Be the reason why some people smile; don’t get tired of remaining relevant to everyone; be that sanctuary where everyone else runs to for refuge when everywhere else is din and destruction. You don’t need to decide to shine, you need to effortlessly shine because you are a star.

The Few Men/Women still Standing, part 1

The world before the flood had been overtaken and submerged by evil. The darkness of sin hovered above every soul for it appeared like the Sun of Righteousness had been eclipsed by the Son of Perdition. Of this evil-loving generation, the Bible says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thought of his heart [was] only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5

The people were in utter spiritual doldrums and religious desert. They had been plunged into the bottomless pit of unparalleled wickedness, uncalled for rebellion and unthinkable immorality. The murky waters of vice that had then intoxicated the people made every soul a spiritual drunkard, a social misfit, heavenly trash, hell-bound, a political renegade and a religious wreckage.

From heaven, God scanned at this people whom he had made and was so much pained with a pain that exceeds the agony of one pierced with a sword. The Bible says “And it repented God that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart.” Genesis 6:6. The levels of iniquity had reached staggering proportions that even God, the creator and unchallenged arbiter of the universe repented of having created the human race.

The wickedness was so great that God was left with no choice but to destroy that generation. The good book says “And the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and creeping thing and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” Genesis 6:7. It is very simple to notice that the wickedness of man had either greatly cascaded to animals or greatly affected the animals so much so that to bring the world to it’s spiritual normalcy it required for all living things to be vanquished from the face of the earth. The miasma and poison of sin had polluted not only men, but also beasts.

It is however very indispensable to ascertain the cause of this unfortunate outcome. How did the moral fibre of the antediluvians got so low to the point that whatever men thought or imagined was evil, continually? We can’t deny that the devil had taken the levers of power and had broken the spiritual cords that had preserved generations before. We need to know that Satan had been among men since the fall of Adam but people who lived before the inception of this generation did not reach these staggering levels of wickedness.

The major cause of this is given in Genesis 6:1-2: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair and they took them wives of all which they chose.” Immediately after this narrative God says, “My spirit shall not always strive with man for that he also is flesh: and his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” Genesis 6:3. Verse 4 remarks, “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children who became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Let’s get this record straight. First, we are told that the sons of God, when they saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, they married them. Just after that, God came in to say his spirit would not strive with man always. Who are the sons of God and who are the daughters of men? The sons of God were the worshippers of God and the daughters of men were those who worshipped not the Lord. It was a law engraved on metal with a pen of iron that the sons of God were not supposed to marry heathens. So God’s spirit was grieved, first with the intermarriages that took place for they warranted the incubation and birth of unimaginable evil and its unhindered and unabated proliferation to unexplainable altitudes.

Instantaneously after the description of how the sons of God lusted for the daughters of men (it therefore follows that lust lied at the foundation of all the sins that existed just before the flood) that God talks of the giants who were born to these spiritually incompatible parents and the floodgates of evil that then swung open.

The greatest catalyst of the great evil of those days and the destruction of the earth that then followed were intermarriages. Period. Daughters of God were there but sons of God chose the beauty of the face at the expense of the beauty of character. Daughters of God were not ugly, though, they were very beautiful. It is only that the sons of God entertained and allowed the daughters of men into their spaces. They befriended them and married them, and the consequences were awful.

Yes, who we marry will affect the moral fibre of our children. Look at today, evil is rising and swelling at an electric velocity and part of the reason are these intermarriages, worshippers of Jehovah marrying those who worship him not. We’ll never win the war of immorality and juvenile delinquency before winning the war of intermarriages.

The point I’m putting across is that when we marry people who do not worship God, such a people will be reasons for our fall. They cause us to fall into sin and apostasy. This even affects the moral stamina of our children. Our children somehow become spiritually deprived and crippled.
I want to use significant examples in the Bible of some key persons who intermarried and I want us to see how they fell into the dungeon of evil.

