Author: LizG

Matthew 14:13b-21 (Phillips)Then the crowds heard of His departure and followed Him out of the towns on foot. When Jesus emerged from His retreat He saw a vast crowd and was very deeply moved and cured the sick among them. As evening fell His disciples came to Him and said, “We are right in the wilds here and it is very late. Send away these crowds now, so that they can go into the villages and buy themselves food.” ¹⁶ “There’s no need for them to go away,” returned Jesus. “You give them something to eat!”  ¹⁷ “But we haven’t anything here,” they told Him, “except five loaves and two fish.”  ¹⁸ To which Jesus replied, “Bring them here to me.”

^19-21 He told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish in His hands, and, looking up to Heaven, He thanked God, broke the loaves and passed them to His disciples who handed them to the crowd. Everybody ate and was satisfied. Afterwards they collected twelve baskets full of the pieces which were left over. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, apart from the women and children.

Observation

I’ve taught this story and its companions many times over my years in Children’s Ministry.  It is a very straightforward story of feeding a crowd with one loaf and 2/5ths of a fish per 1000 (not counting the women and children).  I have often wondered when the multiplication happened.  It could not have been when Jesus took them because He would have been buried under a great mound of bread and fish.  If it happened when Jesus handed them to the disciples, each disciple would have needed to carry enough bread and fish to feed at least 400 people.  I can imagine what the disciples were thinking as they approached their assigned part of the crowd with the little they had in their baskets.  In my opinion, that took a lot of faith!

So, the multiplication must have happened when they put their hand into the basket to walk among the crowd handing out the food.  Face it, in the beginning there was not enough to feed the crowd, but God made it stretch to fit the need.  Jesus sent His disciples out to grow their faith in God’s provision rather than relying on what they had to offer on their own.

Impact on Me

I remember this story whenever I feel inadequate to the need or my assigned task.  I am reminded that God is not relying on what I have but rather on what I will believe Him to do in and through me.  He certainly gives us all gifts and talents that He wants us to use to serve Him, and we should do that to the fullest extent.  However, when I get to the place where I think my strength, ability or talent carries the day alone, I am dangerously close to reaching in my basket to find it empty before the need is met.

I am deploying next week with a group of chaplains for hurricane relief.  The devastation extends beyond the physical.  It is emotionally draining for both those I will serve and me.  I am confident that the inadequacy I feel to meet the need must be like those disciples wading out into that huge crowd with only seven loaves and five fish.  I am trusting Jesus to work a miracle in the basket of comfort, care and hope that He is handing me to help meet the need of those He will bring my way. 

Prayer

Lord God, Redeemer, Miracle Worker, Way Maker, remind me of this story whenever I am tempted to say, “No, I can’t,” when I know that it is You asking.  I want my faith in You and Your provision to be stronger than my fear of failure.  May I embrace Your teaching and learn Your lessons well so that I may faithfully be what You’ve called me to be and do what You have called me to do.  I ask it all in the name of Jesus.  Make it so.

1 Peter 5:1-4 (Phillips) Now may I who am myself an elder say a word to you my fellow-elders? I speak as one who actually saw Christ suffer, and as one who will share with you the glories that are to be unfolded to us. I urge you then to see that your “flock of God” is properly fed and cared for. Accept the responsibility of looking after them willingly and not because you feel you can’t get out of it, doing your work not for what you can make, but because you are really concerned for their well-being. You should aim not at being “little tin gods” but as examples of Christian living in the eyes of the flock committed to receive that crown of glory which cannot fade.

Observation

About 15 years ago, I was the ministry leader for a team at my church that encouraged and supported ministries led by members of the congregation.  With some minor updates to make it more relevant to all, I wanted to share with you something I shared with my team.  So, this is written to a group that already has accepted Jesus as Savior and committed to serve Him.  If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Savior, I encourage you to read the New Testament and learn who Jesus was and is and always will be.  Wherever you are and whatever your circumstance, Jesus has love, grace and forgiveness ready for you.  Call on His name and He will answer you.

