Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The feeding of the five thousand found in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-13 has always been a story that has caught my attention. It is the only miracle other than the resurrection of Jesus to be found in all four gospels. This fact alone shows me just how important this story is to our faith. I've read the story many times and a few key points jump out at me that I'd like to share with you.
First, the story starts out with Jesus seeking to get away and get some rest to recharge his batteries so to speak. Far too often I've just blown past this part of the story to get to the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, yet Jesus actions here are important for me to follow in my daily life. Jesus realizes the importance of creating both time and space to commune with God. No matter how busy my life becomes I must remember to find time during the day where I pull away and talk with God. It is in this quiet time where I am able to refocus on His priorities and not mine.
Next, we see the disciples getting caught using worldly logic to try solving the problem. They have quickly forgotten the power Jesus has given them and resort to only considering worldly solutions. I can easily relate to the disciples. It is so easy to try to do something on my own only to run into problems or challenges along the way. When I stop and realize, as the disciples did, that I've left Jesus out of the equation completely I realize my mistake. He alone makes the impossible possible.
As the disciples quickly ran through the crowd looking for food they ran across a young boy with five loaves of bread and two fish. I've often wondered how many others in the crowd that day had their lunches with them, but when they were asked to give them to the disciples refused to part with their food. It is in this boys willingness to part with what he had that Jesus shows us how much He is able to do with so little. If I trust in Him and give him all that I have He is powerful enough to make my ordinary life an extraordinary life capable of reaching many with His message of hope and salvation.
Finally, it is amazing that once everyone has finished eating there are exactly twelve baskets of food remaining. This was not a mistake at all. There was one basket left for each disciple to eat. What a powerful way to remind the disciples in a not to subtle way God's way always works. The beginning of this story starts with prayer and right before Jesus passes out the food He ask God to bless everything.
My prayer is this: God let me daily set aside time to spend with You, may I always look for a heavenly solution first instead of relying on my own abilities to get it done, allow me to give what I have no matter how small it is and allow it to be multiplied to enrich Your kingdom, and my I pray and follow your leading all the days of my life.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike
First, the story starts out with Jesus seeking to get away and get some rest to recharge his batteries so to speak. Far too often I've just blown past this part of the story to get to the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, yet Jesus actions here are important for me to follow in my daily life. Jesus realizes the importance of creating both time and space to commune with God. No matter how busy my life becomes I must remember to find time during the day where I pull away and talk with God. It is in this quiet time where I am able to refocus on His priorities and not mine.
Next, we see the disciples getting caught using worldly logic to try solving the problem. They have quickly forgotten the power Jesus has given them and resort to only considering worldly solutions. I can easily relate to the disciples. It is so easy to try to do something on my own only to run into problems or challenges along the way. When I stop and realize, as the disciples did, that I've left Jesus out of the equation completely I realize my mistake. He alone makes the impossible possible.
As the disciples quickly ran through the crowd looking for food they ran across a young boy with five loaves of bread and two fish. I've often wondered how many others in the crowd that day had their lunches with them, but when they were asked to give them to the disciples refused to part with their food. It is in this boys willingness to part with what he had that Jesus shows us how much He is able to do with so little. If I trust in Him and give him all that I have He is powerful enough to make my ordinary life an extraordinary life capable of reaching many with His message of hope and salvation.
Finally, it is amazing that once everyone has finished eating there are exactly twelve baskets of food remaining. This was not a mistake at all. There was one basket left for each disciple to eat. What a powerful way to remind the disciples in a not to subtle way God's way always works. The beginning of this story starts with prayer and right before Jesus passes out the food He ask God to bless everything.
My prayer is this: God let me daily set aside time to spend with You, may I always look for a heavenly solution first instead of relying on my own abilities to get it done, allow me to give what I have no matter how small it is and allow it to be multiplied to enrich Your kingdom, and my I pray and follow your leading all the days of my life.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike
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