When the children of Israel were on their pilgrimage going to Canaan, God precisely told them, “Neither shall you make marriages with them, do not give your daughter to his son nor his daughter to your son. For they will turn your son from following me that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you and destroy you suddenly.” Deuteronomy 7:3-4. When you read verse one you will realize that the people whom the Israelites were not supposed to marry were the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites because these were not worshippers of God. Four things were sure to follow if Israel would intermarry’
a. They would stop following God.
b. They would worship other false gods.
c. God’s anger would be kindled against them.
d. God would destroy them.
This is true even today.

Solomon, the wisest of kings, failed the war of intermarriages. We are told, “But the king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Edomites, Zidonians and Hittites. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.” The danger was not only on his wives being many but on them being strange (non worshippers). Ultimately we are told they turned his heart, as expected.

When Ahab the king of Israel married Jezebel the daughet of a wicked king of the Zinonians we are told that “…he went and served Baal, and worshipped him” and “reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.” 1 Kings 16:31-32. Actually Ahab made the nation of Israel to sin and warranted his own destruction.

Paul says “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers….” 2 Corinthians 6:14. Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 for much detail.

What then are we saying to those who are spiritually incompatible? That they divorce? No!!!!! God says “For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” Malachi 2:16.

Peter has this to say “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.” 1 Peter 3:1. So the good behaviour of the believing spouse can win the unbelieving spouse to Christ but still even when the unconverted spouse refuses to come to Christ he/she should not be divorced. But definitely to those contemplating getting into marriage they should marry people of their faith.

I hope and pray that God will help us understand and accept this great message.

As the world before the flood had been soaked and drenched by sin, did God find anyone faithful? This is what we will look at tomorrow.

THE GOD OF IMPOSSIBILITIES

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the Son of God” Daniel 3:24-25.

I presume we’re all in the know that Nebuchadnezzar had had a majestic dream of four global superpowers that would succeed one after another. The dream is recorded in Daniel 2. The haughty Babylonian king and arbiter of the then known world had dreamt a dream of a big statue of a man with five assorted materials.

First was the head of gold, then the chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron and feet which were a mixture of iron and clay.

Daniel, the servant of the most high interpreted the dream with remarkable accuracy and faithfulness, citing that Nebuchadnezzar himself was the head of gold. After him would come another kingdom inferior to his (represented by the chest and arms of silver) and other monarchs that would follow thereafter until the end of time.

First of all, we need to appreciate that the dream was divine-directed. It was of divine origin. It was the Oracle of God. This means that the word was immutable. It could not be changed. What God has said is changeless. It cannot be changed or reversed. It is final and irrevocable. Trying to change what God has said will only change us, not his word. Trying to change God’s word will only make us unsavory and spiritual liabilities and religious renegades. The word of God remains as such even when it is unpopular, even when we don’t like it. Fighting the Bible and attacking it’s validity and veracity is like trying to measure the might Atlantic Ocean using a teaspoon or trying to climb the towering Mt Everest in back peddling. It is a figment of our mental imagination to think we can fight God’s word and prevail.

“Grass withers and flowers fades but the word of God will stand forever”, “Do not think I’m come to abolish the law or the prophets. I’m not come to abolish but to fulfil” “Heaven and earth will pass away but my word will not pass away.” (Isaiah 40:8; Mat 5:17; 24:35).

Psalm 19:7 says “The word of the Lord is perfect….” This means God’s word is complete. Dr. W. Mbiriri once remarked, “You cannot make a perfect thing better for better is less than perfect.” The Bible does not need any form of cultivation, betterment or improvement.

Nebuchadnezzar, being the strongest man on the planet, thought that he was the mightiest man in the universe. He was so audacious and had the confidence of even dethroning God himself. In Daniel 3, we are told, he made a statue that was completely of gold, making his intentions clear that he would reign in this planet forever. He thought death could not overtake him. No matter how strong and powerful we may be, no matter how affluent and famous we might be, it does not matter how excited we might be by this life, if Jesus delays coming, we will die.

