Category: hope

Bitter

Ruth 1Psalm 43Acts 20

-Devotion by Liam Johnson (MN)

While Ruth is so titled for the woman who shows great bravery in following her mother-in-law to unknown land, she is not the main character of the story. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, is the lead driving character in the whole story.

This book has many themes, the most prominent being love, however this isn’t the theme that I’d like to dive into today. Instead we will follow Naomi as she falls into bitterness for events for which she blames God. Then, we’ll look at how we or those close to us have experienced this same bitterness, events that make us turn to God and say, “Why? Why me?” and we’ll look at how Naomi and a couple others turned from this negative view.

The cause of Naomi’s bitterness is described in Ruth 1:1-5.

1 During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there. 3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.

Running down what Naomi has gone through so far, we see:

  1. A famine forces her, with her husband and her sons, to flee to Moab, leaving her familial home behind.
  2. Her husband dies.
  3. While she experiences the joy of seeing her sons marry, she then loses both her sons

So, having been forced from her home, losing her husband, and also both her sons, Naomi is now a widow in a foreign land with no men in her life. Bear in mind, in the culture of the ancient near east, a woman has no social power without a man. Her life is in a massive upheaval and with this, Naomi makes a choice – her only choice, really. She will return home to Israel.

It’s easy while reading the Bible to forget that we’re reading about the lives of real humans. But, to put yourself in Naomi’s shoes for just a moment, you can probably imagine what she might be feeling in this moment. Naomi will answer for herself in Ruth 1:19-21, which says,

19 The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

20 “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has opposed me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Ruth’s mother-in-law doesn’t feel like “pleasant” Naomi anymore.  All these events have, understandably, made Naomi quite bitter towards her God. (This line in verse 20 is a play on words easily lost in the translation from Hebrew to English. “Naomi” means “pleasant”, while “Mara” means “bitter”. )

Naomi’s feeling that God has left her isn’t a unique instance in the Bible. The psalmist of Psalm 42-43 held a similar sentiment (these two Psalms are likely one psalm, based on the repeated refrain in 42:5, 42:11 and 43:5). He was likely someone during an exile whose psalm held two main prayers: first, help me against my enemies and second, why have you [God] abandoned me?

Psalm 43:2

For you are the God of my refuge.

Why have you rejected me?

Why must I go about in sorrow

because of the enemy’s oppression?


The psalmist asks God to recall him to Jerusalem so he can worship once again. Continuing the psalm in 43:3-4:

3 Send your light and your truth; let them lead me.

Let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to your dwelling place.

4 Then I will come to the altar of God,

to God, my greatest joy.

I will praise you with the lyre,

God, my God.

This bitterness and abandonment that the psalmist and Naomi feel may easily be felt by us too. Through the woes of this world, whether it be the loss of good friends and family; seeing close friends walk away from the faith; or seeing the state of the world, a world which serves itself as god, it can be very easy for us to become dejected, to be in such turmoil. To become bitter as the people ask, all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:3).

But throughout this song and prayer, the psalmist repeats this refrain. It is a refrain of hope and faith. Though feeling abandoned by God, he still chooses to praise him. Psalm 43:5 says:

Why, my soul, are you so dejected?

Why are you in such turmoil?

Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,

my Savior and my God.

Following from the psalmist’s words it may seem easy to say: Why, Naomi, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, still praise him, your savior and your God. However, as with most things in life; it is easier said than done.

So how do we do it? How do we continue to show our faithfulness and love for God when times become turbulent?

Let’s start small and look at how the psalmist talks about God. 42:1-2 (which is the basis for my favorite hymn) tells us:

1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,

so I long for you, God.

2 I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I come and appear before God?

He begins with the longing to see his God (where he can see his God – at the temple). The psalmist speaks only faithfully of his God, remembering leading the festivities in the temple with joyful and thankful shouts. He is depressed though he does not wish to be.

