Spiritual Food for Women

John 6:42-45

42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 

44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 

45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

“God Draws Us To His Son…..IF We Allow Ourselves To Be Taught by God”

In verse 42, we find the Jews “murmuring” or grumbling within their circle about how they know that Jesus is the son of Joseph, and that they know Joseph’s parents.”How can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Question: Why aren’t these Jews thinking about Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would be born into this world of a virgin? (Isaiah 7:14) They are supposed to be experts on the Old Testament, and know it like the back of their hand. Jesus had obviously already proven Himself by performing miracles right in front of them, but nothing He did seemed to matter to them. 

In verse 43, Jesus tells them to stop their grumbling among themselves. Evidently, they were having a conversation among themselves that didn’t include Jesus even though He was nearby. I wonder…..were they trying to be discreet so Jesus wouldn’t hear them “murmuring” about Him, or did they low-key hope that He heard them. You know what I’m saying…..someone talks about you to someone else in a somewhat low tone, ONLY still loud enough for you to hear them, BUT for some reason they want to pretend that they don’t know you are listening. Either way…..it didn’t matter, because Jesus could read thoughts anyway. Jesus knew what they were going to say before it came out of their disrespectful mouths. I sometimes shutter when I think about how Jesus knows my every thought. Whew! 

In verse 44, Jesus makes an important statement, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him/her.” This statement ties directly to the statement made earlier in verse 37, “All those whom the Father gives Me will come to Me” and again in verse 39, “…..of all He has given to Me, I should lose nothing”. No one comes to God unless He first draws the person to Him. We don’t come to Jesus on our own. We come because God draws or calls us. This does not mean that we are predestined or forced against our will. We have the free will to listen and answer the call. But if we never hear the voice of God, can we come to Him? I think not. 

Think of all the beautiful songs about God/Jesus calling us: “God is Calling the Prodigal”, “Jesus Calls Us”, “I Can Hear My Saviour Calling”, “I Am Thine, Oh Lord (I have heard thy voice)” and many more. Here are some examples from scripture that further prove that God draws us or calls us to Him: 

Acts 2:38-39   Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”   

Who gets forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit? “Am many as the Lord our God will call.”

Galatians 1:6   “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel…..”

Who called them in the grace of Christ? God called them.

1 Peter 1:15  “…..but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct…..”

1 Peter 2:9  “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…..”

Who called us out of darkness? God did.

Romans 8:28  “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

We are “the called” of God. We have been drawn to God to love Him and live for His purpose. 

There are many more examples in God’s Word that prove that God draws us to Him. But how does God draw or call us?

In verse 45, Jesus quotes the old testament scripture Isaiah 54:13, when He says, “And they shall be taught of God”. When we are taught by God, we are drawn to or called by God. Jeremiah 31:33 also alludes to this idea when God says, paraphrasing, “I will put my law in the their minds, and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Doesn’t this sound like God is drawing the people to Him by teaching them His law? The last part of verse 45 is the key to the whole passage. Jesus says, paraphrasing, “If you have heard and learned from the Father, then you have come to Me.” We have to allow God to teach us through His Word. We have to “hear and learn” from His Word. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Being called by or drawn to God is not an actual voice that we can physically hear that no one else can hear. I’ve heard of denominational preachers who say that the spirit led or told them to say this or say that, and they mean this literally. But, if that were the case, wouldn’t this mean that God is a respecter of persons? It certainly would if He spoke one thing to one person, and something else to another. And we know from Romans 2:11 that He is not a respecter of persons. God speaks to everyone through His Word. His Word is a gift…..a living and powerful gift. (Hebrews 4:12) But…..it is up to us to open up His Word, read and study it, obey it, apply it to our lives, and teach it to others. (2 Timothy 2:15) This is how God draws us to Him. In many denominations, the preacher is the authority on what the Bible teaches, and people just take his word for it without studying for themselves. The preacher is put on a pedestal as a “man of God” whom God has spoken directly to, and told what to say. This is all wrong. The scriptures do not support this at all. A preacher has no more of a right or privilege to be “taught of God” than I do or anyone else does. He simply has the talent to “rightly divide the Word of truth” so that we can all gain a better understanding of the Word.  I am so thankful for gospel preachers who say, “Turn with me to ______, and let’s read from God’s Word”, or they have the scriptures on the powerpoint for us to turn to and read for ourselves. I have heard so many gospel preachers and teachers say, “Don’t take my word for it. Look up the scripture, and make sure that I am right.” I love that. It is the same way with brothers and sisters who are bible class teachers. They have the talent to research and explain God’s Word, and also question us and make us dive deeper into the context of verses and meat of the Word. No one is responsible for my spiritual education as an adult except for me. Once we are called by God, we each use our individual talents to help each other grow, and grow the body of Christ. And that is why God gave us all different abilities and talents to work together to “hear and learn” God’s Word, and share it with the world. 

