Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: Lamentations 1-2; John 6
Devotional Thought:
It is a wonderful promise to claim that “my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) Jesus looking on the multitude tested Phillip with a simple question, “…Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (vs. 5) When we depend upon what only man can do, we can only achieve what man can achieve. We must learn to depend upon the Lord Jesus and obey His word in order to see what only God can do. Jesus was testing Phillip and sad to say, Phillip did not pass the test. He saw that it was impossible to have enough food for that great multitude, but he did not ask Jesus what He would like for him to do. Andrew took the opportunity to ask Christ what He could do with five loaves and two fishes. Humanly Andrew knew it was not enough to feed the multitude, but he still presented them as an option to Christ. Jesus told them to have the multitude sit down and He fed them miraculously from the small lunch. Often times in this story we concentrate on the lad and there is much to learn from this young boy; however, there are other things to see in this story. What did the disciples learn through this miracle? Jesus did not just meet the immediate need of the disciples and multitude, but he also sent additional provisions with each of His disicples. While the disciples still had the miraculous basket of bread, they entered the ship to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. God was trying to convince these disciples that He would take care of them, but they kept looking to themselves rather than depending upon Christ. The storm was real, they were rowing as hard as they could and doing everything they could do. When they see Jesus walking on the water, they are not relieved, but rather fearful. However, Jesus confirms again that He will take care of them and they welcomed Him into the ship and immediately they were at shore. Jesus ends this chapter with rebuking the multitudes for wanting to follow Him only for what He could do for them. Jesus makes it clear that they need to believe on the purpose for which He had come and trust Him as their Messiah. Are we guilty of wanting Christ only when we need something from Him, or do we trust Him at all times. Do we trust that His way is perfect no matter the circumstances, and do we believe in the bigger picture of what His purpose is for our lives? The disciples needed to learn that whether things were calm or stormy, God was in control and working all things for His glory and our good.
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to live my life demonstrating my faith and trust in your plan for my life. Thank you for how you meet all my needs.
• Lord, please help me to never get greedy and selfish in what I ask from you, but to make my requests known in submission to your will for my life.
• Lord, thank you for your constant provision and faithfulness to me. Please help me to be faithful to you.