Verse of the Day 5/14

Through the Bible - 2 Kings 12-14, John 6:1-21

 

Good morning,

In yesterday's devotional I quoted Samuel Davies, I'll repeat the end of that quote to lead into the thoughts for today. "In short, to be a Christian, is to have our sentiments, our character and our practice, formed upon the sacred model of the gospel."

 

Going through the gospels we see Jesus living out the gospel, and seeing the character and practice of the disciples being formed.  For today's verse we'll go to John 6 where we have the miracle of the "feeding of the five thousand."  You can read of this miracle in the other gospels as well.  As you do you get a more complete picture of what was going on.  When the disciples realized the situation and there hearts and thoughts went out to the people who would be hungry after a long day, Jesus told them "you give them something to eat".  Their responses were pretty much like ours would be in that situation.  Some thought it was impossible after looking at it in practical terms.  Andrew brought what a small boy had offered, five fish and two loaves.

 

John 6:10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.   NKJV

As always, whether it be changing the water into wine, calming the sea or healing someone, Jesus was in control of the situation.  Our God is a God of order and even in the most pressing circumstances, He has a plan.  In all of these circumstances in the gospels He was teaching them, as He is teaching us,  to "Trust and Obey".

 

Trust And Obey

 

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy with Jesus, but to trust and obey.

 

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we'll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

 

In his Tabletalk Devotional for today, R.C. Sproul writes, "He is able, by His Spirit, to fortify us through the greatest struggles in life, enabling us to stand firm for godliness and truth."  What we need to do is to follow, and to trust, and obey.
Read the passage below.  If you face a situation today where you are ready to throw up your hands and give up, seek Him, ask for His will, trust that He will lead you, and obey what He prompts you to do.

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV
John 6:1-15

 

Feeding the Five Thousand
(Matt 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17)

 

6 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

 

4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

 

7 Philip answered Him,"Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."

 

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"

 

10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."   NKJV