Monthly Archives: September 2015

BE STILL ON YOUR STORMS-SERIES 4 (Look Beyond your Storm)

BE STILL ON YOUR STORMS-SERIES 4

(Look beyond the storms)

MARK 4:35 -41

In this fourth series of Be still in your storms, we need to understand that storms are just temporary.

Whenever we are in the midst of problems, difficulties, and tribulations, God has always promised for every situation we are in.

Our God is faithful and He will not allow the attack of storms in our life to consume us but rather this will strengthen us.

“LOOK BEYOND OUR EVERY STORM”

Knowing that God is our present help, consider that storms are just one of the stages in our journey.

We need to understand those storms are just temporary.

Your relationship problem is temporary.

Our debt is just temporary.

Our being jobless is just temporary.

Never so conscious about the storm that we forgot that God is in our boat.

The disciples were so terrified that the boat is being filled up with water, but don’t look at the water that fills your boat. Look on your God who is with you in that boat.

Never so focused on our circumstances that we forgot our destination.

Don’t so focus on the difficulties that we forget the promises.

Don’t magnify the things that are bad that we negate the presence of God.

Don’t be so focused on your sickness that you forgot that our God is the Healer.

Never so overwhelmed by your enemies that we forgot that He is our refuge, a present help in times of trouble.

Remember that the God we serve can defy the law of nature.

Look beyond our storm, because in every dark cloud and gale of wind is a clear day waiting at the end.

It does not mean that the clouds are too dark and that there is no sun on the other side.

In every storm, there will always be a rainbow afterward.

“THERE ARE PROMISES IN THE STORM”

The question may lurk in our minds “Why do we still encounter the fierce storm when God is in our boat?” Is it not possible to continue our journey without any storm since God is with us in our expedition?

All of us are not exempted from all the trials and difficulties even when we have Jesus in our boat.

Why there is still sickness? Why still lost our job? An endless question of why.

There are no violent storms that cause us to fear knowing that our God is so near.

Isaiah 43:2 says that when you pass through the deep waters I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you…..

In Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Because God does not promises us the obvious. Promises are given where you have the tendency to doubt.

Isaiah 4:10 says So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

God has always specific promises for every storm we are going through.

Never doubt Him in your storms, for we can always rely on Him

May you see His promises in whatever storms you are into,

Mikesendon

BE STILL IN YOUR STORM-SERIES 3 (Storm increases our Faith)

Leave a reply

BE STILL IN YOUR STORMS-SERIES 3

(Storm increases your Faith)

MARK 4:35 -41

In Mark 4:40 And He said to them “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?

We should understand that we pass different storms not to harm us, not to kill us but to strengthen us.

Our storms come in our life to strengthen and increase our faith.

3. INCREASES OUR FAITH

The storm in our life brings fear. It brings us anxieties.

“But storms should increase our faith as faith could be best practice in our storms.”

Our faith could only be stretched out when we practice it.

Our muscles expand more after regular work out. An athlete who went through a rigid training is more strong, agile and determined than an ordinary person.

Your storms are instrumental in the growth of your faith. The more storms you have, the more muscles your faith will have.

GROW IN FAITH

Is it not your happy when you have a bonsai plant and your friend like it because it’s small?

When you parade your pet Chihuahua dog; everyone says that it’s so cute.

But how about our faith? Will God be happy if our faith after five or ten years attending a prayer meeting or going to church and it still remains small?

Will you be happy that we have a cute faith?

Our faith should grow over time. Although the requirement for us is to have a faith at least as small as mustard seed, however, it should not remain as small as it is.

Our faith needs to develop and one way to grow it is by practicing it in our storms.

STORMS ARE ATTACK IN OUR FAITH

Storm comes sometimes undetected.

In November 2013, a super typhoon Yolanda, with sustained winds of 235 kilometers per hour with gusts of 275 kph when it made landfall devastated the southern part of the Philippines. By those measurements, Yolanda would be comparable to a strong Category 4 hurricane in the US, nearly in the top category, a 5. It left Tacloban and other islands in total devastation, leaving the area like a ghost town.

But the strongest typhoon met the strongest people in earth.

In our spiritual world, storms are attacks in our faith. It comes so that we lose and waver our faith.

It’s an enemy’s assault to make you vulnerable, weak and defeated. When your our storms are battering us, we tend to give up, blame and question God why He allows all of this things to happen.

