August 20, 2024 Devo
“It’s All About Jesus!”
The Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6)
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?” – John 6:8-9 (NLT)
“The Miracle Starts with YOU!”
The Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6)
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?” – John 6:8-9 (NLT)
“The Miracle Starts with YOU!”
When I was a pastor in Phoenix, we had outgrown the facility that we were worshipping in and needed to build something bigger. I made the announcement on a Sunday that our board would soon begin the process of designing a large worship center to accommodate our growing congregation. After the service, a 12-year-old named Ian came up to me and said, “If we’re going to build a new sanctuary, we’re going to have to have a Capital Funds Campaign, and I’d like to be the first to give!” With that, he handed me a five-dollar bill. It was the money he had made from his very first babysitting job that he had done that past Friday. I was moved to tears.
When we kicked off our campaign, I told the church about Ian’s gift. I shared how he had given generously, enthusiastically, and sacrificially. I challenged them to do the same. Ian’s example became the catalyst for a campaign that allowed a 4.5-million-dollar project to become a reality. Sometimes miracles start with one person taking a step of faith or one step of selfless sacrifice. God can do a lot with a little when it comes from a pure heart.
I thought about Ian as I thought about the young boy in our story today. Here’s a kid who overhears the need for food and doesn’t hesitate to offer his lunch to help. I’m sure he had no idea what Jesus was going to do. I’m sure he would have never imagined that his little gift could be the ingredients to feed thousands of people. And I’m sure he didn’t have any idea that we’d still be talking about him two thousand years later. He simply saw a need and gave what he had. And that’s all Jesus needed for a miracle.
Let this lesson sink deep into your heart. Don’t you ever let the Enemy make you believe that your little part, your small gift, or that your small way to help doesn’t matter. It does. It matters to others, and it matters to God. Our sacrificial gifts and efforts are the stuff from which God can do amazing things and touch and transform lives in ways that we never imagined. One young boy with a lunch showed the disciples one of the most important lessons of the day. Sometimes the miracle starts with YOU! That’s God’s Word for you today.
When we kicked off our campaign, I told the church about Ian’s gift. I shared how he had given generously, enthusiastically, and sacrificially. I challenged them to do the same. Ian’s example became the catalyst for a campaign that allowed a 4.5-million-dollar project to become a reality. Sometimes miracles start with one person taking a step of faith or one step of selfless sacrifice. God can do a lot with a little when it comes from a pure heart.
I thought about Ian as I thought about the young boy in our story today. Here’s a kid who overhears the need for food and doesn’t hesitate to offer his lunch to help. I’m sure he had no idea what Jesus was going to do. I’m sure he would have never imagined that his little gift could be the ingredients to feed thousands of people. And I’m sure he didn’t have any idea that we’d still be talking about him two thousand years later. He simply saw a need and gave what he had. And that’s all Jesus needed for a miracle.
Let this lesson sink deep into your heart. Don’t you ever let the Enemy make you believe that your little part, your small gift, or that your small way to help doesn’t matter. It does. It matters to others, and it matters to God. Our sacrificial gifts and efforts are the stuff from which God can do amazing things and touch and transform lives in ways that we never imagined. One young boy with a lunch showed the disciples one of the most important lessons of the day. Sometimes the miracle starts with YOU! That’s God’s Word for you today.
Posted in Daily Devotional
Posted in Jesus, feeding, five thousand, small part, gift, faith, sacrifice
Posted in Jesus, feeding, five thousand, small part, gift, faith, sacrifice
Recent
Archive
2024
January
January 1, 2024January 2, 2024January 3, 2024January 4, 2024January 5, 2024January 6, 2024January 7, 2024January 7, 2024 VerseJanuary 8, 2024January 9, 2024January 10, 2024January 11, 2024January 12, 2024January 13, 2024January 14, 2024 VerseJanuary 14, 2024January 15, 2024January 16, 2024January 17, 2024January 18, 2024January 19, 2024January 20, 2024January 21, 2024January 21, 2024 VerseJanuary 22, 2024January 23, 2024January 24, 2024January 25, 2024January 26, 2024January 27, 2024January 28, 2024January 28, 2024 VerseJanuary 29, 2024January 30, 2024January 31, 2024
February
February 1, 2024February 2, 2024February 3, 2024February 4, 2024February 4, 2024 VerseFebruary 5, 2024February 6, 2024February 7, 2024February 8, 2024February 9, 2024February 10, 2024February 11, 2024February 11, 2024 VerseFebruary 12, 2024February 13, 2024February 14, 2024February 15, 2024February 16, 2024February 17, 2024February 18, 2024 VerseFebruary 18, 2024February 19, 2024February 20, 2024February 21, 2024February 22, 2024February 23, 2024February 24, 2024February 25, 2024 VerseFebruary 25, 2024February 26, 2024February 27, 2024February 28, 2024February 29, 2024
March
March 1, 2024March 2, 2024March 3, 2024 VerseMarch 3, 2024March 4, 2024March 5, 2024March 6, 2024March 7, 2024March 8, 2024March 9, 2024March 10, 2024 VerseMarch 10, 2024March 11, 2024March 12, 2024March 13, 2024March 14, 2024March 15, 2024March 16, 2024March 17, 2024 VerseMarch 17, 2024March 18, 2024March 19, 2024March 20, 2024March 21, 2024March 22, 2024March 23, 2024March 24, 2024March 24, 2024 VerseMarch 25, 2024March 26, 2024March 27, 2024March 28, 2024