Luke 9:1-17
Serve it up!!! Today when I read Luke 9:1-17, I found my attention going to the story of feeding the 5,000 and how the disciples behaved. In verse 12 we see that Jesus and the disciples have been with this huge crowd of people all day and the day is finally winding down. The disciples were apparently tired because they come to Jesus and suggest to him that they send the crowd away. But Jesus surprises them with this response, "You give them something to eat." You see, the disciples were focused on themselves--they had been with the crowds for hours, they were weary, they were ready to call it a day. Jesus, on the other hand, was focused on the people and their needs, both physical and spiritual.
Why is it that our first thoughts are typically about ourselves? You know what I mean--Does this request fit into my plans? What will this new task require of me? How can I squeeze this into my schedule? The truth is, it's not about us. And Jesus shows us clearly that serving others should definitely be a priority, and many times serving means sacrifice on our part.
So how are we doing with the whole serving thing? Sometimes I'm really good and other times...well...not so much. What are some things we can do to improve in this area and keep serving at the forefront? Tami W.
I kinda have a different take after reading the passage. I did not think from the way it was worded that the apostles were totally self centered in fact I was thinking, they have been with this Jesus who has done wonderful and kindly acts (to the point of giving a life back and cures of illness)and seeing that first hand numerous times might lead one ( probably me ) to almost expect Jesus to magically correct any situation of need; however the wording of the apostles is not that way. They almost have this innocence and wonder how are we going to do this or we better do this because this is what we have only. They dont seem to take for granite Jesus should automatically just do what they are not capable of doing to accomodate the masses. Then might you say that that they had no faith that Jesus would take care of the situation by performing a miracle;can we assume that he would? Is that faith;that miracles or something will allways workout how we wish?
Certainly this story has 2 primary lessons: One lesson noted by David G, is a faith lesson. But I agree with Tami that the predominate lesson (at least for me) is that Jesus made a point to withdraw to a remote place. No doubt he wanted to visit with His 12 and talk about the evangleism that the 12 just experienced. Nevertheless, though all certainly were tired and that they wanted some time to themselves, Jesus made it clear that if we are needed (even when it is a sacrifice), we must make ourselves available. God will always give us strength to offer in that service. Great lesson Tami.
I read from a devotional which speaks about servanthood. IT SAYS AND I QUOTE "GREATEST IS HE WHO SERVES". Jesus says in Matthew 20 v28 that He "did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many" .We may not be called to give our lives but whatever we are called to do we should ask God to give us a servant heart to be able to serve and to do so with humility. Tami this week has been a hard one with my brother,who is 25 yrs old.He is sick with a sort of mental problem that the doctors called schizophrenic(hope its spelled correctly). He needs Gods delivering power and i believe in prayer and believe that just as the man in the tomb , Jesus can place him back in his right mind. Please agree with me in prayer that Gods divine healing power would overshadow him and set him free. The thing about it is that he wants to be cured because he is so willing to take the medications so he can get better, it hurts to see him like this because he was not this way ,but he just experience life at its hardest but i believe God and i know that he is indeed the God that answers prayer. His name is [name removed], SO PLEASE GUYS HELP ME TO PRAY FOR HIM IN JESUS NAME. I WILL be sure to report back good news.God bless you all, enjoy the weekend and be safe!
Dian,
We'll be praying that God would heal your brother and bring peace to him during this time. Thanks for letting us know. Tami W.
Yes Dian,
We must all pray for your brother and you keep believing that Jesus will heal him. Sometimes in these cases we need to fast. One way or the other Jesus will hear our prayers. Let us all knock, seek and ask.
Joan R.
After reading over Tami's, David G and Tom B's comments and also the Bible reading I am wondering could it not be that the disciples were also concerned about the welfare of the crowd? I believe everybody including the crowd were tired too but they the crowd just could not have enough of Jesus. They were in awe of Him. When I read Jesus' actual Words in the Bible I just want to continue to read on and on, so I can imagine how these people felt just being in His presence listening to His teachings. Also coming out of this reading for me is how much Jesus was loved by the multitude and just wanted more of Him so they themselves did not care whether they had anything to eat or not. I pray that this world would crave for Jesus because as these people did in the desert. He is so awesome, loving, caring, kind, humble, merciful and forgiving. Wow.
Joan R
Dian,
I have and will continue to pray for your brother. I hope the following testimony helps.
I have a brother that is 46 years old and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was about 18. About a month ago he had a very difficult episode and was talking about suicide. My mother, father and I have had much difficulty coming together to help him in these types of situations. My parents are divorced and use any excuse to disagree. In the past we have used doctors, social wokrers and even police to help get my brother back.
This particular time however, I was sitting praying and also writing some cards to send to my son while he was away at camp. My son unexpectedly walked into the room and I quickly stuffed the cards in my bible, so he would not see them. When he left the room I opened the bible to the page the cards were hidden in and was lead to the same story you speak of, the man in the tomb. God spoke to me and said, "I can even fix this".
I called my mother and told her I felt all we should do was pray. I don't consider my mother a believer, and expected her to get upset. Instead, she told me she had already called a christian friend and was praying. My father called me to see how things were going because he was out of town. He told me he was sitting in a small church yard just praying. I called my daughter who did not know what the situation was and told her her uncle was not feeling well. She said it was strange, but she was just talking to a friend who is studing to be a pastor and felt lead to ask her to pray with her for her uncle. Later she and her boyfriend stood in front of my brothers home and prayed over him. My family has never come together in prayer over my brother.
The next day my brother showed up at my house. I was hesitant to open the door because you never know what the voices in his head are telling him to do. He came in very calm and said hello. After a few minutes, he said he wanted to sit on my front porch. As we were sitting, I relized that the grss was a beautiful green and stated how unusual this was for mid summer. He looked at me and said, "Only God could make somethig so wonderful". I was in awe.
When telling this testimony in church the pastor prayed for my brother and in that prayer he prayed for him to have clear thoughts when hearing God's word. A day or two later my brother called while I was studing my bible and he asked if he could tell me what he had been reading. I braced myself for the usual confusion that he usually has when dealing with faith and religion. (Mental illness often takes god's word into some unpredictable places.) He however read a couple of verses and proclaimed faith in this word so clearly and perfectly.
I know this is a long comment, but it has so strongly showed me the power of prayer. I will pray for your brother. Our God is a great healer.
please forgive me guys for taking so long to comment, i have been so busy that i just did not get the chance to say thanks. Thank you guys for your prayers, he has been improving and is acting in his right mind ,praise be to God, and i am still praying that God will save his soul because i do believe that anything God touches can never be the same.God bless you all, have a great day. P.S. Catherine thanks, your testimony really helps, God still answers prayers.