What are you listening to?

This week, let's share what hymns or songs have been a blessing to us. We are told to be

speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, (Ephesians 5:19)

and Paul also said,

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:16-17)

The reality of God and Christ and creation and salvation and heaven and hell are simply too great for mere speaking; they must also be sung.

What are you listening to? And are you singing to Him?

Lessons from a pelican

Recently I was blessed to have a few hours of respite in the midst of a hectic business trip, and was able to spend some time seated on a quiet beach, listening to the pounding of the waves and watching the surf. My idea of heaven, actually. (Grin)

As I relaxed, I enjoyed watching the life around me. Of course, there were the ever-present gulls, shrieking and wheeling and turning overhead. There were tiny sandlappers who scooted along the edges of the waves, with their little legs moving so fast they blurred before my eyes. There were regal dolphins occasionally showing their fins further out.

My attention was captured by a pelican. Not a flock of pelicans, like I usually see, but one lone bird. This bird had character. Moxie. And he taught me some lessons, in spite of the fact that I don't speak pelican.

This particular pelican (let's call him Pelly for short) sat serenely bobbing on the waves, just beyond the breakers. Free from the hassle of dealing with the fiercer currents, the waves, and the foam, he seemed content to stay right where he was, as if he was well aware that was where he belonged.

Pelly didn't get all flustered when a flock of pelicans circled twice overhead. Even when they landed nearby, he simply looked them over and then got back to business . . . looking into the water below him. I guess he was looking for a small fish to swim by. The flock seemed nervous; they were constantly moving about, splashing, twittering amongst themselves. Their activity didn't seem to accomplish much, though, and soon they were ready to leave again. They seemed to call out to Pelly, squawking a couple of times, then rising into the air and heading down the coast. Pelly watched them quietly, and floated.

Pelly surprised me, then, by stretching out his massive wings and taking flight. His purposeful cadence lifted him high into the sunny sky, and then he pointed his long beak straight down toward the water, and unafraid, began to plummet. His wings closed around his body and he fell toward the waves even faster. I'd seen pelicans do this many times before, but it amazed me simply because he'd seemed so passive and quiet before. In seconds his beak pierced the water and his body went under the surface.

When he popped up, there was a silvery tail hanging from one side of his beak: success!  He had accomplished his goal and had a nice breakfast!

I think that many of you will have caught on to what I'm about to say, but here are the lessons that Pelly taught me as I sat on the sand that day:

1.    God has a place for me. It's the perfect place for me, because it is in His will.
2.    Even if the circumstances around me are difficult, if I'm in His will, I can be content and quiet.
3.    I don't need to worry about what others are doing. I can rest, confident that I'm doing what He wants.
4.    When God gives me a job to do, I don't need to be afraid. If I do my job the way He planned, I will acccomplish the goal.
5.     God will provide for my every need, if I strive to stay in His will.

I think Pelly was pretty smart, don't you? 

Friday slowdown

This song speaks to my heart today; I hope it is a blessing to you, too.

John 6, conclusion

Today we are concluding our study of the sixth chapter of John's gospel. Let's dig in!

We've seen the miracle of Jesus providing food for over five thousand people, from a small basket containing only two fish and five barley loaves. Now let's see what the reaction was, from the people who received this food . . .
At the beginning of this passage, we saw that this large crowd was following Him because "they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick." So this throng followed because of the signs and miracles that they saw Him doing. He was healing the sick, and they were amazed; they wished for more of the benefits of His awesome power. Hmmmm . . . we've seen this before, right?

"Many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing."  (John 2:23) 

This was Christ's response at the time:

“But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people” (John 2:24)

 We talked about how Jesus knew their hearts and realized that they were excited by His miracles. They believed He was a genuine miracle-worker. But something was wrong  . . .
The people in this crowd had a similar problem. When they saw the sign (the miracle of feeding so many people) they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" And Jesus, who knew their hearts, perceived that they were about to take Him by force to make Him king. So He withdrew to the mountain.
The enthusiasm these people had, was not for who He really was.
This reference to the "Prophet" points all the way back to Deuteronomy 18:15, where Moses prophesied, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers -- it is to him you shall listen." Well, Jesus was indeed this predicted Prophet. He was the fulfillment of that prophecy.

But the people didn't understand what it meant. Let's look at verses 32 and 33:

“Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’”

In other words, I am like Moses, but so much more! Moses asked God, and God supplied the manna, the miracle bread that sustained the people in the wilderness. Now Jesus is saying, "I don't just give you the bread of life; I am the bread of life. You can see my power, but you don't yet understand the glory of how this power will be used.

Later in the passage, Jesus says,

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” John 6:51

There were three things about Jesus, the bread of life, that they didn't "get" --

Jesus was going to use His power not to triumph over the Romans, as the people wished, but to triumph over their sins.  And it was He, not the miracles, that their souls needed (and ours do, too).  And the connection between these two is the way He becomes food for the eternal satisfying of our souls: by laying down His life for us.

