(Reflection: God has been good. He preaches to celebrate birthdays) INTRODUCTION: On Lake Michigan, one night of a big storm, a boat collided with a passenger ship (about 2 km from the town of Winnetka, Illinois). Of the 393 passengers, 279 drowned. It was a big disaster. A man named Edward Spencer, seeing the disaster, jumped into the lake and one by one saved 17 people.
Unfortunately, in the course of this act of heroism, Edward collapsed from exhaustion. The nerves in his legs were so damaged from the exertion that he never walked again. From then on he remained in a wheelchair for life. On his 18th birthday, someone asked him to recount his experience and what impressed him most about that night. Edward replied, “Not a single person out of the 17 I saved came back to thank me. Not a single one.”
It is time to thank God for your salvation, for the local church, for the family you have. It is time to remember all that He has given us. God has been good, let’s read this important reflection or study
God has been good
YO. A GRATEFUL HEART:
A. Recognize how good God is, John 6:1-2.
Note: It is important to remember that Galilee was a region rejected by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Large crowds followed him and he ministered to them, giving them healing, freedom, restoration and forgiveness…
b. Recognize that everything comes from God, vs. 3-6.
Note: Felipe was tested… the trials of our life have, among other objectives, to make us grow in faith…
Note: “because he knew what he had to do”, this moment was a test for Philip, but for Jesus it was a moment to show his glory and power, it was a moment of revelation: Christ manifests himself as the one sent from heaven and Philip learns to trust more in Jesus…
So thank God for the blessings and thanks to him for the tests that have led us to get to know him better… “he knew what he had to do” so no test in your life takes the Lord by surprise… before your crisis arrives , the provision in Christ is ready.
II. GOD IS THE PROVIDER PAR EXCELLENCE:
A. It is necessary to believe him, vs. 7-9.
Note: “two hundred denarii of bread would not be enough”, they were approx. 5,000 men and the text confirms that they ate bread and fish, so each portion was bread and fish, (5,000 people X $1,000 = $5,000,000) and they only had 5 loaves and two fish ($5,000), Jesus believed and saw the miracle.
When you put your income in God’s hands, he multiplies what you deposit with an abundance that surprises you… sometimes it’s not easy to let go, I think this boy had a hard time but he did it… and he was able to see a miracle. God has been good.
Note:
It is worth noting that Jesus asked Philip and he answered him, but it was Andrew who brought the boy who had the loaves and fishes.
Felipe is a figure of those who excuse themselves because there is nothing to do, or simply “I don’t have”, and Andrés is a figure of those who diligently put what little they have in the Lord’s hands.
b. Obedience to His word defeats unbelief, vs. 10.
Note:
the disciples obeyed the word that the Lord gave them… they did not murmur… nor did they complain… the text does not tell us that they questioned the order of the Lord, it tells us that they obeyed… God commands us to seek him, serve him, tithe, offer and when we do it he blesses us, the steps of faith allow the action of Jesus.
III. GRATITUDE PRECEDES THE MIRACLES OF GOD:
A. Thank God for the provision received, vrs. 11th
Note:
“and Jesus took those loaves”, first the disciples obeyed the order of the Lord, the people also “and then Jesus took the loaves”, you see the order:
1. The word of God…
two. The action of man…
3. God’s action…
Note: “and having given thanks”, for the 5 loaves and the 2 little fishes… he did not murmur, nor did he get angry, he gave thanks… this year God has shown his goodness above our moments of infidelity…
(We invite you to read: Put your trust in God. ).
b. Faith thanks God for what is to come, vs. 11b.
Note: faith sees what is not seen, and is certain of what has not come, trusts the Word of God, thanks God because he will fulfill his purpose in you…
c. Faith thanks God for what he has done, vs. 14.
Note: later in this same gospel Jesus said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever”… the greatest provision for man is Jesus Christ the Lord, although man seeks to be satisfied with many things in the world.
Only in Christ the heart of man finds salvation, peace and eternal life… Christ is risen, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, but he will return for his church… let us thank the Lord for his sacrifice on the cross… let us put our lives in his hands and also all we have.
Conclusion: LGratitude begins with acknowledging God’s goodness, celebrating his provision, and trusting in what is to come, because we act on his word. God has been good.
