Month: May 2025

John 6:5-13 MSG When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do. Philip answered, “Two hundred silver pieces wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece.” One of the disciples—it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter—said, “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this.” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted. When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted.” They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves.

Observation

I am continually amazed at how simply God works. Not enough food?  I’ll just make it stretch – and stretch – and stretch until “All ate as much as they wanted”!  Our “impossible to even imagine” is natural for Him. Like His students, we do not understand the power and possibility available to us in and through Him. No doubt we would have been thinking like Phillip and most of His team – “Feed all these people?!!!  Do you know how much that will cost?  Never mind finding enough even to buy out here!”  Had they forgotten the miracles that had gone before – raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, healing the woman with the issue of blood, calming the stormy sea, making wine from water and so many others? 

Perhaps Andrew remembered and had a ray of insightful hope when he brought the boy with the loaves and fish – “Here is all that we have to offer, but it cannot be enough.”  He had seen Jesus do the impossible before, but how could so little be made into so much?  Jesus always intended to provide the meal (“He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do.”), but He wanted to break through the barrier of “possibility” thinking in their minds so that they would embrace and flow in overcoming the impossible through the power that He provided for them. . It was not WHAT or HOW MUCH they brought that mattered but HOW WILLING they were to trust, believe and let Jesus use what they had.

Impact On Me

My mom and dad were very gracious and always welcomed guests on a moment’s notice. They always wanted to have enough in case we had a few unexpected guests at the dinner table (a common occurrence). They were not happy unless everyone was full and we had leftovers. Meal stretching was an art in our home!  However, we never had 5000+ to feed!  This episode in the hands-on teaching of His disciples speaks to me of my limited understanding of the power of absolute submission and surrender. This story illustrates that all my talents, skills, abilities, resources, strengths – everything I can bring – are like the 5 small loaves and 2 small fishes ( like small or large mattered in the least!); they are completely insufficient until I surrender them into the hands of Jesus. 

I am also reminded of my human tendency to think that circumstances matter when God asks me to do something. Like Philip, I look at the immensity of the task and reckon the accomplishment to be impossible – with my resources and what is available to me – forgetting that the same God Who.is asking me to partner with Him is able to accomplish the task without my help, but, for some incomprehensible reason, wants me to share in the joy of seeing it come to pass. I marvel at God’s insistence on partnering with us to accomplish anything as we are like toddlers learning to bake (making more mess, taking more time, using more effort)!  How like the toddling disciples I am!  Just like the disciples and the toddler, as I let the Holy Spirit take the lead, adopt His plan, listen to His instructions and follow them, I will find understanding and joy in the results!

Devotion

Father God, You are all-powerful and all-knowing and yet still so gracious, so loving, so patient toward us as we step out, wobble, stumble, fall and and You help us get up again. I cannot fathom why You love us so much and care so deeply about sharing the joy with us. As for me, help me to never in my thinking limit You by what I think is possible. Whatever I have and am is more than enough in Your hands. When I speak, let it be Your words that are heard. When I hug, let it be Your arms that are felt, Your love and care that remain long after I am gone. Lord Jesus, help me to understand and embrace complete surrender, total submission to You, so that Your Holy Spirit will be free to use me in accomplishing the humanly impossible. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus. Make it so!

Mark 4:35-41 PHILLIPS  On the evening of that day, he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they sent the crowd home and took him with them in the little boat in which he had been sitting, accompanied by other small craft. Then came a violent squall of wind which drove the waves aboard the boat until it was almost swamped. Jesus was in the stern asleep on the cushion. They awoke him with the words, “Master, don’t you care that we’re drowning?” And he woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Hush now! Be still!” The wind dropped and everything was very still. “Why are you so frightened? What has happened to your faith?!” he asked them. But sheer awe swept over them and they kept saying to each other, “Who ever can he be?—even the wind and the waves do what he tells them!”

