5 Lessons... Part 5!

Instead of recapping the whole story up unto this point, I think I am simply going to recap the first 4 lessons. Here we go...

Lesson 1~ Attitude

The first lesson we can learn from this miracle of Jesus is ATTITUDE. In order to be all you can be for Jesus you have to take on the right attitude. With God ALL things are possible. God has put us where we are for a purpose and He has placed large tasks in our lives. We have to take on the correct attitude in order for God to use us and conquer these big tasks.

LESSON 2~ Give it All

The second lesson we can learn is GIVING IT ALL. God has incredible things in store for our lives and He wants to use us beyond our comprehension, but in order to do so we have to give everything to him. Just as the young boy gave all of his lunch for Jesus to use, we have to give Jesus all of ourselves.

LESSON 3~ Keep On Keeping On.

The third lesson we can learn is that you have to KEEP ON KEEPING ON! It looks impossible sometimes, but with the right attitude, and when you give all you have, and keep on keeping on no matter what, God will use you and bless you far beyond your imagination. As you keep on, you daily have to come back to God in order for Him to "refill your basket" just as He had to do for the disciples. You cannot serve/feed others when you yourself have not been fed and refilled.

LESSON 4~ When it's all said and done: JESUS.

The fourth lesson we can learn is that whether it's a project at school or work, a lesson you teach, a group you lead, a task you complete, or the life you live, WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE let it be JESUS that they see and praise!

AND FINALLY, Drum roll please......

LESSON 5~ Unique and Special

The fifth lesson that I think we can take away from this Miracle of Jesus and help us to "be all we can be for is Jesus" is to understand that we are unique and special. You see, my favorite thing about this miracle is not lessons to be learned, it's not the little boy giving it all, it's not the disciples serving, it's not Jesus multiplying food to feed the thousands of people, but it's the fact that this is the only miracle that is recorded in all 4 gospels! I love that! Like I said in lesson 1, that makes this miracle special. I also think that this miracle is unique. Although there are several miracles of Jesus, even one where He feed 4,000, this one is still it's own unique miracle.

Just as the miracle is unique and special, you are unique and special. Created for a specific reason with incredible plans (Jeremiah 29:11). The Psalmist tells us in Psalms 139 that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and that we were woven together by God. WOW! God stopped and took the time to weave you into creation just the way He wanted you to be.

God spoke all of His creations into existence, except for humans. He created us and breathed life into us. He went on to leave His unique mark on us and even gave us our own unique and special marks, fingerprints. Just as this miracle is special and unique, you are special and unique. God loves you beyond your imagination and has plans and thoughts for you that are beyond what you can fathom (Isaiah 55:8-9). Your fingerprints distinguish you from the rest of the world, so be unique, don't conform, and live the special plans that God has for you! God has left His fingerprints on you, now go leave His fingerprints across the world...
I wrap this point up with lyrics to a song that came from a late night conversation with a friend and thought that were swimming in our heads over the course of a few months.

It's simply titled "Fingerprints"

As I look at the stars I can’t help but think about the
day you formed them into existence.

The moment you spoke the words the creation
in its perfect forms for me to enjoy and see

Each star and constellation a unique creation in itself
it’s like you left your fingerprints on the night sky

As I look in the mirror I can’t help but think about the
day you formed me into existence

The moment you created me in your perfect
image and Woven with beauty only by your grace

Given a specific purpose to impact this world

When I was created, your fingerprints were left on me

Just as a potter leaves his prints on the clay

God has left His fingerprints on me

If you are the potter then I am the clay.

I am a creation skillfully mastered by the master’s hands

Woven with beauty in the image of God

I can’t help but see the fingerprints you left on me

I am your creation, yours and yours alone

I am shaped and created to be what I am supposed to be

Get the right ATTITUDE, GIVE IT ALL to God, KEEP ON KEEPING ON, in the end WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE let everything you do and say point to JESUS, and be your UNIQUE and SPECIAL self that God created you to be and you will be all you can be for Jesus!

I hope that God has spoken to you just as much has He has spoken to me through this story...


John 3:30 He must become more important. I must become less important...

Pressing On.

Five Lessons... Part 4

Yeah, it's been a LONG time... Anyway, let's do a quick recap of lessons 1-3 then take care of 4 and then maybe 5 in the next day or two so I can move on in my ramblings!

