Jesus Can Do A Lot with the Little We Offer- John Chapter 6

March 2, 2021February 28, 2021 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 25 Comments

I will never forget what Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade, said when he was speaking at a church I visited in Crystal Minnesota. He said, “When it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ, you can never dream too big for God because God’s ability to empower and anoint is far greater than your ability to dream.”

Jesus showed his ability to anoint and take what little is offered when he fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and a few fish in John 6.

Jesus went to a mountainside and a great crowd followed him because they had seen the miracles he performed. When he saw the great crowd coming, he asked Philip:

“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

We read in the next verse:

He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Jesus knows what he can do and will do. He gives us opportunities to look to him in faith for help.

Philip showed he was only looking to what they did not have not to what Jesus can do when he answered:

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Andrew look at what little they had;

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Jesus took those five small barley loaves and two small fish and blessed them. He had them distributed to the people. The bible says 5,000 men were there. We can multiply that at least by two for account for women and children. After the thousands had enough to eat, Jesus told his disciples to collect the leftovers.

So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

There was way more leftover than they started with. In fact, there were 12 baskets enough for each of the 12 disciples to hold a basket in their hands for a tangible lesson.

When Jesus calls us to do something, do we look to ourselves, what we have and don’t have, or do we step out in faith looking to him?

Do we look to our own ability or the Jesus’s ability?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

God Did It Again- Provided In A Way I Did Not Expect

January 30, 2021January 30, 2021 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 43 Comments

God continually surprises me in the ways that he provides for me especially during this pandemic. He did it again this week through one of his daughters.

The back story is that I had an appointment with an ophthalmologist for an eye exam at the end of December. He prescribed some progressive lens glasses for me. So after years of going to a Dollar Store with a piece of paper to help me pick out which pair of $1 readers to buy, I went ahead and got the glasses ordered. I thought my stimulus check would come in time, but it did not show up and still hasn’t. My bank account was hacked last summer, so I had to go to the bank for them to close that account and open a new one. Consequently the IRS does not have my new account info to direct deposit the stimulus check.

I shared about it in a weekly update with my prayer partners for my ministry but did not list it as a prayer request. One of them puts together prayer requests for my church to email out each week and each week two missionaries are included. Well, she included me for this past week and listed the info about glasses as one of my prayer requests, which at first felt a bit embarrassing since I did not actually list it as a prayer request.

On Wednesday I had a phone call from a woman from church I had not seen since the shutdown. She saw the prayer request. She had received her stimulus check but had no need for it. She offered to pay for my glasses. We met yesterday and she gave me the money. We also had a wonderful conversation.

I went and got my new glasses after our time together. They will take some getting used to, but I am so grateful to God and to my sister in Jesus for the provision.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Where Did My Help Come From?

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 31 Comments

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber Psalm 121

As I think back on the first 7 months of this pandemic including the shutdown in my city, the loss of a big chunk of my income for 3 months, Psalm 121 definitely speaks to me.

I remember when I received the stimulus check in early April. I thought, “great this will be smooth sailing”. Then in June the loss of income hit. So being a teacher, in the summer during a pandemic with no real chance of finding temporary work, what did I do? I prayed, and prayed, and prayed.

There was no second stimulus check because of politics. Right now it is one person holding it all up. But no problem. Why? I don’t look to government. I look to God.

God came through for me through his people. I received cash in the mail. I received a $100 Visa Gift card in the mail. 2 sisters in Christ sent me money. A friend called and told me he wanted to help and gave me a check for $500. People brought me food. I received a gift card to a local supermarket. Each time I was surprised in a joyful way and could not believe it.

Now I have a 3 day weekend. Today is a 1 day fall break for my class. I just felt it was a good time to write a post, the night before and scheduled, to give thanks to Jesus and his people.

I also wanted to share this post in hopes it will encourage someone to seek Jesus in a hard time. No I did not become a millionaire, but received something greater. The experience strengthened my faith and encouraged me to keep going in my ministry and teaching.

Thank you for reading. God Bless. Please enjoy this song- Lift My Eyes- by Alisa Turner.

When God Arranges Blessing

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 38 Comments

God showed up in two ways yesterday to show me he is with me and he will watch out for me.

First, I received a blessing of a donation from a wonderful friend. When I received it, I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked God for my friend. I prayed for my friend and my friend’s family.

Second was a meeting arranged by God at my bank. I had received a fraud alert call from my bank and after spending 30 minutes on the phone had an appointment with a personal banker. As someone who at times has anxiety issues due to chronic illness, let me tell you my anxiety kicked in.

But when I got to the bank. my personal banker was a young woman whose family is from Vietnam. She was born here, but her parents are from Vietnam. I shared with her about my young friends from Vietnam. As we talked, memories of my young friends from Vietnam I mentored came to mind and my anxiety disappeared. She was VERY helpful and kind with this old guy. If the personal banker had been from anywhere else, I am not sure my anxiety would have gone done so quickly.

