September 18, 2018
Have
you ever wondered why Jesus would send the disciples out with no supplies? Just a walking stick. No money.
No food. No extra shoes or
coat. He had given them authority. What do you take with you when you go to
work? Just your purse and maybe your
lunch. How often do you bump into
someone who hasn’t heard the Gospel? Or
perhaps someone needs some bit of truth spoken to them to chew on for a while? Do you feel unequipped? Do you tell the person to “wait right here –
I’ll be back”, and return home to get your Bible or notebook? I certainly hope not. I hope that all the truth you have in your
heart and in your head just flows out of you and right into their ears and
heart.
Or
maybe your relationship with Jesus become stale? Have you felt like you are missing something
while everyone else around you seems to be growing in their faith? Sometimes Jesus is so close we miss Him. He is healing the sick and performing miracles,
yet we don’t recognize Him (6:4).
“And He was amazed at their unbelief.” 6:6
Jesus
is always with us, yet perhaps we are expecting something different to occur
and we are unappreciative of what He’s actually doing in our midst. Even in today’s world, people are coming to
Jesus! People from backgrounds we would
never expect to believe, yet they are accepting Him into their hearts and are
forever changed. And we don’t believe it.
The
miracle of feeding 5,000 should have opened the eyes and hearts of Jesus’
disciples for them to believe. And when
another storm came, they could have called on Him and He would be there. As a matter of fact, Jesus knew they were in
trouble and went to them before they asked! (6:48)
In
the darkest part of the night, in the middle of the storm, Jesus was walking on
water to help them. And though we don’t
read it here in Mark, we are called to walk with Jesus during the storms of
life and He will extend His hand and help us return to safety.
I
pray that your eyes and hearts will be open to see Jesus feeding the thousands
around you. That you would see the
smallest amount of sustenance – just a crumb will bring people – thousands of
people - to Jesus and they will follow Him wherever He goes. That you would share the crumbs you have been
given to those around you.