1. God is committed to relationship-building. He wants everyone to have a relationship with Christ and with others in Christ.  Therefore, He has a plan for creating an environment for life that will father, foster, and fertilize spiritual growth and friendships with others – Christian and non-Christian.  God wants us to allow Jesus to shine through what we love to do and whatever else He asks us to do in Jesus’ name.  Our Father’s goal is to have others experience Christ in us so that they will choose to become part of the family of Christ where they can have the same peace, love and security that we have.
2. God wants every Believer to GO be His ambassador, evangelist, missionary in and to the world and culture in which they live. Some are called to go to places that are strange and unfamiliar to them, but, regardless, we all are called to carry the Gospel in our daily going and being.  Therefore, God is for us as we create opportunity and support for this to happen.  A question I ask myself is:  Am I making GOING a priority in my everyday life?  How am I encouraging and inspiring others to answer this call?  How am I equipping those who have a heart to go but feel ill-equipped?  How are they responding?
3. We operate from a position of advantage. We serve the Almighty God, Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is never surprised by the latest moves of the enemy.  He is never unprepared or taken aback by what happens.  God made His plan before Creation and has no Plan B.  Additionally, He feels no pressure or compunction to react or act according to any plan or timetable other than His own.  He is never concerned about what people will think about an individual battle that seems to us to be lost.  He will partner with us to accomplish His plan and fulfill His will and purpose (which to me is like working with a child learning to bake which takes 3 times as long and creates triple the mess).  BUT God will not necessarily bless any short-sighted plan we come up with on our own.  He has already won the war and will lead us into that victory if we will just follow in His footsteps.  It is worthwhile to invest whatever time it takes to hear from Him and be wise enough to embrace His our part in His plan for us.
4. We have been given superior weapons. The weapons He gives us are not the weapons the world sees as powerful but are the ones which exercise overwhelming spiritual power and authority.  These are weapons against which the enemy has no defense – love, grace, forgiveness, mercy, self-sacrifice, humility, the fruit of the Spirit and other virtues.                When I truly forgive, there is no foothold for bitterness.  I love Micah 6:8: Do justly, walk humbly, love mercy.  This is armor against the arrows of the enemy of our souls.  The enemy gains no victory if and when we respond according to the Word of God rather than react according to our flesh. While we are not to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices, we should be careful to learn how to use the weapons God has given.
5. God is not performance-based. We live in a culture that defines our worth by our achievements, our status, our possessions gained.  Heavenly culture puts no worth on these.  Will we be judged one day by Jesus for the works we performed in His name?  Absolutely!  James 2:18-24 tells us that our faith is dead without the good works it should produce.  However, showing up at the Heavenly Gates with the many lists of the good things we did in our own strength without consulting Him will not impress Him.  We will enter in simply because we are in Christ.  To hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” will depend on how well we listened and obeyed in whatever He asked us to do by faith.  If we can trust God enough to pray and wait to hear His plan, truly setting aside the urgency creating by our timetable and the need to appear pleasing or productive in the eyes of men, we will find that our joy will be full because we have endured to give Him joy in His heart.

Prayer

Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You are so gracious, so patient, so kind to include me in fulfilling the plan You set in motion before Creation.  What a mess I can make by anxiously going off in my own direction to fix the world around me.    My intentions are good, but my actions are foolish unless they are what You have asked me to do.  Slow me down, fill me with Your peace, let me see with Your eyes so I will have faith enough to wait for Your directions.    I want to be that good and faithful servant.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

Philippians 2:12-13 AMP  ¹² So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. ¹³ For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12-13 JB Phillips  So  then, my dearest friends, as you have always followed my advice – and that not only when I was present to give it so now that I   am far away – be keener than ever to work out the salvation that God has given you with a proper sense of awe and responsibility.  For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose.

Observation

We are foolish and short-sighted when we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking that we are wise enough – and our own strength and abilities are sufficient enough – to take care of life’s challenges on our own – “I can handle this one; I know what to do here; no need to pray and get God’s input.”  No matter how many books we read or classes we take or certificates/degrees we obtain, our efforts and achievements are temporary and inefficient when we work outside of His will and purpose.  We cannot work out our own salvation. He is not impressed by human power, status, crowds, knowledge accumulated, achievements, or any self-acclaimed righteousness.  Also, He is not dismayed or deterred by what we may see as incurable, insurmountable or immovable.  “For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose.”  Shouldn’t we check with Him on what His purpose is and how He is making us just right to fulfill it? 