The enemy brings storms in our life not to attack you but because he want to attack our faith.

FAITH AS VALUABLE COMMODITY

For the enemy, our faith in God is like valuable commodity.

It’s like an exchange of trade and the enemy what we could become because of our faith.

Because with faith we can please God.

With faith we can have answered prayers.

With faith we can do miracles.

With faith we can touch the heart God.

That is why, he send so many storms in our life because he know what we could become. The enemy knows where God is taking us.

When you lose your job, the enemy is not after your money but he is after your faith.

When your marriage is in the brink of separation, the enemy is not interested in your husband; he is attacking your faith.

When your car was impounded by the bank due to non-payment, the enemy is not after your car, he is after your faith.

Storms should increase our faith as faith could be best practice in our storms.

Uncommon faith brings uncommon results.

WALK BY FAITH NOT BY SIGHT

Because when we are in the midst of our storm, we may not feel Him, we may not see Him, we may not heard of Him but it does not indicate that he already jumped off from our boat.

In the midst of storms, it is dark there, it is not quiet and we cannot see him.

He wanted us to stir our boat not from what we know but from what He could do.

When we focus our physical eyes on our surroundings, we will be disappointed.

But instead of fear and doubt, fill our boat with faith.

When we are so conscious about our storms, we will be terrified when the water is filling up our boat.

Like Peter, he already walked on the water but he was distracted by the strong wind that he saw, he slowly sunk down. Jesus told him that how little was his faith.

Don’t expect God to be sensual in our storms.

Because we may not see or feel Him physically, but with faith we will know that He is always in control.

That is the reason why we have to walk by faith and not by sight.

May your storms stretch the muscles of your faith,

Mikesendon

Be Still in Your Storm-Series 2 (Talk to Your Storms)

Leave a reply

TALK TO YOUR STORMS- SERIES 2

(Talk to Your Storms)

MARK 4:35 -41

In this second series, we will understand that Jesus commanded the storm to stop

His disciples asked themselves who was He that even the force of nature obey Him.

No matter how big our storms are, the second lesson we need to know when we are into the storm is we have to talk to our storms.

TALK TO YOUR STORMS

There was a man who was on the rail of a bridge and about to jump off to the river when another guy saw him and persuaded him to stop.

They sat together, talked about their problems and after an hour both of them jumped off the bridge.

Don’t let your storms talk to you but rather talk to your storm.

Don’t let your problems talk to you, talk to your problems.

Never be controlled by the problem that you lose control of yourselves and your sanity.

.In Mk 4:39 and he got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.

When we are in our storm, we have to get up and command our storms to go out of our life in Jesus’ Name.

Because God has given us the power and authority to overcome.

In Mt17:20 Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a little mustard seed, you will say to this mountain “ move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible to you.”

Mt 11:23 Truly I say unto you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea and does not doubt into his heart but believe, what he says is going to happen, it will be granted.

You can say to your sickness, “Be healed in Jesus’ Name”.

You can deliver curses in your life.

You can cast out demons and declare deliverance in Jesus’ name.

The name of Jesus is more powerful than the name of any sickness we know.

Because we got the power. Because our God is greater than he who is in this world.

Life and death are at the tip of our tongue.

Use that power to talk to our storms.

Mikesendon

BE STILL IN YOUR STORMS- Series 1

Leave a reply

BE STILL IN OUR STORMS- SERIES 1

Storm does not Indicate the Absence of God

MARK 4:35 -41

It seems hard to believe that we could be blown by the gentle wind.

It looks bizarre that we could fall down by the mild and calm breeze.

Because when there is a storm, we come prepared. We are strong.

We move forward, we are aggressive, and we are wise but cautious.

Many of us stand strong during a roaring hurricane but we fall with the gentle wind.

Because at the end of the struggles, we lost our strength.

We started powerfully but we ended up weak.

Do not be blown by the gentle breeze.
Not another Monkey Story

One time super monkey taunted the mighty wind for competition as he said “ Mighty Wind, I know you are deadly and powerful but today I will prove to you that your power has no might against me. Give what you got and I will triumph over you.”

The Mighty Wind agreed to Super Monkey’s request and started to blow a strong force wind. The monkey braces himself on the trunk of a tree while branches of the tree started to break.

The monkey just laughed and teased Mighty Wind saying “ Is that what you got!!!”, so the wind again with might blew a very strong wind that almost makes the tree bend to the ground nearly breaking it but the monkey stayed strong and held his ground.

Suddenly, the wind became quiet and seems nothing happen. The monkey stands proudly in bewilderment. Then a cold, gentle, calm breeze started to blow and the monkey started to feel asleep. His hands holding onto the trunk became loose and he fell to the ground.

STANDING STRONG IN THE DIFFERENT STORM

As we go over to the other side where God is leading us, expect that we will pass through different storms in our life.

All of us pass through different storms in life.

A storm is part of our journey.

We may be standing strong amidst all our difficulties but some find it hard to battle their storms.

1 Cor.10:13 says that all pass through different storms and no one is exempted.

When you know that you will be in a fight, you will come forward prepared and expecting the worst yet with determination to win at the end of each round.

Manny Pacquiao will not face his opponent unprepared.

Defeat is not an option that is why he moves with courage and confidence. He is brave and tough.

But a storm is not about the gale wind, the frightening lightning, the roaring thunder because in life we could be facing some covert storm.

In this situation, we see our friends in their best suits but they have this emotional crisis. We envy people with their expensive BMW but they are three months lagging on their monthly payment. We admire people with them but they are behind with their amortization. We look at people as vibrant and energetic but they are in a battle with their sicknesses. We want the position of our boss but they cannot sleep and take a vacation because of so much stress and pressures at work.

But here are the 5 LIFE lessons we need to understand HOW TO BE STILL in our storms.

STORM DOES NOT SIGNIFY THE ABSENCE OF GOD

“THE PRESENCE OF THE STORMS DOES NOT INDICATE THE ABSENCE OF GOD.”

The presence of storms in our life does not mean that God is not with us. In fact, the presence of God is with us.

In fact, it is the presence of God that sustains us in battle the storm in our life.

Psalm 46:1 says our God is our very present help in times of trouble.

God is present in our tribulations, in our sufferings, and in our struggles because He is a very present help in our times of need.

Call upon the name of the Lord and he will be with us.

It does not mean that when we are being shaken by the strong wind, God is absent.

It does not mean that God is sleeping in our boat and don’t care about us.

The disciples were so terrified that they ask Jesus if He doesn’t really care if in times were about to die.

God may be silent but it does not justify God’s absence nor deny His existence

Because when we are in the midst of our storm, we may not feel Him, we may not see Him, we may not hear of Him but it does not indicate that he already jumped off from our boat.

Using our eyes makes us more afraid.

Amid storms, it is dark, there is chaos and we cannot see him. That is the reason why we have to walk by faith and not by sight.

But God is present and He is with us.

We may have that suffering, tribulation, or problems but God is not jumping off our boat. He is with us.

Call upon the name of the Lord and He will come to your aid.

May His presence sustain you amid the storm,

Mikesendon

LET GO TO LIVE UP-Losing our life to find it

Leave a reply

LET GO TO LIVE UP-Losing our life to find it

MARK 8:27-38

It seems odd to think that it is only by losing that we could find something.

It seems intriguing to know that we can find life’s true value after we give it up.

It is unusual to tell that life meaning could be found only after giving it up.

The topic makes us curious as we go deep down to find that the essence of life could be better understand if we learn to LET IT GO TO LIVE UP.

The Message in Paradox

In verse 35 of Mark:8, Jesus said that whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses it for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Jesus statement is a paradox. It is an illustrative statement of two contradicting, opposite, absurd statement yet it expresses a latent truth.

It might not be logical to the listeners but it points us to a truth that God want us to understand. God’s wisdom is different from human.

That is why we notice that in many of His statement He usually mentioned “those who have ears shall listen” and “verily, verily I say unto you…”

There is a message hidden in Jesus statement that could only be grasp if we have those ears willing to listens and a heart widely open to accept His words.

Two Contradictory truths

The world teaches us that to save means to keep it up and preserve its value.

So people save his life by keeping up something that would benefit him. Human exert his effort to be able to control his surrounding that would sustain his life in his favor even if turns that he became selfish and self-centered.

The danger of man focusing his attention and energy to preserve his life is missing to understand that we cannot do anything. After all of this, it will end in vain for what profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet losses his own soul.

The gospel of John says that without God, we can do nothing.

What Jesus teaching us is contradictory as what the world is teaching us.

