“One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh-baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.” His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!” Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. God says there’s plenty.” And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.” 2 Kings 4:42-44 MSG One prevailing theme in Elisha’s life is abundance. As I read through the story of his ministry,…
Daniel 9:17 KJV “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.” Daniel 9:17 MSG “So listen, God, to this determined prayer of your servant. Have mercy on your ruined Sanctuary. Act out of who you are, not out of what we are.” Humanity can be quite a mess at times. We struggle to learn from history and our mistakes. We interject ourselves into situations thinking that we have all the answers. Selfishness and ego fuel many of our decisions. We stumble often, dust ourselves off, and try again. It seems to be a constant war between what we know we should do, and what we ultimately decide to do. In spite of the shortcomings and failures of humanity, we know a God who still moving and working. I am grateful to know that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:9) I am also glad that when we need God to step into a situation to do supernatural work, He acts out of who He is and not out of what…
“But we belong to the day. So we must stay sober and let our faith and love be like a suit of armor. Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet.” 1 Thessalonians 5:8 CEV Is there anyone else who senses that darkness is running rampant through our world right now? In the face of great adversity and godlessness, I need to often remind myself that I belong to the light and that I do not need to fear what is happening around me. We are instructed in the Word of God how to handle this season of chaos in many scriptures, one being 1 Thessalonians 5:8. We must be sober. To be sober means to be marked by seriousness in demeanor and speech. We must be alert and aware of what is happening in the spirit realm. We must also be wise with our words and cautious with how we speak to others. We must let our faith and love be a suit of armor. Armor protects important, life-sustaining organs. Your faith and love for God and others will stand guard at your heart and deflect lies from the enemy. Lastly, we must wear our hope…
“Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” John 16:19-20 ESV One of my pet peeves is when a person gloats. I’m quite competitive by nature so when I’m losing, it infuriates me when someone rubs that…
“Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.” Ecclesiastes 7:3 I know, this scripture is usually recited in times of utter despair as a means of encouragement. While the above scripture is 100% true, it can be a hard truth to swallow in moments of heartbreak, loss, and tragedy. Think back over your life and remember all the moments that truly defined and shaped you as an individual. Chances are, most of them may be trials you had to face, storms you had to weather, and battles that needed to be fought. No one enjoys the valleys of life, I know that I certainly don’t, but I do know that dark seasons are often when God speaks to us the most. Just like the old hymn says, He is the God of the valley. The lessons you learn in your current situation will have a defining influence for the rest of your life. These seasons will shape your character as a Christ follower, and take you closer to your destiny in Him. Allow yourself to be molded in this season, and don’t fear the pain of change. God has something incredible for you in this…
“And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ” Matthew 15:33-37 ESV Sometimes reaching such a lost and broken world can be incredibly overwhelming and frightening. Cancel culture bares its teeth and threatens us into silence, sin is being celebrated and many loved ones have walked away from the truth. It’s devastating, and if we aren’t careful, we will begin to shrink back and quiet ourselves. We are living in desolate times, a place of loneliness, confusion, and questions. The disciples in the above scriptures ask in the literal sense where they will be able to find enough bread to feed the crowd. It was their personal desolate place, and I imagine that…