DCLM Sincere Milk 9 December 2022 — The lad who gave all to Jesus
DCLM Sincere Milk 9 December 2022 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — The lad who gave all to Jesus
TOPIC: THE LAD WHO GAVE ALL TO JESUS
TEXT: JOHN 6:5-13
6And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
9There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
Key Verse: “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (John 6:9).
MESSAGE:
The book of John gave us an interesting story of an unnamed boy (lad) who gave all he had to Jesus. “Oh! Mummy, I thought only Jesus should give to His friends like me,” a young boy said to his mother. “No, my boy, the command from Jesus to all His friends is, ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again'” (Luke 6:38) the mother replied.
Giving to God and others should be done willingly. Like the boy in our passage today, we should willingly surrender all we have to Jesus who gave up everything for us. What can I give to Jesus, you may ask? The first thing to give to Jesus is your heart and life. After this, you can give your time to clean the church, offer money from your pocket money (not school fees), sing in the choir, preach the gospel to others, visit other friends of Jesus, teach others some academic subjects, etc. Examples of those who gave to the Lord were Abraham, David, Nehemiah, Hannah, etc.
Do not think what you have is too little. The Lord requires cheerfulness and faithfulness in our giving. Hence, you should not give grudgingly. When you give willingly, there will be abundant blessings upon you and your family. However, you must first surrender your life to Him to cleanse you with His blood. This is the only way your giving will be acceptable to God.
Prayer: O Lord, I need Your grace to give all to You cheerfully.
Further Reading: Malachi 3:8-12
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
