Give Them Something to Eat

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-20 

Focus verse: Matthew 14:16 – “They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.” We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered. “Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said. 

Have you ever felt like that the task before you is too big for you to handle?Have you ever felt that unless you get external support you cannot move? Did you ever come to a point where all that surrounds you is not enough?What do you do or where do you run to when you are faced with inadequacy?  

Jesus has just finished teaching more than five thousand people and it is getting late in the evening. The disciples are concerned about the crowd, they are hungry and they need to have something to eat. All that is available is a small amount of money and a small lunch (two fish and five loaves of bread) from a lad. The disciples advise Jesus to send the people away so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the nearby town. Then ironically, Jesus tells them not to send the people away but instead they need to give them something to eat. How is it possible? Two fish and five loaves of bread! Then Jesus said, “Bring them to me.”

Service to the Kingdom of God is all sufficient. God is not just concerned about our spiritual lives but also our physical needs. He cannot meet our spiritual needs and then send us out to the world to fetch for our physical needs. All that we need for our lives God has provided. We don’t need to send the people out to go and look for their needs but we can trust God to provide in His own ways even when what we have seems not enough. Our “not enough” is more than enough when we surrender it to the hands of God. Believers are not beggars from the world, our God is able to provide for all our needs much more than we think or ask. The task may seem too huge, but the God we carry is Mighty in power. Ours is to give thanks, trust and believe that He will be able to handle each situation.

 

Rev. Eliazar Wambo Nyakwadah

Pastor Makira Baptist Church

True Worshipper

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-8

Focus Verse: Matthew 2:8  “Then he told them, Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child.  And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I may go and worship him also.”

The Christmas season brings some people to church that don’t normally go to church.  Maybe they also go during Easter.  Would we call these people “true worshippers”?  Probably not, because there is not a pattern in their life of worship to God.  In reality every person is a worshipper.  The question is what or who do you worship?  The list of things or people we could worship is long.  People might worship money, celebrities, sports, houses, vehicles, self, job, or nature etc.  Romans 1:25 says,  “They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise!”  

In our focus verse we see that King Herod was a false worshipper.  He pretended to be a worshipper.  There are people like him today.  They say they believe in God, but the life they live is far from what the Bible teaches.  He didn’t want to worship Jesus, he wanted to kill him.  Because Jesus was a threat to his own kingdom.  Maybe you’re not looking to kill Jesus, but you know that you are not a true worshipper either.  Herod wanted to be king of his own life. Philippians 2:9-10 says this about King Jesus, " Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth." God gives us a choice. What is the object of your worship?  This Christmas let’s make sure we are true worshippers in the One true God.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

We Can Have Great Joy

 We Can Have Great Joy

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-20

Focus Verses: Luke 2:10-12  “But the angel reassured them. Don’t be afraid! he said. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign.  You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

This Christmas will look different for our family.  Within the past few months both my wife’s parents have passed away.  Sometimes we go through a season of life that is hard.  The very first Christmas was a hard time for Israel.  Israel was being controlled by Rome, and the future was uncertain.  

Maybe you are going through a hard time in your life right now.  Maybe you’re going through an illness, or the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job.  The angel’s message to the shepherds can be to you as well.  “Don’t be afraid, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”  Luke 2:10   Christmas is a cause for joy.  Not just on Christmas day, but for our whole lives, because Jesus came to save us for all eternity.  It can be hard to find joy sometimes on this earth because we are surrounded by troubles, but we can have great joy because this earth is not all there is.  

Heaven is waiting for those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus.  Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.  There is a reason we can have great joy this Christmas, and His name is Jesus.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries