Give thanks
(inspired from John 6)


Let me give you this one small example of our God's simple and eternal love
It happened one day that our Savior Gave Thanks for our provisions
from above


Jesus ventured up a mountain some time ago, with His disciples
by His side
He then sat in the midst with them
and humbly replied


"Whence shall we buy bread,
that these may eat?"
You see, a great company was following to
listen to His words,
while sitting at His feet


He asked this question to test Phillip,
His child, He really knew
what He would do
This was to help him and the whole world know,
in time of need,
where they should turn to


Andrew brought barley loaves
and two small fishes,
taken from a lad
But what are they among so many?
Looking at the multitude,
this amount seemed so sad


"Make the men sit down," He gave as
an answer to His dear son
So the men sat down in the grass,
Numbering 5,000 plus, every single one


Now, what happened next is
remarkable to the mind
Christ took the few loaves & fishes,
Gave Thanks,
gave to His disciples,
and the disciples
to anyone they could find


And there was not one person spared that day, everyone was filled
Afterward He told His disciples to
"Gather up the fragments,"
even those that had been spilled


In giving this instruction to His disciples,
He was making sure
"that nothing be lost."
And when they had gathered all they could find
There remained 12 baskets full of fragments,
An amount of great cost


An amount of great cost because God,
in this one small example,
provided over and above
He provided a great abundance of much
fish & bread that day,
more than what they could have thought of


One day our Savior Gave Thanks for our provisions from the sky
Let us all Give Thanks for the great example of God's love toward us
in sending Jesus,
The Bread of life, from on High

One Clay Soldier among many

Lord, teach us to pray

"...It came to pass, that, as he (Jesus) was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." Luke 11:1

Christian, would you consider yourself to be a person of prayer? Am I a person of prayer?

Shouldn't it be that every single one of us that names the name of Christ be a person of prayer?

Would to God that we would be a people that continually cried out to the true and living LORD!


...it seems as if we do not need to cry out to Him though.

Why do I say this?

Because here in the states it seems as if we do not need Him; We don't need His help.

What! Why would I say such a thing?

Well...

We have such an abundance of everything here in America: money, food, drink, clothing.

We have a wealth of good knowledge from all kinds of sources: Bible Colleges, Christian schools, Seminaries, A vast library of Christian study tools, Christian literature, Bible teachers, and the average Christian here has at least 5 bibles each. (These are good, but they should never take precedence over our Lord, knowing Him, and praying to Him.)

We also have philosophies of men, Church growth strategies, promotion of self and our own potential for health and success, traditions and rituals.

We have occupied so much of our time as well, with: activities galore, entertainment, and other means of bringing ourselves pleasure.

And don't forget our visa or mastercard! (Sorry to be a bit cynical, but it's true.)


Seriously though, do we need Him?

Well of course we need Him! In reality we should be desperate for Him, from sunup to sundown and everything in between. All of these other things will pass away some day...the Eternal God always remains.

Look at the cry of this Psalmist:

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" Psalm 42:1-2

Christian, is this your cry?


Truly, more and more, it seems as if crying out to the LORD has been lost from many of the churches here in the states.

I believe that many of us need to learn how to pray. We need to humble ourselves before our Lord and ask Him to teach us to pray.

And look, He has given us His words to teach us! These are living words from our Lord which teach our souls how to pray:

"And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil..." Luke 11:2-4

(Continued)

"...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Matthew 6:13b

Called by His name, desiring to seek His face and pray,

One Clay Soldier among many