We forget sometimes that God has only one plan, the same one that was set in motion before creation.  I stand amazed at the fact that He wants to partner with us to fulfill it and the patience with which He works within us to make us His fine instrument.  Ultimately, He is impressed by our depth of submission, degree of obedience and absolute trust in Him – that genuine righteousness that comes from faith in Christ and makes us one after His own heart – evidence that we have been supple clay in His hands, allowing Him to work out His salvation in us. 

Impact on Me

So, I have mentioned before that I consider myself a recovering over-achieving perfectionist – who is sometimes not recovering.  When I fall of the wagon, it is encouraging to know that the Holy Spirit is at work within me to restore, refine and remake me into a fine instrument in the Redeemer’s hand, teaching me how to partner with Him in the work He desires to do.  Ultimately, I want to be an instrument of release for every follower of Christ, allowing them to hear God’s will and purpose for them, embrace the call He has placed on their lives and find the confidence to step out in faith to fulfill His will and purpose in and for them.

The result of His work in us should be spiritual growth which leads to spiritual muscle (the power and ability to produce fruit for the kingdom of God), and not just the spiritual fat of increased knowledge and looking spiritual (feeding ourselves without producing fruit).  That over-achieving perfectionist is spiritually obese.  My recovery is focused on living each day an obedient, Holy Spirit driven, practical expression of my gratitude and love for the grace poured out on me.  Certainly, teaching and training will help, but it must be combined with experience – stepping out in faith into the scariest of places and finding Jesus before/behind/beside you.  I leave us with the final words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 12:11-14 MSG  ¹¹ The words of the wise prod us to live well.  They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together.  They are given by God, the one Shepherd.  ^12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:  Fear God.  Do what he tells you.  ¹⁴ And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.

Prayer

Lord God, Loving Father, Gracious Redeemer, Helper, I marvel at Your patience with me.  When I fall off Your wagon into the muck of my humanity, You stop and pick me up, wash me off, and show me again Your wisdom and grace.  I am so grateful that You are working within me to make me fit to partner with You in fulfilling Your will and purpose.  In Your mercy, “bring everything that I do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil” but do it now so I may give You joy in Your heart through the rest of my life.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

Matthew 21:21-22 MSG But Jesus was matter of fact: “Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don’t doubt God, you’ll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you’ll tell, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God.”

Observation

The word to remember here is “believing” which raises the question – how much do we pray for that we don’t really expect to happen?  We are great askers, often with a long list of what we think we need or what we have determined needs to happen to set the world or our part of it right side up.  Honestly, how often do we throw out a quick prayer just to satisfy the Christian protocol without really embracing the possibility of our prayer requests coming to pass?  Have we missed the step of “if you embrace this kingdom life and don’t doubt God”?  Have our prayers become like the Pharisees – ritual, duty, what is expected of the more spiritual of us?  

What we really need to do is to return to that first lovely moment when we received the grace provided by Jesus at salvation, the grace and overwhelming power that we experienced when we sincerely repented upon sinning again, the moment we embraced that kingdom life without any doubt that almighty God loves us enough to die for us.  When praying, we need to remember He is in charge, He is where the power comes from, and recognize that believing is the only contribution we really make to it all.  One man, one fig tree, one mountain, one world – Jesus did it all because He clearly understood all of this.

Impact on Me

When I neglect the Word and time with the Lord, I can be deceived into relying on my own strength and ability to accomplish, to comfort, to encourage.  When I do, I am in a very weak operating position.  I find that I can drift into formulaic praying for things that I don’t really expect to happen.  Sometimes this is because I haven’t seen any results before and don’t expect any results now.  Sometimes I don’t believe what I am praying for is possible.  Sometimes I am just impatient to see the results I want and foolishly think I can do something to make them happen.

Did I get there because I based God’s faithfulness and power to accomplish those results on whether He gave me that instant gratification – seeing God jump to conform to my expectations, my timetable?  Do I think He should adopt my plan over His because I think His plan is taking too long and we should use my shortcut?  Isn’t this the short-sightedness of ends justifying the means – like the devil’s offer in Matthew 4 to give the kingdoms of the world to Jesus if Jesus would just bow down and worship him?  “Bypass all the suffering, Jesus.  Here is a great shortcut to the end You want.” 