Finally from this psalm, he calls Yahweh by name once in this whole psalm (42-43), which he uses intentionally, as a part of remembering Yahweh’s faithfulness. The singer remembers that Yahweh sends his faithful love, his hesed, by day, and His song is with him by night (Psalm 42:8). All day and all night, Yahweh is with you.

Now, bringing it back to Naomi, she doesn’t have some epiphany, nor does she come back to the joy of her God on her own. No, instead, she is brought back to joy by those around her. The titular Ruth, in a brilliant act of bravery, chooses to follow her mother-in-law to, to Ruth, a foreign land, choosing the unknown path of life over the safer path as Orpah did, in staying in Moab (Ruth 1:15-18). Because Ruth went with Naomi, God was able to work good in her life, through the path of a redeemer, Boaz, who would be the second major factor in restoring Naomi to a pleasant life (Ruth 4:15).

REflection Questions

Have you experienced the bitterness of life, as Naomi and this psalmist have? If you have, how’d you get through it? Did you do as the psalmist, choosing to praise God even when it was hard? Or did your friends and family help you through it, bringing the joy of God in their actions?

Prayer

Here’s a short prayer based on the psalm we read:

God, our God of heaven, how I long for you

Be with me in this life, that we might not forget

For those who seek you, asking “Where are you God?”

Shine forth from your servants

For those who ask, “Why have you forgotten me?”

Remind us who you are, God.

Send your love by day, Yahweh,

And let us sing your song by night

Let our lives be a living prayer to you

Our savior and our God

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A Soul in Despair

Judges 17-18

*Psalm 42

Acts 18

-Devotion by Kristy Cisneros (SC)

“Why, my soul, are you downcast?

    Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

    for I will yet praise him,

    my Savior and my God.”

(Ps. 42:5 and 11, NIV)

Psalms 42 is one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible. This song of the Sons of Korah is replete with suffering and lamenting coupled with a deep yearning for God’s rescue. I appreciate how the subject of this song is recognizing his downcast and disturbed emotional state and is questioning why he feels that way and then reminds himself to put his hope in God and then makes a conscious choice to still praise Him in spite of how he feels.

In verse 6, the Psalmist decides to manage these downcast feelings by remembering better times. In verse 8, it seems to me that this person uses daily prayer to try to stay close to God: 

“By day the Lord directs his love,

    at night his song is with me—

    a prayer to the God of my life.” (NIV)

In spite of these efforts, doubts start to creep in during verse 9. The person feels forgotten by God, taunted by their foes who ask “Where is your God?” As they notice their faith wavering, we see them circling back in verse 11 to the same questioning we saw in verse 5 about why they feel so downcast and disturbed. This questioning is then once again quickly followed by a reminder that they will put their hope in God and still choose to praise Him. It’s a resounding chorus that comes around at just the right time.

This roller coaster of feelings is so relatable to me. We can get so bogged down in our trials that God can start to feel so very far away, but that’s when we need to take a cue from the Psalmist here and remember to put our hope in God and make a choice to praise Him. We need a resounding chorus at the ready that reminds us that we can trust God to care for us in our time of need. What would your resounding chorus sound like?

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you generally do when your soul is in despair? Do any of those things put your soul in deeper despair?
  2. What does it look like and sound like to put your hope in God?
  3. When does God deserve our praise? When was your hardest time to praise God, but you did it anyway?

Prayer

Dear God, You are a great God! My desire is to put my hope in You, fully and completely, even and especially on the days my soul is in despair. I want to praise you well all of my days. You are worthy and deserving, my Savior and my God, the giver of all good gifts, including Your Son and salvation. Help me see, feel and remember with deep gratitude. I love you, LORD.

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In the Waiting

Deuteronomy 15-16

Psalm 27

Mark 12

-Devotion by Emilee Christian (MO)

Waiting is hard. We all know this. We have all had things we’ve prayed for, waited on receiving. Patience truly is a virtue. 

