Great, greater, greatest...

Our friend Brian in the food bank in Israel

We continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke. I hope you are as curious as I am about the lessons we can learn. This time I want to stop at a familiar passage in chapter 9: the feeding of the five thousand.

When I was reading that story again, I noticed that Jesus offers His disciples a great opportunity to do something special. The disciples were worried about the large crowd of people that surrounded the Messiah. In the meantime Jesus was teaching about the Kingdom and He healed people with all kind of diseases. When evening came the disciples came to Him with their worried thinking and asked Him to send the people home. And you know what Jesus' reaction was? You give them something to eat! In other words, why ask Me to do something about it, this is your chance, test your faith, put it into practice. Do something!

Luke 9:12-13, Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” Their response to Jesus' command was a clear sign of unbelief and doubt: We have limited resources Lord. You don't seriously mean that you want us to solve this problem?

Do we recognize this response? Jesus wants us to do great things, and often all we can see is obstacles and limitations. Jesus sees opportunities; we see limitations and have excuses. In the Old Testament we can find a similar story in 2 Kings 4:42-44. The man of God (Elisha) orders his servants to feed 100 people with 20 loaves of bread. They had their doubts, they found it hard to believe in the impossible: How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked. But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

In the Old Testament we see this great miracle performed by men, in response to God's word. In the New Testament we see an even greater miracle performed by Jesus. And what about us? What does Jesus say to the people who believe in Him? Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12).

What is your excuse?

PS 1: Talking about feeding the multitudes, take a peek at Brian's blog

Surely, you will read this!

In an ever changing world full of uncertainties I would like to share some certainties from God's Word. I call 'm the surely's of the Bible and I absolutely LOVE to read and proclaim them.

The word surely can be found many times throughout the Bible. In the book of Psalms alone it is used at least 28 times. I checked the dictionary, it explains: Surely: used to emphasize the speaker's firm belief that what they are saying is true and often their surprise that there is any doubt of this. Surely is a word that expresses and underlines our faith in God's promises. The psalmists used it all the time. Let me share some of my favorites to encourage you in this coming week:

• Surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield (Psalm 5:12). I love this one, the writer proclaims and acknowledges God's favor in his life. What are we waiting for, let's do the same!
• Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6). Despite circumstances, despite doubt and hurt, the writer proclaims God's goodness and love over his life. Whether we feel it or not, let's say these words in trust, thankfulness and expectation.
• Surely God is my help, the Lord is the one who sustains me (Psalm 54:4). Don't forget to read the verses preceding David's statement here, he is in serious trouble. And yet, he is not afraid to proclaim God as the One who will come to his rescue. I am longing for that boldness, for that confidence, and I know it will grow in me as I proclaim these precious words.
• Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence (Psalm 91:3). Whenever we need healing in our body or deliverance from the enemy, we can be assured that God is willing to come to our aid. Say it, read it, pray it!

The writers used the word surely to overcome their doubts and fears, an antidote against unbelief. I think we can learn from their proclamations. Please, if there is any reason to use one of God's surely's this week, don't hesitate to do so. It will make your faith grow!

The effect of righteousness

Have you ever met people who have a certain effect on you? Being around them for a few minutes encourages and inspire you. You walk away feeling on top of the world. On the other hand, being around certain people can have the opposite effect; you feel negative, afraid or even angry. Now, the post I am about to write is NOT about the effect other people have on us, but about the effect we have on other people!

As I am journeying through the book of Isaiah I stumbled upon this delightful resting place. I lingered there for the longest time :) while eating the words that nourished me. Chapter 32, verse 17 says: The fruit of righteousness will be peace, the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. Go ahead, read it again and again. It is such a powerful scripture and it holds wonderful promises for the reader. While reading, I noticed two things that I would like to share:

• The fruit of righteousness will be peace. It is a fruit, which means it doesn't pop out full grown, it will show itself small and over time grow into maturity. In other words, don't panic if peace is not written all over your forehead with big letters.
• Eventually the effect of that fruit in my life will be quietness and confidence. The effect is something that will be seen by others, it is what I leave behind as I go about my daily life.

What exactly is righteousness? The Bible explains it clearly: Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. (Romans 3:22). So, our righteousness bears fruit (peace) and it has an effect (quietness and confidence) throughout the day. My question today is: is that the effect we have on others? Do they see quietness and confidence in us or stress and doubt?

Let me leave you with a few scriptures on the fruit of peace, and the effect of quietness and confidence. Read 'm aloud, meditate on 'm and start living 'm.

PEACE: Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble (Psalm 119:165)

QUIETNESS: In quietness and trust is your strength (Isaiah 30:15)

CONFIDENCE: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us (1 John 5:14)

Have a great weekend everyone.