Immortality is not a package of prosperity and fame. We are all mortals despite our status in society. Death is not a portion for the poor only. Both the rich and the poor are made of dust. It is often the case that when we become great in society we end up living under the deception that we’ll never die or we’ll live long enough on earth.

So Nebuchadnezzar gathered all his subjects at the plain of Durah so that they could worship this image which he had made for his glory. All were commanded to worship the image or they would face the wrath of the king. Things don’t become right because they are supported by many people. Truth remains truth even when no one stands with it. It is truth even on it’s on. We don’t vote for truth to be truth. It does not even need our validation. It does not need our gathering to affirm it. The best we can do with truth is to follow it. Truth was made and meant only to be followed.

Error is error even when all the world stands with it. We can’t vote for error to be truth neither can error become truth because we say it. What makes truth truth is that God said it. What makes error error is because God did not say it or rejected it.

Kings don’t become mighty by using intimidation, threats and wrath. We win more by love than by force. If people fail to see or appreciate what we want them to we should neither force nor coax them to. The fact that we end up with no other means but to force people to do what we want them to entails that our agendas are sinister and evil.

When the musical instruments were played, everyone bowed to the image, serve 3 Hebrew boys, Shadreck, Mishack and Abedenego.

Nebuchadnezzar was grossly infuriated when he heard that the young fellows had not listened to his command. Three young men stood in opposition to the King’s glaring violation of the law of Jehovah. The king wanted to give them another chance to which they refused. The furnace was immediately heated seven times and the lads were thrown in. It is better to suffer for God than to live peacefully in sin. The young men chose to obey God and that somehow meant choosing the furnace.

There are moments when following God is more dangerous than following men. There are seasons where being Christian means death and being heathen means life. There are times when the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous seem to fall into pauperism. But it is better to suffer for God’s sake than to suffer for our selfish ends.

Some of the problems our enemies create for us are the mirrors through which they can see God. So God does not come to remove the problem for that will be like destroying the mirror. He comes so that he too, might be seen through the mirror, prompting the heathen to repent.

Sometimes God does not show his power over the problems by removing the problems but by walking through the problems.

The three Hebrews were in the fire but were not burnt by the fire. Not all the problems we go through have the capacity to destroy us.

The young men were thrown into the fire as zeroes, bereft of all honour and dignity but they came out as heroes. It is because some of us are so much disrespected in society that God allows our enemies to heat the furnace 7 times and throw us thither, that when we come out victorious over the furnace we’ll be worth of double honor, promotion and dignity.

Before you ask God to remove you from the furnace, first ascertain why you are in the furnace.

God saves those who serve him. He defends and those who defend his truth. He fights for those who fight his battles. He preserves those who preserves his word. He honours those who honour him. He is always with those who have his mission at heart. What happens to us after obeying God is not our business. It is God’s business.

Maturity, part 2

It’s ain’t difficult to see if one has matured or otherwise. Below are some key signs of maturity.

1. Obedience

Those who are spiritually mature obey the voice of God more than the voice of reason and the opinions and suggestions of intellectual giants. As they were going through severe and excruciating persecution, the great apostles candidly declared, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29.

Obedience is not seasonal or situational, it is unconditional. It is our culture, our way of life.

When one reaches the level of spiritual ripeness and maturation, the only voice to listen to is the voice of YAHWEH. When we become like Christ, we will relegate to the periphery arguments that tend to lessen, question or reject the veracity and validity of Scripture.

We then should encapsulate that the Bible has the final say and is the ultimate source of authority in matters of doctrine and practice. Whatever it says we do.

2. Mature individuals live in view of eternity. They live in the present but equally prepare for the future. They are not only concerned about the bread and butter of this life, they also want to get hold of the pie in the sky.

