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Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” John 6:8-9
How much is enough? A little boy once asked his father for a candy bar at the counter of a grocery store. Times were tough. The dad’s heart sank. Much as he’d love to give his son everything he wanted, the small amount of cash he had would barely pay for the families groceries. When he told the boy ‘not today’ the boy replied, “but daddy, it’s on sale. Appreciating the boy’s attempt at thriftiness, he replied, ‘Son, if it only costs a quarter but you don’t have a quarter it doesn’t matter how cheap it is.’
How much is enough?
The negative voices inside our heads answer that for us.
‘I’m not smart enough.’
‘I’m not thin enough.’
‘I’m not rich enough.’
And I love the ‘Christian versions’.
‘I’m not spiritual enough’
‘I don’t have enough faith.’
‘I don’t pray enough.’
‘I don’t study the Bible enough.’
Do a quick study of what the Bible says about how much is enough!
One day Jesus was teaching on a mountainside. It was getting late. The nearest town was a distance away. People were tired, the disciples were tired.
Then, Jesus suggested they all share a meal together. It was a preposterous idea! His friends looked at the situation and tried to explain it would take too much time. It would take too much food. There wasn’t enough.
A search for food turned up just five small loaves of bread and two fish, the perfect amount for small boy’s lunch.
What didn’t seem like enough to the over 5,000 people gathered ended up being more than enough when Jesus got involved.
What are the negative voices telling you? What don’t you have enough of? If Jesus can provide enough for over 5,000 people, I think he may just have enough for you.
Take the little steps. Trust him with the little things. Trust with the little things leads to bigger things! With Jesus, everything you have is enough.
But I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken! Jeremiah 39:17-18
Fear is the great crippler of society. Fear causes to do things we never thought we would do. Fear allows us to be bullied. Fear opens us to abuse. Fear keeps us from living a life of freedom. Fear has been used for centuries to keep people in check.
Governments, family members, even the church has been guilty of using fear to keep people in line. One sad example is the philosophy some use in the church in which our faith in Jesus is a ‘get out of hell free’ card.
While our faith in Christ indeed promises us that we’ll spend eternity with him, the motivating factor of grace isn’t fear of punishment but love of Jesus. Grace is giving with no hope or standard of paying back.
Do you go to church to fulfill a religious obligation? Stay home. Do you read the Bible so you’ll be a better Christian? Stop wasting your time! Sound harsh? When we go to church, or any other religious activity out of obligation we are simply joining in legalism.
The Apostle Paul spent most of his writings reminding us we are saved by faith, not works. Other New Testament writers totally concur. Our hope comes from a love relationship with Jesus.
Freedom comes when we grow deeper in our love for him, not in participating in more and more religious activities. A love relationship with Jesus never involves fear.
The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one! Song of Songs 2:13
Each spring I notice a rather interesting activity in the north country where I live. People are out walking! Now, you may say, what’s interesting about that? Just this. As spring turns into summer the numbers dwindle, there may be a slight uptick in the fall, but most of the time the number of walkers in spring is more than any other time of year?
Why, you may ask? Because winters are long, cold and dark. But when spring comes we can smell the freshness of new life. The air is full of the aroma of flowers. The birds sing in each morning with gusto. The winter is over. The time of new life and warmth is here!
As the year wears on, the heat increases and schedules get busier, somehow we fail to find time to walk, to enjoy the season we are in, to bask in the warmth of the sun.
Song of Songs is thought to be a love poem written between two lovers, but with pictures of our relationship with Jesus. In Song of Songs 2:13 the writer implores his lover to join him in a walk of sorts. To get up and smell the roses. To enjoy the new season before them.
Each new season is filled with challenges. Each new season is filled with the unknown. But this verse urges us to see the positive in each situation. We don’t know what lies ahead, but we walk with someone who loves us, protects us and longs to see us succeed.
Enjoy the ‘walk’ of this new year. Bask in the warmth of the SON. Enjoy the intimate fellowship of one who loves you more than you can imagine.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. Colossians 3:1-2
It’s a new year. As I write this we are a few days away from watching celebrations across the world as we enter in a brand new year. People will get engaged. Relationships will be healed. Goals will be set. Resolutions will be formed.
Each year is the same. We talk of hope. We talk of new goals. We talk of new opportunities. The problem is, the vast majority of those things pledged entering the new year will go unfulfilled. Changes will be temporary. New crisis’ will form. Life will, at best, go unchanged.
Are we better off than we were a year ago? If we look at things from a worldly point of view I think we’d all agree things aren’t getting better. In fact, if you look at things like world hunger, wars and rumors of wars, disease, relational and racial conflict, mental health issues and more, it can get pretty depressing!
So, how can we rise above the discouraging things looming in the shadows of the future and maintain a positive outlook on life?
Perhaps we need to look at the world situation through the eyes of our new life. Paul reminds us that when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we are no longer citizens of earth, but of heaven. Here, in Colossians he tells us to focus on the realities of heaven. He isn’t telling us to be so heavenly minded we are of no earthly good. Not at all. But he is challenging us to allow the situations we face to pass through the lens of Heavenly Realities.
What are some of those Heavenly Realities?
- Our God is Sovereign. All things are under his control, especially those things we don’t understand, those things that worry us, those things that cause us pain.
- God never asks us to understand him, he asks us to trust him.
- God’s love for us is new every day. He never gets weary of hearing from you, watching over you, helping you heal.
- You are God’s number one! You are made in His image; given eternal life through His Son, Jesus; Empowered by His Spirit to accomplish all He has planned for you.
- The worst day in heaven will still be better than the best day on earth.
These are just a few things we can focus on as we enter a new year, as we enter new challenges, as new worries attack us. Can you think of more? The true hope of the new year looks back to that baby in the manger!
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14
“What was I thinking?”
Has that thought ever gone through your head? Maybe you’ve even said it out loud to yourself or others listening. We all have those days, those times when we look at ourselves from the outside and, frankly, can’t believe the action we’ve taken, the words we’ve spoken or the thought/attitude that has crossed our mind.
Let’s face it. Our humanity fails us. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Romans 7, where Paul expresses his own personal frustration with himself. ‘The things I hate I find myself doing, the things I desperately want to do or be known for I fail to do…daily!” (My paraphrase)
So, how do we move on? What steps can we take to remedy the situation? After all, we know there will be some who will take our failings as an opportunity to judge us and to constantly hold our failure against us.
I love what Paul says in Philippians regarding failure. Basically, (again my paraphrase) he is telling us, ‘Stuff happens, we fail, sometimes miserably. People will judge us, condemn us and criticize us, but move on.’
It amazes me how many Bible people failed. They were dishonest. They lied to cover up their own mistakes. They were cowards. They ignored specific commands of God to try to further their own agenda, oftentimes at the expense of others.
Paul isn’t saying we don’t try to make things right. When we’ve wronged others, we need to try to make amends. When we’ve failed we need to put boundaries in place to keep us accountable and protect us from making the same mistakes. But then we need to move on.
The new year is a great time to look back over the previous year and evaluate the path you have taken. What things can you do better?
What things need to be corrected?
What relationships need to be mended?
What relationships need to be ended or at least put on hold?
Are you closer to Christ now than you were a year ago?
When Paul says, ‘forgetting the past and looking forward’ I don’t think he said that flippantly. I think he looked back at the past, made up a plan to make corrections and then he moved on. He didn’t dwell on his failures, he used them as stepping stones to a better tomorrow.
As the calendar flips to a new year, what things do you need to learn from? What things do you need to let go? How can the Holy Spirit help you? Who can you seek out as an accountability partner to walk through life with you?
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 