Waiting is scary. It’s hard to be still. We feel we should be doing something. Sadly we don’t recognize waiting on God as something worth doing. We become anxious in those still moments God is building character. We begin to question, to doubt. 

The end of Psalms 27 describes waiting as brave and courageous (v. 14 NLT). Sometimes being still is the bravest thing a person can do. It takes courage to put your trust in something other than what you yourself can produce. 

Throughout various points in my life, God has called me to seasons of waiting. It’s hard. I never really thought of it as courageous or brave, just something I sadly had to experience. Had someone plainly told me back then, my decision to wait on God’s revelation was an act of bravery and not defeated surrender, I might have responded to those situations with more joy and hope. 

And so, I’m keeping it short and simple, today. For those of you that find themselves in a season of waiting, take heart and hope from the words of David. Your decision to wait on God and trust in His timing is brave. You are not doing nothing. You are taking a courageous step of faith. Do not let the barren wasteland of waiting rob you of the hope and joy we have in our Awesome God.  

Reflection Questions:

  1. Think back to a season of your life where you were waiting. What difference would your response have been to that time if you had been told your waiting was an act of bravery and courage? Is there someone in your life today that needs to be told this?
  2. Are you in a season of waiting? How is waiting brave? How is it courageous?
  3. Check out the song “Take Courage” by Kristine DiMarco. I prefer the radio version found here: https://youtu.be/Ehw0FWFGl_A How does this song relate to our topic of waiting, today? 

Prayer: 

Dear LORD,

It is in You that I put my hope, my trust. Let me stand firm in the security of Your word, even during the uncertain waiting periods of my life. You are the one who delivers me. You will rescue me from my deep waters. Let me be still enough to hear You. Let me be brave enough to wait for You. 

In the name of the one who delivers, Your son, Jesus Christ,

Amen.

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Not Me, but God

*Genesis 41-42

Proverbs 21

Matthew 9

Devotion by Marcia Railton (IN)

Have you ever been stuck in a difficult place? Feeling forgotten? Waiting for justice that doesn’t come?

That’s where Joseph was – again. The favored, pampered son of Jacob had been thrown into a pit by his brothers. Then sold by same said brothers. He becomes a slave in Egypt, far from home. Then falsely accused and thrown into prison. He had received a glimmer of hope of being remembered and saved, but two years later he was still a prisoner. Stuck. Forgotten. Unfair.

And then comes the call. Pharaoh is calling for the prisoner! Quick. Clean-up. Shave. Change clothes. Enter – Joseph.

I wonder if Joseph had played a similar scene in his mind many times over as he was waiting. Did he have dreams of being remembered? Was he still remembering his childhood dreams of his family bowing down to him, and wondering? Was this now finally his long awaited chance to shine? Would he be angry and resentful over the way he had been mistreated again and again? Would he lash out at the world?

Pharaoh explains to Joseph why he was called up out of prison. Can Joseph interpret the dream that no one else can? I love his reply: “So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.'” (Genesis 41:16 NKJV) I don’t hear even a hint of anger, self-righteousness, resentment or giving up. Just humble truth. Not me, but God. Still relying on God. Not me, but God.

God was with him in his father’s house. God was with him in the pit. God was with him in his master’s home. God was with him in the prison. God was with him in the Pharaoh’s palace. God was with Joseph. Joseph was not forgotten. And Joseph did not forget God.

When you are stuck and feeling forgotten. Don’t forget God. It might take some time. Your circumstances might not change how or when you want or expect. You might face the pit or prison or both, and it won’t be fair. But you won’t be alone. It is recorded that just before Joseph was thrown into the pit he was 17 years old. When he stood before Pharaoh he was 30 years old. Those weren’t lost times in between. God was with Joseph. And Joseph did not forget God.

Reflection Questions

  1. What characteristics do you see in Joseph that you would like to see in yourself?
  2. In what difficult times have you experienced God with you?
  3. When and how can you respond, “Not me, but God will…”?

