Read Mathew 14-16
Do we not yet perceive? The big picture is this - God has a divine plan and purpose for you and I, and he will give us everything needed for this plan in its due time without regard to human limitations.
This has profound implications for us as well. I remember joining a group with a few friends of mine to help sort out their faith by bringing together people of different religions and debating topics based on each perspective. This is how we often believe Christianity works - we want to rationalize God down to our perspective and make an informed decision. But at the surface, what about the essence of Christianity is rational? We are called to give up our very lives for our "unseen" Creator. Jesus highlights here that it takes the grace of His divine revelation to initiate our response to Him.
Application:
1) How can we continually remind ourselves of the acts of divine blessing in our lives? Write down some of these expressions of grace from God you received this week.
2) How does God's revelation to you impact the way you respond in faith? Say a short prayer of thankfulness for His relentless pursuit of your heart.
- Ben Abraham
But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? -Mathew 16:8-10Within today's read are two stories separate of Jesus providing beyond human comprehension for His greater glory. We all remember Jesus feeding a large crowd... but do we think about how he did the same thing twice in a short period of time? Similar circumstances, similar results. The feeding of the crowds was clearly for His glory - it allowed Him to extend his teaching while giving the crowds a witness to His power. But when faced with another situation involving a lack of bread, the disciples failed to remember the incredible providence Jesus showed just a short time ago. Too often we also forget how Jesus provided for us in the past, even when the circumstances are the same.
Do we not yet perceive? The big picture is this - God has a divine plan and purpose for you and I, and he will give us everything needed for this plan in its due time without regard to human limitations.
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. -Mathew 16:15-17This is a turning point for the Gospels, when for the first time the disciples realize that the man they have been following is not merely just a man, but the Messiah. This climax is critical to the story because the Jews at the time couldn't just believe in anyone as their savior - many had come before claiming the same thing. So what made this man different? As Jesus replies, it was nothing of their own "flesh and blood" that showed them, but it was "the Father who is in heaven" who had revealed it.
This has profound implications for us as well. I remember joining a group with a few friends of mine to help sort out their faith by bringing together people of different religions and debating topics based on each perspective. This is how we often believe Christianity works - we want to rationalize God down to our perspective and make an informed decision. But at the surface, what about the essence of Christianity is rational? We are called to give up our very lives for our "unseen" Creator. Jesus highlights here that it takes the grace of His divine revelation to initiate our response to Him.
Application:
1) How can we continually remind ourselves of the acts of divine blessing in our lives? Write down some of these expressions of grace from God you received this week.
2) How does God's revelation to you impact the way you respond in faith? Say a short prayer of thankfulness for His relentless pursuit of your heart.
- Ben Abraham
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