From My Back Deck: ENOUGH (d365)

INVOCATION....(d365.org - Nick Foster)

We scramble through many of our days, hopeful that things will turn out well, and sometimes fearful that we may come up short. Will our resources be equal to each day’s demands?

As followers of Christ, we want to be faithful—and capable—in the face of life’s challenges.

We should know that there is enough grace, enough mercy, enough love—and enough time, just now—to meet the day.

MONDAY, July 28    Enough Love

Isaiah 55:1-2 GNT

“Come, everyone who is thirsty—
    here is water!
Come, you that have no money—
    buy grain and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk—
    it will cost you nothing!
2 Why spend money on what does not satisfy?
    Why spend your wages and still be hungry?
Listen to me and do what I say,
    and you will enjoy the best food of all.

      Enough.  The very word gave me cause to pause and say, 'YES! I'll spend another week with d365.'  Enough is the key word to Rick saying he would retire.  We didn't have great wealth but we certainly had enough (probably way more than enough in the Biblical sense!)  In reality we in the Western world, born into affluence and privilege, have no idea what 'enough' really is.  We would equate the enough of others as poverty, scarcity, and lack.  Yet, those very people often feel they are blessed with enough, because they are blessed to understand that enough really applies to relationships, to love.  And we are born to love.  We just sometimes get too caught up in the material enoughs to practice the enough we have within us.  Enough Love.  If we would all practice it, there would be no lack of food, shelter, security.  
     In yesterday's sermon Jim quoted from a country western song, "I'm drinking from my saucer cause my cup has overflowed."  My cup is plenty full.  I have more than enough.  What shall I do with it....today?  

TUESDAY, July 29  Restock
Matthew 14:13  GNT
     When Jesus heard the news about John, he left there in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard about it, and so they left their towns and followed him by land.
     Jesus has just heard bad news: his cousin John has been brutally killed by Herod.  Beheaded no less.  He needs to get away by himself, so he takes off in a boat across the lake.  I think Jesus knows the crowd will follow.  I think Jesus knows demands are going to be made on his inner reserves.  So he takes a brief retreat to 'stock up' so he will have enough. 
     We need to heed Jesus's example.  There is nothing wrong with taking a respite in order to be prepared to serve; to take time for personal recharging allows us to have 'enough' when we need it.  Respite care-givers know this is mandatory.  Jesus does this often.  We should too.  

WEDNESDAY, July 30  God-Well
Matthew 14:14 GNT
Jesus got out of the boat, and when he saw the large crowd, his heart was filled with pity for them, and he healed their sick.
     Crowds flocked to Jesus.  To listen, to be healed, to experience his magic.  How does he do it?  He draws of a God-deep well of compassion, of love, a well of God. Even though Jesus is tired and weary, even grieving, he has the inner strength from the well of God to minister to the people.  When we need that kind of help, we can draw from such a well too.  It lies within our reach.  It will continue to bubble forth as needed.  

THURSDAY, July 31  Listen to Love

Matthew 14:15-17 VOICE

Disciples: We’re in a fairly remote place, and it is getting late; the crowds will get hungry for supper. Send them away so they have time to get back to the villages and get something to eat.

Jesus: 16 They don’t need to go back to the villages in order to eat supper. Give them something to eat here.

Disciples: 17 But we don’t have enough food. We only have five rounds of flatbread and two fish.

When we are overwhelmed, it is easy to listen to that inner voice saying, "Just give up.  You don't have the resources.  It IS too much to ask."  That's what the disciples do, it's what we would do in a similar situation.  But Jesus asks us for more.  Jesus asks us to listen to the inner voice of love, the voice that says, "You can feed them.  You can do this task.  You can serve in this way."  

How do we do it?  With trust. With prayer.  With gratitude for what we DO have. And then, with the assurance that through us God  WILL provide   God can take our simple gifts and use them in unimaginable ways.  

FRIDAY, August 1  Trust. Act.
Matthew 13:17-19 MSG

But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”

17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.

18-21 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. 

I know what happens next in the story, but I'm going to pretend I don't.  The disciples don't know, the crowd doesn't know.  Maybe even Jesus doesn't know.  But he knows to act.  He knows to trust God to act.  And so he prays.  He blesses the food.  He asks God to intervene in the situation with the faith that God will respond.  That is enough.  That is enough to get started.  Take action. 

SATURDAY, August 2  Overflowing Enough
Matthew 14: 19-21 MSG


Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
     At the end of the story we find out just how many were in the crowd.  Five thousands plus!  The disciples must have thought Jesus was crazy when he began to break the bread and divide it into baskets to distribute to the people.  How long must this have taken!  But we can't sweat the details.  They aren't important.  What is important is Jesus acted on faith and through that action the people were fed.  There was enough.  More than enough.  There was overflowing enough, like a well of abundance that, once tapped, just kept bubbling forth with bread and fish.  God still provides that kind of enough. 

SUNDAY, August 3  Nothing's Insignificant
John 6:9 VOICE
Andrew:  I met a young boy in the crowd carrying five barley loaves and two fish, but that is practically useless in feeding a crowd this large.

        d365.org ended the week with Psalm 145 and a reminder of God's constant and abiding love.  A good ending, but.... As I read through the passages for this week, I was struck by the simplicity of this miracle.  (Not the logistics!)  The Gospel of John is the telling that recounts a young boy.  Not someone of importance; just a kid!  (But we know how Jesus feels about children - nothing JUST about him!)  What does the boy offer?  Five small fist size loaves of bread and a couple dried fish.  The boy knows it is not enough to feed the crowd.  The boy knows it is all he has to eat.  But he shares.  He offers it up, not realizing the impact that simple and small meal can have in the hands of God.  

      Are we often reluctant to offer what we have to God because we think it is too insignificant?  Not enough to matter?  We can never sell God short for what God can do with just a little.  

      I just started reading a new book by Debbie Macomber - One Simple Act.  It is about discovering the power of generosity.  Amazingly (God!!) I came to a chapter titled Loaves, Fishes, and Miracle Math last Monday, the same day I started this post on ENOUGH.  I will close with some of Macomber's insights:

"If we are willing to hold our resources with an open hand, there's no telling what God can do. 

"The real miracle is the multiplication of limited resources.  It may not compute on your accountant's calculator, but it is a central element of God's economy. 

"Here's where the real power of generosity comes in.  Often, the more we give, the more we receive. 

"God multiplies our giving. In His hands each act of generosity we offer him, no matter how small, becomes part of this miracle of multiplication." (p. 31-33)

       Another thought concerning generosity, giving and receiving.  This one came to me in the shower and is probably directed toward my mom, who finds giving so easy and receiving so hard.  Mom, you have spent a lifetime feeding the thousands; a lifetime offering your fish and bread to others.   Now it is time to give the five thousand the opportunity to be blessed by feeding you.  :)  Love you!  

BENEDICTION BLESSING ...  (d365 - Nick Foster)

There is plenty. You need only take a little time to wait on God; then you will be prepared for the work God has for you.

So do not be discouraged; you can make a difference. The result may be greater than you can imagine.

There is enough and more than enough mercy, grace, and love to carry you. To carry us all.