Prayer

Dear Almighty, I thank you for not forgetting me. Thank you for being with me – on what looks like great days and what looks like difficult days. Help me to see You and Your loving care through each and every day. Thank you for using people to do things they could never do without you. Show me what you want me to say and do with Your knowledge, wisdom and words. Give me a faithful, patient, humble, true heart that gives all honor and credit and praise to You.

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Our Perfect and Eternal Life

Revelation 20-22

Devotion by Isaac Cain (NE)

As I write these words to you now, I am sitting in the kitchen of my house on a pleasant morning. My wife is playing music in the background, and I am hearing all kinds of crazy sounds from my two cats who are chasing each other around the house. This is a great day, and God has blessed me so richly.

For me to get to this blessed moment in my life there was a cost – I had to leave a series of previous modes of life. I once lived with my parents and I had to leave their loving care to gain my education at the Atlanta Bible College. Eventually I had to leave college and close contact with some of my closest friends to marry my lovely wife.

In the same, but much grander way, humanity is promised a wonderful mode of life in God’s care, but to get there, the old way of life has to come to an end. We can’t enter into an age of life where there is no more sickness, death, or sin until those things are gone. 

These chapters of Revelation teach us that before God can bring about His perfect salvation, He first needs to do away with this current age. This is why God is just, this is why God is devoting so much effort and energy into enacting His wrath against wickedness – so that the New Jerusalem can truly be ushered in for eternity:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:1-2 ESV)

We humans like to live in the known and are uncomfortable with giving up what we know for what we don’t. This is so true that we humans are even willing to remain in an unfavorable situation if it means not having to leave it behind and wander into uncertainty. But for us as Christians, we need to overcome this and completely forsake this age and any sin that we are holding onto and embrace what God has to offer us instead. Besides, God has even blessed us with letting us know ahead of time where we are going and what we are getting ourselves into, and it is perfect.

In this life we only have a taste of the goodness to come in God’s kingdom. Imagine every single moment of your life you are literally perfect, everyone you come across is also perfect in their own unique way. You have no need for medicines, hospitals, cemeteries, or even locks to your house. You can walk right up to the tree of life, which is everywhere you go. But most importantly, you can have communion with God Himself and His Son Jesus! This reality is what we are enduring and waiting for, and thank God He is one day going to cast away the trials, burdens, and hardships we suffer in this life and is walking us towards a future that is partially known, but is waiting to be better understood. 

Reflection Questions

What are ways you can maintain God’s future hope in the forefront of your mind and heart?

In what ways should reading these chapters of Revelation motivate us to share the gospel with those around us?

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The Fruitless Mourning

Revelation 17-19

Devotion by Isaac Cain (NE)

I’m certain that there were many times in my childhood that I cried about things that I have no memory of anymore. Perhaps I lost a hot-wheel that I really liked? Maybe I got vanilla ice cream when I was really hoping for chocolate? I am sure that in the moment, they felt like the worst things ever – but they really weren’t. Eventually I grew up enough to realize that those things that threatened to break my heart were trivial and not worth prioritizing as highly as I once had. However, for the rest of my life I will certainly remember the heart break, sadness, and grief I felt from my grandfather, Rex Cain, passing several years ago. My heartbreak over his loss, and the lasting memory of him, reveal that my heart highly honors and loved my relationship and memories I had with him

Sometimes the most tangible and revealing way to discern what you truly love is to observe what breaks your heart. If you mourn over the loss or corruption of things that are holy, honorable, good, and live-giving – it shows what your heart loves to see and help sustain. If you mourn over the loss or corruption of things that are profane, dishonorable, evil, and exclusively self-serving – it shows what your heart loves to see and help sustain. We should want our hearts to break over that which breaks God’s heart because it reveals that our hearts are aligned with His. This is what Jesus teaches us in his famous sermon on the mount, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4 ESV). 