We have learned in our lifetime that to be able to save our lives, we need to protect and keep it intact. In any means, we survive our life from any external threat. While here is an intriguing statement, we need to loss our life for God’s sake in able to save it.

He said that if we lose our life for God’s sake and of the gospel, we will find life.

The true meaning of life is when we hand over the control of our life into the hands of God.

We can truly discover the beauty that life’s bring when we let it go and let God shows us to see life in His perspective. The master designer knows best as He is the one who laid out the blue print of our life.

DON’T PRESERVE THE TEMPORARY

Our human thinking is so limited that our perception how to save ourselves might be enough, but we are wrong.

We should never preserve the temporary.

In one of the parable Jesus taught, the rich man said to himself “ I am rich, I have so much harvest that my storehouse are not enough. I will demolish it and build a bigger one”.

Preserving the temporary makes us foolish like the rich man in the parable. We concentrate on preserving what will not last. Keeping up things that can be stolen, rusted and destroyed by moths, washed out by floods, blown by the storms and can be burned by fire.

Don’t preserve the temporary because we deserve something that last. A life of eternity worthy to be longing for of which only in God we can find.

Focusing on saving the temporary losses our opportunity to experience a life that leads to eternity.

CROSSROAD OF CHOICES TO MAKE

Today we are being offered with a lot of choices.

In fact, daily we are in the crossroads of choosing which one would be a better choice.

When you are in a buffet table and all the foods are enticing, it boils up your appetite. It makes your stomach roars. There are times when you want to taste all of it but you can’t.

Like choosing a dress, my wife have that gift to meticulously cross-examine every piece, fit it out back and forth inside the dressing room, from one store to the other while I’m waiting patiently as her “consultant” and “fashion show audience”.

Why, because there is a lot of choices and we have to pick the best.

If this law works in the physical round, then it should also apply in the spiritual round. We should never settle for less.

That is why we should not so indulge on the temporary rather focus on something that last. Never so concentrated on the physical but also on the spiritual.

He wanted us to choose him. But God is a respecter of free will.

THE BASIS OF OUR DECISION

Jesus asked His disciples what people say about Him. And they replied that He was Elijah, some said he was John the Baptist and other said one of the prophets.

But Jesus asked them personally, who He was for them and Peter boldly said that He was the Messiah.

God wanted to hear what we know of Him. God wanted us to have that deep knowledge of Him not because this is what we heard from others but because this is our experience of Him

He is establishing an intimate relationship with us.

He wanted that we choose Him not because of fear but because of love.

Loving Him cause us to obey and follow Him but he gave us the condition that if we desire to follow Him, there should no more turning back like a man flowing his farm in the field.

Our decision to follow and obey God should be founded on truth and the relationship He established in us.

THE NARROW ROAD

Narrow is the road that leads to path where God is. Many choose the wider road as these are more comfortable, less hassles. It’s a freeway where everybody is going.

The decision to choose God is a tough decision because we have to lose our life for God’s sake and in obedience to the gospel.

To follow God is to follow Him in the narrow road away from the trance where many love to walk.

To embrace God is to walk with Him on the road less travelled.

In verse 34 Jesus said to His disciples, “if you want to follow me, deny yourself; carry your cross and follow me.

To serve God and save our life is costly because we need to exchange all what we considered as valuable. What He demands is not just what is available but He wants all.

Are we willing to loss our life for the sake of the gospel? Then we have to continue reading this article.

OUR DECISION TO FOLLOW

Now that we assess the demand of following God and His gospel, our journey starts.

Like a man who build his house, he built it on the rock so that flood comes it will not be washed it away.

DENY YOURSELVES

In verse 34 Jesus said to His disciples, “if you want to follow me, deny yourself; carry your cross and follow me.

If we are deciding to follow Him, we have to deny ourselves. We must be ready to disown and reject anything that makes us too proud and brag of who we are because of our position, our possessions, our gifts, our talents, our connections.

It is denying ourselves when we are elected in a public office and we to reject any outside influence or any opportunity we know that it could make us wealthy yet we choose to live a life of integrity because we know that it is not our money but it’s the money of the people we serving. That it’s not your money but by the owner of the company. That it’s not yours but by the ministry you serve.

Is it not renouncing to oneself when Zacheo the chief tax collector went down the sycamore tree and be convicted to return more than twice of his wealth to anyone whom he defrauded?

