God Performs His Miracles…Through Us

Christ calls us to serve Him at all times

When we are filled with excitement

When we are filled with the Spirit 

When we are filled with energy

When we feel capable

When we feel useful

When we are exhausted

When we feel depleted

When we feel defeated

When we feel drained

When we feel empty

When we feel dry

When we have nothing left to give

When we desperately need a respite

Needing to stop

Needing to rest

The 12 disciples just returned from a short term mission

They were looking forward to getting away with Jesus to rest 

They were faced with the needs of the 5,000

There were only five loaves of bread and two fish

They were tapped out

They were exhausted

Depleted

Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the bread and the fish

He had the disciples distribute His provisions

Together they fed the 5,000

Sometimes after a successful mission

We are in desperate need of rest

We are just plain tapped out

But people’s needs don’t end

They still come to us for help

Sometimes Christ calls us to give more

To stretch us even when we are exhausted

But then He shows up

He performs the miracle

He meets each need

We participate by distributing His provisions

We are His hands and feet 

The instruments

of His miracles

Yes we are tapped out

But He does the work

We don’t have to perform the miracle

We only get to distribute His provisions

Afterall It is all about Him 

He sees the needs

He meets the needs

Through us

Whether full of vigor

Or even when we are exhausted

Hallowed Be God’s Name

Jesus taught us to pray:

“Hallowed be Your Name”

Our lives are to demonstrate God’s Name as

Holy

Sacred

Revered

Honored

Whatever we do

Whether in word or deed

We are to do in the Name of Jesus

So that God’s Name is esteemed before others

When we act as God’s hands and feet

When we consider others above ourselves

When we lay our lives down for others

When we give generously to others

When we walk alongside others

When we rejoice with others

When we cry with others

When we listen to others

When we comfort others

When we encourage others

When we forgive one another

When we submit to one another

When we bear with one another in love

When we are reconciled to one another

When the life we live with others demonstrates God’s 

Joy

Love 

Heart

Holiness

Forgiveness

God’s Name is lifted up

God’s Name is glorified

God’s Name is revered

God’s Name is honored

God’s Name is Hallowed 

Love the Lord with All of Who We Are

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30)

We are to love the Lord our God with

All of our 

Heart

Soul

Mind

Strength

Heart is the seat of our affections

To love God with all of our 

Tenderness

Fondness

Longing

Passion

Desire

Soul is the core of who we are

The attributes that make us unique

It is the most vulnerable part of us

It is the deepest aspects of us

Mind encompasses our

Perspectives

Paradigm

Mindset

Thoughts

Volition

Priorities

Strength is the physical actions we take

The outward behaviors others see

Dictated by our mind

Informed by our soul

Generated from our heart

To love God with all of our

Heart

Soul

Mind

Strength

Is to love God

Exclusively

Having Him as our deepest love

Our top priority

With all of who we are

With the depth of who we are

With all of our vulnerabilities

No holds barred

Filling our minds with His truths

Believing only in Him

Relying only on Him

Taking off our old self and its practices

Getting rid of the old wine skins

Procuring new wine skins

Putting on our new self 

Which is being renewed in the image of its Creator

How are you loving God today

Through the expressions of your 

Heart

Soul

Mind

and Strength

Faith Produces Hope

Faith and hope are intricately connected

One’s hope needs to be anchored in someone or something

Or our hope is just magical thinking

When our faith is in the Author of life

The Sovereign God

Who holds all things in His hands

Who holds us in His palms

We have hope

The more we grow in our faith

In our Living God

Who holds our 

Yesterdays

Today

Tomorrow

Forever

In His all powerful

All loving

Hands

We have hope

Not because we wish it

Not because we desire or want it

But because of Him

For He is GOD

The Almighty

The All Knowing

The Always Present 

The Always Loving One

For we know Whom we believe

That He is faithful even when we are faithless

For He is unable to lie

Nor give us false hopes

Nor spout false promises

We know He is able to

Deliver His promises

In spite our circumstances

Trials

Temptations

Testing

Even our doubts

and faithlessness

Or hopelessness

For He is God not a human

That He should lie

Not a human being

That He should change His mind

For when He speaks

There is power

Dunamis Power

Power that of a dynamite

For His word is 

Dynamic

Active

Living

As He is a

Living

Active 

All Powerful God

Because of Whom God is

We have faith

Faith in Him

Faith in His word

We have hope

Hope that does not disappoint

Because the love God has been poured out within our hearts

Through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us

We have hope

Want to grow in hope?