But wait! Isn't He a king?
Yes, He is. In John 18:36 Jesus told Pilate:

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Yes, He is King, but not the way Pilate, or this crowd in John 6 thinks of a king. In that verse, Jesus doesn't mean that this world belongs to someone else -- it belongs to Him. He made it. And someday He will come again and claim it. But He came into the world not to be a military captain or a earthly king, but to be bread. He came not to subdue armies but to satisfy souls.

So, Jesus is doing much more than taking five loaves and two fish and feeding a huge crowd -- He is opening a window on who He is. He is showing us His glory. And He is showing us, not so we can get excited about how useful He could be in giving us what we want, but so that we can see that He, Jesus, is better than anything we ever wanted before.
The point of making bread for the throng, like God making manna, is that the Son of God came into the world not to give us bread, but to be our bread. And we are all, every one of us, sinners, so we don't deserve this bread.
Then how will He give it to us?

“The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51)

When He gives His flesh on the cross, he becomes that bread. Something -- no, someone -- who will nourish us, and satisfy us, the sinners who believe.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

Thank you Lord, for coming to earth to be the Bread of Life!

John 6, continued

We are studying the miracle of Jesus' feeding the five thousand this week . . . let's dig in again!

When I was a teen, I heard this passage preached upon, and what the speaker said has stayed with me for years. He guided us to look at the miracle, and then to look past it.
Let me explain.
Jesus took a basket that a small boy had brought with him, and looked inside. He saw two fish, and five loaves of barley bread.
Surely that is not enough to feed this throng, the disciples said.
But Jesus must have smiled. He knew the potential contained in this basket. He blessed the food, and then broke it into pieces and began to hand it out. (Wouldn't it have been wonderful to receive a bit of food from our Lord's own hand? It is an awe-inspiring thought.)
The disciples took over and kept handing out bread and fish to the assembled crowd. When they were finished, over five thousand people had been fed.
That, in itself, is incredible.
Now listen to the rest of the story. Jesus told them to gather up what was left, so that nothing would go to waste.
They gathered up twelve baskets of food!
Even more incredible, right?
Now let's look past the miracle, to today.

We need to realize that when God looks at the basket of our life, he doesn't see "not enough to do the job." He sees the potential. He sees what we can do, and what we can be, with His help.
He doesn't focus on how small, or how weak, or how inexperienced we are.
He is all-powerful, and He knows what He can do through us.
There's another thing we can see here: God isn't satisfied doing "just enough." He loves to surprise us with His bounty. He enjoys showing His mercy and His grace.
He will shower us with much more than we need, much more than we ask Him for. Just like when the five thousand were fed, and twelve baskets of food were left over, He will bless us and then bless us more.

 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,  Ephesians 3:20

What an awesome God!

Prayer Requests

We've been blessed recently to hear of wonderful answers to prayer. God is good, and He showers us with mercy and grace, doesn't He?

Leave a comment today if there is something on your heart that you'd like for us to join you in praying about. If it is very personal, or your heart is just too full and stressed to share, simply tell us it is an unspoken request. We don't have to know. God knows.

..........for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.  (Matthew 6:8)

Let's pray.

John 6:1-15

  
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.


The sixth chapter of John's gospel is a troublesome chapter for many unbelievers, and for the Christians that they question regarding it. Hopefully we can study this and make it possible to understand it more fully.

How long has it been since the aroma of baking bread filled your home? Has it been a while since you sliced a still-warm loaf and savored the wonderful taste? As wonderful as that is, and as nourishing as it can be, Jesus our Lord is even better! Like so many other things that He created, like cool spring water, and glorious sunshine, bread is something that can remind us of the special relationship we have with Him.

In the first few verses of this chapter, we see Jesus work a miracle with the everyday, commonplace bread that all of his hearers were familiar with. Then in the next verses, with language that confuses some and offends others, He preached on His miracle. He tells them that this miracle of bread is about Himself -- the bread of God, come down from heaven. 

It's amazing to note in verse 66, that many of His followers abandoned Him after He spoke these words. "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him."
But not all of them left. Jesus turned to the twelve in the very next verse and asked if they wanted to leave, as well. But Peter (bless his heart, he always spoke up so quickly; he blurted out just what was in his heart!) told him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

So as we study, let's first focus on the miracle in the first fifteen verses, when Jesus took two fishes and five barley loaves and fed over five thousand people. Then we'll look at the controversy about Jesus as the bread of heaven, in the rest of the chapter. 

You see, there is more here than meets the eye. There are clues at the beginning and at the end of this passage about the feeding of the five thousand, that show us two things: Jesus is doing more than feeding people with natural bread, and the people in general are in no spiritual condition to see what He is doing.

We've seen this before, remember? John has written down instances where Jesus does something or says something in the natural world, as a way of pointing to the heavenly realm, and the people just don't "get it."
Remember, that is why John is writing......so we'll "get it." And in less time than some of his contemporaries!

He told the leaders in chapter two, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." What was their answer? "It took forty-six years to build this temple."     
He told Nicodemus: "You must be born again." What did Nicodemus say? "How do I get back into my mother's womb?"
He told the woman at the well that He would give her living water . . . she said, "You don't have a bucket."

We will see in these verses that this group doesn't "get it" either.  As we pray today, perhaps we should ask for wisdom to see what He wants us to see, and hear what He wants us to hear. Please, Lord, help us to "get it."