Part 15: Message: When the need you see with your eyes is far bigger than the resources you have in your hands

Reading: Mark 6:35-44 New International Version (NIV)

I have been travelling and partially offline for last two days and so wasn’t able to continue – so apologies for that.

Let us pick up from where stopped on Friday. We have a few days to the dedication service and are excited at what God is going to do as we enter into this new season in the life of the ministry. Take time to reflect as we pray for God’s visitation on the morning of Friday June 1^st.

Last Friday we saw that the beginning of a miraculous life is always at the point where we make a decision to lift whatever we have in our hands to heaven! What Jesus did next is profound and significant and we can pick another key learning from here. The first thing he did on looking up to heaven was to give thanks. Having a heart where the water of thanks giving flows freely is key to a miraculous life. Jesus gave thanks to God for what He was holding in His hands. When we begin to value what we have, understand that it came from God and we decide to fill our hearts with thanks giving – we are candidates for a miraculous life.

Many times we have a tendency to focus on what we don’t have instead of focusing on what we have and being thankful to God for it. We have husbands and wives complaining about each other while there are others out there that wish they could be having a partner. We have children complaining about their parents, when we have orphans wishing day if they could have their mum or dad back for just a day. We complain about too much rain when other people would wish to just see drops of rain falling from the sky. I think being a person of gratitude is one of the most important spiritual principles any one can learn.

The good news is that, people that are thankful for what they have are very easy to get along and relate with. They form quality and lasting relationships. They take care of what they have got and treasure every single relationship they form. They will invest time, energy and resources on relationships or anything they have because they appreciate it. This attitude then only gets them more relationships and favour – and their life just takes off. Ungrateful people on the other hand are casual – they don’t watch what they say or even do and in the process damage relationships very quickly. As time goes people start avoiding them and they are left only with people who have no choice like family, employees and even then – they engage on a need basis. This results in someone living a very small life – similar to calling a curse on yourself.

What you are not thankful for, you will not treasure and what you don’t treasure will leave you very quickly. This is true of any of God’s blessings in your life – relationships, money, ministry, church, and even your spouse – name it.

That is why even as CREM Ministry, we have to be careful and remain grateful to God. We have to be thankful for what God has done to our lives through this ministry. We all know of the testimonies that we carry individually but you know – if we don’t remain thankful – this will go. That is why as we dedicate the land on June 1^st, we are taking time to give an offering of thanksgiving to God as we reflect on His faithfulness and mercies in our lives.

Jesus looked up and thanked God.

I want to encourage you – take your five loaves and two fish and first be thankful that you have got something.  Ask God to open your eyes so that you see everything in your world from a position of thanksgiving. You will be amazed at how beautiful your life starts to look around you. You have children – thank God. You have a job – thank God – You have some education – thank God – you have a gift thank God – you have friends – thank God: just be grateful for the little you have and miraculous it shall become before you know!.

When is the last time you were really grateful to God for your life?. There is a song we sung a lot in Sunday school – “count your blessing one by one”