Lunch Box Faith

     Once, as Jesus was teaching a large number of people in the wilderness (it was recorded as 5,000 but since counts in that age would usually only be of the able bodied men, it was probably many, many more), His disciples realized that they were long past the time to eat and as the crowds had followed Jesus out from the towns and villages and had not brought victuals with them; it was time to stop teaching and send the people away to eat.

     Instead of sending them away, Jesus used the opportunity to teach the disciples a very important lesson. He said to them simply, "You give them something to eat."  

     "What!" they cried, "We have nothing even for ourselves and the people are many, we do not have food to give them."

     "What DO you have?" asked Jesus.  He didn't want to know what they didn't have, but only what they actually had in their possession at the time.

Lesson #1 - you can't do ANYTHING with what you don't have.  Yet, most of us are predominately consumed by what we DON'T have.  We don't have enough money, we don't have enough resources; we don't have enough volunteers and on and on with what we DON'T have.  Jesus piercing question was, "What DO you have?"

     "We have only the lunch of a little boy (the only bright one in the bunch actually brought his lunch). He has two fish and five biscuits."

     "Bring him to me," commanded Jesus. The little boy gladly offered his little morsels of food and Jesus took it from him and gave thanks for it.

Lesson #2 - Be thankful for what you DO have instead of complaining about what you DON'T have.  We so often loose the joy of what is in our hand; we cannot see what is there because we are so concerned about what is not there.  Jesus took what the little boy had instead of what the great big disciples didn't have and and He was thankful for it.

     After He gave thanks, He instructed the disciples to begin to distribute the two fish and five biscuits to the 5000+ people.  How silly they must have felt; and muttering under their breath they began to distribute the little lunch to the multitudes.  How amazed they must have been when that little bit just continued.  There really are no words to describe it except to say "it continued until they were all fed!"

Lesson #3 - Forget about what you DON'T have, take what you DO have and give THANKS for it; and then begin to give it away.  As the disciples released their little bit they realized that a little is an awful lot, when Jesus is involved.

     Now, to point.  You all know this story and I must be silly to try to tell it to you yet AGAIN.  But on Sunday night, I was relaying to our evening prayer group about how the financial situation for the Deaf Ministries International (and in particular the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf) in Kenya is very dire.  The school is currently receiving about 40% of what it requires for an operating budget. I talked with one of their board members tonight and they are looking at a $16,000 USD shortfall EACH MONTH in the days ahead.  I don't know yet, exactly how this will impact the school at Ringa, but it can't be good.

      I explained to our prayer group that the Kenya Development fund currently has about $200 in the bank and I was unsure as to how we were going to help.  With tsunamis and earthquakes in Japan and tornados in the midwest, charitable giving has all but shifted to these dramatic and heart wrenching emergencies, and the children in Ringa and other places like them are all but forgotten, again; lost in the shadow of the spectacular.

Lunch Money

     I told the group that I was asking God for a revelation as to how I might raise funds to help bolster up the struggling finances of the school and the Deaf churches in Kenya.  As I was sharing a lady in our church who has asked to remain anonymous came to the front of the church and handed me this $20 bill and said, "Here is my seed."  She continued, "The Lord told me to give this to you and then to pray that it would be multiplied into TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!"

     Now, if you knew this lady - you would understand that she is not given to such fanatical outburst. I mean you can hardly get her to the front of the church where people can see her at all. She is not given to "outburst" of faith confession - and even admitted that she would not have suggested such a thing had she not received such a strong prompting from the Holy Spirit.  She was literally shaking as she handed me the $20.00 bill.

     It was as I was thinking, "Wow! Twenty whole dollars - that's hardly LUNCH MONEY," that the Holy Spirit reminded me of the feeding of the five thousand.  That dear lady gave me the equivalent of lunch money and then said, "Let the LORD multiply it.

I am not going now to print up glossy posters and send out mailings with this great story and ask people to "match" her $20.00.  That would be ME trying to multiply the loaves and fishes.  Instead, I have taken what I DO HAVE and given it to Jesus.  I have GIVEN THANKS FOR IT, and put it in His mighty hands to see what HE will do with it.  I just wanted you to know, so that when I start talking like a mad-man about the "Lunch Money Miracle,"  you'll understand.