Thursday Thought -- October 9, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

How much do you have to have for God to be able to use you?

According to Jesus, not much, only a very little.

“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’ Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” (John 6:5-11)

A little boy’s lunch with a couple of small fish and five dinner rolls was enough for Jesus to use to feed a multitude. It doesn’t take much when you put it into the hands of Jesus.

No matter how little talent, intelligence, money, time, or other resources we have, if we’ll put it into the hands of Jesus, He’ll use it to accomplish more than we ever dreamed He could. How many Sunday School teachers are there out there who thought they weren’t any good at teaching and did it only because someone had to, and yet out of their class has come a preacher through whom God has reached thousands? How many simple prayers have been powerfully answered by God? How many small offerings have been multiplied to accomplish miracles?

What you have doesn’t have to be grand and you don’t have to have a lot. But give what you have to Jesus and He’ll use it in marvelous ways.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- October 8, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.’ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.’” (John 5:17-19)

There was a theory that was popular a couple hundred years ago called deism. Deism teaches that God created the world, then set it in motion and left it alone, never again interfering with what was happening in His creation.

That’s not what Jesus knew to be true. He declared, “My Father is always at work.” Jesus was sensitive and discerning enough to be able to see God working around Him. When Jesus saw God at work, He joined Him in that work.

God is still at work in the world today. He has not left the world alone. He is at work in people’s lives, drawing them to Him and then encouraging, comforting, challenging and supporting those who respond to Him. God invites you and me to be involved in the work He is doing.

Keep your eyes open. Look around you. If you are sensitive and discerning, you’ll see God at work. When you do – join Him! Among the people where you work, God is at work. Among your neighbors, God is at work. Among your classmates, God is at work. Will you join Him? Will you ask God to increase your level of sensitivity to His work? Will you allow God to use you as a tool to do His work?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- October 7, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. ‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.” (John 4:47-51)

When the man asked Jesus to heal his son, Jesus made a promise: “You may go. Your son will live.” Jesus did not go with the man to where the sick boy lay, He simply pronounced the word. The man believed Jesus. John says, “The man took Jesus at his word.”

That’s remarkable faith, especially since Jesus had only done one miracle by this point in His ministry, the turning of the water into wine at the wedding in Cana. At the conclusion of the account of this miracle John records, “This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed.” (John 4:54) There was something about Jesus that caused the man to believe Him.

We have a great deal more reason to believe Jesus, to take Him at His word. There are many miracles recorded for us to prove His power and authority. His teaching is there for us to read so that we can see His wisdom. The capstone is the resurrection, proof that He truly was, and is, the Son of God. Add to these the things we’ve seen Him do in our own lives and the lives of others around us. All of these are powerful reasons to believe, to take Jesus at His word.

So, why don’t we? Why don’t we take Him at His word?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- October 6, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4:35-38)

When Jesus looked at the crowds of people around Him, He saw things that others did not. Even His closest disciples could not see what Jesus saw. When Jesus looked at the crowds, He saw people in need, hurting people who were ripe for the good news of salvation. His closest disciples didn’t see that. They didn’t have the spiritual discernment that Jesus had. They didn’t have the heart for the people that Jesus had.

Neither do we!

We look at the crowds of people around us, in our workplaces, our schools, our neighborhoods, and we see comfortable people, largely satisfied with their lives. We see people that we don’t think want to be bothered with the message of Jesus. We see people that we think just want to be left alone, left to find their own way through the world.

But Jesus sees the crowd differently. He looks deep into the hearts of people and sees their hurts. He sees their needs. He sees the guilt they know they carry. He sees their anxieties, their uncertainties about the future. He knows, if we would but be bold enough, many would listen and many would hear and many would respond.

In Sychar of Samaria, the people were ready to hear the Gospel and only Jesus could see that. His disciples missed it. In our day and place, too, many are ready to hear the Gospel. Does only Jesus see it? Or will we open our eyes to see the harvest that is around us and be bold enough to enter into it?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- October 3, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“‘Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus declared, ‘Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.’” (John 4:20-24)

For the Jews and the Samaritans, the place they worshiped was what determined how correct their worship was. The Jews had to worship at the temple in Jerusalem and they traveled there multiple times a year. The Samaritans had to worship on Mt. Gerezim.

Place wasn’t all that was important to them. Both also had very clearly prescribed ways in which they worshiped. They had specific sacrifices to give and specific rituals to follow. The value of their worship was determined by the way they followed the rules of worship.

Jesus told of a new kind of worship that was coming, and is now here. It is worship in spirit and in truth. That is, it is worship that comes from the heart. It’s not the place of worship that matters anymore, for God does not dwell in a house made by human hands. It’s not the rituals of worship that matter, either. It is what goes on in the heart that matters to God. A heart that is in right relationship with Him and that is expressing its love and devotion honestly is what God is looking for among us.

If your heart is not right, going through the best rituals in the finest house of worship doesn’t do a thing for God or for you. A heart that’s right and honestly loves Him is pleasing to Him even in the most humble place and with the most out of tune music.

When you worship, what does God see in your heart?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- October 2, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’ ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?’ Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” (John 4:10-14)

The Samaritan woman knew she was thirsty for water. She had come to the well to replenish the supply she kept in her home. She didn’t even know she was thirsty for the kind of water Jesus offered to give her: living water. There are many people like her. They are desperately thirsty and don’t even know what they are thirsty for.

This woman’s thirst for the living water had caused her to seek to satisfy it from other sources. She married man after man looking for what would satisfy, but none of them did. People today do the same thing. They seek to satisfy their thirst in all sorts of ways: drugs, alcohol, sex, work, fun, etc. None of those satisfy, because it is the living water for which they are thirsty.

Before Jesus could satisfy the woman He had to make her aware of her thirst. But once she acknowledged her thirst and saw in Jesus someone very special, she accepted from Him what only He could give.

The living water satisfied her! It’s living, so that it continues to renew itself. All of the other things with which people seek to satisfy their thirst are not living. They leave a person thirsty again very soon. Not what Jesus offers. It keeps satisfying even through eternity.

Thank God for the living water with which He has satisfied your thirst!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- October 1, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Pride and jealousy are horrible things. We all fight it. Someone else gets a promotion that we think we deserved. Our neighbor is able to drive a much nicer car than we do. Our friend moves into a beautiful new home and we can’t understand how they can afford it and we can’t.

It’s hard to fight feelings of pride and jealousy, hard to overcome them and accept what we have with a good attitude. John the Baptist provides a great example for us.

“To this John replied, ‘A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, “I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.” The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.’” (John 3:27-30)

John recognized that his position was determined by God and he was content with it. He didn’t seek to become more than he was given. He wasn’t jealous that Jesus was something more than he was. When Jesus came along and people turned from John to follow Him, John didn’t fight to keep them. He willingly faded into the background. He was willing to watch Jesus become greater at his expense.

That would have been tough. Pride and jealousy could have kept John from enjoying what he was seeing and rejoicing in it.

Of course, we’ll never face a situation quite like John did. But we all face other situations where pride and jealousy surface. How will you respond to them?

His, by Grace,

Steve