“When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ (Matthew 14:15-18)  In my work with the Foundation, I spend a lot of time talking to pastors and laity about ways to finance present or future ministries.  A lot of the time, it seems to be the case that there just isn’t enough to do what needs to be done.  This vision of scarcity I find to be prevalent at not only the local church level, but also at the Conference and denominational levels.  It’s very tempting to think that we are running out of time and that the resources just are no longer available for us to do the Lord’s work.  But what would happen if we would just quiet ourselves and listen?  Perhaps we would hear that wonderful voice say to us again, “Bring what you have, as small as it may be, bring it here to me.”  Because our faith has never been about what we have, but it is ever and only about who we know, the One who has the power to transform our assets and us.  What a God we serve, who even (especially?) in a deserted place and in a late hour is able to multiply our meager assets when we give them to Jesus.  So, this week, I have to ask myself, when I feel overwhelmed by the need and by the lack of resources, am I listening for the Lord to speak.  How about you?