One more thought……after we “hear and learn”, and God draws us to Him through our obedience, is it possible for us to fall away from God? Yes, it certainly is possible. We have to continue to be “taught of God” and “hear and learn” from God’s Word in order to stay “drawn” to God. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” We have to do our part once God draws us to Him, and have the desire to draw near to Him out of pure love for Him. We do this through attending services of worship and bible study, through personal bible study, through our personal prayer life, through our ministry to our fellow Christians, and through our mission to help save the lost. Those are all equally important, and not in any order of importance. Everything we do matters to God once He calls or “draws” us to Him. Have you been “drawn” to Him through His pure Word? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:38-41

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 

39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 

40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.”

“Jesus Doesn’t Want To Lose ANYONE”

In verse 38, Jesus reiterates His origin and purpose. He is from heaven, and He is on earth to do God’s will only, not His own will. Jesus’ will and God’s will are one. 

Back in verse 37, Jesus said that all those whom the Father gives Him will come to Him. In verse 39, paraphrasing, Jesus says, “My Father’s will is for all people whom He has given Me to not be lost.” Who are the people that the Father has given to Jesus that He won’t lose? Verse 40 tells us that it is those who see Jesus for who He is, which is the Son of God, and believe in Him. Belief in Jesus includes obedience to Him. We know from previous verses that those who truly believe in Jesus, see Him as their spiritual bread and find complete satisfaction in Him. Those are the people whom God gave to Jesus for Him to NEVER lose. Those are the people who truly COME to Him like verse 37 said. We are to go to Jesus for satisfaction instead of the world. If we do that, He will never lose us. 

In both verses 39 and 40, we are told how Jesus will save these people that He will never lose. He will save them by raising them up at the last day, which is judgment day. In verse 41, we see the Jews complaining about the things Jesus is saying. The Jews have a history of being complainers or murmurers that goes way back to the wilderness wanderings. In my own words, I can just picture and hear their conversation with each other, “Bread from heaven? How can he make such a claim? We know his family! How can he come down from heaven when we know perfectly well that he is from Nazareth?” Sadly, they just didn’t understand, or they didn’t want to understand. 

Let’s look back one more time at verse 39. God’s will is for none to be lost. We know that God sent Jesus as a gift to the world. 2 Peter 3:9 says, paraphrasing, “God is patient, not wanting anyone to be lost, but wants all to repent and obey the gospel, before it’s too late.” This is why the world has been allowed to continue up to this point…..because of the patience of God. God wants to “give” as many to Jesus as He possibly can. God’s full measure of grace through Jesus Christ is still working in the lives of people every day. I know it gets discouraging for us to live in such a world of darkness. But we are not of the world. We are only in it for a short time, and we can’t lose heart. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” More are being saved and snatched out of the fire every day. (Jude 1:23) God doesn’t want to lose a single person who is meant to be His. He knows every person who will “come” to Jesus in the future. No matter how bad it may look out there in the world sometimes, the future is still bright, because souls are being saved. There is so much work to do. No one is a hopeless case. Every person has the potential to be a Christian. It is our commission to plant seeds or water, and God will give the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6) We just have to stay the course, keep the faith, and finish the race. (Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 Timothy 4:7, Philippians 3:12-14) And, as God’s vessels here in the world, we are to help save as many as we can along the way, so that Jesus will not lose them on the last day. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:34-37

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 

36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

“I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE”

In the previous verses, Jesus told the people that the bread from God would give “life to the world”, Then the people demanded that Jesus give them the bread “always”. (vs. 34) The “always” part sticks out to me. They don’t want just one meal. Jesus had already provided them with one meal. They were not satisfied with that. They wanted to be physically fed “always”. Also, they called Him, “Lord” which is supposed to be a sign of respect, but I can’t help but think that this was just another ploy to manipulate Jesus into thinking that they were showing respect, when in reality it wasn’t genuine. Again, these people are spiritually blind, and materialistic. Hasn’t this been all of us at one point or another? Aren’t we all materialistic at times? Don’t we all worry too much about the things of this world at times, instead of setting our “minds on things above”? (Colossians 3:2) Personally, I know that this is something I struggle with, pray about, and fight against. Also, haven’t we heard someone else say something similar to this to Jesus before? In John 4:15 when Jesus spoke of living water that quenches thirst for eternity, the Samaritan woman said, “Sir, give me this water, that I might not thirst, nor come here to draw.”  She also was thinking of physical water to begin with, but she showed a change of heart as she continued to listen to Jesus. She went and told everyone she saw about her encounter with Jesus, the Christ. She hadn’t seen any miracles. She only knew that He had told her things about her life that He couldn’t have known. These people had seen miracles, and were still shallow-minded and unbelieving. 

In verse 35, Jesus makes the first of His seven “I am” statements. He promised spiritual satisfaction to all who come to Him and believe in Him. He didn’t promise to give them bread and water. He says “I am the bread of life”. Jesus is the “bread from heaven” and the “living water”. When Jesus says “come to me”, it means “believe in me”. These people were coming to Jesus, but not in the way that Jesus means in this verse. They are coming to Jesus for selfish reasons, and not because they believed in Him…..not because they desired to obey Him. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is believing and obeying Jesus. Jesus is the definition of righteousness. Do I hunger and thirst for Jesus? Nothing in this world can give us satisfaction except “the Bread of Life”. There is no inner peace without Him. Think about it this way. How do we feel when we are physically hungry or thirsty? We are uncomfortable until we are satisfied with food or drink to take away that feeling. When we are spiritually hungry or thirsty, we have no inner peace, no rest, and no satisfaction. We constantly worry about the future. We have nothing to trust in except the world, which is actually nothing. There is nothing in the world to put our trust in! What misery! Jesus is looking for the hearts that find complete contentment, and confidence in Him no matter what happens in their lives. I may be stripped of everything, but as long as I have “the Bread”, I will still be full. Of course, I fail miserably at this. I am human. I complain and fret over things that, in the big picture, really don’t matter. That is why I need “the Bread”…..the perfect “Bread from Heaven” who came to save an imperfect me. I do want to be content in Him. That is my goal. 