To them heaven is real and a place to be when time, like a weary traveller, lays it’s tired head on the bosom of eternity.

Paul says “Our citizenship is in heaven….” Phil 3:20.
Peter resonates with Paul to say “For they wait for the new heavens and the new where dwells righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13.
Mature individuals don’t only invest in this life; they invest especially in eternity. They don’t just work for temporary riches, they especially strive for eternal bounties.

There is absolutely nothing amiss with us exerting and putting strenuous efforts to have wealth in this life; the point is this is not the only life to be lived. There is everlasting life that is coming from the horizon of time and sooner than later Jesus will come and bring to a screeching halt this life that is punctuated by sin and wrong and he will usher in a kingdom where righteousness reigns.

3. Maturity comes with responsibility. Responsibility has two major tenets, obligation and accountability. Obligation is the work one is supposed to faithfully and diligently execute to which he will be accountable.

To be accountable is to be answerable for what one does. But answerable to who? Maturity comes with the realization of the existence of a higher being, a higher power, not really in the person of a company boss but of God. So we’re answerable, first to our bosses but mostly to God.

I think James pictures this subject well in James 2:12; “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”

4. Mature people forgive, even those too difficult to forgive.
Jesus is hanging on the cross. The nails are still in his flesh. Blood is oozing from his pores, profusely. His body is wet with perspiration and blood. Those he had come to save are standing by, causing a din of derision that sounds like the laughter of demons.

At the peak of pain, he offers a short prayer to the Father, “…forgive them; for they know not what they do….” Like 23:34.

We should forgive those who inflict us with wounds, even when the wounds are still fresh. Remember, some wounds may never heal or if they do heal, the scars will be too ugly. Will we not forgive then?

We forgive because we have matured enough to deeply comprehend and appreciate that God, in Christ, forgave us first. We forgive even when it still hates the most.

Forgiveness does not only liberate the one who is forgiven but also he who forgives. Hell awaits, not those who are not forgiven, but those who do not forgive.

However we forgive, not necessarily because we fear hell and love heaven but chiefly because the love of Christ constrains us. Anything good that we do but not prompted by love does not have its origins in Christianity but in behaviorism.

Behaviorism is a philosophy that motivates people to do right to get a reward and to evade punishment and embarrassment. Christians are compelled by love to love.

5. Mature Christians forgive themselves of their past failures . Paul says, “…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” Philippians 3:13.

The greatest antidote to human progress is the mental overstay in the past failures and disappointments.

We can never go forward when our minds are looking backwards. The best way to move forward is to look forward.

Paul says he “forgets” those things which are behind. This does not necessarily mean he literally forgets, it means he ignores.

The worst prison men ever erected is the prison of the past hurts and pain. Many are incarcerated in this invisible prison and the reason why they haven’t made any meaningful progress is because they have turned themselves into perpetual prisoners of the past.

Whatever it is that happened to you, if it is not beneficial to your present and your future, leave it there and move on.

6. Mature individuals are temperate in all things. They don’t do things to excesses. They don’t overstay, they don’t overwork, neither do they oversleep; they talk less and listen more, they are modest. They don’t go too far in everything.

Paul puts this clearly when he says, “And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things.” 1 Corinthians 9:25.
Temperance, or self-control, is part of the fruit of the spirit(Galatians 5:22). Mature people are led by the Spirit of God.

7. Maturity comes with respect of other people’s opinions. We are all unique individuals. It then follows that we don’t look at life with the same eye. We have different opinions and perceptions on a whole lot of things.

Learn not only to respect people’s correctness but their opinions and sincerity.

When you think they are wrong and you try to correct them, remember they are also thinking you are wrong and they want to correct you.

People are not won by arguments but by submission. Jesus could have come as a lion and ruled the souls of men and forced them into submission, but he came as a sheep and won them through humility, love and innocence.

Sometimes don’t fight, but tolerate wrong.

