““There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?””

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬

In the familiar account of the Lord Jesus feeding the 5000, this lad is mentioned. In Luke’s account, Jesus and the disciples had gone to Bethsaida to get away from the crowds and the people followed Him. And He welcomed them, spoke to them and healed them. And it was getting late and then Jesus tested the disciples by asking them to feed the people something. I think their response is something like we can’t buy enough bread for everyone to just get a little. I think one lesson I am slowly learning is whatever God is asking of me, only He can provide. I need to learn to turn the question back to Him, You make us enough for the ask!

In any case, I feel that the Lord is making this “lad’s” offering so instructive. We don’t know if came with family or by himself? Did he packed this himself or someone else packed it for him? Did he start out the day with more than the five loaves and two fishes? What we do know is that it’s towards the end of the day now, he had not eaten these five loaves and two fishes. It was obvious all the people were hungry. 

The disciples found him and no one else. Was the search for food extensive? Did Andrew find him quickly? Immediately when Andrew brought the lad and his food, the Lord asked the people to be seated. Reminds me of when Jesus told Martha, only one thing is needful. Anyway, Jesus didn’t need more than what one lad offered. Just one willing person was enough to feed everyone with Jesus. I imagine there were others who brought food. Among 5000+ people, this lad could not have been the only person with food. But perhaps others were unwilling to give their food to the disciples. And I can think of a couple of reasons. 1. Others kept what they brought for selfish reasons, “I’m hungry too.” 2. Others were possibly ashamed of what they brought despising it for being too poor or too meager. Like the disciples, they thought, what is this for so many. I’m glad the lad didn’t think that way.  

Imagine when the disciples distributed the bread and the fish from the lad and you had food and now you look at your food that Jesus could have broken and blessed and multiplied, too. What a missed opportunity!

So, if the Spirit prompts us to give or to offer something, either materially or maybe a testimony or a song or a word, I don’t want to despise it and withhold it nor hold on to it tighter in selfishness. If He prompts us, it is His modus operandi to supply us what He asks of us. 

Lord God, I need the grace to look to You to be the sufficiency. You gave the widow a little oil and flour, and you made sure this lad had the five loaves and two fishes to offer. Help us to give what you alone have provided. We may be meager, but You bless big, especially when You take and break. Who are we that You would take us and make a worthy Bride out of all these broken vessels. Our eyes are looking to Who You are for Your word is life and power. So in response, we bring our meager selves to You. You bless and break and make of us more than enough. Exponentially more. We say, Lord God, have Your way. 

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬

ALL things. 

Dear Lord, I want to be part of the we. Make us to know this truth in all our experiences. We confess we struggle with seeing how You cause our mistake-things and failure-things to work together for good. But we believe and we let go of the all things in our lives and lay them at Your feet. Nothing is too hard for You.

We do love You and we sense Your calling over our lives. We want all Your purposes over our lives to be fulfilled. Get the glory like You did in causing the man born blind to see. May all our weakness indeed be the means to display Your power and love and strength. Get the glory! We give our ALL to You!

“Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals; and the number of those who performed their service was:” 1 Chronicles 25:1

You would think that the commanders od the army has nothing to do with temple service. BUT this is the Lord’s Army and we war not as the world wars. To win as God’s Army involves prophesying and music and making a joyful melody. These services are taken seriously. Is there even any mention of how many in the army throw a javelin or take up the bow or ride a chariot in these passages? No. But here some are designated to play the cymbal and the lyre and the harp. I think I need to take more seriously worship. (War-ship?). Perhaps praise’s side effect is like throwing grenades on God’s enemy in the spirit realm? Or true worship is just so pleasing to the Lord, and God’s enemy is annihilated when God’s heart is satisfied? Defeating God’s enemy is easy to the Lord. Could it be that getting God’s people to praise is a harder thing!

We recall that the highest archangel’s purpose was to lead the praise. When he fell and took a third of the angels with him, who took his vacated position?

I’ve always appreciated this stanza about the Son in the hymn, Father, to Thee a joyful song we raise.

