The New Year is Coming -- Part 1
A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church "Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself," she told the girl. When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. "Well," said the little girl, "I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I'd be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did."4
How like that little girl we all can be. God blesses us and we hold on to most of that blessing for ourselves. Thankfully, in our Bible story for today, one little boy helps us to see what we should all be doing with the blessings we receive.
The disciples search a crowd of thousands, seeking food to feed the masses. Only one small boy stepped forward to offer anything to Jesus. I can only imagine that every other person the disciples asked was full of buts.
“But, it’s all I have.”
“But, what can my little meal do for so many?”
“But, why should I have to give up my meal? Let those who forgot to pack a lunch fend for themselves!”
THINK
Are you guilty of having “big buts” when God calls you to something?
How can you commit to losing your “big buts” this coming year?
What would have happened had no one stepped forward to offer something for Jesus to use?
What will happen in your family, in your church, and in your community if your excuses give Jesus nothing to use?
PRAY
Thank God for what He has blessed you with
Confess to God, if necessary, not using what He has blessed you with to bless others
Ask God to remove all the buts and excuses you have
Ask God to lead you deeper into a relationship with Him and also to lead you out into a world that desperately needs Him
APPLY
Don’t let the play on the word “but” deflect from the seriousness of this issue. Spend time really thinking through the last question, and on what “big buts” are keeping you from giving sacrificially