In these chapters of Revelation, John is taught about the rebellious and great city Babylon, depicted as a prostitute riding the wicked beast (read chapters 13-16). We also learn how Babylon’s judgment will come swiftly and full of irony, the very methods of prosperity and rulership with the beast will be its own ruin. The angel speaking to John also touches on all the various kings and merchants who built up their life of luxury by communing with Babylon and its wickedness. Naturally, all of the kings and merchants who benefited from Babylon wail and mourn over the loss of their beloved city:

All the kings of the earth…will stand far off, in fear of her [Babylon’s] torment, and say ‘Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.” (Revelation 18:9a & 10 ESV)

Their own heartbreak is a song of condemnation. The fact that their heartbreak is due to losing the epitome of human wickedness and evil illustrates what their hearts truly loved – and it was certainly not God or His salvation. So in the end, God will let them have what they claimed to want, and allow them to experience the self-destructive ends it brings. Their mourning will prove fruitless as God will not comfort them.

Meanwhile, chapter 19 contains the praises and redeeming joy of all of God’s people whose hearts were breaking all throughout the tyrannical and wicked reign of Babylon. Their mourning will prove fruitful as God will comfort them.

These chapters serve as an opportunity to see the cosmos and our place in it at a lofty height and decide what our hearts truly love and care about. Whatever we choose to love, inherently means we also choose what to mourn. I urge you, as do these chapters, to not be like the kid who’s so fixated on the momentary and shallow pleasures of this life only to mourn over them when they are gone. Instead, make the presently painful and eternally blessed choice of having our hearts break over the corruption of this age. Our momentary heartbreak will turn into eternal joy one day.

Reflection Questions

Is there anything that you are mourning the loss of, or perhaps the lack of, that God does not mourn?

What are things you can do to help “rewire” your heart to love what God loves?

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God’s Blessing Found in Satan’s Fire

Revelation 11-13

Devotion by Isaac Cain (NE)

I have always wanted to witness the majesty of the Redwood and Sequoia trees in California. They have always captured my imagination and even their pictures blow me away. It’s amazing to do research on how they utilize the same good and life-giving sunlight, water, and soil that every plant needs. Yet, one thing that distinguishes them from almost any other plant life is how both trees have thick bark, high water content, and the ability to resprout from dormant buds. In other words, they are highly resistant to fire. When there’s a fire, it burns away a lot of other growth but not them, and the fire helps make the soil nutrient rich and ready for these giants to begin their long life. 

These trees can relish in the peaceful times of God’s gifts of sunlight, water, and nutrients in the soil, and they can even thrive when the chaos of fire runs rampant in the forest. In a way these trees and their interaction with the environment are a perfect symbol for how you and I can imagine ourselves and our interaction with God and our world. We are like the trees, our current time is like the peaceful time with all of its normal troubles, and the forest fire is like the events we read here in Revelation eleven through thirteen. 

God in His brilliant goodness and wisdom can use all things in a way that fulfills His good and perfect will. Even if Satan, the enemy of both man and God, is running rampant, God can play him like a master chess player who not only wins using His own chess moves, but even using his opponent’s plays. The consuming fire that Satan starts to eliminate his opponents ends God uses to consume him and bring about a rich new start for his children.

This truth should be clear to us as we read Revelation and particularly these chapters as well. The two witnesses, the pregnant woman, the messianic child, Michael and his angels, and believers who are marked by God rather than the beast are all like the Redwoods who grow taller and stronger than everything else under God’s loving and wise provision. Even though the fire is chaotic, hot, and effective at consuming everything else in the forest, the trees remain. Even though we read of the horrifying workings of the dragon and his beasts, every being under God’s care is rescued.

It is easy to read through Revelation and its “forest fires” and assume this is a book meant to warn us of an impending doom that we wish not to see. However, John wrote this book, under the instruction of God and Jesus, to give encouragement and hope. The dragon is fierce, but God is even more so, and we will bask in God’s victory one day. So prepare to endure the fire to come, because it will produce a rich soil for the sprouting of a new and perfect kingdom where we can grow taller than ever before.

