Loaves and Fish

There is a song called "Not in a Hurry" by United Pursuit. One particular line absolutely captivates me. It says, "All I ever have is loaves and fish."

I've always been astounded by Jesus' miracles, but I've never thought of applying them to my life.

In the Bible story, the little boy has five small loaves of bread and two small fish. He could've just been lost in the crowd. I mean the story's title is "Jesus feeds the five thousand" right? So what pushed this little boy to stand up and offer his little amount of food?

Children have a way of really putting things into perspective. I doubt that he thought his food would be multiplied and would feed over five thousand people. He probably thought that he could feed a few people.

I mean it isn't radical thinking to share what you have with someone else who is in need. 

God wanted to use this little boy. He wanted to use a random, ordinary kid who had little to offer. He knew that this kid would say yes.

The truth is that we each only have a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. We can help a couple people on our own. We can share our gifts, our talents, our money, etc, yet by ourselves we still only help a few.

But when we give our loaves and fish to God, he multiplies it. What if by encouraging one person, God shows them someone that they can then encourage?

When there is a generation of followers of Jesus who give God everything they have, people are changed.

You notice, the little boy did not become the center of attention after he gave the disciples his food; he simply was a vessel of God's love. 

When we give God our loaves and fish, God's love is poured out.

It is as if our lives are a painting of God's remarkable love and creation. When we give Him the paintbrush, our lives are full of God's glory. We are simply the painting that displays the incredible love that God has for His people.

It starts with giving God our five loaves and two fish. It starts with standing up and being different. It starts with loving the one in front of you.

Spiritual Ups and Downs

This a guest post from my good friend, John!

Do We Have Selective Hearing With God?

Do we have selective hearing with God? 

That's a serious question, in fact, quite a dangerous question if we allow ourselves to explore the thoughts that come with it. 

We go to church on Sundays and sometimes Wednesdays. We praise God. We read books that expand our knowledge of Him. 

But do we really hear God?

I feel like growing up in the church and being surrounded by Bible verses has almost desensitized me from the reality of them. 

I read over 1 Corinthians 13 like "yeah, love is patient, love is kind..." but I don't grasp the reality of it, the way that God literally breathed every single one of these words. 

Lately, I feel like everyone's been throwing around the "Pick up your cross and follow me" verse, but do we know what that actually means? I don't. 

I've been going through Acts lately and it troubles me to see the difference between the church then and the church now. 

I'm guilty of slamming the "American church" but I'm completely in the wrong when I do that. 

The truth is that even the churches that made up the Early Church got distracted. 

They forgot their mission and ignored God. 

Who are we to judge, when our mission is to love?  

Do we realize that we have selective hearing with God? 

We hear God say "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" but we don't think about that being in our own backyards. When we hear that, we're like "Okay, God! Take me where you want me!" 

But sometimes He wants us to bake cookies for our neighbors or hang out with awesome old people at nursing homes. 

Yet, we find ourselves overtaken with distractions. 

I'm so guilty of trying to get a group together to go to the nursing home or to make hospital visits where we hand out cute little balloons to children and it just not happening. When we can't find a time that works for everyone, I'm secretly relieved because it's easier to be distracted and to go through my days not engaging my soul in Kingdom work. 

But you know what's funny? 

God never calls us to the easy.

He calls us to engage our heart, soul, and mind into everything we do. 

When we look into these things, we always see Jesus. 

And there is nothing greater than seeing Jesus. Ever.

So I'm done not actively caring. 

I'm done being distracted. 

I'm done being obsessed with myself and what is easy.

I'm ready to be propelled into eternal purpose and destiny because Jesus is alive and well and speaking.