Grow in the knowledge of God 

Grow in the knowledge of His love

Grow in faith

Our hope will grow

Stand

“11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then…” (Ephesians 6:11-14a).

Taking our stand is

Setting ourselves to win

Against the devil’s schemes

The battle we face are not against flesh and blood

The battle we are in 

Is spiritual 

In spiritual battles

We put on the full armor of God

Our armor is spiritual

Our stance is firm

Firmly rooted in 

Christ

In what He has accomplished for us on the cross

Being able to stand our ground is

Taking a position

Putting our stake in the ground

To declare 

Who we are

To Whom we belong

With Whom we stand

Against whom we stand

To stand after having done everything is

Remaining standing 

To fully claim what was accomplished

And keep guard our position

To stay vigilant and alert

To stand and to watch

To protect

To own

Our victory

Stand firm then

With the accoutrements 

Necessary for this spiritual battle

The belt of truth buckled

The breastplate of righteousness in place

Feet fitted with readiness to share the Gospel

The shield of faith with which we extinguish fiery darts

The helmet of salvation to protect our minds and thoughts

The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God enabling us to take offensive stances

And after everything

Stand

"Stand" by Newsboys

Exchange of Only Son for Many Sons

(John 3:16)

For God so loved the world

That He gave His

ONE and ONLY Son

In order to gain 

Many heirs

Many daughters and sons

The sacrifice of His

ONLY SON

In order to gain

All of US

Imagine you only have one child

But because of your love for 

Orphans in need of a family

You willingly

SACRIFICE

As in

To give your 

One and only son

To die

A cruel death

In 

Order

To 

Gain

Many

In 

Order 

To 

Adopt

Many

As 

Your children

Your heirs

We know God loves us

Afterall He created us

And formed us inside our mother’s womb

He sees each of us as His

Masterpiece

His Beloved

In whom He is well pleased

Even before one day came into being

In our lives here on earth

But to gain us as 

His

Adopted 

Daughters and sons

God had to

Sacrifice 

His Only Son

Jesus

In order to 

Gain us

What price

What huge sacrifice

At such 

TREMENDOUS

Price

God was willing

His Only Son Jesus was willing

The Holy Spirit was willing

To make this 

Sacrifice

In 

Order 

To 

Gain 

YOU

And me

"O The Blood" (Kari Jobe)

Availability Not Ability

When we make ourselves available

God shows up and He performs the miracle

The 5,000 and the 4,000 needed food

For they had followed Jesus and listened to His teaching

They were hungry

They were in remote places with no food

No access to buy any food

Jesus asked how much food was around

Five loaves and two fish for the 5,000

Seven loaves and a few small fish for the 4,000

The disciples passed out the bread and the fish to the crowd

They participated in distributing the food to the hungry

The disciples did not perform the miracle of multiplying the food

They made themselves available to be

Conduits 

of God’s miracle

Jesus was the One Who performed the miracle

Elijah went to the widow and asked her to 

First bake him bread 

From the handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug 

Enough to make one loaf as her and her son’s last meal

Then they will wait for death from starvation

When the widow used the flour and the olive oil to bake the bread

God enabled the flour and the oil to not run out

So the widow

Her son

and Elijah

Were able to have bread to eat 

Every day

God shows up when we participate

In His miracle

God is the Miracle Maker

We get to be the conduits of 

His miracle

His work

When Jesus broke the bread and the fish

If the disciples decided not to pass out the bread and the fish

The people would not have gotten fed

The widow could have not followed Elijah’s directions

She and her son would indeed have their last meal

And died of starvation after

But because they were 

Available

Willing

Obedient

The disciples got to reap 

The widow got to benefit from 

Being

Witnesses

Participants

Beneficiaries

Of

God’s miracles

The Holy Spirit is perpetually at work

His Living River is constantly flowing

When we choose to jump into 

The Living River of the Holy Spirit

Its currents carry us

We get to

Experience God’s work in the world

God’s miracles of 

Healing

Saving

Rescuing

Setting people free

Providing

Comforting

And loving His people

We become privileged

Witnesses

Participants

Beneficiaries

of God’s work

His miraculous work

Through us

Although He does not need us

For God will accomplish His work regardless

But out of His love

God invites us to be participants

of His work

So we can be blessed

For taking part in

His miracles

Jump in

Get in on the action

So we can be active participants of

God’s work of miracles and 

Be blessed

Today