Jesus had gone away with His disciples and the multitudes had followed. It was dinner time and Jesus took charge to feed all the people. In the first post I noted that the first lesson we can learn from this miracle of Jesus is ATTITUDE. In order to be all you can be for Jesus you have to take on the right attitude. With God ALL things are possible. God has put us where we are for a purpose and He has placed large tasks in our lives. We have to take on the correct attitude in order for God to use us and conquer these big tasks. In my second post I noted that the next lesson we can learn is GIVING IT ALL. God has incredible things in store for our lives and He wants to use us beyond our comprehension, but in order to do so we have to give everything to him. Just as the young boy gave all of his lunch for Jesus to use, we have to give Jesus all of ourselves. When you give it all sometimes you have to do things that you have no desire to do or things that look impossible, but as I noted in the last post the third lesson we can learn is that you have to KEEP ON KEEPING ON! It looks impossible sometimes, but with the right attitude, and when you give all you have, and keep on keeping on no matter what, God will use you and bless you far beyond your imagination. As you keep on, you daily have to come back to God in order for Him to "refill your basket" just as He had to do for the disciples. You cannot serve/feed others when you yourself have not been fed and refilled.

Whew... Awesome, let's jump into the scriptures and take on point 4! We're going to look at John 6:14-15

After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Everyone in the story had had a BIG day and the day was almost over, but yet I think there is still a lesson to be learned from these 2 verses. The people had come, the disciples attitudes had been seen, the little boy had given it all, Jesus had preformed a miracle, the people were fed, the disciples kept on keeping on, and they had received their "reward". WOW, could you imagine the conversations going on between the people in the crowd. Stories were made that day that would be past on for many generations to come... It had been an INCREDIBLE day.

The disciples could have received tons of recognition for serving the people food over and over again, but they didn't. The little boy could have been given recognition for giving his lunch to enable the process to happen, but he wasn't... Jesus spoke a few words, multiplied the food, and handed it to the disciples... He was the talk of the town.

LESSON 4~ When it's all said and done: JESUS.

When the amazing day was over, who did they see? They saw Jesus. They didn't talk about what the disciples did or what the little boy did, they recognized Jesus. They realized that He was the prophet they had been hearing about, He was the one. I must admit that these two scriptures hit me the hardest.

We, as servants of God, do a lot of cool and incredible things for God and on His behalf. I know when God calls and equips me to do things for Him, they usually turn out really good. Big things happen, people walk away changed, and God really moves, however a lot of times I want to take the credit. When all is said and done I want people to see Meredith and what Meredith did and how awesome it was because of what Meredith did... WOW, now that my friends is selfish and way wrong. When all is said and done JESUS should be the only person that the people see. When all is said and done people should walk away saying "WOW, look at God and what He did. Look how awesome He is and at the incredible things He has accomplished!"

In the end it should be all about Jesus. When your life is all said and done are people going to look at you and see what all you've done or are they going to see Jesus and all the things He did through you and all the lives of the people who were impacted because you were His vessel?

In Matthew 5: 14-16 Jesus says

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Whether it's a project at school or work, a lesson you teach, a group you lead, a task you complete, or the life you live, WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE let it be JESUS that they see and praise!

I leave you with the lyrics to "Do They See Jesus in Me?" by Joy Williams. A friend gave this song to me a few months ago and I think it fits perfectly with this lesson...

Is the face that I see in the mirror the one I want others to see?
Do I show in the way that I walk in my life the love that you've given to me?
My heart's desire is to be like you in all that I do, all I am

CHORUS:
Do they see Jesus in me?
Do they recognize your face?
Do I communicate your love and your grace?
Do I reflect who you are in the way I choose to be?
Do they see Jesus, Jesus in me?

Well it's amazing that you'd ever use me, but use me the way you will
Help me to hold out heart of compassion and grace
A heart that your Spirit fills
May I show forgiveness and mercy the same way you've shown it to me

CHORUS

Well I want to show all the world that You are the reason I live and breathe
So You'll be the one that they see when they see me...

Pressing On.

Five Lessons... Part 3

Quick Recap: Jesus had gone away with His disciples and the multitudes had followed. It was dinner time and Jesus took charge to feed all the people. In the first post I noted that the first lesson we can learn from this miracle of Jesus is ATTITUDE. In order to be all you can be for Jesus you have to take on the right attitude. With God ALL things are possible. God has put us where we are for a purpose and He has placed large tasks in our lives. We have to take on the correct attitude in order for God to use us and conquer these big tasks. In my last post I noted that the second lesson we can learn is GIVING IT ALL. God has incredible things in store for our lives and He wants to use us beyond our comprehension, but in order to do so we have to give everything to him. Just as the young boy gave all of his lunch for Jesus to use, we have to give Jesus all of ourselves.