How precious to Thine ear the song He sings!

How precious, too, to Thee—

How near how dear are those He brings.

To share His place

‘Twas thus that Thou didst plan;

Thou lovest Him before the world began.

The Son leads the praise of those He brings to the Father. Is there an element in the creation of man, that when mankind is told to be fruitful and multiply, that God is referring to the life of Christ even more than to having many offsprings? The Son’s life alone is worth replicating.

Lucifer quit. Well he did more than that. Was he not satisfied with his position? Was he no longer satisfied with leading the praise of the creation? Jesus, the Son of God became a man. He humbled Himself and took a place that was lower than the angels. And when he died, rose again, and ascended, true fruitfulness and multiplication came about as the Father sent the Spirit of the Son into the hearts of men by which we may all call, Abba Father. And by the same Spirit of the Son, we may be included in that innumerable throng at the Throne of God singing our new song in that day. How thrilling that in this day, we are in the company of His people on earth, raising our voices and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. In God’s house, we were created to be a royal priesthood.

Why does the Bible record the Lord Jesus and the disciples singing a hymn there in the garden of Gethsemane moments before Jesus conquers Satan, Sin, and Death on Calvary’s cross? Were they singing a triumphant war cry? Was it a worship of the Father for His good pleasure?

I don’t know. I could be totally wrong. But I’m taking our singing together more seriously. At the Lord’s Table these days, it has been so triumphant. It’s probably one of life’s greatest pleasures to partake in the grace of Sonship at the Lord’s Table. And whenever we are with the brothers and sisters or even when we are by ourselves, I’m learning to sing to the Lord.

Is the pulling down of strongholds a by-product of bringing joy to the Father’s heart? Our aim and goal to pray and praise is not to get God to solve our problems, He knows what we need more than we do and He knows even the deepest desires of our hearts. Why don’t we focus on delighting in the Lord and delighting the Lord God. We are here for His good pleasure. The Son leads our praise.

Lord God, we take the Grace to be pleasing to You and to delight in You because it is the Spirit of the Son who makes us able. Take delight in the reproduction of His life in us. Just as You haven’t withhold Him from us, we will also not withhold Him from You. We delight in the Son even as You delight in Him.

In Jesus’ mighty name we sing and pray.

“And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.”

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭12‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

It is stated so simply. If we don’t set our hearts to seek the Lord, the inevitability is doing evil. And we often don’t even know if we are seeking the Lord as we ought to, am I sincere, am I seeking Him rightly? But the word here is something I can do. I can set my heart to seek the Lord. It is, as if, the Lord sees my desire to seek and works out the circumstances and the inclinations to make the seeking happen. If Rehoboam had set his heart to seek the Lord, he might have asked of God for wisdom to rule. He might have ask for a prophet like Ahijah to seek for a Word from the Lord when the people came asking for some lightening of the heavy load Solomon placed on them. But the Lord already sees his heart and does not find any seeking for Himself.

“So the king (Rehoboam) did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” 2 Chronicles‬ ‭10‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬

It appears that the Lord allowed Rehoboam to take the foolish advice of his young companions over the more sage advice given by Solomon’s own advisors. (When the Lord takes His protective hand off of us when we forsake Him, does He leaves us to our own foolish devices, for a time). God spoke already that the kingdom was going to be torn from Solomon for turning the people’s heart towards idolatry. And the Word of the Lord stands. Would things have been different had Solomon repented? But he didn’t. And the Lord steers like water the hearts of the world’s kings like Shishak, to come against Judah with the Egyptian army to serve His own purposes.

So Lord God, Your Word stands.

And You have declared already over us righteousness, love, peace, and even glory. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of Your own possession, a Bride without spot or wrinkle. We ask humbly, fulfill Your own Word. Unto Your end, steer and captain our hearts away from foolishness and all things that do not fulfill Your good purposes and intentions over us. Fulfill Your own word that the good work You have begun in us, You will complete, and that in that day when we see You face to face, You will make us able to stand before You, our holy God and Maker.

