Shattered

John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

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I pass them on the street each day,

I see them as I work.

Shattered, torn up people, trying to hide their hurt.

They turn their brimming eyes away,

So none can see the pain

That attacks like ravenous beasts that show

No mercy to their prey.

Some will drown their sorrows

In addictions of all sorts,

While others simply will deny

The despair that haunts their hearts.

Oh why can't we foolish humans see,

Our hearts were made to love!

Why cannot we lift our eyes to God Who dwells above?

He wants to bring us healing and peace,

Far greater than we know. 

And yet He will not force us--

The choice is ours alone. 

Yet who indeed would choose to live

A shattered, torn up life?

When deliverance is promised when we turn from sin and strife?

Oh, Broken One, He's waiting with open arms for you!

He gave His very life to save and give you a way through.

Just ask Him, weary soul, and He will grant you life anew.

Are you a Chameleon Christian?

 

Psalm 31:19-20 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

 

Last night, I read this passage and stopped short. I've read it a million times but never really broke it down and thought carefully on it! (I know I'm not the only one here. ;) 

 

How great is God's goodness, which he has laid up for them that fear him, and trust in him before the sons of men. How many of us truly fear God and trust in Him, so much so that it's evident to the lost that we come in contact with? In other words, are you a Christian at home and at church, but once you enter the workplace suddenly all traces of your faith melt into the background? A "Chameleon Christian" as some have so aptly put it? Food for thought. 

 

A few days ago I stood near two of my coworkers who were having a discussion, and since we were in the Staff only area, the filters came off their mouths. The language that they used saddened me so deeply, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh--what they were saying was evidence of the depravity of their hearts. (Note: I am not passing judgement on them, God's Word has already done that. I am simply stating the fact that the lost cannot do the things of God, because they are not His children.) 

 

This verse made me think, though--should I have stood by passively, or should I perhaps have stood up and said something? I don't know exactly what the best course of action would have been in this situation--after all, the conversation did not include me. But I'm trying to think here...is it enough for me to merely NOT join in the ungodly conversations and actions that go on around me? I have had people tell me before, "Oh, you are doing great, the lost will notice and realize there is something different about you." Hmm...this sounds an awful lot like so-called "Lifestyle evangelism" to me. Something I wholeheartedly disagree with. Proverbs 29:24 says, "Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not." The person who hears cursing, and doesn't protest it is described as hating his own soul. Who could hate their own soul?? 

 

In the verses at the top, it says, "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." In the secret of God's presence. In a pavilion. Those sound like peaceful and truly pleasant places to be! What is the biggest fear that stops us from stepping out more boldly in living out our faith? My guess would be fear of man. For me, that's what it is. I think things like, "They are going to think I'm a nutcase if I mention the goodness of God in this difficult situation!" or "I don't want them to think I'm being super annoying by asking them to please watch their language AGAIN." (Even though I don't think any one of my lost friends would mind if I did ask them this). Wow. How much am I fearing and trusting God before the sons of men? Not nearly as much as I should be, I fear. :( And yet why do I fear this when I have God's promise that He is enough, that I can hide in Him, and that He will protect me when I obey Him?

 

God promises great blessings and goodness to those who apply this. It says He has wrought great goodness...that means He specifically planned out these rewards. How much of His special gifts am I missing out on?? I heard a quote somewhere (I think it was from Mark Cahill), that says, "Never let your fear of man trump your love for God." I liked it so much I lettered it out and hung it in my room. But is that all it is--a hanging on the wall? Am I letting my fear of man overrule my love for God and my desire to follow His commands? I would encourage you to think on this with me as we go throughout this weekend--are we living boldly and passionately for Christ all through our lives? Or just in the parts where we won't face any ridicule or weird looks?

Mykaela 

The Day The Earth Cried Out

The middle of a sunny afternoon, and the sky suddenly darkened to a thick, menacing black. Day turned to night in a moment's time. 

Then came a low rumble, deep in the heart of the earth's foundations. It grew and built until the world seemed to be shaking itself out of orbit. 

Great cracks ripped across the ground like a garment being torn apart at the seams. The sky itself roared with a cacophony of thunderous sound. The planet cried out---its Maker had just laid down His life. 