Reflection Questions

How can these future revelations provide wisdom for the fires in our own lives today?
How should our prayer lives be impacted by seeing how God uses even the fires to produce goodness?

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It’s (Always) A Great Day to Read About the 2nd Advent of the Son of God!

Revelation 1-3

Devotion by John Railton (IN)

Merry Christmas to all. This is the season to remember and celebrate the birth, the advent, the first coming of Jesus, who is the Christ, the Son of the living God! It’s fitting that we today begin reading and pondering the last book of the Bible, Revelation. This is the book that reveals amazing things about the second advent, the return of Jesus to this earth to establish the perfect age, the kingdom of God. This is a book of revelations, though at times it’s challenging, seems mysterious, difficult to understand and apply. In these first three chapters we find John’s opening comments, identification of the source and succession of the word and testimony he’s passing on, and then a letter from the Lord himself to seven churches in Asia Minor. The general flow of the letters is commendation of the church, any complaint that may need to be addressed, and the correction that’s then necessary. Anytime the Lord indicates a complaint, or really anytime anyone indicates a complaint against us, the hope and goal is always correction. We all have flaws, and should always seek to grow, to improve, to walk in truth, obedience, and love, as John stressed in the postcards we pondered the last couple days.      

We’ll begin here with the introduction the author, the Apostle John shared. “The revelation of Jesus Christ. which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw – that is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Note that there’s a blessing for those who read, hear, and take to heart these words, whether we quickly understand it or not. It’s good to be familiar with it. Understanding will come as events unfold, if we’re familiar with the writings.   

1:7 specifically makes reference to Jesus’ return, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him!”  This is a sure thing. Jesus is coming. I hope to see him with joy in my heart, rather than mourning that I’m not ready, not a believer, not prepared, not all in!  

The rest of these first three chapters include letters the Lord sent to seven specific churches, with specific commendation, complaints, and correction. Read them devotionally, and with application. In other words, ponder such commendation, complaint, and correction. Do any of these apply to you? To your church? In fact, you might write a letter, as though from Jesus to you. What would he say? What would he commend? What complaints would he have? What corrections would he expect? How would you respond? Would you do as he says?      

Reflection Questions

  1. What are your thoughts and feelings about the book of Revelation? What do you think God wants us to think and feel about the book? Why was the book as a whole given to Christians?
  2. How often do you think of Jesus’ return? How do you imagine you will respond when he does return? If you are celebrating Christmas today (and also, if you are not), how can you remember and share the words of Revelation and the great hope of the 2nd Coming of Christ the Messiah, the Son of God?
  3. How do you typically give or receive complaints? Work through the great questions from John in the last paragraph above. And spend some time with God in prayer with the Son of God interceding on your behalf.
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Bread: Not Just a Comfort Food

John 6

Devotion by J.J. Fletcher (Minnesota)

Hunger is a powerful thing. It can affect your mood, and it can cause you to make poor decisions. There’s the old saying, “never go shopping on an empty stomach”. You will buy stuff that you don’t really need because your mind is affected by hunger. I can relate to that. Once upon a time, while I was at the Bible college, a friend and I decided to go on a green tea fast. On the day that we broke the fast, I went grocery shopping and spent way more money than I should have on food, and I’m pretty sure most of it went to waste. I was buying out of hunger, not necessity. I’m sure you can relate to my bad habit of stopping and getting horribly unhealthy food because you were hungry, and it was quick and convenient. Maybe you decided to stop because it was a cheap option?

We see the miracle of Jesus feeding 5000. There were a lot of extra people around because Passover was coming up soon. They find themselves in the conundrum of not having enough food for all these people who are gathered to hear Jesus. They could perhaps go buy food, but that would take a lot of time, not to mention money. And how do you source food quickly for this many people? How many people would be required to carry it back? I don’t really think there’s an avenue for coordinating food for this gathering.