In verse 36, we see Jesus again reading their thoughts. These people have seen Jesus heal the sick and turn 5 loaves and 2 fish into a meal for thousands, yet they still don’t truly believe in Him. Later in John 20:29, Jesus will say to Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” I think about us. We haven’t seen Jesus with our eyes or heard Him with our ears, but we believe in Him with all our hearts. Jesus says we are “blessed”. Peter speaking to the “pilgrims of the Dispersion” in 1 Peter 1:8-9 says this referring to Jesus, “whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” Heaven is our “end game”, because we love,  believe in and obey Him without having seen Him. 

In verse 37, Jesus says, “All (those) that the Father has given me will come to Me.” If a person truly belongs to God, then he/she will believe in His Son. In John 5:43, Jesus says, “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me.” God and Jesus are a package deal….one and the same. These Jewish people claim to be God’s chosen people, and they most certainly were! God had a purpose for them, and that purpose was fulfilled in Jesus coming from their lineage. However, they are now cutting their ties with God the Father,  by not accepting God the Son as the “Bread of Life.” Jesus ends this verse by stating that anyone who comes to Him will not be “thrown out” or “cast out”. The word “cast out” is a forceful word. When Jesus would “cast out” demons, He would cast them out by force. He will never do this to anyone who belongs to Him. God doesn’t want anyone to be lost, so He sent Jesus, the Bread, down to earth to secure all who come to Him. Remember, Jesus had the disciples gather all the leftover pieces of bread so that none would be lost. We are His disciples, and we are to try to gather as many lost souls as possible while we are here. In Matthew 8:12, Jesus spoke of those who would be “cast out into outer darkness”, where there would be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. He said this after the centurion came to Him begging Him to heal His servant. Jesus told the man that He would come to his house and heal his servant, but the man said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus marvelled at this centurion’s faith. This is the faith that Jesus is looking for…..the kind of faith that will lay everything precious at Jesus’ feet, and trust Him to take care of it all. Basically, Jesus is saying that if we don’t have the kind of faith of the centurion, then we will be cast out. Lord, help me have that kind of faith. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:30-33

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 

33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

“The True Bread of God…..Jesus”

“What sign are you going to do for us so that we will believe You?” Never mind the fact that He had just fed these same hungry people the day before! Seriously? So…..feeding 5000+ people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish was not enough of a sign for them to believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Plus, in John 6:2, it said that the reason the multitude followed Jesus in the first place was because of the sick people that He had healed. That blows my mind! They had plenty of proof! This was nothing more than a manipulative ploy by a selfish and spiritually blind group of people who wanted to get all the personal gain they could out of Jesus. They were still looking for physical satisfaction from Jesus, and looking at Him as an earthly king. 

In verse 31, they brought up the manna that their fathers ate in the wilderness by quoting Exodus 14:6. Why did they quote this scripture? Well, back in John 6:14, the people had already claimed that Jesus was the “Prophet” that Moses spoke of in the old testament. If you read between the lines, this is what they actually meant by quoting that verse…..“Moses made sure our fathers had bread from heaven for 40 years while they were wandering in the wilderness. You have only given us one meal. If you are the “Prophet”, surely you can give us more than Moses gave our fathers.” But Jesus made sure to remind them in verse 32 that Moses did not provide them their bread from heaven. God was always the provider of everything that Israel needed while in the wilderness. Then Jesus switches gears in the middle of this verse, and speaks in the present tense. He says, “But My Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.” We know that Jesus was speaking about Himself as the “true bread”. The physical manna was only a shadow of the spiritual manna that had come in the person of Jesus. 

In verse 33, Jesus goes on to say that this “true bread” from heaven is capable of giving life…..eternal life, to the whole world. The manna from heaven in the Old Testament was reserved only for the people of Israel, and fulfilled their physical hunger temporarily. Jesus is the “True Bread” that will satisfy our spiritual hunger for a lifetime, and on into eternity. If we want to gain access to the “True Bread”, we must be willing to believe in who the “True Bread” is, and obey Him. 