The Creator. His breath had spoken the universe into existence. And His breath had just left His body.

The Lamb. Slain from the foundation of the world, yes. And now that prophecy had been fulfilled.

Jesus. His hands held the fate of mankind. And they were nailed to a wooden cross. His heart was so perfectly compassionate, so eternally and deeply loving. And it had just stopped beating. 

Is it any wonder that the creation itself was moved? The day His life ended, every prophecy concerning the coming Messiah was completed. The atonement for man's sin was fulfilled. God's law was satisfied, his wrath appeased. When He cried, "It is finished!", it was. Nothing was left to do for the salvation of man. Nothing. 

The day Christ faced death was the day He made sure we wouldn't have to. 

If the creation trembled on this day, imagine how it must have rejoiced three days later. For on the first day of the week, Jesus took up his life again. He has the power and authority to lay it down, and to take it up again. The day that borrowed tomb opened was the day he proved once and for all that He was the perfect Son of God, the One who holds the keys of death and hell!

The day Christ rose to life eternal was the day He granted it freely to you and me!

Will you take it?

Guest Post: Perfect Love

Today I am excited to present a guest post from a lovely friend of mine, Jenny! You may remember Jenny's sister, Katie, who guest posted for me a few months back. You can read that post here. Jenny is such a blessing and encouragement to me, and she is truly gifted with words!! She could be a very compelling author...I'm still working on her about that. ;) Without further ado, I shall let her writing speak for itself! :)

Perfect Love

"As the Father hath loved me,so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."
~ John 15:9

John 15 speaks of so many things, the main theme being the importance of abiding in God's love. But right now,I'd like to focus on this verse, because it really jumped out at me recently. What does that mean, "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you"?? How does God the Father love His Son Jesus Christ? Well... He loves Jesus perfectly, the kind of perfect love which "casteth out fear" (I John 4:18) He loves His Son completely, fully. A father's love is a strong love, a love without end. I know that my Daddy loves me. No matter how much I mess up, he'll never stop loving me. And since God is love (I John 4:16), how much more must He love His Son? I believe that God the Father loves His Son with the truest love in the world...even more than Mr.Darcy and Elizabeth, even more than the "wuv,true wuv" of Wesley and Buttercup in The Princess Bride! :)

And then the other part of the phrase..."so have I loved you:" Wait, wait. Does that mean that Jesus loves ME that much? As much as His Father loves Him?? Me? How can He? I can think of hundreds of different reasons for Him not to love me like that. I am not worthy. I'm so weak, so sinful. So filthy in His presence. (Isaiah 64:6) And yet He loves me. Enough to die for me. That's an overwhelming thought! I know better than anyone how unlovable I can be. To think that Christ loves me like God loves Him...? Sure, I can deal with the song "Jesus Loves Me". That's easy to say, but when faced with the reality that He loves me perfectly? Completely? Endlessly? Thinking about that makes me want to cry!

Jesus loves me. But not only me! The wonder goes on, as I try to fathom that He loves each and every person on this earth, despite our great sins against Him. (The clear teachings of Romans 3:10,3:23, First John 1:8,and Ecclesiastes 7:2 show us that we've all sinned!) Yet He has suffered and bled and died for our sins, because He loves us with that deep, abiding, everlasting and unconditional love. As that song goes, "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight." It doesn't matter who you are, or what you've done. It makes no difference to Him, for He is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11) He loves each and every soul alive, as well as those who've already passed on. To each of them He offers Himself to cover their sins. To each He offers eternal life. Romans 6:23 tells us "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Salvation is not limited to any denomination, race, gender, or age, but it is available for everyone. "For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

So, now that we are starting to realize just how much Jesus loves us, we arrive at the last phrase in the verse. The part where we are to continue in His love. The part where we live out the rest of John 15, such as verse 17: "These things I command you,that ye love one another." First John 4:11 puts it this way.... "Beloved, if God so loved us,we ought also to love one another." The amazing, powerful love of Jesus Christ should spread to those around us, those whom He died for!