God turned a negative into a positive experience for me.

The experience of a young person from Vietnam helping me and the blessing a friend sent me, reminded me of Isaiah 46:4:

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

That verse came to mind even though I am not old and my hair is only white because I dye it white to look older. 🙂 lol

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

A Much Needed Encouragement

August 8, 2020August 8, 2020 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 27 Comments

On top of dealing with the whole COVID-19 thing and social distancing, this summer something happened that I did not see coming. One week I was asked to teach 2 evening classes online. The next week I was informed that the program I had taught in during the evenings for 20 years was being canceled abruptly and permanently. That meant losing $800 a month income for August through October with no way to really go look for a way to replace it due to COVID.

Sometimes we just have a gut check time in life. So I have pressed on with serving Jesus and trusting him to work it all out for me somehow.

Yesterday I checked my mail and found something from my church. Inside was an envelope someone had anonymously mailed to my pastor with a note:

Along with the note was a $100 Visa Gift Card. I will use it to pay my electric bill this month, so I can keep running my air conditioning. Living with chronic illness, heat is a big issue for me.

Receiving that in the mail gave me a boost big time. It was mailed from a different state anonymously so I have no idea where it could have come from except knowing it comes from a fellow Christian.

Hopefully my anonymous donor sees this and can know how very grateful I am. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

When God Answers in the Midst of the Current Crisis

April 3, 2020April 3, 2020 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 43 Comments

One of the beautiful things about following Jesus is when we can experience his grace in real life.

Living alone in self isolation because of the COVID-19 virus has been difficult. Last Saturday I prayed about it and this is what I told Jesus:

“This is like when I was sick in 1994 and 1995 and was forsaken by my everyone. I don’t know if I can handle this again.”

For me the most difficult part of it all is being separated from the people I love to be with, my refugee and immigrant friends. My friends and students from other countries mean so much to me.

Yesterday I received a card in the mail with some cash inside. There was a note that said- “Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus.”

The day before I received cookies delivered to me.

Yesterday I was also blessed to talk on the phone with a pastor from church about my situation. That was a huge blessing because of what I experienced the night before. I woke up to a neighbor in the apartment below me knocking on my door. An alarm was going off in the basement of my apartment building and my neighbor had called the fire department. A fire engine came and they spent a lot of time inspecting the building and my apartment. We were allowed to reenter our apartments, but I lost a lot of sleep.

So when I saw the email from one of my pastors asking me to call, I wondered- “What’s next” The call was only to see what my needs are. We talked for a while. It was so calming for me.

We do not need to worry about being eloquent in our prayers. We only need to pour out what is in our hearts and souls to Jesus. He loves us so much that he died for us. He loves us so much that he receives us the way we are but loves us too much to leave us the way we are.

Sometimes we just need to cry out- “Abba Father”. When we do, our Heavenly Father takes note of our situation and he knows what we need before we ask and he knows what we need and how to answer.

So let’s pour our hearts out to Jesus. Let’s share everything with our Heavenly Father. Let’s remember what is says in 1st Peter 5:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Even if we are self isolating because to the COVID-19 virus, we are not alone.God desires to be with us.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

When God Surprises With Blessings

November 6, 2019November 6, 2019 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 34 Comments

This past summer as I was hanging on, barely, through one of the worst summers I have experienced, I could have never anticipated what would happen the past several days.

I also could not have anticipated how he would answer my prayer one day as I listened to Lauren Daigle’s song rescue and said to Jesus- I need to be rescued. That was how I felt after a summer of lost income and also of dealing with chronic illness flare ups.

First it was the help my Vietnamese friends gave me that got me through August/September. Then there was an unexpected extra support check from my church for my ministry last month. Then something happened starting late last week.

I never look forward to checking the mail, snail mail, as in from the post office, because my mail always fits into one of two categories- junk mail or bills.

But last week I checked the mail and one day there was an envelope with no return address and handwritten addressed to me with a note inside; I opened the envelope and found this note:

Inside the note was some cash. When I saw the amount, the first thing I did was thank Jesus over and over.

The next day, there was another envelope with another note and more money. On Saturday there was another envelope and yesterday the final one. All 4 had notes of encouragement to me and money. The amount I won’t specify, but it paid my rent, utilities and other monthly bills for November. It helped put me in a much better position financially. For a home missionary, that is HUGE.

The four notes with the gifts inside were a BIG shot in the arm for me. They confirmed for me that God wants me to press on in my ministry. Nothing like this has ever happened for me before from an anonymous donor. I am praying for God to bless my anonymous donor claiming the verse in Matthew 10:

“Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.”