Are you willing to hear from your friend that your fool if they tell you “sayang naman, palay na ang lumalapit sa manok”. Anyway your spouse is not here and nobody could see. Is it not renouncing yourself when you have the opportunity like Joseph rejected the offer of Potiphar’s wife to have slept with her?

Is it not denial when you lower than your ego and pride because you forgive the person who rejects you. Those persons who talked about you. Is it not denying when David have the opportunity to get even to King Saul when he had that chance to kill him?

A follower is no greater than his master. Jesus denied himself and accepted the will of His Father even into the cross.

How much more of us are willing to follow Him?

CARRY YOUR CROSS

Carrying the cross is the consequence when we deny ourselves.

When we decided to renounce what is due to us it becomes our burden, it becomes our cross.

There is always sacrifice when you choose to forgive. You deny yourselves when you lower your pride just to be reconciled with your love ones. You carry your cross when you sacrifice to accept him even the past continue to lingers in your mind. The wound is still there but you sacrifice because you choose to love.

You carry your cross when your life is not that plenty because you reject the opportunity to open the box. It hurts to see sometimes your children don’t have that much luxury even if you have that chance by using your position and connection to corrupt other people’s money.

You carry your cross when you send that “balikbayan” box to your family even it takes you months to filled it and patiently waiting for “Sales”. You sacrifice so that other might live.

Is it not carrying your cross when you take care other children miles away from your own just only to make sure that they live, they experience a life you have not experience before and that they may pursue their dreams.

It’s a sacrifice to follow Jesus when you take his burden as our burden. When we chooses to serve God by serving His people without waiting for neither reward nor consolation.

FOLLOW ME

We can only truly follow Jesus when we deny ourselves; we carry that cross and yet continue to follow even that cross is still on our shoulder.

We cannot follow when we carry our cross yet we have too much complaint. It does just make the cross heavier.

We follow Him with the awareness that there might be inconvenience; we may not be having that luxury yet we still continue to walk with God.

Even that past continue to haunt your relationship, you continue to move forward because you chooses to forgive, you chooses to love.

The path might not be the road many travelled but this is the road that many missed. It’s the road to eternity because where God is leading us, He will surely bless us.

LET GO TO LIVE UP

In verse 37 for what will a man give in exchange of his soul?

Are we willing to give up earthly things to receive the heavenly things?

Are we willing to deny everything that are fleeting and temporary for the sake of eternity?

Unless we learn to let go of ourselves we will not to live up what God has in store for us.

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and forfeit his soul.

May you have the courage to let go.

Mikesendon

PLANTING SEEDS TO MULTIPLY

Leave a reply

PLANTING SEEDS TO MULTIPLY

JOHN 6:1-14

Jesus feeding the five thousand men is another miracle He did to show us what he could do.

The multiplication of five loaves and two fish is an event to teach us to multiply the fruits of whatever we are planting.

To multiply, there should be a seed to be sown.

By learning the virtues of Jesus, we can multiply the result of our endeavor through the grace of God.

The Principle of Harvest

Everything starts small.

A single grain can grow and can give you more than double in returns.

We plant the right seed and we harvest the best fruit.

A single grain can multiply but the question is what type of grain. The quality of the fruits we have depends on the quality of grains we have sown and the quality of care we gave while the plant is growing.

What we reap today is what we have planted years back.

What we are planting right now, is what we will harvest in the future.

Don’t expect to grow a mango by planting an avocado.

This is a universal law.

We plant today to harvest for tomorrow.

What we sow grows. What is alive, multiplies.

We plant a single seed today to let it multiply in the future.

Planting SEED OF COMPASSION

John 6:5 says, therefore lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him said to Phillip “Where are we to buy bread so that they may eat?”

Jesus was so compassionate that He felt the need of the people following Him.

His compassion prevails over his desires to take a rest for He knew that these people are hungry, sick, and in need. That is why in the book of Mark 6:34 when they land ashore, He saw the large crowd and he felt compassion for them for they are like sheep without a shepherd.

How do we see people when they come to us? Do we see them that they are in need or do we see them that they can give us what we need?

God is teaching us that for us to have that power to multiply if we will have the same seed of compassion in our hearts like Jesus.

Compassion is love in action. It is a seed that should grow in our hearts.

It should move us to help others because we feel their pain, we feel their suffering, we know their struggles and we know what they are been to.