Do you have a hard time believing how much Jesus Christ loves you? Are you loving Him as He loves you? Is God's amazing love for you being evidenced in your life? Is it shown through your treatment of others?

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I am so thankful for Jenny writing this sweet post! What an amazing thing is God's love for us. I'd like to add that one of the most powerful evidences of His perfect love is the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead for us!!!! As we celebrate His resurrection this weekend, let's meditate on how very much God loved us to send His Son for our salvation. Christ is risen!

Mykaela

10 years ago...

Psalm 40:2-3 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Today is a very special day for me. 10 years ago on March 14, 2007, my life changed. And I don't mean just a little thing...my entire world was overturned and put back together again. It was the day that I let go of all my stupid, selfish pride, and asked God to save my soul. And He did!!! You can read the whole story in more detail here. Today I would like to take a moment to thank The Lord for all the incredible things He has done in my life since that day. 

• He gave me an eternal home in Heaven. It is 100% assured to me that when I die, there is a place for me in His Kingdom. (1 John 5:13) What a promise! 
• He made me His child. (Gal. 4:5) Even if I lost everything and everyone that is dear to me tomorrow, I would never be alone. I have a Father in heaven that loves me more than anyone on this earth ever could!
• He has continually grown me since that day in 2007. Though I am so, so far from perfect, and I still make mistakes day after day...I can look back over the path of these 10 years and see how each and every trial and triumph has worked out for His glory in my life. I would not be who I am today without those things that He has brought me through!
• He has never forsaken me. Though there have been times that He has seemed far away due to my own sin and foolish choices, He has never left me. He is always there to pick me up when I fall, to forgive my sin, to guide me when I face tough decisions, and to chasten me when I stray from Him. 
• He has showered me with SO many material blessings. From my family to a warm house to live in, to clothes on my back, a church home, money in my bank account, and food on my table...He has blessed me much more than I could ever deserve!!!

I don't know where I would be if I hadn't made the choice to follow Christ starting 10 years ago. I frankly don't even like to think about it--life without God's saving grace would not be a life at all! My entire outlook on everything; finances, friends, relationships...everything is seen through different glasses. I am no longer a ship without an anchor. I am under the hand of the Captain who spoke the wind and seas into existence. I'm not wandering lost in the wilderness; I am safe in the fold of The Great Shepherd. I'm no longer fighting on the losing side, in bondage to sin. I joined the army of the King of Kings, who gave His own life to set me free. I have a new name, a new family, a new song of praise to Him. I am a new creature. So while today marks an anniversary, I don't ever want to stop praising my God for His love for me, any day of the year. I want to keep growing in my love and service to Him so that whether I live another 10 years or another 100 years, I can stand before The Lord and hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!"

Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: Where Did We Come From? (Guest Post!)

Hello, everyone!
Today I am happy to introduce a friend of mine, Sarah. I met her through a missions trip her church did to help us out in our ministry, and it has been a blessing getting to know her. Sarah blogs over at Dreaming In Alaska, and posts much more regularly than I do. ;) You should go check it out! I hope you enjoy her guest post!

"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;" ~Titus 3:3-6

Sometimes we need a reminder of where we came from. Our relationship with God didn't begin when we were born, but rather when we were born again; when we finally admitted we were sin filled creatures and there was only one way that situation could be alleviated.

Everyone begins a sinner separated from God. There is only one person who was born into the world that did not start this way, and that is our Saviour, the only person who remained sinless His whole time on this Earth. Now this doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to live a pure life, but rather that we should be pushed to show others that there is another way to live.

We are not sent to judge those who are living in sin, but to point them to the cross, to show them that a life of sin is not the only way, or even the best way. We were sinners once too. We reveled in it and loved our sin, which is why we could not live a life with God. He cannot tolerate sin or even be in it's presence. But that is why He sent Jesus to die on the cross. The only living being that could completely cover our sins and make them disappear. Our sins are as far as the East is from the West.

There is only one way in which we can show others the Cross, and that is by showing them what Christ has done for us. We cannot force someone else to see their sin the way we do, but we can be examples in the way we live and ask questions that will make others think about what they believe; show them information and let them make decisions for themselves.