Reflection: God has been good, God is good, and God will always be good. By his holy and pure nature, God is himself kind, he is love, and therefore he is good. Sometimes we are not able to understand his work initially, but in those moments it is very important to trust in the goodness of the Lord, he knows perfectly well how he does his things.
Trusting and believing in the care and power of God is a challenge for the Christian, especially in those times where the work of the Lord is not easily understood. Faith goes far beyond reason, it is an inner conviction in the perfect nature and character of God.
We invite you to read:
(Written by Pastor Gonzalo Sanabria).
Reflection: Rejoice, God has been good.
It is very important to start by saying that the joy of the Christian is the Lord himself. We can remember for example that the Bible tells us:
“I will enter the altar of God, the God of my gladness and joy; and I will praise you with a harp, O God, my God,” according to Psalm 43:4.
We can see in the light of this verse that this happiness or joy is linked to God Himself. Living in his will fills us with his joy, that is why the heavenly Father also said of the Lord Jesus:
“This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, a phrase that also means: “I rejoice in my beloved Son”. Why does the Father rejoice? Because the Son lived for his will. The Lord Jesus loved to do the will of his heavenly Father, so the joy of the Son was the joy of the Father. true joy is in doing the will of God.
The word of God tells us: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the reproach, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” , according to the Epistle to the Hebrews 12:2.
First of all we must take into account the meaning of the word “joy” from the Scripture. In the Old Testament joy is happiness, well-being, delight, jubilation, rejoicing, an expression accompanied by morality and righteousness, and in the New Testament joy has the meaning: joy, delight and complacency.
Without a doubt, our Lord Jesus Christ is our example and model. In the previous biblical passage (Hebrews 12:2) we can see the strength or power of joy, because we see that it led the Lord Jesus to victory on the cross of Calvary. Despite the pain and difficult circumstances, Jesus overcame.
Well, the Scripture tells us that for the joy of God the Lord Jesus endured the pain of crucifixion, and overcame the opprobrium of men. The passage of the Bible tells us that: “he suffered the cross”, here the term “suffer” means: Resist, endure, while the word “reproach” means: Dishonor, insult and dishonor.
But, the Lord for the joy of God, was able to withstand the cross and had little insults. The joy of the Lord in our hearts strengthens us in the face of various difficulties and in the face of opposition.
It is very important that as Christians we can see things as God sees them. We can observe that, in the final part of Hebrews 12:2, we are told that after this (the crucifixion and subsequent death of the Master) Jesus sat down at the right hand of our Heavenly Father. That was then, the vision of the Son, because it was the plan of the Father (let us pray that we can see what God sees).
It is worth mentioning and remembering here, that the people of Israel walked through the desert and were on their way to the land of plenty, but by maintaining a scant vision, of failure and frustration, rather they continually strengthened unbelief and doubt in your heart.
That is why the adversities and trials of the road produced in Israel a continuous complaint and murmuring; they did not look by faith towards the land of abundance, and precisely for this reason the memories of the past (of slavery in Egypt) and the fear made them think and want to go back, and renounce the path that would lead them to freedom now. God’s blessing.
God is good, he always takes care of us and blesses us, and his purposes are for our good. We cannot forget that bitterness and resentment prevent us from enjoying the joy and blessings of the Lord. For all this, we can conclude as a reflection God has been good.
Let us remember, for example, the prophet Jonah, who receives an assignment from God: to conquer a city with His message. He would be used as a faithful prophet of the Lord. But the heart of the prophet was resentful, he had harbored bitterness in his heart, and therefore he wanted the evil of the Ninevites, as revenge; a blessing becomes one more bitterness for Jonah, when rather, he should be happy for the privilege that the Lord entrusted to him.
When we do not submit our pride to God, and the joy of the Lord is not in our hearts, there is frustration and anger. The word of the Lord teaches us that the prophet Jonah was angry, he felt frustrated, because he saw that God had forgiven the Ninevites. God is good to everyone.
The word of the Lord tells us that: “But this upset Jonah very much, and made him angry”, and he said to the Lord: “So now, Lord, I beg you to take my life. I’d rather die than live!” (New International Version Jonah 4).
We can conclude then that the lack of forgiveness, bitterness and resentment prevented the prophet from experiencing joy in God for the salvation of all the Ninevites, and rather gave rise to thoughts of death.
Conclusion: We must reflect on all that God has given us and all the blessings that are yet to come to give…