I want to always pray expecting God to show up and move but at the same time be willing to patiently wait on and trust His means.  How can I forget that my life is a journey of faith and submission to Jesus – a journey on which the challenges I face train and shape me in faith so I will be what I am called to be and do what I am called to do?   How do I get to the place that I believe I can change anything, much less “triumph over huge obstacles”, without depending on the Holy Spirit’s power working in and through me?  Until I am confident enough to believe and completely submit to God’s will, timing and ways when I pray, I am working at cross purposes to Him and should not expect to see results!   No shortcuts accepted, Mr. Devil!

Prayer

Lord God, all-wise, all powerful, all-knowing, gracious God, keep my on the journey that will conform me to Your ways and not the ways of this world.  Like Jesus, may I trust in what You have planned and set in motion regardless of whether I understand the reasoning or circumstances behind it.  May I always honor You in my prayers by expecting You to hear and answer appropriately – in Your will, in Your time, in Your way – producing eternal benefit even when my eyes don’t see it.  In Jesus’ name I pray.

Isaiah  30:12-14  (MSG) Therefore, The Holy of Israel says this:  “Because you scorn this Message, preferring to live by injustice and shape your lives on lies, this perverse way of life will be like a towering, badly built wall that slowly, slowly tilts and shifts, and then one day, without warning, collapses — smashed to bits like a piece of pottery, smashed beyond recognition or repair, useless, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.” 

Observation

People like you and me make up every society in every nation of every time in history.  We can forget that they are people with families, hopes, dreams and challenges whether in 1000 BC or 2000 AD.  There are and have always been people who live in a way that pleases God and others who seek only to please and profit themselves at the cost of others (“live by injustice and shape your lives on lies”).  Because we have a perspective limited by mere decades of life, we can wonder why God does not move more quickly to execute justice.  Sometimes it seems in our lifetime that the wall is not tilting and shifting because the movement is imperceptible to us in our short lifespan.  We want Him to do so according to our time schedule – NOW.  We want to see results!

“…then one day, without warning, [the wall] collapses —   smashed to bits like a piece of pottery, smashed beyond recognition or repair, useless, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”   I take note of the “without warning”.  Even when we look back, we lack the experience of being there, living in that society and under those conditions.  We are removed from and unaware of the deplorable condition of society that led up to the wall collapses that have come over the millennia, such as the revivals that completely turned a society right side up, the revolutions that have overthrown unjust rulers, and the social reforms that have succeeded against entrenched power/traditions.  There is no way to explain with words the history leading up to those powerful events; you must live them.   Perhaps, now we are beginning to see the wall tilt.

Impact on Me

As I look around at the culture that surrounds me, I often feel like a foreigner in a strange land.  And, then I realize that I am!  In Christ, I am a citizen of Heaven, an ambassador and missionary on mission to this Earth.  If I begin to feel intimidated by the seeming height, size and strength of the walls of ungodliness set to block the truth I am sent to share, I pray that I will be reminded that these are “towering, badly built wall[s]” that can fall as quickly and completely as the walls of Jericho did when the Hebrews just obeyed the directions of their God – even when it did not seem to make sense.

In those times of doubt, I want to remember that I have experienced miracles that cannot be explained with words – miracles of provision, healing and restoration.  There is nothing that compares to being in the midst of the power of God working, impacting your situation, making possible what is impossible, demonstrating that His eyes and attention are on you, filling you with a joy and peace that is immeasurable.  These kinds of experiences fill me with hope for the next impossible challenge.    They also cause me to recognize that it is not what talents, abilities, resources, experience, training or status I bring to the table that matter; it is only my faith, my willingness to be used and my obedience to His instructions that matter.  His success does not depend on me, but mine entirely depends on Him.

Prayer

Lord, God Almighty, Everlasting, Ever Faithful, may I never forget Who You are and will be in and through me when I just obey.  I may look at the walls that stand between the deceived and Your truth as walls that must tilt and collapse, “smashed to bits like a piece, smashed beyond recognition, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”  Remind me always that Your time frame is based on Your eternal strategic perspective, not mine.  May I never lose hope in Your faithfulness and the fulfillment of Your Word when the time is right and most profitable to Your Kingdom purposes.  Romans 15:13 (JBP) “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope.”.  Let me know that the wall will fall when You are ready.  In Jesus’ name, I   pray.