Are we living a life of judgement where we look like we hate everyone, or are we showing the love of Jesus Christ? We are called to love the people, not their sin, and we can only do that by letting God work through us. Who is in control? It is only by the grace of God that we are saved from an eternity separated from Him; are we letting that grace work in our lives and letting it shine towards others? Let us not forget where God saved us from!

"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." ~1 Cor. 6:11

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You all have a great week, ok? I am getting my wisdom teeth out this week, so it should be interesting/eventful, at least. ;P I would appreciate prayers for that if you think of it. :) 

Be strong in The Lord!

Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: Through The Word in 30 Days?!

Ezra 7:10 "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments."

Psalm 119:16 "I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word."

Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

So this month I have been reading through The Bible in 30 days. Today is Day 12, and I am actually ahead of schedule by a few chapters. It has definitely been a challenge and a blessing! I've never read it in shorter than a year before, so it feels kind of crazy. ;) Today I'd like to voice my thoughts on what I've learned from reading God's Word in so short a space of time. 

1. You get a really nice "big picture" or overview.
I was kind of expecting that reading through so quickly would make my comprehension go down quite a bit. Maybe it has in some ways, but at the same time, when you read about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the formation of the nation of Israel ALL in one day, it's really cool to then read about their journeys as a people the next day, and have all the recent history fresh in your mind, so to speak. It's been great to get a vision of the whole thread of God's narrative throughout the Bible, and all the symbolism pointing to Christ, from the very beginning. 

2. It takes dedication.
When I started this, I really did not want to begin it and then fizzle out three or four days in. I wanted to see it through all the way. Praise God I have been able to do so thus far, (and Lord willing I'll be able to finish it), but it has definitely taken a lot of time and dedication. If you want to do something like this, you have to be determined: it doesn't happen by accident. This being said...

3. It is so, so good to spend more time in God's Word.
It takes me around 2 hours a day, cumulatively, to finish the section. As a result, I have not had as much time to spend browsing Pinterest, reading other books, or wasting time in various other ways. And it has been really, really good for me! The self discipline of choosing what is more important, God's Word or my "fun time", has helped me to refocus my priorities instead of doing my own thing. 

4. God manifests Himself so clearly in EVERY book of The Bible. 
So many times we tend to skip over the long genealogies in Chronicles, or the preparations for the tabernacle, etc., but honestly...every word of God is pure! Throughout His Word, God manifests His glory and love for His people. The fact that God wanted them to live for Him and only Him, turning completely away from other gods and people groups that hated the true God; in everything He displays the great compassion and love He has for those who choose to serve Him faithfully. 

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I would highly recommend that you at least pray about going through The Bible in a shorter period of time soon. Even if it's 40 days, or two months, or whatever...it's really been eye opening to me, and I think you would be blessed by it as well! :) If you do decide to do it, let me know and we can keep each other accountable! I think accountability truly can help so much with things like this. And whether you decide to read the whole Bible through right away or not, do try to spend more time in The Word...time spent with God is never wasted! God bless you all this week!

Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: The Simple Truth

Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Today will probably be a short post. I just want to take the time to thank God for the beautiful simplicity of His great Salvation. As I was falling asleep last night, I was thinking about this concept. There are more aspects and facets to the salvation of a soul than I will probably ever understand. The doctrines of imputation, justification, sanctification, etc., while all true and wonderful to think about, does God require someone to fully grasp and understand each of them before He allows them to be saved?? Of course not!

How precious is it that the God of the universe sent His only Son to do what no human could ever do (For all have sinned…), and though the act of fulfilling the covenant and fully keeping the law was something that we would never completely grasp, He still made His salvation so perfectly simple that even a child could understand it. Even myself as a 10 year old girl, steeped in the blackness of my own sin, had only to turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus Christ, and my life was altered forever! 

I feel like I’m not being very coherent here, but I guess all I’m trying to say is that I marvel at how complex and yet infinitely simple it is for us to be saved. It is the easiest and hardest thing you will ever do, to let go of your pride, selfishness, fear of man, and anything else standing between you and God, and simply ask. Ask to receive the free gift He has offered. Ask Him to save you. Call on the name of The Lord! It is so amazing to me that He has done so much…He has literally done everything for us except for the action of reaching out to take the gift!! Who could reject such an offer? Why would you want to? 