No that I am a prophet, but the principle of helping a home missionary is similar, so I am claiming that verse as I pray for my anonymous donor just as I have for my Vietnamese friends who helped me the past two summers.

This past several days God has breathed new life into me spiritually, confirmed my ministry for me again, and encouraged me through my anonymous brother in Christ.

I am not sure if my friend will see this post or not, but I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! I am praying for you.

Thank you for reading.

God Bless.

Matt

A Day of Being Blessed

October 19, 2019October 19, 2019 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 48 Comments

After the difficult summer I experienced, and after the recent health struggles, yesterday was a blessing in many ways. Sometimes we just have to hang on until such moments come. God will help us grow in the hard times and take care of us and then a moment or a day comes that is such a boost. Yesterday was such a day for me.

Thursday evening I received an email that my ministry support check was ready. That was a week earlier than I expected. In the email. The pastor asked me to call him about it. There was an extra check. I had two. The other one was the amount that is being given to all missionaries my church supports. I picked it up Friday morning. The extra amount has made it possible for me to catch up on some things. My home church has helped me a lot in recent months. It was because of my church and my Vietnamese friends that I made it through a real hard patch.

In the afternoon, I joined a family from Mexico for the Open House where the husband works. It was so much fun to interact with them. The husband gave us a tour of the factory. It is a company that works with metal products. I had met the owner when he came to visit my morning class at the elementary school where I teach moms. I was able to talk with the owner and mentioned that one of my students is married to one of his workers. He came over to the table with me to greet the family. He held their baby for a few moments. I told the owner about how his employee visits my class when they have a day off because his family is important to him. The owner looked at him and said, “We need to have lunch.”

In the evening, I visited a young family from El Salvador.. We ate papusas a food I love from El Salvador. I had an opportunity to practice my Spanish with them and learned a few new words. They have a 16 month old baby. She is a joy to be around. They sent me home with some papusas, so today I will enjoy my favorite recipe of putting food someone else cooks for me in the microwave. 🙂

Yesterday was a day of being blessed by my church, and by spending time with friends. It was the kind of day that one feels their cup is filled.

When God Answers :)

August 16, 2019August 15, 2019 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 27 Comments

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop when I noticed two young women playing chess. One seemed to be teaching the other one how to play. I walked by and asked who won. The one who was learning said, “she did.” I found out they are cousins. We talked for a little bit and I found out the one teaching chess has lived in India and in Germany and has experience with learning language and a little experience teaching. She is a recent college grad who wants to be a Fullbright Scholar to teach English in a university in another country. The light went off in my head 🙂

I needed a new assistant for my morning class that will start September 3rd. I had just prayed about it earlier that morning. I told her about it. She was interested, so I explained how to apply. I already knew I wanted her to be my assistant, but she still had to go through the process. Yesterday we interviewed her and hired her. I am so excited. I enjoy mentoring young people and seeing them gain new skills.

Sometimes God answers prayer quickly and sometimes it can seem like a slow boat. I am grateful he answered this one quickly.

This experience was a great reminder for me of how God connects the dots for us. I went to the coffee shop at the same time my new assistant was there with her cousin. She was looking to get experience with teaching ESL because she wants to be a Fullbright Scholar teaching English in a university in August 2020. I enjoy mentoring young people. It is a good fit.

With God there is no such thing as coincidence. 🙂

A follow up to my question yesterday- Most popular was picture #2 of me with a short beard. No beard was second. However, I still think I will let it grow long for Christmas for the Santa look. Maybe I should do a drawing for which follower to embarrass by sitting next to them at their church for Christmas Eve service with a long white beard with Christmas ornaments attached. 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Music Mondays- I Will Trust in You by Lauren Daigle

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 33 Comments

When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

Yesterday was thinking about my dear little sister in Jesus, Dawn of drawingclosertochrist.com. She will have some changes in her life, which will be positive changes, but even positive ones can be stressful.

Jesus has impressed upon me that many of my fellow bloggers are experiencing seasons of change at this.time. Some are enduring difficult ones and some positive ones.

When change comes in our lives,.they are moments that stretch us. We can feel out of sorts, uncertain, and anxious. I love the lyrics in Lauren Daigle’s song-I Will Trust in You. The chorus I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you are an expression of trusting Jesus when answers don’t seem to come right away.

There are lyrics that remind me of a simple, yet profound and solid truth. Jesus already knows the future.

Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go
You’ve not already stood

Think about it. Every place we will go in our lives, Jesus has already been there. Our steps of faith are steps of following his voice while he guides us.

So yes I am dedicating my post to my little sister Dawn. If you haven’t checked out her blog, please do and you will be blessed.

But my post is for all of my fellow bloggers and my readers going through a season of changes. Jesus knows where the change is leading. I hope this song encourages you. 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.