Give It to Jesus First

You belong to Jesus, and so does all you possess.  Give Him first option on it all; you included.

Text for Today – Mark 6:38 – He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

What you need may already exist in what you have.  Now there’s an interesting thought!  But how can that be?  Well, stop and consider the reasoning behind such a statement. 

First of all, take a look at the miracles of supply the Lord performed.  When the people needed wine, He used what they already had; water and earthen vessels in which to carry it.  When the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing, He simple had them do things a bit differently; cast their nets in the daytime.  Now that was novel.  When the people were hungry, and He would not send them away in that condition, He used the five loaves and two fish, and on another occasion, seven loaves and a few small fish. 

Even in the Old Testament, we see the same thing.  Elijah and Elisha both operated in that manner.  Whether it was having a widow bake a cake for the prophet first, or having a widow who was about to lose it all simply borrow all the vessels she could when all she had was a small vessel of oil.  In the wilderness, it was either manna or quail.  When the people were thirsty, God had a rock ready for smiting. 

So what am I saying to you today?  It’s really quite simple, and at the same time, rather profound.  As the prophet asked the widow, “What have you got in the house?”  Make what you already possess available to the Lord to use and do with as He pleases.  When you don’t have a sufficient amount to take care of the situation you are facing, listen closely to the voice of the Lord.  He may tell you to make it available to Him in some way.  Your obedience prepares the atmosphere for the Lord to perform a miracle of supply beyond your own expectations. 

There was a time when the Lord spoke to me to give my last $7 to a person who wanted to go to a week of Pentecostal meetings.  My $7 wasn’t all he needed, but God said give it, so I gave it.  As I said, it was my last $7.  It was my gas money and lunch money for the week.  The next day, someone bought my meals.  The next day, someone gave me the money I needed ($750) to begin a phase of my ministry, and paid for my meals.  The next day someone blessed me again financially.  I didn’t miss a meal, my car was filled with gas, and ministry went forth, all for $7.  So, one more time; if what you have isn’t enough, give it to Jesus first.

Manna for Today – 2 Corinthians 9:8; Mark 10; Luke 6:38