I think one of Satan’s greatest tricks is overcomplicating salvation. He wants it to seem like we aren’t good enough, don’t know enough, haven’t done enough…since when was salvation about any of that? We need to be careful when we present the Gospel that we tell it as it is—Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection paid the fine for the law we have all broken. All we have to do is turn from sin to God. That’s it. He hears the cry of our hearts and answers us! Praise God for His mercy in making such a priceless gift free for the taking. <3

Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: Loaded, Overflowing, and Abundant!

Psalm 68:19 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."

This is one of my Dad's favorite verses, and I love it as well. He uses an illustration to demonstrate this verse, that I think is so apt. 

Think about the phrasing here: he "loadeth us with benefits". What is a load? Well, a good example of a load would be if someone took a bottle cap, put it inside a grocery bag, and placed it on my back. I mean, that is a LOAD. I would probably have trouble walking even a few feet with that burden on me, right?? No, of course not...that's ridiculous!

A load would be if I was to try carrying a king size mattress and box spring up a staircase. Now that would be difficult, most likely impossible for me to do. It would be a staggering, pretty much debilitating weight. 

And God loads us down with benefits. Daily.

His benefits and blessings are so overwhelmingly vast: the illustration I just gave doesn't even cut it! If we sat down and thought carefully about all the benefits He has provided, just in the fact that we are alive and breathing the air of this earth--we can't even comprehend it. 

When we as finite beings try to fathom eternity, or the existence of God from everlasting to everlasting, we can't do it. Our brains can't understand it no matter how we may want to. The blessings of God are like this as well. That He would choose to pour out His infinite mercy and goodness on us...pathetic, tiny, insignificant specks of humanity?! And He does this day after day after day after day...?? Even the workings of plants and animals to provide an ecosystem perfectly designed to support human life proves that God is actively working in our lives--even when we don't recognize it as His hand at work.

The Bible tells us that He sends His rain on the just and the unjust. God doesn't only bless those that love Him! As we strive to be more like the Master, we need to realize that our lives should be an outpouring of the benefits He has given us. Freely we have received, freely we should give. As we look at the lost world around us, do we withhold showing love to them because they "aren't nice"? What were we before salvation?? Let's share the Gospel of Christ to those who live daily under the load of His benefits, (just as we do!), but do not know that their Creator has also made a way for them to know Him. Praise God for His overflowing goodness to the children of men!
Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: All Are Precious in His Sight

Acts 17:24-26 "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;" (emphasis mine)

Within the last couple of years, there have been tragic events that, with increasing frequency, are causing an immense amount of criticism of our law enforcement here in the U.S. Racism claims and accusations are flying, with little regard for the plain truth of what the events were, and who was involved. I do not follow the news really at all to be honest, but this has been such a major issue, who hasn't heard about it? 

So many people go on and on about "race". So and so is of this race, I am of that one. On applications they ask what your race is. Such and such couple was an interracial marriage. The list goes on. Obviously we as Christians are to base our worldview on The Bible, not on society's thinking. (Which is pretty messed up, by the way). So let me ask you this: is there any such thing as different races? 

In the passage above, Paul is preaching on Mars Hill. I'm sure there was a huge diversity of people listening at the time; after all, they were busy worshipping literally every god known to man and more. There had to be a lot of people from different regions. One of the first things Paul says is that God made "of one blood" all nations. So to answer my own question...is there any such thing as different races? No. There is one race living on this planet. The human race. So when people talk about a group of people as being a different "race", they are incorrect in the very groundwork of their thinking.

