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Imagine her packing 5 small barley loaves and 2 small fish and handing them to her young son. Probably not yet a teenager, the boy was anxious to go and join the crowd following Jesus. She would have had no idea what a life-changing event this would be for her son as he left to join the crowd of onlookers.

The story of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is a familiar one. It was an exciting time 2000 years ago when great crowds of people followed Jesus because they saw miraculous healing of the sick. (John 6:1-14)

When the crowd became tired and hungry Jesus asked what food they had available. That young boy’s lunch was used in a miracle that we still read today.

I wonder if the boy’s Mom was in the crowd that day. A mother would have been concerned about the heat and the long day. She would have insisted her child eat the lunch she had prepared. She would want her child nourished. When Jesus asked his disciples about feeding the crowd would she have drawn the little boy back as he stepped forward to offer Andrew his own lunch?  Mother logic could possibly have blocked a miracle.

The little boy did step forward. He did offer his small lunch to the disciple of Jesus and the rest is history. Even Andrew wondered how so little food could even make an impact with this large crowd. Yet a miracle awaited. Jesus took the boy’s loaves, gave thanks and had them distributed to the crowd of over 5000!

Imagine the exciting story that boy went home with! There had even been twelve basketfuls of leftovers. The little boy must have been changed forever as he saw his small resource used greatly in the hands of Jesus. What a miracle!

As moms, it is often easy to let logic try to over-ride the sometimes-radical faith of our children. It’s been our job to stabilize, rationalize and energize our children as they have grown. To release them to be Jesus followers is not always easy. Sometimes it will look to us like they are giving up the very thing they need. Trusting Jesus with their hearts and their lives is what we are called to do.

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16).

Father God, thank you for recording this amazing little story for all time. Thank you for the hidden lesson of the mom who let her son go to follow Jesus. Help me today to release my children to You, whatever their ages, so that I might not hinder any work You are doing in their lives. Hold my mother heart in your hand. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Questions: Why do you suppose Jesus frequently used children to help to demonstrate who He was? What was the purpose of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000? What miracle has Jesus performed in your life recently?

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Isaiah 61:1-3 explains Jesus’ mission: bring good news to the poor, comfort the brokenhearted, proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed, and tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’S favor has come.  He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, blessing instead of mourning, and praise instead of despair.  They will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for His own glory.

In light of Jesus’ mission, I reread the faith chapter, Hebrews 11, describing the action taken by those whose allegiance was to the Lord and Him only. They obeyed, believed, chose to share oppression rather than freedom, kept their eyes on the One who is invisible, and “their weakness was turned to strength.”

Following Jesus, no matter what, into a hurting world is overwhelming.  Hebrews 12:12 encourages us: “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.  Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.”  Keeping our eyes on Jesus and doing what He asks will actually make us stronger.

The call is to believe Him, put our faith and trust in Him, give Him our allegiance and take action.   As Paul concludes the book of Hebrews, he writes:

o    Keep loving each other
o    Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers
o    Remember those in prison as if you were there yourself
o    Remember those being mistreated as if you felt their pain in your own bodies

Those words do not reflect feelings, they reflect actions.

And His promise…Hebrews 13:5ff
“I will never fail you
I will never abandon you

So we can say with confidence,
The LORD is my helper
So I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”

And the benediction…Hebrews 13:20, 21
“Now may the God of peace – Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with His blood – may He equip you with all you need for doing His will.  May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him.  All glory to Him forever and ever!  Amen”

Lord, thank you for the price you paid on the cross to save my soul.  Thank you for Your heart for and mission to reach the broken, oppressed, forgotten, distraught, hungry, poor, exploited, incarcerated…the marginalized.  Open our eyes, that we might see the world around us from Your perspective.  Strengthen our tired hands and weak knees.  Give us the courage to ask You to reach our world through us.  Give us the courage to take action.  In Jesus’ Name and for His sake, Amen!

Questions: Ask the Lord how, even today, you can be His hands and feet in a hurting world.   If you sense there is an obstacle, something holding you back, what is it?  Ask Him.

About the Author Donna Mitchell

“Seven years of great abundance are coming…but seven years of famine will follow… Collect the food of these good years and store up the grain… This food will be used during the years of famine” (Genesis 41:29-36, NIV).

Every summer we diligently worked in our family garden. Land was plowed and cultivated, seeds carefully planted and watered, weeds pulled regularly. And then the harvest! There were luscious red tomatoes with juice that dripped down our chins. We had corn nearly bursting out of its husks. Not only were there carrots, beans and cucumbers, but the limbs of our few fruit trees bowed nearly to the ground with their succulent wealth. We had more than enough to feed our small family and share with friends and neighbors.

My mother was well aware that fall and winter follow summer. When crops and trees were overflowing in abundance, it was time to can.  My father bought extra kerosene to heat the small basement stove, and out came the jars and lids.  Fruit and vegetables were gathered by the bushel and all other chores were postponed. After long hours of peeling, cutting, pickling and juicing, basement shelves were lined with jars—the brilliant gold of corn and peaches, bright green of beans and pickles, and the deep crimson of plums and tomatoes. This food was to be used during the years of famine, or in our case, winter!