Sweet... Let's jump into the scripture. This time we are going to look at Luke's "version" of the miracle~ Luke 9:14-17

(About five thousand men were there.)But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

At least 5,000 men were in attendance at this gathering, that is not counting women or children. Wow, now that' s a whole lot of people! Like I noted in a previous post, Bible Scholars believe that was an estimated 10,000 people there all together. For the sake of wanting a number to help get my thoughts across we are going to go with 10,000. It really doesn't matter, but it will help with a little visual!

Now as you recall from previous posts that Jesus had crossed the sea of Galilee with His disciples and they had gone up and sat on a mountainside. Keep that in the back of your head for a moment! Anyway, they had gone up and Jesus decided it was time to eat and the disciples had no clue what Jesus was about to do. A young boy had given his lunch to Jesus and the disciples did not know what He could do with such a small lunch. Jesus told them to sit the people down in groups of about 50, so they did. But I think that they still did not understand what they were fixing to experience... Little did they know that their job was about to begin!

Stop. Soak it in. Think through the story up until this point. Got it? Here we go...

LESSON 3~ Keep On Keeping On.

There are 3 different things I want you to see from this.

#1- Jesus had 10,000ish people sit down in groups of 50. Now by my calculations that means there were roughly 200 groups! Now pull that fact out that I asked you to store a moment ago. They were on a mountainside. That means that they were probably on or around the mountain and Jesus and His disciples were most likely at the top. Jesus blessed the food and began to give it to the disciples to hand out to the 200 different groups of people. 200 groups divided by 12 disciples= 16 trips per disciple with a few trips left over. 16 times the disciples had to get a basket go out and distribute it and come back get another and to it all again. I can only imagine that they were probably playing paper-rock-scissors to see who had to go to group #200 who was the furthest away. WOW... What a job they had. A task that probably seemed like it would never end. 16 trips up and down the mountain just to do what Jesus had commanded them to do. In their minds the still did not understand what was going on. They saw an impossible task before them of feeding that many people. They saw Jesus bless the little lunch to create enough resources to do what He called them to do, but yet they still had to do the work. They kept on keeping on, doing the work that Jesus called them to do. I'm sure that by the 10th or 11th trip back up the mountain they were done and ready to stop, but they didn't. The kept on until everyone had food and they were satisfied. Which leads me to point number 2.

#2- The disciples did not quit. The kept on until the task that they were called to do was finished. The endured through it all and finished. When everyone had eaten and they were satisfied the disciples went through and picked up 12 baskets of left overs. Coincidence? I think not. 12 men who had given it all, they left everything, they had nothing. 12 baskets left over- I think this was their reward. Since they had given up everything and had nothing I'm sure that a basket of food was a huge blessing. They kept on keeping on doing what they were called to do and I believe that they were blessed and rewarded for it. God has called each one of us for a specific purpose. He has called us to keep on keeping on.
Maybe you are in the middle of a situation and you don't know when or how you are going to get out... Keep on keeping on.
Maybe God has called you to do something and you are frustrated and ready to give up... Keep on keeping on.
Maybe the task before you is bigger than you and you're just not sure if you can do it or not... Keep on keeping on.
Maybe God has told you to be patient and just wait... Keep on keeping on.
I promise that if you keep on keeping on God will give you the strength and resources that you need to keep going. I also promise that after you have come through the storm, accomplished the task, climbed your mountain, or whatever it is, a blessing/reward lies on the other side for you. Just as the disciples gained their baskets, God has something incredible for you, it might not be an earthly reward, but I promise there's something for you. This brings me to my favorite insight from this whole passage.

#3- In order for the disciples to keep on keeping on feeding the people they had to continually come back to Jesus and get another basket. They would go to Jesus, get a basket, feed the people, come back and get a refill. Then they would go out and feed some more, and then they had to go back to Jesus, over and over again. In order for us to keep on keeping on we have to daily go back to Jesus and get our "baskets" refilled before we can out and serve and feed His people. Daily we have to come to Him in prayer and Bible study in order to be refilled for each new day. You can't go out to serve and feed God's people when you have nothing to serve and you yourself have not been fed to have the energy to keep on keeping on.

It looks impossible sometimes, but with the right attitude, and when you give all you have, and KEEP ON KEEPING ON no matter what, God will use you and bless you far beyond your imagination.

