Give It To Me and It Will Multiply - A message about Jesus taking a little and making so much more

Have you ever had one of those projects that seemed to get bigger the more you were further along into the project? I have had remodeling projects which seemed to take at least 1/3 longer time than I expected. Then, I've had art projects which seemed to just become bigger and bigger the more invested in it I became.

Similarly, on Sunday, we looked at Jesus receiving a few loaves of bread and some fish to feed a large crowd, in Matthew 15:29-39. He took those few items and turned it into enough to have leftovers. He multiplied what was given to Him. This is the crux of the message for me, the fact that He took little and made much. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Magnetically Therapeutic ~ Jesus seemed to always attract crowds to Him. Whether they wanted healing or to hear Him talk or to "set Him up" they wanted to be around Him. There are people that you know who may have that type of personality. Someone who others seem to just want to be around. What qualities did Jesus or others we know have that is so attractive? May we emulate those types of qualities from Jesus and others we know which is attractive. Maybe we can attract them to Jesus!
• Act of Mercy ~ If you compare the feeding of 5,000 to the feeding of 4,000 there will be similarities. One difference to note is that Jesus is the instigator of desiring to feed the people. The people had been with Him for three days and now they were heading home. They didn't have any food left, according to the text, so Jesus takes it upon Himself to provide. He is dishing out mercy on the people. As He will provide for us when we are depleted we can recognize that and be grateful. As God is "rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2:4), it is demonstrated through the acts of Jesus. What an awesome God we serve!
• No Money, No Problem ~ Jesus is the well of abundance. This well may be small in appearance (just one guy) but from it comes forth everything. The disciples seemed to act like the blind that Jesus healed when they were not seeing the possibilities of how this feat was going to be accomplished. They were looking at the "here and now" and also the glass "half empty." You would think they knew they had the "trump card" in Jesus, but their minds took them away from Him and His abilities to the problem and impossibilities. We can be much like that, when we have a problem, we foresee the obstacles more often than the opportunities. When we have a financial setback, do we wonder more about "where the money will come from" or "who will God put in my path which I can show who I am" to? It may change our outlook and may be worth a try.

As Jesus took this small amount of food and turned it into enough to feed around 10,000 people, what will He do with your "small" items? Do you have a "pipe dream" that you see not much possibility in accomplishing? I am guessing the disciples looked out at the crowds with much the same lack of optimism, yet look at what Jesus did in that situation. What will He do in your situation?

Now it's your turn...what "small" thing will you give to Him?