Jesus ends up telling the disciples to gather up all the food that the group has collectively. What they end up with is a boy who has five loaves of bread and two fish. This is a laughable amount of food for a group of 5000 plus. Jesus prays over the food, and they start passing it out, and they pass and they pass, and they pass and they end up having leftover food after everyone has eaten their fill. What a miracle. Jesus perceives that the people being moved by this miraculous action are going to try to grab him and make him king forcibly. It is not the proper time, nor is this the proper motivation. Jesus is king because God declares it himself, not because of this miraculous meal.

Jesus withdraws to be by himself. The disciples set sail across the sea without Jesus, but encountered him walking on the water. They are freaked out, but they’re glad when they see it’s him, and once he’s on the boat, all is well. But the crowds are hungry for more and start to search for Jesus.

The people want to see more miracles, but that is not the purpose of Jesus’ ministry; rather, an attestation of the power behind him. Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God is truly powerful. Jesus says that the crowds are not seeking him, not even after the power behind the signs that they saw, but because they had been well fed. 

The people bring up the desire to see miraculous signs and recall that their fathers ate manna in the wilderness. Jesus, comparing his role to that of Moses, says that it was not Moses who fed the Israelites in the wilderness, but that it was God. He warns them of seeking temporal comforts and satiety; rather, they should seek after the true life-changing and life-saving power of God. Jesus’ claim that he is the “bread of life” or “bread come down from heaven” is a claim that God has ordained, empowered, and approved his Kingdom ministry and his standing as the savior. 

It is a long and winding road that leads to the cross. Many will reject the bread of life for the bread of satiety or comfort, or maybe bread leavened with the yeast of the Pharisees, but many do take Jesus up on his “the bread of life” offer and are the beneficiaries of God’s amazing power that was and is at work in the hearts of the redeemed.

Reflection Questions

  1. What significance do you see in the contrast of Jesus’ miracle, the manna of the Exodus, and the Bread of Life that Jesus speaks of?
  2. Does the metaphor of food effectively drive home Jesus’ emphasis on the importance of the Gospel for true life?
  3. In what ways can you take Jesus’ words from John 6 and apply them you your life in a way that strengthens your personal ministry?
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Our Heart Matters

Haggai 1-2

Devotion by Carla Hardy (Michigan)

Haggai is a short, two chapter book, but it packs a lot. Haggai was a minor prophet who urged the Israelites to do four things – reflect on their priorities, work in hope during hard circumstances, be humble and pure in their intentions and actions, and remain faithful for the coming kingdom. 

Have you ever been in the midst of tackling a massive project? Perhaps a work, home improvement or church project? Sometimes these endeavors can feel so tedious, can’t they? Like you will never ever be done with the task and the finished product is hard to even fathom, a pinprick of light at the end of a long tunnel. In the midst of it all you’re likely very weary. You’re even considering taking some shortcuts just to get the thing done! If you’re solely relying on your human limits, you’re not seeing past the long days to the end result, which sounded so promising in earlier days. 

The Israelites felt the same. Before they even began rebuilding the temple, they weren’t focusing on what God wanted from them, instead zeroing in on selfish endeavors. When they decided to rebuild, with Haggai’s prompting, it was a major undertaking. They felt like their efforts were fruitless and the days were difficult. They gave little effort to what they were told God wanted for them. They weren’t choosing to humbly submit to God and make the daily choice of obedience to Him. They just didn’t feel His vision anymore. 

What Haggai is driving at is this – God has so much for us. But we need to do our part, too. Furthermore, our choices really do matter. Our heart matters. God doesn’t just want us to blindly “do,” He wants us to want to obey His word. That’s how His work is done in the world. We are His hands & feet, working in humility and obedience to our Father to establish His perfect Kingdom. 

Reflection questions:

  1. What are you doing for God right now, or what is He calling you to do? What is your attitude about it? 
  2. What is one way that you can recast your vision for what God has in store? What can you do today to be obedient to Him?
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