Philippians 4:6-7 PHILLIPS  Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

Observation

“Jesus was in the stern asleep on the cushion.”  I spent many years working on boats on the Pacific Ocean. When the waters are relatively calm, the movement will rock you to sleep. When the waters are rough and stormy, the movement can violently launch you out of your bunk.  This boat must have been rocking wildly in the wind-driven waves to cause such anxiety among Jesus’ disciples, because in this boat were several seasoned fisherman (who were experienced boat handlers) sailing on their home fishing grounds.  Yet, Jesus is asleep. He is sure He is going to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee regardless of the distractions or circumstances that confront Him on the way.  He turned this into a wonderful teaching moment for these men who would all be asked to live, serve and suffer through the storms of persecution that were to come.

Impact On Me

“Don’t worry over anything whatever.“  These verses have been mainstays in my storms, cornerstones of my faith, bulwarks against the assaults of the Enemy, over the years.  They are the keys to powerful weapons of God’s warfare during stormy times to combat my anxiety.  Anxiety is defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.”  I have learned through many storms that I cannot predict when they will arise nor can I control them when they do. No matter how much experience, knowledge or skill I have, the circumstances can be overwhelming, creating anxiety, if I focus on all the negative possible outcomes (They awoke him with the words, “Master, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”).  These verses remind me that no matter how furious and powerful the storm, Jesus is in my boat with me – either asleep or ready to calm the storm in me when I call on Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 MSG  Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Devotion

Lord Jesus, when the storms arise, I want to remember to look to the stern of the boat.  If You are sleeping there, I want to sit down next to You and hold on, letting go of my frets and worries. I remember that You said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27 NIV). I ask You by Your Holy Spirit to help me in the storms of life to pray and be aware that You are asleep in my boat so Your presence can displace the worries in my life. Help me to pass Your peace on to others in their stormy ties so they will come to know You through my life. I pray this all in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-19 PHILLIPS When I think of the greatness of this great plan I fall on my knees before God the Father (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name), and I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the spirit’s inner re-inforcement—that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ—and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension. May you be filled though all your being with God himself!

HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US
Stuart Townend © 1995 Thankyou Music

How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss – The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?  I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.

Observation

All of creation and everything that has arisen from it, all that has occurred in the past or will happen in the future, is about this love.  Not all that was created or has happened reflects the intentions of His love, because creation and history has been twisted by the evil workings of God’s enemy, Satan.  However, all is still subject to His love, the grace, mercy and justice characteristic to it, and His eternal plan to redeem and restore everything to exist within it. His plan is not only to restore the earth to its proper order but also to restore mankind to his initial and intended relationship with this God of Love. 

To accomplish this redemption and restoration, He gave Himself as the sacrifice, the only sacrifice with enough value, enough purity, enough righteousness, enough eternal impact, to pay the price for, redeem, restore, forgive all sin – past, present and future.  This was His plan from the beginning because He was not surprised at Man’s Fall.  His Plan A was always “that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith” – God Himself paying the price and then freeing providing the priceless reward to whosoever will come and believe – “Why should I gain from His reward?  I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.”

Impact on Me

I have been many times in a mully-grubby place, vacillating between knowing and not knowing, understanding and not understanding, clearly seeing His footsteps before me and having them obscured by urgencies, distractions, emotional issues, or a path that might appear easier.  In those times, I was struggling to maintain a balance between those things I am able to bear and the unbearable, those things I can change and what I must leave to God, what I want and what He wants for and from me.  This wobbly place is a result of my soul listening more to my human flesh than the Spirit of Christ in me, depending more on what is possible for me to do rather than leaning into God’s possibilities.

Jesus is not surprised that these wobbly events occur in me; I am, after all, human – inconsistent, emotional, questioning, impulsive, prideful and so much more – a work in progress in Christ.  The remarkable, amazing, wondrous, extravagantly loving part is that He doesn’t give up on me. He listens to my whiny psalms and reminds me that He is with me and for me no matter what happened, is happening or will happen.  In one of those wobbly places, He gave me a picture of me floating peacefully on the calm sea of His love, out of sight of land, and reminded me that the ocean waters can be thousands of feet deep and thousands of miles wide.  His love is deeper, wider and safer – rest in it.