We live in a spiritually hungry world, and the sad thing is…..most people don’t realize that they are starving for the “True Bread”. They are starving for something that only Jesus can give, which is hope and salvation. They are looking in all the wrong places for satisfaction, but it all leads to emptiness. When I look back on my life, I remember that empty feeling that comes from being starved for the “Bread of Life”. It is much worse than physical hunger. I never want to be in that starving condition again. Are you starving for the “True Bread”? Our eternal souls cannot survive without it. Please reach out for help if you are in need of a Bible study. I will help you in any way that I can, or put you in contact with someone who can. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:26-29

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 

27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

“Believe in the One Whom God Sealed……That is Your Work of God”

In verse 26, we find Jesus answering the people whom He had just miraculously fed, but He isn’t answering the question that He was asked…..which I find a bit comical. In the previous verse, they wanted to know when He had come there. Remember, they were confused because they hadn’t seen how He got across the sea since He didn’t leave with His disciples. But, that is not what is important to Jesus. Jesus is there to challenge and teach them. Jesus says, paraphrasing, “Most certainly, I know that you have been looking for me, but not for the right reasons. You didn’t recognize the deeper meaning (signs) that I was trying to teach you. You are looking for me, only because you got your physical hunger fulfilled.” Again, here is that shallow belief that Jesus has spoken of before. The “what is in it for me” type of belief. They loved what Jesus could do for them, but didn’t love Jesus, the person. Let’s think of it in this way. How do we want others to love us? Our husbands? Our children? Our friends? Our fellow Christians? Do we want them to love us because of what they can get from us? This is not really love at all. It is selfishness. A marriage cannot be based on this. A friendship can’t either. No relationship will thrive if one or both parties are only looking out for number 1…..themselves. Remember what Paul said in Philippians 2:3-5, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…..” Question: Do I have the mind of Christ in that I put others ahead of myself?

In verse 27, Jesus expounds on what He was trying to teach them with the loaves and fish. He says, paraphrasing, “Don’t put all your focus and hard work on physical/worldly/temporary things that don’t last. Put your focus and hard work on the things that last forever…..things that will fulfill and save your soul…..things which only the Son of Man can give you, because God has put His seal or stamp of approval on His Son so that through Him, you can have eternal life.” Jesus was trying to teach them that there is more to life than physical food and material things. All the physical food in the world will not save their souls. Yes, we have to eat. Yes, we need jobs so that we can make our way in the world. Yes, we need clothes. Yes, it is fine to have a comfortable home and a car to get us from place to place. Yes, we can go on vacations, and enjoy fun activities in this life. However, we need to always remember who has provided everything we have. Nothing is truly ours! And may we never forget that all these “things” are nothing compared to heaven. May we never let worldly things become our focus. May we always keep Jesus and His purpose at the center of our lives as our main focus. What do we work for in this life? Is our focus on the temporary material things of the world or the permanent/eternal things that come from Jesus? Remember the verse, “What profit do we have if we gain the whole world, and lose our soul to the devil?” (Mark 8:36) Jesus is “sealed” by God to be the only way to gain eternal life. This will never change. The tomb was sealed where they buried Jesus after His crucifixion, but that man-made sealed tomb couldn’t hold Jesus. Man-made seals can be broken, but nothing and no one can break the seal that God has put on Jesus. Hebrew 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.” When we obey Jesus in baptism, we are sealed by God through the blood of Jesus. We will remain in that sealed relationship with Jesus unless we make the decision to willfully disobey Him or leave Him. May we all walk in the light so that we can remain in our sealed relationship with Jesus.  

In verse 28, the people are trying to figure out Jesus’ words, so they ask, paraphrasing, “What are the works that God wants us to do?”. Jesus is getting them to dig deep. I’m sure they are thinking, “So, we are not supposed to work for physical food, we are supposed to work for the things of God which lead to eternal life, but what work do we do? What is required of us?”. I can see how they might be confused. But Jesus……gives an amazing answer, simple…..but amazing! In verse 29, Jesus answers them, paraphrasing, “God has done the work. You just need to believe in the One that He sent. That is your work of God.” I love this. Eternal life is God’s work that He has accomplished. Our work is to simply believe in and obey Jesus. No amount of work can get us to heaven if we don’t believe in and obey Jesus. This is an extension of everything that we have learned so far in the book of John. We have to be “born again” spiritually as Jesus told Nicodemis. We have to drink the “living water” that He offered the Samaritan woman. We have to trust Jesus the way the nobleman did when he immediately returned home 20 miles after Jesus told him his son “lives”. It took trust for that father to take Jesus at His word that his precious son was healed. We have to eat of the “bread”, the spiritual food, that Jesus offers through His Word. We have to let Him in our “boat” so He can help us through the storms of life, and get us to land…..the eternal shore of heaven. Are you headed toward that eternal shore? Is Jesus the “bread” of your life? Have you been sealed by God through Jesus? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:22-25

22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 

23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 

24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 

25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

Do I Seek Jesus With My Whole Heart?

“Where is He? He didn’t get in the boat with His followers, so where did He go?” At least these people were seeking Jesus! They may not have been looking for Him for the right reasons or with the right heart, as we will see in the next few verses, but they were seeking Him. They knew Jesus hadn’t gotten into the boat with His disciples, but He also wasn’t on the mountain anymore. So they went searching for Him. Faith has to start somewhere. I also think about how they wanted to take Him by force in the earlier verses! I wonder…..were they still of this mindset? Verse 25 says that they found Him. If we look forward to John 6:59, we see that they found Him in the synagogue. They wanted to know when He came across the sea ….”Teacher, when did you come here?” I’m sure they were curious. How did He get across the sea?! Jesus is going to speak to them in the next two verses, but doesn’t bother answering their question. Their question is irrelevant. It didn’t matter how He got across the water. However, it did matter that they were seeking Jesus. And Jesus was ready to speak to them. Are we seeking Jesus? Are we seeking Him with the right motives?