Those won confrontationally is because they understand and appreciate that you were respectful and tolerant of their ignorance.

Remember that sincerity exists not only in rightness but even in error.

Destroy people’s errors, not their sincerity and esteem.

8. Maturity also comes with self-consciousness. When we know our weaknesses and strengths and the bearing they have on our lives and the lives of others, then we are grown up. It is maturity that helps us admit that we know a lot but don’t know everything and that we are capable of doing a lot but not everything.

Maturity helps us to accept our strengths but especially our limitations.

When we were young we think we could do everything, when we matured we now know we can do some things.

9. Mature people have financial discipline. Many spend more than they invest. We should spend more on acquiring assets more that on things that will siphon money from us Myriads do vice versa.

Live within your means.

Very poor people incur debts trying to appear rich, poor people don’t have a lot but are not prisoners of debts.

The former are very poor even though they are equally poor as the poor because they also have mental and intellectual bankruptcy.

10. Change of perception towards husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend.

A mature woman should be married to a man, not to spend his money, but to make a man who can make more money.

A woman is married to a man, not to be given love, but to give love.

A woman is married to a man, not to be given happiness but to give happiness.

A man man who marries a rich woman must have the goal of making her richer, not of spending her money.

A man should not demand respect from his wife but should give her love and she will respect him automatically.

If we start marriages and relationships with high expectations, it’s OK, but let them be expectations of loving not being loved.

It’s all about changing our perceptions and expectations.

MATURITY, part 1

When someone crosses the line, they are usually reprimanded, sharply. Usually the stern reproof is associated with the phrase, “Be mature.” What is to be mature? What is maturity? Is there a certain way in which mature individuals should carry themselves? Besides, is there an age that, when one reaches, should begin to behave maturely? Is maturity natural or we acquire it? I will use this article to answer these pertinent questions. I will also use the Bible so that we have the spiritual side of this matter.

The word maturity is very broad. Its Greek equivalence is teleiotes whose root is teleios. Teleiotes means “full-grown”, “perfection”, “consummated goal”, “the end goal”, “completeness.”

The Learners Dictionary defines maturity as “the condition of being mature” as “the state of being fully developed in the mind and body.” Merriam Webster Dictionary (1828) says maturity is “the quality or state of being mature; especially: full development.” Mature is defined as “having completed natural growth and development” or “having attained a final or desired state” or “relating to a condition of full development.” (Merriam Webster, 1828).

The Cambridge University Dictionary asserts that maturity is “the quality of behaving mentally and emotionally like an adult” or is “a very advanced or developed form or state.” It goes on to say it is “the state of being completely grown physically.”

The Noah Webster Dictionary (1828) identifies maturity as “Ripeness; a state of perfection or completeness; as the maturity of age or of judgment; the maturity of corn or of grass; the maturity of a plan or scheme.”

Psychology defines maturity as “the ability to respond to the environment in an appropriate manner. Maturity also encompasses being aware of the correct time and place to behave and knowing when to act, according to the circumstances and the culture of the society one lives in.” (David Wechsler, 1950).

Another scholar avers that “Adult development and maturity theories include the purpose in life concept, in which maturity emphasizes a clear comprehension of life’s purpose, directedness, and intentionality, which contributes to the feeling that life is meaningful.”(Nancy Adler, 1997).

One person once remarked that “There are two important days in the life of a person; one, is the day we are born, two, is the day we discover why.” The time you realize the purpose of your existence is the point of maturity. Some are born and die without knowing why they ever lived. To never know the purpose of life is to never live. Life begins the moment we discover why we live. People who are born but don’t know why they live are dead men walking, moving graves as it were. We can’t live in death.

Peradventure in its broadest sense, and taking into cognizance what has already been said above, I can certainly put across that maturity is a state, not a process. It is the desired, final and ultimate state of things. It is that order of things we all desire to have or attain. It is that stage when the maize ripens, when the soul is converted and ready for heaven, when the youth is in the prime of his life (full of strength and vitality), when the man and the woman are raring to go and able to go anywhere in life, to become all they think or imagine and to accomplish and bring to reality their dreams because they have what it takes.