I leave you with these verse from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Pressing On.

Five Lessons... Part 2

Quick Recap: Jesus had gone away with His disciple and the multitudes had followed. It was dinner time and Jesus took charge to feed all the people. In the last post I noted that the first lesson we can learn from this miracle of Jesus is ATTITUDE. In order to be all you can be for Jesus you have to take on the right attitude. With God ALL things are possible. God has put us where we are for a purpose and He has placed large tasks in our lives. We have to take on the correct attitude in order for God to use us and conquer these big tasks.

Here we go...to the scriptures~ John 6:9-11

"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

Andrew had found a young boy who had brought a meal with him. The young boys meal consisted of 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. Now lets think about this for a second. John tells us that it was a "boy." No age is given, but in my brain (and most others) a boy is a child. Now this boy could have been a teenager or he could of been elementary age, but none the less I believe he was young. With that thought in mind lets think about what this boy was caring. John tells us that he had 2 fish. No matter what size the boy way, we know his fish could not have been too large. Number one John refers to them as "small" and number two if he was a boy we know he was not caring mammoth size fish such as whales. He simply had 2 small fish. As far as the loaves of bread goes, I cannot imagine them being too large. Anyway, the boy was caring enough food for him to enjoy a nice meal. I'm pretty sure that when he or his mom or whoever packed it they thought about satisfying his hunger, not the hunger of over 5,000 people.

As the disciples were trying to figure out how to feed all of these people, the little boy offered a solution. If I would have been there this would not have been the ideal solution. I mean how many people can you really feed with that amount of food? It can't be too many. Although the food did not appear to be enough, the boy still gave it ALL. If I was put in this situation you could bet money on the fact that I would have stuck a loaf of bread and part of a fish in my pocket. It's MY food and I want to make sure that I get what I want. I do not want to go around hungry. However, this was not the mentality of the little boy. HE GAVE IT ALL. Every fish and every crumb of bread, all of it. He kept NOTHING for himself.

LESSON 2~ Give it All

I know in my life there are many things that I want to hang on to. I want to do this or I want to that or I want it my way. So many times we think that if we give God our Sundays, Wednesday nights, a 30 sec blessing before each meal, and a maybe few minutes of reading scriptures then a few prayers thrown out here or there that it is enough. IT'S NOT! God wants it all. Every aspect of our lives, every moment that we live, everything that we do. He wants it all; the good, the bad, and the ugly. He doesn't want 1/2 or a 1/4 or even all of one or two days a week. He wants all of you to be all about Him 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Does this mean that we have to give everything up and move to a foreign country and talk about Jesus all the time. NO, but it does mean that we have to die. We have to die to ourselves. Each and everyday we have to make the conscience decision to give all that we are to God. We have to empty our hands and put it all in His hands. I'm not just talking about giving our material stuff, I'm talking everything. Our attitude, our will, our desires, our loves, EVERYTHING. Is it easy? No, if it was easy everyone would be doing it.

When we give our whole-self's to God it's then and only then that He can use us to our maximum potential. The boy gave everything he had and God did something extraordinary with it. Just imagine what God could do if we gave Him everything we have and everything we do. Think about the life's that could be impacted. I mean, he fed over 5,000 with a small meal, just think what would happen if 10 "stars" in Hollywood decided to give God their all and live sold out for Him. Think of the amount of people they could reach. God wants you to be all you can be, but in order to do that you have to give Him your all.

Everything you say (or sing, a choir is just not for show): He's given you the ability to speak/sing why not give that talent back and use it for His glory and honor.

Everything we do: Every action and every reason for doing that action should be about God and His business, not what we want or for our business.

EVERYTHING- thoughts, actions, friends, family, sports, material objects...

Give it all over to God and let Him control what is going on. Let Him be the tour guide and you simply soak up the incredible scenes, adventures, rides, and experiences that God wants to take you through. It's not going to be pleasant at times and the road will get a little bumpy, but everyday give everything to God.

In John 3:30 John the Baptist says that "He must become more important. I must become less important." It's not about me. It's all about Him. God WANTS to do great things with you, but you have got to give Him your all.

Everything... Every small thing... All of it... Hold on to nothing... GIVE IT ALL...

Pressing on.

Five Lessons From Five Loaves of Bread and 2 Fish... Part 1

This summer I did some incredible research on the the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000. As I began the research I really did not think that I would gain much from it because I have heard/read the story hundreds of times and I probably could tell the story without even having to think about it real hard. I'm pretty sure that God just laughed and then opened my eyes to some awesome stuff. Anyway, over the next few days I would like to share five lessons with you that I have learned from this story over the past few months. We'll call them "five things to help you be all you can be for Jesus..."