Famine seems to be a regularly scheduled and tragic event. Drought, land and crop mismanagement, selfish political governing, and the inevitable cycles of nature all contribute to those periods when people go hungry.

But there are also times of spiritual dryness. Sometimes these periods can be traced to willful disobedience to God’s revealed will, but our loving Heavenly Father often just wants to take us to another—and deeper—dependence upon Him. It is this that St. John of the Cross so aptly described in his “Dark Night of the Soul.”

How do we live during these times of spiritual famine? King David of Israel experienced periods of dark want.  We get a glimpse of how he not only survived, but triumphed, in Psalm 42.  He writes,  “I remember how I used to go to the house of God, under the protection of the Mighty One…My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you…Put your hope in God” (Psalm 42: 4-5, NIV). David trusted God in the good times so he had resources for the famine. By regularly walking by faith, keeping our eyes trained on Jesus and storing up God’s Word in the innermost parts of our beings, we too will have full storehouses.

I don’t like to be hungry. I want food and I want it now. And my spiritual reaction is all too often just like my physical response: “Make me feel good, God…NOW.” Remind me, Father, to faithfully and obediently follow you during the easier times so the difficult times of life will find me with all I need. Amen.

Questions: What practices do you follow to walk with God during the easier times? How has this helped you during difficulties?

About the Author Marilyn J. Ehle

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Filling the Storehouse, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 NIV).

What is your greatest delight? What gives you great pleasure or satisfaction?

I am delighted when my grandchildren run up to me with a hug, or a friend calls me on the phone just to chat, or my husband brings me flowers.

To delight is to enjoy, take pleasure, be glad, satisfied, savor, or appreciate.

When we delight in the Lord, his desires will become our desires.

How do we delight in the Lord?

We will delight in the Lord when we develop an intimate relationship with him. We will become spiritually hungry, and passionately in love with Him. Jesus told his disciples in John 14: 15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Then, our desires will align with His desires and our hearts will desire to please him, resulting in peace and contentment.

However, our hearts desire is often contrary to what God desires for us and takes us in the wrong direction. When we don’t have an intimate relationship with the Lord, our human nature desires sinful things, as when we are angry, and we want to seek revenge. If we don’t delight in the Lord we won’t know what He desires for us. If we don’t have an intimate relationship with God it is hard telling what we would ask for. We may be asking for trouble missing God’s best for us.

Don’t be afraid to ask the Lord for His desires since His desires will be better than your own and you will find peace and contentment as you submit to them.

The Lord has not promised to give us all we humanly desire, but the desires of a heart submitted, and delighted in Him.

We must choose to delight and submit to the authority God has placed in our lives. If we don’t submit to those in authority over us, we will find it difficult to submit to God.

Priscilla Shirer writes in her Bible study He Speaks to Me, “Delighting ourselves in God rolls out the red carpet for God to march right in and plant His good, acceptable, and perfect desires in our hearts so that we can get busy praying them and getting some answers.” 1.

Psalm 37:4 tells us when we delight in the Lord He will grant us the desires of our heart. Our desires will be His desires and we will experience more answers to our prayers and contentment. We are not invited, we are commanded to delight.

Lord God, May my heart find delight in You. May Your desires be my own. Amen.

Father, I choose to delight in you. Show me the areas of my life I need to submit to you. I want to spend more time in your Word and grow into an intimate relationship with You so your desires will be my desires. In Jesus’ Name.

Questions: Do I delight in the Lord? Am I willing to up my desires for the Lord’s desires for my life? Which areas of my life do I need to submit to develop an intimate relationship with the Lord?

1. Priscilla Shirer, He Speaks to Me, (Nashville, TN; LifeWay Press) p. 114.

About the Author Lillian Penner

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Believe in Him, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation’” (Mark 16:15 NLT).

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

These words are called “The Great Commission.” They’re a commandment from God. These were some of the last words Jesus spoke on earth before He returned to His Father in Heaven. Do these words ever give you a feeling of inadequacy? Do you ever say, “I’m not a preacher,” or “I can’t get up in front of people and speak”?

Let me tell you about Mrs. Smiley. She had rented a room to a young man named Silverio Diaz. He was going through a rough patch in his life. His wife had just left him and he felt very much alone. He knocked on Mrs. Smiley’s door just to chat. She offered him a cup of coffee and a listening ear. She then introduced him to her friend, Jesus. He gave his life to the Lord at that time and was baptized a week later.

He went back home and lead his mother to the Lord just weeks before she died. My father, a young missionary, joined him in the Philippines a few years later. The district of churches they started together in the 1950′s now numbers over 150 congregations. It makes me wonder what would have happened if Mrs. Smiley had not been there for the Silverio Diaz in his time of need.

God most likely will not call you to a life of overseas missions. He does call you, however, to be His hands and feet wherever you are. I know that when my time on earth is done, I want to hear Jesus say these words to me:

Well done, good and faithful servant, you taught your children to love me.

Well done, good and faithful servant, you fed the hungry.

