The Way to a Man's Heart

Mark 8:1-13

Did you know Jesus fed 9,000 people with 12 loaves and four or five fish?  Lots of us have heard the story of feeding 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, but not everyone realizes that Jesus does it again, this time feeding 4,000 with seven loaves and a few more fish.

In the 8^th chapter of Mark, Jesus is worried about the crowd that has followed him for three days with nothing to eat.  He doesn’t want to send them away hungry.  He’s afraid they’ll collapse on the long journey home.  While Jesus is obviously concerned with their physical needs, a parallel can be made to him not wanting to send them home spiritually hungry.  He wants them to “taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8).

He also wants to give them spiritual strength for the long journey ahead.  In today’s passage, Jesus uses the disciples to distribute nourishment for the body.  After his death, these same disciples will go out and continue Jesus’ ministry of filling people’s spirits. They will distribute the love of God and the people will be satisfied.

But in every crowd, there are doubters and naysayers.  The Pharisees fill this role when they approach Jesus and begin to question him and ask him for a sign.  Jesus replies, “Truly I tell you; no sign will be given” (v. 12).

Those who believe have seen the wonders that Jesus performed and recognize him as the one true God.  They have followed him for days, asking nothing in return.  Jesus rewards their loyalty with a sign that nourishes their body and later nourishes their soul.

Jesus wants us to share in the awesome wonder of watching him turn seven loaves and a few fish into a meal that satisfies thousands.  Jesus won’t let us go hungry.  He will fill us up and send us out, so we can share the blessings of his love.

Hangry Spirit

Dear Readers – Please welcome the first of our three newest writers to Daily Bible Blast, Abby Fullen. Abby will be writing the Thursday posts-below is her first contribution. 

Holy. I’m hesitant to use such a word to describe myself. I mean, I’m holy and so is the Holy Spirit? I don’t feel like I’m quite up to that standard. But when I read the definition of that word I find it to be a soothing balm- it turns it into a feeling, a state of being, an action. I can shed the fear of having to live up to an expectation and step into the holiness that Jesus’s sacrifice bestowed on me, on us.

Let’s look at holiness in the realm of fasting. Practicing Christians know well that we gain when we release. Through the actions of freeing ourselves from a master, we’re allowing ourselves to more fully experience the intentions God has for us.

I have an issue with “hanger” (angry hunger). Most of the time you may hear it as hangry, like “Watch out, she’s super hangry.” — Most often spoken by my mother. Instead of feeding that “hanger” with good food- vegetables, clean protein, natural sugar from fruits- I often choose to quickly satisfy it with processed foods full of bad fat and sugar. I spike my blood sugar levels so I can dissipate the uncomfortable feelings of hunger and anger as quickly as possible, without thought to the damage I’ve done. Because the hunger isn’t being fulfilled in a healthy way.

The same goes with my spiritual “hanger.” I’ve been in plenty of seasons when I’m so hungry for God, and so impatient, that I turn to lifestyle comparisons with strangers on social media, sugar-filled baked goods, and the first thing that pops up on my Netflix queue. Because I feel fed for a moment, long enough until I have to do it again. However, I’ve stopped instantly satisfying my cravings and I’ve made myself sit in impatience because constant feedings of comparison and fiction that end in emptiness aren’t working for me anymore. I’m not going to tell you that I have it figured out. I’m still hungry. But, drawing from the definition of “holy,” I am humbled, inspired, motivated, on fire for fulfilling my hunger for God in better ways, in a healthy way.

Through His sacrifice, I’m dedicated to Him, I’m “sacred” and “divine.” Why wouldn’t I want to live into those definitions the best I could? I want to feed my sanctification by fasting from that which only makes me hungrier. When I fast from unhealthy, instant gratification, my holiness is fed. And I feel the wholeness from His sacrifice which has made me holy.      ----Abby Fullen

Hebrews 10:9-14

Change my Grumbling into Prayer

Exodus 16:9 (NIV)
⁹  Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"

Were the people hungry? Did they not have any food, or were they just worry warts who had nothing better to do than to grumble? Was the journey through the desert so taxing they were afraid and unsettled? Did they not have faith? Wasn’t their journey through the Red Sea enough proof that God was with them, not to mention the months prior when their God put all the pieces in place for their march out of captivity?

The same could be asked of you and of me. Wasn’t it enough for God to (fill in your own blank) provide the perfect job when I was at the end of the rope? What about the time He answered my prayer for healing, for love, for…on and on the list goes? Am I really different from the Israelites with my doubts, demands and grumbling?

“Do all things without grumbling.  Why? You have a sovereign God who is on your side, who works everything together for your good.” – John Piper

I wonder how often my communication with God is laced with grumbling and complaining and not thankfulness and praise. Like the Israelites, I am missing all the blessings God has provided, I am blind to the generous provision of my LORD. 

Dear Lord, Open my eyes to your goodness and your love. Help me to recognize answered prayer and not breeze with by it with blinders. Change my heart, that’s what I really need.  Amen.

Exodus 16:9-18

God at Work in People

                                                                    Acts 8: 26-40

God is consistently vigilant. He works through us. Many are used for His purpose, who have no idea they are a vehicle for the Lord. Our Savior utilizes situations both joyous and devastating to impact the lives of his beloved.

I urge you to search your heart and memory. Depending on your age, you may have more memories than you can recall. That’s ok. We will all be there at some point. When have you been at work for God?

As it states in Matthew 25: 31-36, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on the throne in heavenly glory………..He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the king will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Matthew 25: 40; “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

We are all coming from our own place in this world, and if we are still and listen to the Lord, can be honest about where we stand with Him. Each individual created by God has been dealt their own hand to play, and as Chuck Swindoll is often quoted: “Life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% how we respond to it.” Our circumstances may be difficult, challenging, devastating, comfortable, pleasant, and even euphoric at times, but no matter where we are now, it will not last. Life is a journey of hills and valleys. We are to give, share, and pour out our help to others when we can.

Philip took the opportunity in Acts 8 to explain the scripture reading to an Ethiopian official, and he in turn was baptized and received the spirit. We may not be baptizing and preaching the gospel in the same way Philip did, yet the way we conduct our daily lives is a testimony to who we are and whom we serve.

Read/Listen to Acts 8: 26-40