KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Chapters: John 6
Message: Getting Fed With Jesus
Hello My Friend,
I ordered Chinese food for lunch last Sunday, I am always amazed at how much rice gets packed into a quart sized container, you can feed several people and still have some left over. That always gets me thinking about how Jesus fed so many with so little food, and not just when He was here, but since the world began He has always provided the food we need for our nourishment. Food; Something that sustains and nourishes. We know that our flesh cannot survive too long without feeding it with life sustaining food, but we need to feed more than our flesh to survive, we also need to feed our spirit and mind, or else those too will perish. “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” – John 6:27.
As Christians we like to think that hard times happen to us because the devil is attacking, and I will say that while the devil does afflict us a lot to prove our faith in God, he is not always the reason, sometimes it is God who allows struggles to prove our faith in Him. Jesus was about to prove His own disciples, He already knew one did not believe in Him, but wanted to test all of them just to see what faith they had in Him.
“When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.” – John 6:5-10.
“Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them,” I have heard several stories regarding this trying to justify the miracle, some to the point that many people had already brought food with them and that was why Jesus was able to feed so many. Human understanding always tries to justify the unknown, there just has to be some explanation, trusting God justifies Him, that all things are possible with Him. After Jesus fed the five thousand, plus women and children by the way, more people followed after Him, but it was time to rest so He sent the disciples on a ship, a little later He decided to join them, walking on the water.
“And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.” – John 6:16-21.
“and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.” Talk about some magic trick, but this was no illusion, it was real. I have also heard several stories regarding this trying to justify the miracle, most being that the water was shallow and Jesus was stepping on rocks. I have never been on the sea of Galilee, but I know people who have and they testify that the water is very deep. Do you think that everyone who comes to church really believes that Jesus is the only way to heaven and that by His death, burial, and resurrection alone they can get to heaven? You will be surprised at how many are not. Jesus may have had thousands of people following Him, but very few believed in what He was about to do, and He calls them all out.
“When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?” – John 6:24-30.
“but because ye did eat of the loaves,” So many people come to church, not to be spirit filled, but to be belly filled. I have seen people come to church just enough so that they could get financial help only to stop coming the second they got the money they needed, they are no different than the panhandlers on the streets with their signs. Oh, we should help those in need, that is what Christ is all about, and we are going to get burned more times than we can count because the world knows who they can come to to get their belly full, but we also need to let them suffer a bit so they too see why they truly need Christ. Jesus proceeds to tell them that He is the bread of life and only way to God, but that did not go ever too well.
“Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” – John 6:43-52.
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Did they really think that they needed to eat His body? Yes, most of them did. Jesus will prove us in order to see if we are going to trust Him to feed us or seek other means for food. What many fail to realize is that we cannot reach God with our flesh, He is a Spirit, therefore we can only reach Him with our own spirit, heart that is.
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” – John 6:63-68.
“Lord, to whom shall we go?” There comes a time when we all start to question life, last night I got this dreadful thought of dying in a hospice center because I imagined myself being all alone with no family to care for me because I have no kids of my own. Let me tell you, when we receive Christ as our Saviour we discover quickly that He really is the only way to life itself, struggles are hard enough let alone without Him, He is alone gets us through our darkest times, but also rejoices with us in our lightest times. We really only have two choices, get through this life by ourselves wondering how it will end or get through it with Christ, knowing there is an amazing expected end. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah 29:11.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” – John 6:35.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You again for the sacrifice You made for me, I know I do not have eternal life based on any thing that I have done, but by my faith and trust in what You have done for me. Lord, I do not want to leave this earth without having any missed opportunities, lead me and guide me, help me to live not by man’s word, but by Your Word, I know it’s the only way I can truly live in Your will and be satisfied. While people may come and go in my life, You will never leave nor forsake me no matter how many times I mess up. Thank You for Your grace, mercy and never ending love. In Your name Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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