Well done, good and faithful servant, you clothed the naked.

Well done, good and faithful servant, you loved the unlovable.

Well done, good and faithful servant, you shared Christ with someone who needed Him.

Well done, good and faithful servant, you saw a need and you acted on it.

Father God, Help me to live a life that reflects Jesus’ love. May I remember I am actually offering Christ to a lost and dying world. That doesn’t seem so scary after all. Thank you for the privilege of representing You. Amen.

Questions: What has God called you to? Are you serving Him?

About the Author Debbie Belt

Daily audio podcast: Hear today’s daily devotional, The Great Commission, read aloud on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Patricia ran away at 13. Drug addiction, an out of wedlock baby, and the murder of her infant son by a boyfriend plunged her into despair. Caught stealing, she landed in jail.  Drugs masked the self-loathing that haunted her. Now, without access to drugs, Patricia’s bitterness exploded in her empty soul.

In her cell, shattered and hopeless, Patricia cried, “God, if you can hear me, if you’re real, help me, save me. I’m sorry for my rebellion. My life’s a mess; change me, lift me out of this hell.”

Instantly God and peace invaded Patricia’s life! Jesus’ wrapped her in love and lifted her into cleansing light. Her anger and bitterness melted away. Locked behind prison bars Patricia found freedom. Someone gave her a Bible and the starving rebel ate the Bread of Life. Jesus became her best friend. Gradually truth replaced lies and confusion.

When her prison term ended, Godly friends helped Patricia enter a Christian rehabilitation program and earn a college degree. During a recent musical at our church, standing in her place in the choir, Patricia told thousands about her soul food, Jesus. Transformed – from angry addict to victorious believer!

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry…” (John 6:35).

Hungry? Has the aroma of the Bread of Life brought you to God’s banquet table? Can you smell Jesus’ wonderful fragrance drawing you to Him?

Natural bread sustains our physical body. Christ, the heavenly bread, feeds our spirit. In Old Testament times, God rained manna upon Moses and the Hebrews in the desert. In the New Testament Jesus is our daily spiritual bread, our manna come down from heaven.

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who 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” (John 6:32,33).

In the Old Testament priests brought wheat flour to God as offerings for the people’s sin. In the New Testament this wheat is a picture of Jesus, the Bread of Life, offered for our sin. His suffering and death on the cross purchased forgiveness for our sin. With His death He paid the price for all sin and won eternal life for anyone who will trust Him. If we believe in Him he promises we will live forever.

“I am the living bread…. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

Jesus our living bread has become soul food for all people. Are you hungry? Don’t let unbelief, rebellion or carelessness keep you from Jesus and eternal life. Choose Him, eat His truth and live.

Bread of Life, feed me and satisfy my hunger. I choose Jesus as food for my soul. Amen.

Questions: Do you have a lot of anger and bitterness in your life? Are you struggling with unbelief that God can help you in the situation you are in? How big is your God?

About the Author Petey Prater

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Jesus Touched the Untouchables, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Imagine her packing 5 small barley loaves and 2 small fish and handing them to her young son. Probably not yet a teenager, the boy was anxious to go and join the crowd following Jesus. She would have had no idea what a life-changing event this would be for her son as he left to join the crowd of onlookers.

The story of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is a familiar one. It was an exciting time 2000 years ago when great crowds of people followed Jesus because they saw miraculous healing of the sick. (John 6:1-14)

When the crowd became tired and hungry Jesus asked what food they had available. That young boy’s lunch was used in a miracle that we still read today.

I wonder if the boy’s Mom was in the crowd that day. A mother would have been concerned about the heat and the long day. She would have insisted her child eat the lunch she had prepared. She would want her child nourished. When Jesus asked his disciples about feeding the crowd would she have drawn the little boy back as he stepped forward to offer Andrew his own lunch?  Mother logic could possibly have blocked a miracle.

The little boy did step forward. He did offer his small lunch to the disciple of Jesus and the rest is history. Even Andrew wondered how so little food could even make an impact with this large crowd. Yet a miracle awaited. Jesus took the boy’s loaves, gave thanks and had them distributed to the crowd of over 5000!

Imagine the exciting story that boy went home with! There had even been twelve basketfuls of leftovers. The little boy must have been changed forever as he saw his small resource used greatly in the hands of Jesus. What a miracle!

As moms, it is often easy to let logic try to over-ride the sometimes-radical faith of our children. It’s been our job to stabilize, rationalize and energize our children as they have grown. To release them to be Jesus followers is not always easy. Sometimes it will look to us like they are giving up the very thing they need. Trusting Jesus with their hearts and their lives is what we are called to do.

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16).

Father God, thank you for recording this amazing little story for all time. Thank you for the hidden lesson of the mom who let her son go to follow Jesus. Help me today to release my children to You, whatever their ages, so that I might not hinder any work You are doing in their lives. Hold my mother heart in your hand. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Questions: Why do you suppose Jesus frequently used children to help to demonstrate who He was? What was the purpose of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000? Has Jesus performed a miracle in your life recently?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Created to Become like Christ, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog