible! NOTHING and Jesus does not lie! Also notice the picture above, that is a mustard tree! That small seed grew that big tree. Your small seed of faith can grow into something that large – larger than your situation!
But let’s go back to the “why” questions I have been hearing so much. Child of God you and I must always remember the Word works – ALL the time! However we must work the word. How much? Day in and day out. Think about this, how much do you go to work? 20, 40, 60 hours a week? Let’s just use the small amount here 20 hours a week. Now how much time do you “work” the Word? How much time a week do you and I continually declare in faith and speak the Word of God over our situation and tell the “mountain” to move? If we are not spending time in our Word, and spending time with our Father every day equal to other things in our lives, then how can we even say the Word does not work. Or faith does not work. When we put in equal time with working the Word over our lives that we do working to obtain money for our bills, then we will see some great changes come!
All our Father wants is for us to know Him and His word and stand on it. The Word of God is our instruction manual on how to get out of the situation we are in. We have it here for us, but we must read it and apply it to our lives to see change come. Faith will remain useless and powerless unless we exercise it all day every day. We must get the Word in our mouths and work it until the situation changes. That is what faith is; believing and speaking until it changes.
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07.01.09
What Giant Do You Need Slayed?
Almost everyone can say they have heard the story of the young shepherd boy David who against all odds fought the Philistine giant Goliath and wins (1 Samuel 17). As children it is one of the first stories you learn about in Sunday School. I would dare say it is probably one of the most recognized stories in the Bible. Why is this particular story so retold compared to lets say the story of the 40 Jews who had plotted to kill Paul in an ambush (Acts 23)? Like so many stories written in the Word these are stories of strength, trusting God, and determination. However, speaking of the story of David and Goliath; it like so many others is a story of overcoming doubt and trusting God against all odds.
40 days and nights Goliath, the Philistine giant, came before the Israelite army and caused them to run away in fright. Goliath shouted challenges and threats to the people of Israel over and over sending fear thought the army – all the way up the ranks reaching even King Saul. The constant badgering from this mighty giant caused them to doubt their abilities, ran away full of fear, and refuse to stand up and fight. Then onto the scene walks a young boy who’s job is to tend sheep and bring food to his brothers who are there in battle! Most of those present that day saw Goliath as a giant ready to take them out, with no way they could defeat him. David however, saw a mere mortal man who was defying his God, whom he loved so much. In the natural realm the odds were stacked against him, however David knew God and how faithful He was. His faith in God and God’s abilities gave David the courage to fight. David trusted God because God had shown himself faithful to David in the past. David could have had several thoughts: 1) “God has been there and helped me against all odds before when I came against a lion and a bear and took them out.” Or even 2) “Goliath was too big of a target to miss, so why not!”
We all at some point in our life come against “giant” odds. Those battles that seem to big for us. However we are given this wonderful account of David’s life so we can choose how to react. All the accounts written in the Word of God are true. Not fables, but true accounts of normal ordinary people like you and I. They faced giants, trials, mobs, and fires just like we do. However our giant does not come with a shield and a sword, it can be sickness, debt, sorrow, fear, etc. We may feel as if we are overwhelmed by our doubts. But like David we must remember 1) God has done it before and He can and will do it again. He is able to help you and bring you out no matter what the odds are! 2) God is bigger no matter the size of our “giant target” He is bigger than any problem, sickness, disease, or debt you face!
We have a choice, we can choose to run in fear. We can pace and worry about how, when, and why or we can do as David did and trust our God. Knowing He will never leave us and never forsake us. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6) Through our constant faith in Him – like David had, we too, will be able to overcome and slay our “giant!”
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