Devotion

 Lord God, my Redeemer, my Savior, my patient mentor, I stand in awe of You and all You have sacrificed for me.  I give You freedom in me to work Your love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, meekness, faithfulness and self-control.  I ask for Paul’s prayer to bear fruit in me -“And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ—and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension.”  May I be grateful, wise, honest and courageous enough to see with Your eyes and love with Your heart regardless of the cost to me.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

Romans 8:22-30 PHILLIPS  It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realised our full sonship in him. We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience. The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations. For example, we do not know how to pray worthily as sons of God, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonising longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God. Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers. He chose them long ago; when the time came he called them, he made them righteous in his sight, and then lifted them to the splendour of life as his own sons.

Observation

Romans 8 is a chapter about step by step letting go of our past, moment by moment embracing all that being “in Christ” provides for us, and day by day putting our hope and faith in the future God has planned for us all (“in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got”).  Paul encourages us to be patient in our “state of painful tension” – that is, in our impatience, anguish and urgency to see the results we want or perceive the progress we have determined to be productive in ourselves and others. He tells us that, albeit most of the time imperceptibly to us, the Holy Spirit is working God’s love, grace and truth in us and the world around us 24/7/365.  He is doing this in powerful, life-changing ways invisible to us in other hearts and other places inaccessible to us. He asks us to trust in God’s original and only plan – even when we don’t understand how “everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.” 

This is all fine and good when life is going smoothly, but becomes so difficult when we face urgent and heartbreaking circumstances that shake us to our foundation – prodigal children, chronic or fatal illness, death, divorce, and so on. How could God turn such events to bring about good, to accomplish His original and only plan?  How can He give us beauty for ashes and joy for mourning?  How can we calm ourselves to hear the Holy Spirit when the circumstances send our emotions into chaos?  It is turning to God, calling on Him in these times that proves “his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonising longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God.”  In these times we find our true hope rests securely only in God!

Impact on Me

 Paul experienced persecutions, including imprisonment, shipwreck and beatings. When I look back over my life, I can see times of spiritual and emotional “imprisonment, shipwreck and beatings” where the scars are not visible but just as painful and wounding.  So have you. Relationship breakup or divorce, mental or physical illness, mistreatment or abuse, rejection, abandonment, or betrayal, death of loved ones, prodigal children, church issues – to name just a few – all create wounds that make us hypersensitive and wary of reliving the pain caused and condition our reactions to the world, situations and circumstances around us.  Paul is asking us to let Jesus heal the wounds of the past so we can respond according to hope and faith rather than react according to the wounds we carry (our flesh).  He is asking us to be defined by God’s future for us rather than our past experiences, the fear created by our wounds, or what this world can offer.

In Christ my past no longer can hurt or limit me – if I allow myself to release the guilt, shame and sensitivities of my life before salvation began its work in me. In Christ, I can freely forgive because I have been freely forgiven. In Christ, I am His beloved regardless of how the world judges my worth. In Christ, I can rejoice and trust always even when the world calls me foolish. It is my choice to live as who I am in Christ or as a child of the world.

 “In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my life, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled and striving cease. My Comforter, my all-in-all; here in the love of Christ I’ll stand.”

Devotion

 My God, my God, You are all-in-all – Holy, loving, knowing, powerful, eternal, Creator, Redeemer, Restorer.  You have planned from beginning to end, start to finish, a perfect, eternal, majestic strategy to accomplish Your will and purpose. So much of the time I do not understand what is happening or how it can ever be turned around for good BUT I know You do. Forgive me for all the times I have failed and chosen to live as in the world rather than in Christ. Help me to set aside my need to understand or do something to fix it and instead pray, placing my hope and trust in You.  In those times, cause me to remember and rest in “to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.”  Help me to embrace, believe and live as Your child in Christ as I walk through my life on this earth.  I know it is Your desire to see this accomplished in me. Make it so, Lord, in Jesus’ name I pray.