All That You Have....

He was just a young boy, maybe ten or twelve years of age. By now he should be working to learn the trade of his father, as was the custom. But there was something missing; he wasn't sure who he wanted to be or what he was supposed to do with his life. He had heard from some people in the village of a Man who was drawing crowds by the thousands to come and hear Him speak.  Maybe this Man could tell him what he needed to know.

He grabbed some food and tossed it in a basket and left to search for this Man. He found Him on a hillside next to the Sea, speaking to thousands of people. He sat among them, enamored by this Man and all that He had to say. But the day grew long and the people began to get hungry; they hadn't thought to bring food with them.

The Man told his friends to feed the people; but they were anxious because they had no food and it would take a great deal of money to order take out. After scoping out the crowd, one of the men said, “All we can find is one young boy here with a basket of food.”

As the young boy approached the Man, he held out his basket and said, “I only have five loaves of bread and two fish; I know it’s not much, but it’s all I have….”

And Jesus said, 

“That’s all that I need.”

From the young boy’s basket with five loaves of bread and two fish, over five thousand people were fed. John 6:13 says, “When the people had eaten their fill….they filled twelve large baskets with leftovers…”

All that you have is all that He needs. Have you given Him all that you have? For when you do, He will multiply it over and over and over again until it meets the need and “nothing is lost or wasted” (John 6:12 AMP).

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; 

good measure, pressed down, 

and shaken together and running over…” 

Luke 6:38 (KJV)

‘Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship

The World is Watching You…

"I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment

here has had the opposite of its intended effect....

All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, 

found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. 

That piqued their curiosity,

 and now they've learned all about him. 

(Philippians 1:12,13 Message)

As Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians, he is in a prison in chains for preaching the gospel. But, that didn't stop him as he lived out his faith even in challenging circumstances. As I pondered this scripture, I realized that, just as the guards were watching Paul,  the world around us is indeed watching us.... every move we make, every word we speak, every attitude we have. It reminded me of something that happened when I was about 20 years old.

I worked in a rather large office; I was quiet and shy and didn't really involve myself in the office activities. One day I was sitting at my desk trying to get a stuck drawer open and I was getting very frustrated. I didn't realize someone had walked up and in my frustration I said, “Oh c**p!” (I know, not really a “bad” word, but offensive to some). This girl who was standing there said, “Lena! I've never heard you talk like that! I thought you were a good Christian!”

It was an “aha” moment for me as I realized that these people were watching me. And for that one young girl, my testimony had been compromised. I noticed as time went by that she became less and less reserved around me with her own language.

Paul said, his chains (and attitude) "piqued their curiosity” and because of that he was able to share the gospel and many came to Christ.

As we go about our daily activities this week, even in the midst of the trials we face and the challenges we encounter, let us never forget that there is a lost and broken world watching us. As they see us endure our “chains” with joy and peace, may it also pique their curiosity…and draw them to Christ.

Blessings,

‘Lena

©Whispers in Worship

Like a Hot Burning Fire…

In reading through Philippians this morning, this particular verse struck me and the paraphrase from the Message really pierced my heart…

“Every time you cross my mind, 

I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. 

Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer.” 

(Philippians 1:3)

I meet every Saturday morning with a small group of ladies for prayer, fellowship and Bible study. This past week, we talked about the fervency of prayer and the importance of that fervency when praying for one another.

Do we do that? I confess that I don’t always pray with fervency for the needs of others. Not like I do when it’s MY problem. Oh, I pray in the when we meet together in a group gathering such as my Saturday mornings. But in the quiet of a Wednesday afternoon, or Friday morning; when I’m vacuuming the floors or washing the dishes?

Paul says, 

“Every time you cross my mind, 

I break out in exclamations…!” 

and each exclamation is a trigger… 

a trigger to pray.

James tells us...

“The effective, fervent prayer 

of a righteous man 

avails much” 

(James 5:16).

I looked up the definition of “fervent” and found that one of its meanings is “intensity of spirit”; but it also means “hot; burning; glowing.”

As we remember friends of ours who are going through difficult and life altering situations, may it trigger in each of us an intensity of spirit in our prayers. May we burn in our desire to see the Hand of God move in each life and situation.

‘Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship

Like a mighty rushing wind, Move us

Like a river of joy, flow through us

Like a hot burning fire, consume us, Lord

Touch us, and make us like You.

(Geron Davis)