More Than Enough

One story that is told in all four of the gospels is the feeding of the 5000.  In fact, it is the only event in the life of Jesus told in all four gospels, other than the events of the cross and resurrection.  I found six principles to live by in this beautiful story.  1.  The event happened because of compassion.  Jesus was moved with compassion, and healed their sick, and when it was evening the disciples wanted to send the people away to go find food.  But Jesus said, "They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat."  2.  This was a test of faith.  Jesus already knew what He would do, but wanted to test the faith of the disciples.  When we meet a need greater than ourselves, we should look at it as a time for our faith to act.  The disciples said, "We have here only 5 loaves and 2 fish.  So Jesus said, "Bring them here to Me."  3.  We need to bring what we have to Jesus.  It was only a boy's lunch, but when offered to Jesus, it became a miracle of multiplication.  What do you have?  Will you offer it to Jesus?  There is a miracle in waiting, when we offer what we have to Jesus.  4. Make a plan.  Jesus had the people sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties.  Jesus had a plan how to feed this great multitude.  It would not be mass confusion.  It was organized and orderly.  We need to organize our lives so we are ready for the Master's use.  5.  Teamwork.  Jesus handed the loaves and the fish to the disciples, and they handed them out to the multitude.  Jesus did not do this all by Himself.  When we step out to fulfill our place in the body, we are part of a team.  We cannot do it ourselves.  We need to work together with others to accomplish God's plan.  6.  There is more than enough.  It would have been wonderful if the story read that everyone ate and was filled.  But there was more than enough!  God has a storehouse filled with more than enough for every need.  God is not stingy, nor short in supply.  He knows how to multiply!  He will bless us more than we could have imagined!  Our part is to act in faith, bring our offering, organize our life for Him, and work together as a team.  He will be more than enough!

Is God more than enough for me?

Off The Hook

Forgiveness is a necessity in the walk of the believer.  "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" is part of the Lord's prayer that is commonly repeated.  The challenge of forgiving others was brought out by Peter when he asked, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times"  I'm sure Peter was thinking he was being generous when he suggested that seven times would be sufficient.  But Jesus' answer was, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."  Ha ha, this was forgiveness that went beyond anything Peter would have imagined!  The matter of forgiveness is a very big deal for the believer.  One day a man said, "So should I let him off the hook?"  The answer is "Yes".  If he is on your hook, then you are tied to him.  Your life will always be affected by what the other person did, as long as you keep him on the hook for it.  You will never be free of that negative emotional tie until you forgive and let him off your hook.  Getting a hook caught in your flesh is a very serious situation.  My son Caleb and I went on a fishing trip when he was a boy.  About the second cast, his hook got caught in the rocks behind us.  We both reached for the hook, and somehow the hook ended up going into his finger.  After a trip to the hospital, and the doctor cutting the hook, and pushing it through the finger, Caleb was finally free of the hook.  That hook in his flesh stopped everything, because of the seriousness of the pain, and eventual infection.  We should treat every bit of resentment, and unforgiveness like that hook.  GET THE HOOK OUT!  You cannot afford to hold a hook in your flesh, or in someone else's life!  It causes too much pain, and negatively affects the rest of your life.  We find that when we forgive others, we get free ourselves.  The greatest benefit of forgiving others, is that we free ourselves from bitterness.  We must lay down the feeling that someone owes us something, that they have an obligation toward us to treat us a certain way.  When we release people, and forgive them of their debts toward us, we become free to love and move forward.  You can't move forward as long as you are tied to the past!  Fishing line can be almost invisible, but still is very strong.  Cut the line!  Let him off the hook!  Be free from the past, and move on into the plan of God for your life.

Have I got all the hooks out of my life from the past?

Forgiven Much

"But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  This phrase comes from the story found in Luke 7:36-50 when Jesus was invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee.  As Jesus reclined at the table, a woman came into the Pharisee's house.  She came uninvited, unannounced, and stood behind Jesus, weeping.  Then she came and bowed herself down, and began to wash Jesus' feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair.  She began kissing His feet, and with the flask of fragrant oil she brought, she anointed His feet.  The Pharisee, observing this scene, said to himself that if Jesus were really a prophet, He would know who this woman was, and what kind of a woman she was.  The woman was known as a sinner, without doubt a prostitute, an outcast of society.  She would not have been welcome in the Pharisee's house, and he would have had nothing to do with her.  However, Jesus does know who the woman is, and He also knows what is on Simon's mind.  So He says, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  Jesus first tells a parable about a creditor who has two debtors, one owing 500 denarii, and the other owing 50.  One owes 10 more than the other, but when neither could pay, he forgave them both.  Now Jesus asks, "Which one will love him more?"  And Simon answers, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  So Jesus says to Simon, "You have rightly judged."  "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  The Pharisee showed no love for Jesus, and no love for the woman.  The woman loved Jesus with all her heart, and now had a heart of pure love for others.  When we know how much we have been forgiven, we will love Jesus, and we will love people.  May my heart always become more like the woman's, and less like the Pharisee's.

If I have been forgiven much, how does that affect my life?

Life and Peace

Romans 8:6 says, "To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."  Living carnally minded is a killer, it brings a separation in your walk with God.  The carnal, fleshly mind is an enemy against God, and is not subject to the law of God.  The enemy of your Christian life is your carnal mind.  It is the place of battle for your walk with God.  God gave us freedom to choose what we will think about in our hearts and minds, and what we choose to submit our minds to is what we will follow after.  Lately when temptation comes to my mind, I've been saying, "I'm not going to subject my mind to that.  I'm going to subject my mind to the Spirit and the Word."  I won't allow my mind to follow after the things of the flesh.  To be spiritually minded is life and peace.  This is the opposite of the fleshly mind which brings separation from God.  I can walk in the life of God and in the peace of God when I choose to be spiritually minded.  Peace is what the human heart is searching for.  We look for peace and satisfaction through alcohol, drugs, sexual experiences, money, etc.  Yet all these things do not bring long term peace.  The satisfying of the soul can only happen through what Christ offers us.  He is the Prince of Peace, and He knows how to satisfy our deepest needs.  Isa. 26:3 says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You."  "Great peace have they who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble."  Ps. 119:165.  Recently I saw three things that really affect all of us:  1.  A feeling of being unloved.  However, Rom. 8:35-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  2.  A feeling of being unworthy.  But Romans 8:33,34 tells us we are not condemned, that Christ died for us, and rose again, and is on the right hand of God, and prays for us.  We are worthy because of Christ.  3.  A feeling of not having enough.  But Romans 8:32 tells us that God did not spare His only Son for us, and therefore He will freely give us all things.  Say it to yourself today, "I am loved, I am worthy, and I have enough."  Renew your mind with these truths, and begin to live in life and peace.

Say it over and over; I am loved, I am worthy, and I have enough.