Small blessings

Since the beginning of the Balkan Wars in 1991, 2,500 people have died by land mines that were placed during the 4-year-long war in Croatia. Some 90,000 land mines had been placed covering a 466 square mile range. One of the biggest problems facing so many is locating the land mines and disabling them. Because they are pressure-sensitive, land mine-sniffing dogs can’t be used; however, help has been found in one of the unlikeliest sources: honey bees.

A university in Croatia is pioneering a multimillion-dollar program they are calling “Tiramisu.” The premise is simple: Honey bees have a perfect sense of smell that can quickly detect the scent of the explosives. Scientists and researches are actually training the honey bees to identify their food with the scent of TNT. Food sources for the bees-in-training are laced with traces of TNT. The bees then learn to seek out food only with that specific smell. The result? Release the bomb-sniffing bees in the area of a suspected minefield, and the bees go to the mines.

Incredible.

That was the heart behind last Sunday’s message in Harvest on the Feeding of the 5,000. The little boy in the story gave all he had through his lunch of five barley loaves and two fish. Yet, through that small offering, Jesus fed thousands. The disciples were spent, exhausted, and had no idea how they were going to meet another need that was placed before them. Yet, through Jesus, the needs of the many were met, as well as their needs through all that was left over within the miraculous feeding.

You have value in the eyes of Jesus, friend. As the day begins, remember that God is a God of “immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us all within the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 3:20). Give what you have to Jesus today. Remember: He blesses, He takes what’s broken and makes beautiful things, and in all things He satisfies through His power at work within us all.