Tag Archives: giving God what we have

March 14, 2022 · 5:09 AM

Feeding 5,000

If you haven’t watched “The Chosen” yet, let me encourage you to do so. To me, it is the best written, best acted and best directed Christian show I’ve ever seen. The director is Dallas Jenkins who had been in Hollywood, where you’re only as good as your last movie. He was paid to direct a film that would bring Christians to the box office in 2017, but it bombed at the theater. He was pretty much run out of Hollywood. However, one fan sent him a message that changed how he thought about the failure. The person said, “Remember, it’s not your job to feed the 5,000. It’s only to provide the loaves and fish.” All he, and we, have to do is make the best bread and be the best fisher of fish we can be. It’s up to God to do the heavy lifting.

If you remember, in Matthew 14, Jesus was mourning the loss of his cousin John the Baptist, but people found Him. Word got out and people lined up to bring anyone who needed healing. After healing them all day, the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away so they could eat. But Jesus replied that they didn’t need to leave and told the disciples to give them something to eat. They replied, “But all we have is five barley loaves and two fish” (TPT). In verse 18, Jesus simply said, “Let me have them.” When they did, He blessed what they gave Him, broke it and gave it back to them to hand out.

We often look at the giant task in front of us and go to God in a panic telling Him what to do the way the disciples did. However, His response to us is the same. What do you have that He can use? It might look insignificant up against the problem, but it’s not your job to solve it. You need to offer Him what’s in your ability and hands. Let Him bless it, break it if necessary and give it back to you to give. When we do our part, He does His. When we act in faith, He moves mountains. It’s not just about His ability. It’s about your willingness to give Him what you have as well. Our act of faith in our weakest moments can produce the greatest results. When we’re at the end of our ability, we find the beginning of His.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

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January 20, 2022 · 5:30 AM

The Bread Of Life

Not long ago, I read the story of a fisherman who was forced to move because of a house fire. In the move, he asked his aunt to hold onto his good luck charm, which he had kept under his bed for over 10 years. He took her a 75 pound pearl that his boat anchor had caught on all those years ago. Each day, he would touch it before going fishing hoping it would bring him luck so he could catch a lot of fish. It turns out, as he’s struggled to make a living for the past ten years, he’s been sleeping over a $100,000,000 pearl! He had no clue what’s its value was as the world’s largest gem quality pearl.

That story reminds me of Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Mark 6. There were hungry people and it was getting late. The disciples asked if they should spend 200 silver coins to buy food for everyone. That’s when, in verse 38, Jesus asked them, “How much bread do you have?” (GNT) They went to check and came back to tell Him, “Five loaves.” Jesus then had them seat everyone. He broke the bread and the two fish they had, fed all 5,000 men (plus women and children), then took up 12 baskets of leftovers.

When Jesus asked how much bread they had, they had already seen Him heal the blind, raise the dead, cure leprosy, and so much more. In fact, they had just returned from being sent out to the towns and villages performing miracles themselves. They knew the power of God was with Jesus and had flowed through them, but it never crossed their mind to ask for a miracle for a crowd. Until this time, with the exception of the wine in Cana, most miracles had been for individuals. But to me, the question of how much bread they had was Jesus testing them.

They had more than five loaves. They had the Bread of Life with them and not one of them thought to include Him in the number of loaves of bread. Whenever you add Jesus to whatever you have, you will always have more than enough. We can’t stay in the same mindset they had. We can’t look at physical problems expecting spiritual results unless we are willing to add in the Bread of Life to the equation. We can’t see through blocked roads, huge obstacles, or insurmountable odds because we’ve been keeping Jesus under our bed as a good luck charm. He’s worth more than $100,000,000. He’s the answer to your struggles. Give what you have to Him and watch Him multiply it.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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