When do we seek Jesus? 1 Chronicles 16:11 and Psalm 105:4 both say that we are to “seek His presence continually”. We are to never stop seeking Jesus. We can’t just seek Him on Sundays and Wednesdays when we attend services, and then seek after the world the rest of the time. 

How do we seek Jesus? We are to seek Him “with our whole heart”. (Jeremiah 29:13, Deuteronomy 4:29) He should be at the forefront of our minds constantly. He is our reason for everything we do. He is at the core of every decision we make in our lives. 

Why do we seek Jesus? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that Jesus is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Obviously, we seek Him because we want the reward of heaven. We certainly don’t want the other option. But that is not all…..we seek Jesus continually with our whole heart, because it is the only way to stay on the narrow path. If we don’t seek Him, we will fall away, and we will lose the reward of heaven. Psalm 119:10 says this very thing, “With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” We seek Jesus, because He came to earth to seek out each one of us, and save our souls. (Luke 19:10) We seek Him, because we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. (Matthew 22:37) We seek Him because He is our creator. (John 1:3) If we seek Jesus just for the reason of going to heaven and not going to hell, then we are no different than the people who were following Him because of His miracles. We seek Him because He loved us so much that He was willing to suffer and die for us. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) 

Where do we seek Jesus? First and foremost, we seek Jesus through the Word of God. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Seeking Him includes attending worship and bible study services, personal bible study, looking for opportunities to tell others about Jesus, talking about Him in our day to day lives, and praying to Him throughout each day. We seek Jesus in other people when we look for the good in others without focusing on the negative. Seeking Him is a combination of all of these things. We seek Jesus everywhere…..in every opportunity. 

Question: Am I seeking Jesus continually, with my whole heart? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:18-21

18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 

19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 

20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 

21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

Is Jesus in Your Boat?

In the previous verses, we read that Jesus stayed on the mountain while the disciples went into the boat to sail back across the sea. The account of this event is also found in Matthew 14:22-33 and Mark 6:45-52, and it is much more detailed in those accounts. It is important to study and compare all accounts to get the details right. I have found that out as I have been studying through John, and missed a couple of details along the way. In the other gospel accounts, it says Jesus told them to go ahead without Him. The other accounts also give the detail that Jesus was praying. I’m sure He sent them away for this very reason, so He could be alone to talk to His Father. Although John’s account of this event is less detailed, he gives us enough information to make a deep connection to our lives. 

The sea was getting rough because of a “great wind” (vs. 18). Jesus saw that this was making it hard for the disciples to row the boat (Mark 6:48). Jesus saw them struggling, just like He sees us when we are struggling. The disciples were about 3 to 4 miles from the shore (vs. 19). This would have been somewhere around the middle of the sea, since the sea of Galilee was around 6 to 7 miles across. Suddenly, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and they were afraid (vs. 19). Imagine being 3 to 4 miles out in the water, and seeing someone in the distance walking on top of the water. It would be alarming, wouldn’t it? Jesus identifies Himself, almost with an “I am” statement, and tells them not to be afraid (vs. 20). I’m curious…..I wonder how long it took Jesus to walk 3 to 4 miles? I know it takes me like an hour and a half to walk that far. But with Jesus it could have been minutes. With Jesus…..anything is possible. It may have seemed like Jesus was far away to the disciples who were battling the wind, but then…..He was suddenly there near the boat. Jesus is never far away from us. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a good day or a bad day…..a calm day on the water or a rough day on the sea…..Jesus is there. It makes me think of the verse where Jesus says he stands at the door and knocks for us to let Him in (Revelation 3:20). Jesus is never more than a knock away.  

The most important message in these verses is the fact that the disciples received Him into the boat. The disciples were struggling in the boat with the wind and the waves. Once they recognized who Jesus was and realized their need for Jesus, they let Him into the boat. The symbolism is clear. The rough wind and water can represent the world, and all the trials and temptations we will face within it. The boat can represent each of our lives. When we are struggling in life, we need to let Jesus into our boat so He can help us. He is the only one who can make things get better for us. In fact, Jesus needs to stay in our boats. Jesus did say that he would never leave us or forsake us. That sounds like He wants to be in our boat 24/7. But it is never Jesus who leaves our boats, it is us who dump Jesus overboard, and try to do things on our own. 

We just need to remember this…..just like He provided enough food for all those 5000+ people, and delivered the disciples from the “great wind”, He will provide for and deliver us. Jesus wants to be in each of our boats! He wants to steer our boats in the right direction. We just need to recognize Him and receive Him. Just like the disciples recognized who Jesus truly was when He was walking on that water on that dangerous windy night, we have to recognize who Jesus is today. He is our Savior and deliverer…..the only One who can truly help us. I’m sure the disciples saw Jesus, and thought, “It’s going to be okay now, because we have Jesus in our boat.” I’m sure they were breathing a sign of relief! That is exactly the attitude that we should have in life if we are Christians. We should be breathing a sigh of relief because we have Jesus in our boat! No matter who the president is, no matter how much groceries and gas costs, no matter what wars are going on across the world, no matter what chaos Satan causes in this world, no matter how bad things seem to get…..if we have obeyed Jesus, and are staying faithful to Him, then He is in our boat, and we will be okay. We can have peace. But we don’t always do that, do we? We lose sight of Jesus sometimes, when we go through hard times. We panic and forget that He is in our boat. 

I noticed in the other gospel accounts, it says that the wind immediately ceased when Jesus entered the boat. That is exactly what happens when we let Him into our lives. Jesus will calm the rough waters of life along the way. In John’s account, it says they were immediately at land the second that Jesus stepped onto the boat. The land represents heaven. When Jesus returns to get all of us who have obeyed His gospel and been faithful to Him, then we will immediately be at our eternal destination of heaven. Jesus will take us to our spiritual promised land…..heaven. Jesus said this back in John 5:24. He said that if we believe in Him, then we will “pass from death into life”. Jesus will get us to our eternal destination “immediately” if we have obeyed Him throughout our entire lives to the best of our abilities. I want Jesus in my boat. Actually…..Jesus is my “boat”, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.                                                                                                  Have you let Jesus into your boat yet? Has He become your “boat” that will help you get safely to land…..aka, heaven? He’s just right there waiting for you to let Him in. All you have to do is decide to obey Him. “Letting Him in your boat” = “obeying Him in repentance and baptism”. It means burying the “old you”, and being resurrected as the “new you”. It means giving Him control over your life, and letting Him guide your decision-making. Let Him navigate life’s troubled waters for you! We were never meant to direct our own steps in this life (Jer. 10:23).                                                                                                    Or…..maybe Jesus was once in your boat, but you pushed Him overboard to go your own way in the world? He’s ready for you to let Him back in. Wasn’t life much better when He was in your boat? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:14-17

14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 

17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

“He’s the Prophet! Let’s Force Him to Be Our King!”

Why did John use the word sign instead of miracle? In verse 14, we see John’s use of the word “sign” to describe the miracle of the loaves and fish. He only writes about seven signs/miracles in his gospel account. It seems that he picked miracles that he could attach a deeper meaning to, which explains his use of the word “sign” instead of miracle. John doesn’t want us to simply be amazed by the miracle that Jesus performs. He wants us to understand and apply the deeper meaning that the miracle provides. In verse 14, we see that the people seem to somewhat understand the sign, because they call Jesus “the Prophet”. This means they are making the connection back to Deuteronomy 18:15-19 where Moses prophesied to the Israelites that God would “raise up a Prophet” for them. They got part of it right, but verse 15 tells us that they don’t fully understand Jesus’ purpose for being on earth. Jesus read their thoughts like we have seen Him do many times, and saw that they were plotting to make Him their king……by FORCE! That blows my mind! They saw the miracle that Jesus just performed with the bread and fish. They had seen other miracles that He had done by healing the sick. Did they really think they could take Jesus against His will? And why would they want to do that to someone who had just fed them all the bread and fish they wanted? We can clearly see the shallow mentality of the people. They wanted a king whom they could put up on a pedestal in a worldly way to be seen by men. For the Jews, religion was all for show. But wasn’t Israel always obsessed with having an earthly king? Remember in 1 Samuel 8 when Israel begged Samuel, who was the last judge over Israel, for an earthly king? This was a big red flag that their hearts were not right with God. They should have been seeing God as their king, and trusting in Him to lead them and take care of them. God warned them of all the bad things that would happen if they had earthly kings. But they wouldn’t listen. They wanted to be like all the other nations around them who had earthly kings. But why? They had the one true God as their king! Why would they want to be like everyone else when they were God’s chosen people? It seems that the nation of Israel was still looking for an earthly king even at the time of John’s writing. The mentality had not changed. It makes me think…..we are to follow the laws of the land today. We have a government that makes laws that we are required to follow. We are commanded in Romans 13:1-7 to obey the government. Disobeying the government is disobeying God. But…..we have to also recognize that our true king is Jesus. If our government tries to put things into law that are against King Jesus’ Word, then we know where our loyalty has to lie. We are to obey our heavenly King before we obey any other man-made governing authority. (Acts 5:27-29) 

Now let’s talk about Jesus withdrawing to the mountain, because there is symbolism in that as well. What did Moses do when he came down from the Mt. Sinai with the law written by God on stone tablets only to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf? He broke the tablets, and later had to return to the mountain to make more. The people’s sin caused Moses to have to return to the mountain. Jesus also returned to the mountain in this account, because of the people’s sinful thoughts. Jesus’ and Moses’ actions parallel each other. It also says that Jesus was alone this time without His disciples. 