This miracle of Jesus is the only miracle that can be found in ALL FOUR gospels. (In my world that means it's special!) In my thoughts and lessons learned from the story I will be using the record of it in John 6 and in Luke 9.

Here we go... Lesson 1!

First let's look to the scriptures~ John 6:1-9:

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

Jesus had been healing people and His "popularity", if you will, was growing big time. Jesus had crossed the sea with His disciples to get away, one would imagine, but it didn't work. As they sat on the side of a mountain multitudes of people surrounded them. Now it was dinner time and if there was a baptist anywhere in the crowd people would be alerted that it was time to eat! Jesus sat there and saw all these people*** Side Note: We are told that there are five thousand MEN there, but scholars estimate that when you add in women and children there could have been somewhere around ten thousand people in attendance. Anyway, this point is irrelevant except for the fact that it just makes what Jesus did even more cooler!*** Back to the real world, Jesus and His disciples were sitting there and Jesus decided to ask what His disciples thoughts were about dinner. Philip was, well, dumbfounded. He was like "where in the world can we find bread for all these people. I mean we couldn't even give everyone one bite if we spent eight months pay on bread." Andrew looked around and found a boy with two fish and five loafs of bread. He came to Jesus and said "Here's what we got, but how can we feed so many?"

Soak that all in...think about it...Here we go!

Lesson 1~ ATTITUDE

Jesus and His Disciples sat on the mountainside and saw a HUGE task before them. Jesus, already knowing what He was going to do, turned to His disciples to test them. First we look at the attitude of Philip. Philip looked at the task and could not believe that Jesus was even thinking about trying to do it. He made excuses and decided that there was no way that the task at hand could be accomplished. Then there was Andrew. Andrew looked around at the task and was a little dumbfounded just like Philip, but he saw something. He saw a young boy with a small lunch. He wasn't sure what could be done with it, but I think he was willing to try.

Now granted, I understand that neither Philip or Andrew showed the kind of faith in Jesus that they should have, but the difference in their attitude towards the situation tells the story.

Attitude~
God has set a huge task before each one of us. First of all I think as Christian's we all have the task of bringing the world to the saving knowledge of Jesus. BUT I also think that God sets before each one of us our own unique tasks. For instance: God might have laid a project, a mission trip or a friend/family member that you need to share the Gospel with, on your heart and that is your huge task. You might be looking at it with the attitude of Philip and saying "God, this is bigger than me, I can't do it." What kind of attitude is that? You have a task sent just to you from the Creator of the Universe and you don't think He is big and powerful enough to supply everything you need to get it done... Or you can look at it with the attitude of Andrew and say, "God, I really can't see how this can happen, but here is what I have. Take it and let's see what you can do."

So what is your attitude going to be like? Are you going to have the attitude of "This is impossible. I see no way that it can happen" or are you going to take on the attitude of "God, I know I can't, but here's what I have. Show me what you can do."

To be all you can be for Jesus you have to have the right ATTITUDE...

Pressing on.

One Touch...

The whole faith concept and practice has become a prominent focus, study, and unfortunately, it has been somewhat of a issue in my life. Moving away from everything I have known for 22 years has been a somewhat difficult thing to do. It is taking everything in me to keep my faith in God and remember that He is in control and His way is perfect no matter if it makes sense to me or not.

Back in June I did something I have always wanted to do, but never thought I would. I got a tattoo on my right foot of an icthus with the Greek word for faith on the inside. It can be seen here where my grandfather blogged about it! Anyway, not only do I think that it's cool, but it also serves as a reminder/declaration to walk by faith. In the midst of the tattoo and having my faith stretched by moving I heard Nicole C. Mullens song on the radio entitled "One Touch". After hearing the song I decided it was time to revisit the story of the woman with the issue of blood and see what God had to show me.

As I began to read in Mark 5 I was blown away simply by her faith. Wow, such a "low" woman on the social status took a huge risk, basically risking her life, just to see if she could be healed. It wasn't a done deal that if she touched Him she would be healed, but with her faith she knew all things were possible and she was willing to take the risk.

Here's where God stepped in and showed me something new... After she touched the robe of Jesus, He stopped and asked who touched Him. Now, Mark says He was in a large crowd and they were pressed against Him.

