E100-61

 

Feeding The Five Thousand

Luke 9:1-36

Kevin's Commentary

You are encouraged to go through steps or process scripture in these steps:

• Pray = in anticipation of what God wants you to discover. Thank God that he feeds you the food you need each day and offers to feed you from his Word, also.
• Read = with purpose look for what God is trying to communicate. You may want to read out of several translations and highlight key words.
• Reflect = on the context and put yourself in the shoes of people at that time.
• God is ... What do we learn about God?
• We are ... What do we learn about people?
• What‘s your view of the miracles of Jesus? Do you believe they actually happened as reported in the Bible? Does it matter? Why or why not?
• Thought of the Day: How is God working in your life? --Think about it!
• Apply = information without application is fruitless. At each meal today, be sure to thank God for feeding you so generously. Consider making a generous donation to a local food pantry, also. Decide on some practical steps you can take for fulfill what God wants you to do. 
• Pray = yielding to God to empower you to do what the word convicted you to do. Lord, I am truly thankful for Your faithfulness in feeding me. Help me never to take Your care for granted.

For deeper Bible study and more resources go to my Life of Christ Blog notes.

For other parts of the Essential 100 Scripture Series, click on the link with the topic #E100.

https://youtu.be/JBCbyxLOOII

#Miracles
#Providence

Hearing The Call 

            Unexpectedly, Shetara Sims came into $100. Ordinarily, that would instantly be swallowed up in the single mom’s daily expenses. After all, with only $7 left, feeding herself and her 12-year-old daughter was going to be a challenge. But something else weighed on her heart, too. A Kansas City police officer had been wounded in the line of duty and the department was accepting donations for the officer’s family expenses. And the KCPD had been angelic toward Sims when her oldest daughter had been killed in 2012. So, she and her daughter, Rakiya, managed an anonymous donation—that wouldn’t stay anonymous. 

            “To hear her call and just express thanks for no reason other than she’s thankful, it’s really impactful to us,” KCPD Sgt. Jake Becchina said. And the detectives got busy, starting a GoFundMe account and calling their mission, “Helping the Woman With A Heart of Gold.” Officers began donating. Strangers called in and donated. Since Shetara didn’t leave a name or phone number, when she made her gift, she assumed they wouldn’t be able to track her down. She was wrong and when they made contact, the KCPD turned over the GoFundMe campaign of $145,000. The Sims ladies visited the wounded officer’s colleagues at work and received the gratitude of the entire force. Although our efforts may seem small sometimes, God is able to do great things that reflect to His glory and goodness. 

            “Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.’ 

            “He replied, ‘You give them something to eat.’ 

            “They answered, ‘We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd’” (Luke 9:12-13 NIV). 

            It’s usually not difficult to see a pressing need. The suffering of others is clear to us, especially when we’ve faced hard times in our own lives. A serious challenge, though, is taking personal responsibility to make a difference. Our own resources and abilities seem so limited in the face of mountainous problems that seem to defy solution. In our time it seems the normal thing to do is to draw attention to the need, to urge the government at some level to intervene, to press others to get busy and address the situation. It’s rare for someone to take stock of meager resources and then determine to make whatever slight change might be possible. 

            Yet it is the voluntary, selfless initiative that God seems to bless. Whether it’s the power of a good example or the exposure of the problem or an indication of a possible solution, sometimes the slightest impulse will trigger an avalanche of grace. God truly wants His children to be selfless, giving, generous and kind. He has fashioned the universe in such a way that those traits tend to bless both the donor and the recipient and the ripples of grace expand and overflow in amazing directions. If we can hear the voice of our Lord say, “You give them something,” when trouble arises to our sight, we may do something small that grows to unimaginable power. Only God knows what He may choose to do when we heed His call to action!