The text takes a turn in the next few verses. The disciples got on the boat and sailed towards Capernaum. It was dark and Jesus had not come to them. It seems as though they might have been waiting for Jesus to come down from the mountain, but Jesus told them to get in the boat and go to the other side to Bethsaida as we read in Mark 6:45. Jesus stayed on the mountain for a specific reason as He always had a reason for everything that He did. He had another point to make before the evening ended. Jesus never ceased in doing the Father’s will. Question for myself: Am I continually doing the Father’s will? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:10-13

10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

“So That Nothing is Lost”

“Have everyone sit down.” says Jesus to His disciples. Jesus knew the people needed to sit down, rest, and take nourishment. It says there is “much grass in that place”. From what I have read, the general area where this took place was a barren hilly area. Barren means lacking in vegetation or life. However, this multitude just happened to be in an area with grass, which makes it more comfortable and clean for them to sit down and eat. Isn’t that convenient? Where Jesus is…..there is life.  

In verse 11, we see Jesus preparing to feed the people. What is the first thing He does? He gives thanks to the Father for the food. Jesus was setting an example before His disciples and the people to always thank God for what we have. Then the disciples began to pass out the food. I wonder how long it took to pass out food to 5000 men plus women and children! Can you imagine what they were thinking when they kept going back to Jesus expecting the food to be gone only to find more and more food? The disciples went back to Jesus over and over, and Jesus continued to provide “bread” and fish. This is the abundance of blessings that we find in Jesus. We can keep going back for more “bread” only to find even more “bread”. Jesus is overflowing with blessings. We find those blessings in The Word. The more that you are in God’s Word, the more you desire to be in it. Every day that I dive into these scriptures, I find more “bread” of life to sustain me. The more “Bread of Life” that I eat, the more that I want. The blessings found in God’s Word are endless, and last a lifetime. Jesus provided the food, but it was up the people to actually feed themselves, right? In the same way, He gives us an unending supply of spiritual food through His Word, but it is up to us to feed ourselves. Also, we see that this is not just a snack for the people. It is a meal. Everyone ate as much as they wanted until they “were filled”. This is also symbolic. Only Jesus can fill us. Nothing in this world can fill us. We walk away empty every time we try to use worldly things to fill the void within us. 

In verse 11, we see Jesus telling the disciples to gather up all the leftover pieces, “so that nothing is lost”. The other three gospel writers don’t record these words of Jesus. Jesus wasn’t only telling them to gather up the leftover pieces simply to not be wasteful. We obviously don’t need to be wasteful, and we do need to be good stewards of what God provides for us, but there is a deeper meaning here that I had not noticed before. It is symbolic. Jesus had fed the people with physical bread to sustain them. Jesus is the spiritual ‘bread” of life that sustains us for eternity. He doesn’t want any soul to be lost, hence the statement “so that nothing is lost”. Every person is important to Jesus. He wants His disciples to feel this way about every soul as they preach His word in the future. They will be the ones who will carry the gospel to the world after He goes back to the Father. Jesus symbolically means, gather every soul “so that none is lost.” This applies to us today as well. We are to gather souls in order to save as many as possible. Our mindset should be……”so that no one is lost”.

Another interesting symbolism in this verse is the number of baskets of pieces that are left over. Why twelve? Why the specificity in telling the number of baskets left? The twelve baskets could stand for the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus came to save all human beings from their sins, but He went to the nation of Israel first. Remember in Acts 1:4, Jesus told the apostles to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the “Promise of the Father”. Then in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” All Jewish people would be gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost as was required of them. This is why the ministry in Jerusalem was to come first…..and then they were to spread out from there. Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” John’s account of this miracle is so rich in symbolism and is much deeper spiritually than I realized. It goes much deeper than providing bread and fish to 5000 plus people. It reaches forward to us as His disciples today. Gather up all of the fragments, so that none are lost. Jesus wants us to gather as many as we can. A reflection for myself…..am I living my life with this purpose…..to gather as many as I can? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

John 6:1-9

1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

Jesus Has No Limitations

Imagine this…..you are sitting up on a mountaintop in a place that is in the middle of nowhere with some of your friends. You have been following this guy named Jesus around everywhere, because it appears as though He is the Messiah, and not only that…..He asked YOU personally to come with Him everywhere He went. You look up, and see an amazing sight….. a group of thousands of people coming toward the place where you are. Of course, you know that they aren’t coming to see you. They are coming to see this man who has healed every disease known to man. This is the scene that is unfolding before you as you sit on this mountaintop. Jesus has crossed the sea of Galilee, went up onto the mountain, taken you and your friends up the mountain with Him, and now He turns, looks directly at YOU, and asks YOU, paraphrasing, “Where are we going to get food for these people? They are going to get hungry.” You might be thinking, “we could put all our money together, and we wouldn’t have anywhere near enough money to buy food to feed this mob of people”. Put yourself in Philip’s shoes. Can you just imagine what went through his mind? I know what I would be thinking. Why is He asking me to figure this out? He is the one who can heal the sick with just a word from His lips. Philip didn’t know it, but he was being tested. Jesus already knew what He was going to do in this situation like He did in every situation. The test was this…..Jesus wanted Philip and the others to automatically turn to Him to fix the problem. He wanted them to confess that He was the Son of God, and could handle any problem put before them, including this one. Of course, He knew that they weren’t ready to do that yet, but He is training them through these situations that He is putting them in. What about us? Do we automatically turn to Jesus first and foremost when we face a problem? Just like Jesus tested the disciples, we are being tested to see if we will turn to Jesus. Every trial we face is a test of our faith. Jesus already knows how we will react to those trials. He knows if we will turn to Him, try to handle it ourselves without Him, or see it as a hopeless situation and just give up. Jesus knows everything just like He already knew what He was going to do in this situation. He had a purpose for everything He did, every place He went, and every person He talked to. It was all a part of His and the Father’s divine plan. 