Maturity is the clear comprehension of who we are, why we live, how we should live, and for whom do we live; it is a comprehensive and complete development of body, mind and emotions. Maturity comes with responsible living. It comes with the translation of knowledge into action. Mature people do not just know what is right; they do the right things they know.

Maturity is the highest state of strength, efficiency, ability, competence, intelligence, wisdom, responsibility, autonomy, prudence, purity and judgment.

Those who have matured can be trusted because they have reached a time in which they can make best decisions on their own. They are no longer vulnerable or victims of peer pressure. They can make best and independent decisions.

Maturity comes with discretion; this means that mature people don’t live in their own world, they live in a world where they recognize the value and advice of others but they will consistently take the best and right advice.

I would like to say that maturity is both intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsically, when one reaches a certain age, they begin to behave maturely. Extrinsically, our experiences with life, our challenges and fortunes also contribute to maturity.

It is true that those who know or learn a lot while young tend to mature earlier than their peers.

It is also true that those who face a lot of challenges earlier in life usually mature earlier than those who don’t.

Maturity entails the attainment of noblest principles of life.
There are basically four things that bring about maturity in one’s life:

a. Knowledge (acquired maturity)
b. Experiences (acquired maturity)
c. Age (natural maturity)
d. God (acquired maturity).

BIBLICAL MATURITY

Spiritual maturity is a condition of being in complete favor with God and men. It is a state of true and absolute conformity to the mind and character of God. It is when all we know about God is all we express in our lives.

Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” It is inclusive growth in wisdom and stature and to be in favor with God and man.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Maturity is that stage in life where the love of Christ predominates in the life of a Christian.

Give Them to Eat

“1 After these things Jesus went to the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.” John 6.

At this point in time, Jesus and his disciples are in the desert. They notice the multitude milling around, hungry.

Whereas John remarks that it was Jesus who first reacted to the problem, Matthew says it was the disciples. No matter who started, what matters is they all noticed the hungry crowd but reacted differently to the problem. The disciples said to Jesus, “…send the multitude away, that they go into the villages, and buy bread for themselves.” Matthew 14:15.

Jesus responded, “…they need not depart; give them to eat.” Matthew 14:16.

The Johannine record states that Jesus did not address or ask all the disciples but Phillip only. He asked him, “Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat” to which Phillip responded, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may take a little.” John 6:5,7.

On one side the disciples are saying “send them away” on the other Jesus is sayimg “give them to eat.”

Because of their lack of funds, the disciples requested Jesus to send the crowd away. Many times, when we, as church members, find that we don’t have enough money and enough resources to help the hungry multitude, we tell them to go away. We send the world away hungry. Jesus’ message is still the same today as it was then, “Give ye them to eat.”

What touches me in this story is that the multitude had followed Jesus voluntarily. They were not called by the disciples. They had seen the works of Christ. Jesus’ works became a magnet that drew the crowd to him. When we do good, we will not always go out to look for the lost, the lost will come looking for us. When we become relevant to the problems and needs of the world, the world will stampede into the church. There will be less sermonizing and more baptizing. We will baptize more having preached less. The greatest sermon that draws the world to Christ is the life of a Christian.

It is pathetic that the crowd came on their own looking for Jesus but those who were with Jesus were ready to send them away. Is it not true with us sometimes, that when the lost come to church looking for Christ we send them away? Don’t we send them away by the way we treat them and the like? At times, the worst enemy of the lost in the world are the “saved’ in the church.

Our responsibility is not to tell Jesus to send the crowd away, it is to tell Jesus to accept the crowd and feed the the crowd.

The Johannine record clearly articulates that when Jesus asked Phillip to give the people some bread, the intention was not really for Phillip to feed the multitude; it was to test his faith. Actually scripture states that Jesus knew already what he was going to do about the crisis. Some of the problems that we face God knows we have not the capacity and ability to solve them. They only come to test our faith. God has solutions to all the problems we can’t overcome on our own.

When darkness deepens, when burdens press, when sorrow harasses the mind, we should rash to Jesus. I’m really convinced that the existence of such mental challenges as stress and depression is largely an attempt by us to carry our problems instead of bringing them to Jesus.

While the disciples were worried not knowing what to do, an observant Andrew arrived with a child who had 5 loaves of bread and two fish. These were small buns and 2 small fish which were meant for the young lad. What excites me is the fact that Andrew brought the bread to Jesus but still expressed doubt that the bread was not enough to feed the great multitude.

Nonetheless, there are two things to learn from Andrew. First, he was observant. He managed to study and observe the situation and noticed a young boy who had the bread and the fish. When a challenge kicks in, we must learn to take our time and observe the situation. Many a times despair darkens our eyes that we fail to see the solutions right before our eyes.

Second, Andrew brought the food to Jesus. Even though he showed doubt, Andrew must be applauded for the act to come with the bread to Jesus. Since the bread wasn’t enough, Andrew could have eaten it alone, or at least with the lad but he brought it to Jesus.

We should learn from Andrew, to bring everything we have whether little or much, to Jesus. One singer says “Little is much when God is in it…” God works in miraculous ways that what we think to be little will be made much through the wonder working power of God.

The little that we withhold will never be enough; the little we bring to Jesus will be made enough. The message is simple, ‘Bring the little you have to Jesus and it will be made much, it will be sufficient for the work. God is not looking for fat or thin pockets, he is looking for willing hearts to use in his great mission.

How many of us had ever thought of the generosity of the little boy who gave his lunch to Andrew and how many, today, can replicate that kindness? There was no assurance that the little boy was going to have his lunch back. He gave it away unconditionally. Andrew did not give the boy any guarantee that he would gave him his bread again. It was pure kindness.

We should give others our most cherished possessions not because we expect them to replicate our courtesy and kindness, but because we have love. We should give not to be given back. We should give because God gave us a priceless gift in the person of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus prayed he began to break the bread and gave it to the disciples. Miraculously the bread never got finished until all had eaten. Actually twelve baskets of fragments were filled.

Miracles happen when the divine hand has taken hold of the situation. I understand that many of us are in serious problems. We’ve lost hope. We now think all is lost and there is no reason, no motivation and no need to fight.

I want to say as long as it is Jesus fighting our battles, we shall all win. We should not fix our eyes on the raging tempest or the financial woes. Our focus should not be put on our seemingly insurmountable mountains of challenges and problems. Our eyes must be on Jesus.

Never take your eyes off Jesus. A constant look at the problem will make the problem more terrifying. A constant look at Jesus will make the problem seem as nothing.

When people come to church, they are not coming to people. They are coming to their Jesus. When we see those who follow Jesus perturbed by problems that we can’t solve, we should not send them away. Our primary mandate as Christians is to refer all matters, all problems, particularly those we can’t solve to Jesus.

When we find ourselves having inadequate resources to feed the world, insufficient power to heal the diseased, lack of love to mend broken homes, we must bring our little and our small everything to Jesus. Jesus will show his power such that what is not enough will be made enough, what is not sufficient will be made sufficient.

Jesus can only perform wonders with the little that has been brought to him. The meager resources we have, when brought to Jesus, will do great things.

The little in the hands of Jesus can do much than much in the hands of man.

The fragments and remains of the bread brought to Jesus will always be more than the initial bread that was surrendered.

A church is a place where all strangers are welcome, where the weak are made strong, where the hungry are fed, where the ill are healed, where the lost are found, where the naked are clothed, where the demon-possessed are set free. All cases must be attended to and everyone must leave the church satisfied.