We give You our hearts. We repent of seeking after the things of this world and after our own desires. We turn back to You. Thank You for even the inclining to seek You. We set our hearts to seek You. And when we go astray, thank You for steering our hearts back to You. When Your enemy set traps for us, deliver us from Your defeated foes. In Your time, You will display the fulfillment You own Word. We have the Spirit of the Son who always is pleasing to You! We submit to walking and talking and being by His Life within. Until You are fully satisfied and we are pleasing to You, we humbly set our hearts to seek You and trust the Indwelling Spirit to fulfill Your Word in us all.

In Jesus’ name.

“but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭31‬

Believe in the Lord Jesus today!

“Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord God, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.””

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭7‬:‭29‬ ‭

Lord God. We are so grateful that Jesus came as the servant King. It is by faith that we have been made sons. We have believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and we are a member of His household. We are members forever because we share His eternal life. We are the royal priesthood serving under our Melchizedek, our Great High Priest without beginning or end. How bless we are that even now, our Great High Priest ever lives to intercede for us with God the Father. This is our blessing. We are sons. More blessed than to be a descendant of David, we are of the lineage of Christ the Eternal Son. We indeed are blessed forever. 

We love You Lord!

“May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭28‬:‭3‬

Amen. Lord we pray for all the gatherings of Your People wherever You have placed us. We may water and plant, but You alone causes to grow. So, Lord God, cause us to grow, as it pleases You and as we may be pleasing to You.

In Jesus’ name.

“Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬

Lord God, we want to comprehend all You are saying. For Mary, she took to heart all You said of Your pending crucifixion. She alone took opportunity to anoint Your body for burial. She alone saw how You were worthy of her prized possession and satisfied Your heart in her offering. 

You are telling us that You are coming back soon. Help us to comprehend Your heart and anoint Your Body today. How do we satisfy Your heart so that we would keep Your word for Your return and give ourselves to You while we still have opportunity. We love You Lord. We want to be like Mary. 

In Jesus’ name. 

“That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭26‬:‭7‬

Lord God, I want to confess that You are good, You are faithful, You do amazingly, and You are full of mercy! In the moments of sorrow and loss, You have come alongside and in time, joy is restored and I can see beyond the hurt and frustration. When I felt unable to forgive, You grace me with understanding of Your forgiveness towards me and availability to pass through me. I couldn’t but You do. How many times You placed hurdles in situations that were not for my good but I couldn’t see that far. And how often You have given me grace to wait for You to open doors that seem impossible to even open a crack. That faith is also a gift You’ve written in my heart. Thank You for the blood of Jesus for cleansing, for atonement, for life. I have a future and a hope in Christ alone. I haven’t done a thing to deserve Your love but I want to respond and speak of the wonder of Your love.

You are worthy of all my praise. And I love You, Lord God!

It’s Memorial Day. We pause to honor those who gave up their lives on the battlefield. By some accounts this practice of decorating the graves of the fallen soldiers began during the American Civil War. How painful for a nation to be divided and nearly destroyed by unfriendly brotherly fire.

We might draw the parallel that Jesus laid down His life for us and we ought to remember that. And indeed, week after week we remember Jesus’ death AND resurrection!

The soldiers remain in their grave but we do not decorate an empty tomb since death did not have the standing to keep a sinless and righteous man dead. Jesus’ tomb is empty. We honor a risen Savior! The soldiers gave unselfishly but none could give their life for us to live. But Jesus humbly gave His life not only as a substitute for our judgement of death, but much more His life is now ours to live righteously today, tomorrow, and right on through to eternity!

So in this life when sorrow and pain are more than mere acquaintances, we ask Lord God for the grace to turn our eyes upon You and to look into Your wonderful face. Your life is for our living today. And even when the days are sweet and cheerful, we can still enjoy His goodness and company. That day will come when we grasp the reality that we are here for God’s own good pleasure and He has loved us all along and longed that we would love to abide in His presence.

We take hold of the grace given.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9Ah7NbYF1I&si=2fUVdRC1zcgRbATf