So how does knowing that there is only ONE race translate into our daily lives? First of all, we need to realize that within every single people group and skin color on this earth, there are people who live wickedly, and people who live "morally" by the world's standards. But does that mean that the moral ones are on their way to heaven? No!! God's plan of salvation is the same across the board...if someone hasn't accepted Christ as their personal Saviour, they are lost, no matter how they live their daily life--moral or otherwise. What I'm trying to say is, that we have our focus all wrong. We look at the situations in the news and say "The cop ended up doing this and the other guy did that, and this or that one was black, so there must have been a racial issue, yada yada..." what we are forgetting is that red or yellow, black or white, every single one of them needs Jesus Christ! It doesn't matter who was right or wrong, who was black or white, who had a racial slant going and who didn't: they are all human beings with immortal souls that need salvation.

As followers of Jesus, let's not get caught up in racial disputes or discrimination claims. He hath made of one blood all nations. We are called to share the love of Christ, and the message of His Gospel, with every creature; and it does not matter what color skin they may have. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God searches the hearts of men. Let's get out there and start sharing what He's done for us, and what He can do for others! That message of grace is the only one that can bring peace to people with war and hate in their hearts.

Mykaela

P.S. Please bear with me, as I am doing some revamping on the blog design...a couple of posts may show up out of order and/or repost previous articles again. I'm having a few technical difficulties with that. ;) Thank you for your patience!

Sunday Snippets: What's So Special About Your Fish?

Matthew 14:17-18, 20-21 "And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children."

John 21:9-10, 12 "As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught."

Luke 24:41-43 "And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them."

I know there are a lot of Scriptures there to read, but please do take the time, or my points aren't going to make that much sense. (They might not anyways, so please just give me the best chance you can, haha! ;) 

This past week I was feeling a bit discouraged because sometimes I feel like I am not using my abilities to their fullest potential to serve The Lord. I do what I can, but sometimes it can feel very small! As I was working out one evening, I was reading the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, and it struck me again how the sweet humility of a little boy who shared his fish with The Master blessed thousands of people. Thousands. I highly doubt he could have guessed that on the day he walked out to see Jesus, carrying the little lunch his mama packed for him, that he would be used of God to bless that many people with a satisfying meal AND the incredible privilege of seeing a miracle!! He simply gave his fish to Jesus, trusting that they would be used how He willed. 

The second story took place after Christ's resurrection, when the disciples went back to their old occupation of fishing. (Not for men). Having caught nothing at all during the night, they were returning wearily when Jesus called out to them from shore, asking if they had caught anything. When they replied in the negative, He told them to throw their nets on the other side. We know the story from there...they did, and the nets were filled to breaking with fish. When Peter realized Who the man on the shore was, he jumped overboard and swam to meet Him. After they all got there, Jesus had cooked fish waiting, but He also asked them to give some of the fish that they had caught. The small group of disciples then ate a meal with Jesus.

My last example is from right after the resurrection, when Christ went into the room where the disciples were gathered and mourning His death. They couldn't believe that it was truly Him, and were afraid that it was a ghost! To prove to them that He was real flesh and blood, Jesus ate fish and honey in front of them. 

You can probably see where I'm going with this by now. Let's compare our talents, abilities, and resources to fish. When we give them to God to use as He wants to, does it really matter what He chooses to do with them? If I were to write a song, and God used it to bless thousands of people, what a wonderful thing!! However, if it only encouraged a small handful of believers, or if I just sang it in my heart as a song of praise to The Lord, is it any less wonderful? I don't believe so! Or what if someone was an amazing carpenter or builder, and wanted to use his talent for God: If he constructed a massive church building that could hold hundreds, and with the same humble attitude of giving, put on a new roof for a struggling family in the church, I don't believe God would be any less pleased with him for the "smaller" service.

If I sent someone a gift of money on their birthday, would I text or call them every single day after they got it, to make sure that they were spending it how I wanted them to?? Of course not! That would be totally ridiculous! So if I'm giving God everything I have in me, should I be worrying about how He uses it? Nope. If He decides to lift up and encourage just one single person through me, it's worth it. It will always be worth it to give my all to Him. Whether my fish are big or tiny, beautiful or rather smelly, weird looking fish, I want to be willing to let Him have them! :)

This week, let's give our fishes to Jesus, and leave them in His hand to use...Let's not take them back because He's not feeding five thousand with them! Maybe He wants you to give your fishes to Him just as a test of your love! May we always give of our best to The Master.

Mykaela