Let me put a visual to this, Below is a picture of the busiest crosswalk in the world.This crosswalk is located in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan. It is estimated that 5,000 people cross it at each changing of the light. Now I have walked this crosswalk several times and let me tell you, It is impossible to walk across it without being touched. Now, this might be a little out there, but I want you to have a visual of a crowd and how many people were around Him.

Hundreds of people touched Jesus, but He only stopped at the touch of one. Why? Because He felt the power leave His body. The woman's faith had healed her... Wow, amazing, but here is what I saw as the cool part...

Time out, soak in the fact that many people had touched Jesus while in the crowd...

Here we go. Hundreds of people had touched Jesus, but only ONE received the power and was healed. Likewise, hundreds of people "touch" God today and they do not come away any different. Some people read His word and are changed, but some aren't. Some people spend time in prayer and worship and draw closer to Him, but some don't. Some pray and receive the strength, but some don't. Each time what the people did outwardly was the same. They worshiped, prayed, ect the same way outwardly or physically if you will, but the inward actions make the difference- Faith. Many times we go through the motions and get nothing because we expect nothing, we are just doing it because we are supposed to. It's when we believe, have faith, and confidence in God and His powers that we receive the power and come away different after "touching" Him.

Join me in approaching God with faith and confidence during prayer, study, and worship times and come away different. I leave you with some of the lyrics to"One Touch."

I had to touch the Hem of His garment
And i know I've been made whole
And how I had pressed my way through this madness
And His love has healed my soul.

Then with one word He touched the hem of my garment
And you know I've been made whole
And somehow He pressed His way through my madness
And His love has healed my soul.

Pressing On.

Open Doors Aren't Always Meant to be Walked Through...

Being in church all of my life I have often heard many people talk about how they can see an "open door" in their life. People see a new or open opportunity and automatically think that since the door is open, if you will, that they are supposed to walk through it. They do not stop and take the time to take it to God, compare it to scripture or spend time meditating on what God's will exactly is. They simply see an opportunity and assume that it is God's will. Well, in the words of a friend "You know what assuming does!?!"

One of my favorite things in the world is to read a chapter of scripture that I had read hundreds of times before and get something new out of it. This happened to me back in July with Acts 16. I was studying through the book of Acts and was searching for a short devotion to share in staff meeting the next day. I rolled my eyes and when I got to Acts 16 simply because it was a story I knew by heart and I heard it year after year in Sunday School since I was a small child. As I began to read God opened my eyes to something new and exciting and it has been fresh on my mind the past few days because I have been struggling with what to do with my life.

Paul and Silas were in prison for simply casting a "spirit" out of a young girl. They were severely beaten and then thrown into jail. They did not sit and moan, but they prayed and sang praises to God. In the middle of the night an earthquake came and the prison door was opened and their chains were loosed. They had an open door to leave, but they didn't. When the guard realized what was going he went to kill himself because he figured all of his prisoners had escaped, but Paul and Silas had not. Because they stayed, the scriptures tell us that he and his whole family came to the saving knowledge of Christ.

Soak it in and hang with me...

Many times in our lives opportunities arise. Sometimes a "door opens" and it can serve as a bail out for us to get out of things we do not want to be apart of anymore. Time after time I feel the desire to quit, to give it all up, to get out of the ministry in which God has called me to enter. The pressure, the people, the stress, and even the world makes me so mad that I am just ready to get out! If an opportunity arises why not bail out? I mean it is "God opening the door" anyway right? WRONG! Paul and Silas had an open door... It made all the sense in the world for them to get out of that jail, but the didn't. Why? I have no clue, but I suspect they did not because they knew they were exactly where God had called them to be. They stayed when it didn't make any sense and I'm sure they didn't want to stay. I mean who wouldn't want a get out of jail free card? But they didn't, they stayed where God wanted them to be and look what happened... The prison guard and his ENTIRE family came to the saving knowledge of Christ. WOW, all because they did not walk through the open door.

I say all of this to simply say this: Stick with it. God has put you where you are for a reason. Yes, God might be opening a door for you to go somewhere else, but don't give in or up because you are sick and tired of doing whatever God has called you to do. 2 Cor 4:16 says "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." In the Message Translation (I know, just bare with me) towards the end of Acts 16 in verse 34 it says that night was "a night to remember."

My challenge to you is that God has you where you are for a reason... don't bail out, don't give in, stick with it. Although it might not make sense and there is a chance to get out, stay with it... God has you where you are, doing what you're doing for a reason... Your night to remember is coming!

Pressing On.