Greetings, Dear Friends!

For those of you visiting for the first time, I say welcome!

I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose for this Blog is to encourage you along your way. My focus is on the deeper life (roots down deep in Christ) and the powerful life (great growth and fruit in everything you do).

I love to hear from you, so please post a comment whenever you feel so led.

This week as I spent time reading and praying, I was struck anew by the way God extravagantly, abundantly, and bountifully supplies all of our needs. Futhermore, He takes our tiny little offerings and turns them into a harvest that leaves us scratching our heads, wondering what just happened.

How do we position ourselves to receive provision from above that it may translate to a powerful life on earth?

Read on...

Matthew 14:15-16 describes a scene where the disciples are faced with a need that is beyond their human ability to accomodate. Let's look at the passage:

That evening the disciples came to (Jesus) and said, "This is a desolate place, and it is getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves."

But Jesus replied, That isn't necessary - you feed them."



Stop here.

Jesus was constantly trying to get the disciples to think on a much grander scale. Jesus wants us to do the same.

We are such creatures of the moment that many of our prayers reflect a desire to rid ourselves of an immediate problem. But with Jesus on our side, there is always a potential, in every situation, to see His divine intervention at work. He not only addresses our problems and needs, He brings the heart of heaven to earth.

When He told the disciples, "You feed them." He was teaching them to walk in the provision He promised them. Now that we belong to Him, our goal must never be simply to rid ourselves of a problem or to meet a need in a meesly way. Needs are present to call us to faith. God has determined to meet the world's needs through a people who are willing to walk in faith, hope and love.

Walking the way Jesus walked doesn't just rid us of the problem, it builds faith, it sets the stage for miracles, and it helps the world to know that God is love.

Jesus always links our immediate needs with His spiritual provision.

He knew the disciples didn't have enough food to feed approximately fifteen thousand people (men, plus women and children). But He also knew that because He was there with them they would have more than enough. He would supply all their needs according to His riches, not their's.

Jesus said that nothing is impossible for those who believe.

Let's look at verse 17 where the disciple's respond to Jesus:

"Impossible!" they exclaimed. "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish!"

Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing.

In the following verses, Jesus models for us how to access all that Heaven wants to give and how to give to those in need, all that Heaven offers.

Let's look at this encounter:

"Bring them here," (Jesus) said. Then He told the people to sit down in the grass.

He took the five loaves and two fishes...

He looked up toward Heaven...

He asked God's blessing...

He gave what He had to the disciples who gave it to those in need...

He took, He looked, He asked, and He gave...and what was the result?

They all ate as much as they wanted and they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves, in addition to all the women and children!

Is the need or the demand greater than what you possess in your hand?

Take what you have, acknowledge it as a gift from God.

Look to Heaven - be reminded of the provision that is yours by faith.

Ask for God's blessing and for His Kingdom dynamics and miraculous multiplication to be at work.

Give what you have as an offering to God. Live a life of giving and sowing and blessing those in need.

When we walk with God and tend to the things He cares about we have access to everything we need in Heaven, and we are positioned to see divine intervention on earth.

When faith is present, we will always have more than enough.

Until next Wednesday...