We are ought to give what we received. We need to show our compassion same as what we received from God.

Extend your mercy towards others, so that there can be no one in need whom you meet without helping. For what hope is there for us if God should withdraw His Mercy from us? -Saint Vincent de Paul

The seed of compassion helps us to understand the needs of those people surrounding us. We become tolerant and we put our feet in the shoes of others.

It is easy to help and care for people who went through various storms in their life. It is easy to understand people who are in trouble because they lost their job, they are sick, and those who suffer because they lost their loved ones.

But compassion is seeing beyond what we can see from what other person is suffering. With that seed of compassion, we understand people who are beaten by a secret storm. You see them laughing, you see them dancing, you see them normal but deep within, they were suffering.

These are the people who have a good job, newly promoted but their responsibility is great that they have too much pressure at work. These are people serving in the church, in a ministry and you see them as normal, happy yet they secretly enduring their sickness.

Plant that seed of compassion and let it grow.

We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion that is truly the spirit of God. -Saint Vincent de Paul

Planting SEED OF FAITH

The size of our faith determines the size of blessings we will receive.

In verses 5-6 Jesus asked Phillip where they will buy bread so that the people may eat. This was to test him for He knew already what He intended to do.

God sometimes put us in a situation to test us where we have to use our faith.

It does not mean that when we are in a situation of trouble, suffering, in need, or in sickness, He is leaving us to settle it on our own.

He wants us to have a mind that sees increase rather than decrease. To see something even when we see nothing.

God is teaching us to see plenty amid scarcity. Faith can turn scarce into abundance. To have a vision of increase, magnify what is good.

That seed of faith planted in our hearts grows to help us to see the provisions rather than the dreadful situations.

The disciples see that even two hundred denarii are not enough to feed the five thousand people. With faith, we know that we have God who is more than enough.

We see the impossible rather than the visible.

Jacob was blessed by God for everything he does prosper. Laban flocks increase from little to multitude because of Jacob. But Laban witnessed how God blessed Jacob and he did treat Jacob deceitfully by not giving him his fair wages. Jacob asked Laban to depart from him and let him go to his country. They agreed that Jacob will continue to pasture his flocks but his wages shall be every spotted and speckled among the flocks shall belong to him.

Jacob’s faith took him to take fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was in the rod. So the flocks mated by the rods and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. He separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban, and he put his own herd apart and he did not put them in Laban’s flock.

The flocks became what they see. We achieve what we conceive in our thoughts.

Planting SEED OF GENEROSITY

In verse 9, there was a lad who has five bread and two loaves.

The boy can just simply refuse to give what she had for this may just be enough for him. But he willingly gives it away and miracles happen.

Every seed of generosity will not turn into vain. What you have given to the needy is you’ve given to the Lord.

We may be thinking this is just enough for us and why to bother others, but giving is a key to receiving more abundant blessings.

What we give will return a hundred times. The five loaves of bread and two fish return baskets of leftover more than enough.

What you keep will only be yours but what you give will come back more than what you give. Because we cannot beat God in His generosity.

The widow in the times of Elijah can refuse the last ounce of oil and flour but their act of kindness turn out to be a miracle of overflowing, and oil flowing without ceasing more than enough for their needs.

Planting SEED OF GRATITUDE

In verse 11, Jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated.

Jesus did not consider the quantity of what they have but rather the quantity of what God can give by giving thanks to the ultimate source of all our needs.

Consider what you have as a blessing for out of what you have, God can turn it into your favor.

That remaining flour, remaining money on your savings if we acknowledge that God can multiply it to your contentment.

I remembered when I was in the province years back; the general source of water aside from a well was a manual water pump. But for the manual pump to work, a bucketful of water is set aside to pour into the pump.

We can use that water being set aside but what it gives us is just temporary when we pour it into the pump, what it can give is bounty.

We can keep what we have for ourselves but when we planted that generosity and learn to give it away, it bounces back to our plenty.

Jesus in His power can just click His fingers and “kaboom!” an instant buffet meal could be in front of them.

We can make a difference today

But God allows us to be part of His miracles. Unknown to us, God uses us to be miracles for others.

Unknown to us, we become Jesus to somebody if we continue to nurture the seed of compassion, the seed of faith, generosity, and gratitude in our hearts.

We have the power to multiply as Jesus said, we can do things like what He did.

May your happiness multiply,

Mikesendon