As chapter 6 begins, we see Jesus removing Himself from the conversation that He was having with the Jews in chapter 5. I am sure that He was mentally exhausted from the confrontation, and needed some alone time with just His disciples. After all, even though He was God in the flesh, He was human also. He got physically and mentally fatigued like we do. He went to the other side of the sea of Galilee to get away from the crowds, but this alone time sure didn’t last long for Jesus. 

In verse 7, Philip responds to Jesus’ question about where to get food for the multitude in much the same way that Moses responded to God in the book of Numbers. Philip said, “Two hundred denarii is not enough to feed each person even a little bite of food.” In Numbers 11:10-20, we find that the children of Israel were tired of the manna, and were begging for meat. God was not pleased with their complaining. In verse 13 of that chapter, a frustrated Moses asks God, “Where am I going to get meat for these people?” God says in Numbers 11:20 that the people will eat meat for an entire month until they are sick of it. In Numbers 11:21-22, Moses says these words to God, ‘The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?” Doesn’t this sound a lot like what Philip said to Jesus? The meaning behind what they both said was basically the same. They were both implying that there was no way to feed all the people. They were both putting limitations on the power of God and His Son. But…..Moses certainly should have known that God could provide an abundance of meat after all he had seen God do for the people up until that point. I love God’s response to Moses in Numbers 11:23, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” Really Moses? After all you have seen God accomplish, are you really going to put limitations on God? And honestly, the disciples should have known that Jesus could provide whatever was needed as well, because of all they had seen Him do in healing the sick. In verses 8-9, Andrew responds in the same way as Philip. He points out that they have the 5 loaves and 2 fish, not because he thinks it will do any good, but to point out that the situation seemed to be hopeless. But we know that no situation is hopeless with God. With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). We just have let go of our doubts, let God take over, and truly believe that He makes all things possible. Do we sometimes put limitations on God? Do we sometimes start trying to solve a problem without praying to God first? I know I’m guilty. We don’t ever have to face anything alone. God wants us to turn to Him for help. 

Now…..let’s back up to verse 2 where we see a problem…..the same problem that we saw in John 2:23-25 and John 4:48. The people had selfish motives for following Jesus. They were following Him because of the “signs which He did on those who were sick.” They had a “what’s in it for me?” attitude. Don’t we see it in today’s world also? What am I going to get out of being a Christian? How is following Christ going to benefit me? Our blessings in Christ are not material, they are spiritual. Prospering in a worldly way is not what should be most important to us. It is the blessing of being free from sin, and the hope of eternal life, not only for ourselves, but for as many others as possible, that should motivate us to follow Christ. It is the “peace of God that surpasses understanding” that keeps us content in this life (Phil. 4:7). Jesus is standing guard around our hearts if we are walking with Him. That is why we are able to have peace in every situation…..even in the most difficult times. That peace is just one of the many spiritual blessings that we have in Christ. It is hard to explain the kind of peace that we have in Christ to someone outside of Christ, isn’t it? Until they experience it, they can’t really understand it. If only everyone could experience this kind of peace…..the peace that only comes from the Prince of Peace…..Jesus. Do you have the “peace of God that surpasses all understanding” in your life? Is Jesus standing guard around your heart?

In my Thompson Chain Reference Bible, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 was referenced beside verse 9 of our writing today. It reads, paraphrasing, “God elevates the seemingly foolish things/people to bring the people who are wise in their own eyes down off their pedestal. He elevates the weak to bring down the people who think their strength comes from within themselves.” God elevates seemingly insignificant people who are considered “nobodies” by the world. Some are even despised and made fun of by others. He uses these lowly people to accomplish great things so that we will understand that nothing can happen because of our own ability. Our accomplishments are only because God allowed them to happen, and they are for His glory. We can do nothing without Him. We have nothing to brag about. Our accomplishments or status in life will not bring us salvation. In verse 9 of our writing, Andrew was saying, paraphrasing, “What good are these 5 loaves and 2 fish? How are they going to do any good in helping feed all these people?” Just picture this young boy standing there holding his lunch. He didn’t have much, but he was willing to share. And Jesus…..well…..Jesus is going to elevate this boy’s lunch into something amazing! This is a lesson for us. Someone may think that they don’t have much to offer the kingdom of God. Someone may be thinking, “What difference can I make in the church? I’m just little ole me…..one person. How can I help the lost? I’m not smart enough to teach anyone. I don’t know enough.” But God…..God will choose a person whom we least expect to do great things in His kingdom for His glory. It could be you. It could be me. All we have to do is be willing to let Him use us. A willing heart is all we need. The young boy was willing to share what he had. Are we willing to share what we have, which is the good news of Jesus Christ? What we have to share is a lot more important than bread and fish. We may feel insignificant in the kingdom, but then again…..remember that little boy who shared his lunch. I’m sure that little boy never dreamed his lunch would satisfy the hunger of 5000+ people…..but Jesus…..

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)