Scripture:
"Another one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"" ~John 6:8-9
Observation:
Thousands of people were crowding around Jesus, eager to hear his teachings. Jesus knew that the people needed to eat, so he thought up a plan. Before revealing what he was going to do, however, he asked Phillip what to do. In character, Phillip doubted that they could feed the crowd, even with eight months' wages.
Then Andrew spoke up: "Hey Jesus, I found a little boy with some food, but will that really cover the crowd?" I like to hear him say. Both Phillip and Andrew doubted; but Andrew brought something to Jesus. More importantly, he brought someone who had something that Jesus could use.
The little boys' five small barley loves and two small fish was all that Jesus needed. Jesus blessed that food, and fed a crowd of at least 15,000 with it. And "just" with a little boys' lunch! Wow.
Application:
We may not have tons of talents or abilities that we can use for God. We may feel like we only have one or two; and as we take a look at them we think, How in the world can God use that?? But I have good news, folks: God can use whatever talents or abilities that you may have. Each person is different, and so God uses different people in different ways.
I feel like I must share a little bit of my personal testimony here, as it fits in so well with the lesson of today. Here goes:
Last year, around Christmas time, I was pondering what I should do for my quiettime once the new year (2011) began. I wasn't too sure, but I finally decided to read the book Messages to Young People. It's a book by Christian author Ellen White, and in it she talks about many things that are important to young people, especially how to live and grow in Christ. I knew it would be a fantastic read, and I thought that perhaps a few of my friends from Sabbath School might like to join me.
So I wrote out a reading plan. Reading approximately eleven pages a day, readers would finish the book in forty days. The starting date would be January 1, 2011. Really unsure of how all of this would work out, I started a Facebook group, and posted the reading schedule. My mom and I advertised about the Messages to Young People "Readathon" on our Facebook pages, as well as Mom talked about it on a homeschool mom e-mail list she is on. I really didn't do that much advertising at all.
In the two weeks from creating the group to starting the Readathon, 57 people signed up to read along with me. By the time we finished forty days later, there was 85 people reading Messages to Young People with me, including some from Canada, Australia, and the U.S.! It was an absolutely amazing experience to lead 85 excited people through Messages to Young People, and I saw for the first time how God had used me in a BIG way for him. I could see how this certainly wasn't my Readathon; it was God's Readathon that he was using to his glory. WOW! I didn't have much, but when I gave my little to God, he used me and my little in a BIG way.
You may just have a little. But dedicate it to God, and together you can accomplish a LOT!
Prayer:
Dear God, I know that I don't have a lot of talents or abilities. But I know that you can use the ones that I do have. I give those to you know--use me as you see fit, and help me to be a good witness for you. Amen.
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P.S.--To learn more about this blogging-through-the-gospels program, or if YOU would like to join yourself (you're more than welcome-jump right in!!) go to: http://www.momstoolbox.com/
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