Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Multiplication... Because He loves us

One of the things that we have tried to teach the young adults that we have worked with, and others, is that Abba is always talking to us and showing us new things. The key is that we need to be paying attention, watching and listening. 

This morning I had one of those moments. But first, I need to confess something. One of my favorite places to pray is in the shower. I put worship music on and enjoy the short time of not being interrupted, also it is a good time to pray for cleansing for anything that may have attached to you or that you may need forgiveness for. At times showering can be a prophetic act. But for me it's also soothing and allows me to clear my head of the days busyness. Another thing to consider is it probably the one time of day where you are the most vulnerable.

So, I was in the shower and I grabbed my bottle of body wash and started to squeeze some out onto my washcloth. I squeezed a little extra hard because I knew I was at the end of the bottle, I even had a new one next to it just in case.  But then way more came out than I even thought was left in the bottle, in fact there is probably enough for another shower. I said to myself "Dang, that was way more than I thought." That is when Abba said "I don't just supply or multiply when you are in need, sometimes I do it just to bless the ones I love." He also said that He "will always bless obedience."  I then had the thought that I had my back-up plan in place (the new bottle), but He wasn't concerned about my plan when He had one in place that was better. 

Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
He then reminded me of other times where He had blessed me similarly. On of these times was when I was in Bible college and we lived almost an hour away from the school. During this time things were tight financially, and there were multiple times when He took me 30 miles on 10 miles worth of gas, sometimes in traffic, because the gas was about $.30 cheaper near where we lived.

He also reminded that by nature He is a God of multiplication. Every living thing that He created on earth was created with the ability to multiply. In fact, one of the first commands He gives man is in Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it..." He also multiplies His gifts, blessings, grace and love. And when we take what He has given us and blessed, then it will be multiplied in our hands as was also give it away. It is how we partner with Him in the expansion of His Kingdom. An example of this is when Jesus and His disciples fed the 5000+. Jesus blessed the bread and fish, then gave it to His disciples to distribute. The multiplication miracle happened in their hands through faith and obedience, and there was even enough leftovers to fill 12 baskets for them.
Matthew 14:16-21 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So, they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.


All this to say pay attention, Abba is speaking and showing us things all the time. And be obedient when He asks you to step out in His strength to multiply what He has given you for others.