enough…

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33, NRSV)

Little Faith…

It seems this is a phrase we hear over and over again from the text of the Bible. But in actuality it only occurs 6 times in the New Testament. 5 times in Matthew and once in Luke. Each time it refers to the disciples, and in today’s reading it specifically refers to one disciple…

All of the parallel passages from Mark have the disciples with “no faith”, Matthew seems to look with a little more favor on the disciples and say they have a little faith…

But a little is enough.

You see each time Jesus says “You of little faith…” He never tells them He will give them more, or advise them on how to get more…

You see the faith they (and you) have is enough. Jesus is excited when we ask Him to allow us to do things that take big faith, like stepping out of the boat. And He calls us to Him, but the thing we need to remember is we can’t do it on our own. We need Him with us.

And He will be, as He told the disciples, “Take heart, I am, do not fear!” Believe I am God and do not fear, because I am always with you.

And later to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you hesitate?” I am here in front of you, look at me, and what we have together is enough!

provide

Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?” Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger mounted against Israel, because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power. Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven; he rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven. Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance. He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; he let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings. And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. (Psalm 78:20-29, NRSV)

If we have faith in God God will provide for us.

That is what the picture says, and that is what some of us have been led to believe.

It is the verse, “God helps those who help themselves.” That is found in the book of Hezekiah 3… No really it is not in the Bible. God never said He would help those who help themselves, and He never said His provision was contingent on our faith.

Here in this Psalm it shows that while God was angry at His people for their lack of faith, He still provided the bread the angels eat and meat for them to fill themselves.

So keep the faith that regardless of how much faith you have God will be with you and help you with your every need.

Love…

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17, NRSV)

Have you ever done something to someone that you really love?

We have all hurt those around us by denying them, hurting them. Our flesh keeps us living in sin and we hurt others to get ahead, or in Peter’s case to save our own skin.

We will throw a person under a bus if it means saving ourselves from the same fate.

So Peter denied Jesus 3 times, and 3 times Jesus asks Peter if He loves Him…

How many times is Jesus going to have to ask you “Do you love me?”

But that my friends is not the point to Jesus love, counting to know how many time we hurt Him, He knows the number so He can remind us that many times He has somethign for us to do for Him, and since He trusts us to feed His sheep, or tend His field that is a sign of how much He loves us. Enough for everytime we failed Him to come back and bring us back to the place we were by our hand.

Did you not get it?

Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. (Matthew 15:32-39, NRSV)

I can see the cringe on Jesus’ face as He asks the disciples what they have for food…

Didn’t we just do this and still you don’t get it? Would be what any of us would think to ourselves as we take the 7 loaves and 2 fish. I even had less last time, and we got a basket for each of you to pick up afterwards.

Why do we not understand that God’s ways are not our way and He can do whatever He wants whenever and how ever He so chooses.

We want everything nice and neat and to fit into our world and box the way we understand. But that is not how God works.

I wonder if I would have gotten it, or if I would have been right there with the disciples questioning how Jesus was going to do this.

Provision…

Now there were four leprous men outside the city gate, who said to one another, “Why should we sit here until we die? If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; but if we sit here, we shall also die. Therefore, let us desert to the Aramean camp; if they spare our lives, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.” So they arose at twilight to go to the Aramean camp; but when they came to the edge of the Aramean camp, there was no one there at all. For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots, and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to fight against us.” So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys leaving the camp just as it was, and fled for their lives. When these leprous men had come to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent, ate and drank, carried off silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. Then they came back, entered another tent, carried off things from it, and went and hid them. Then they said to one another, “What we are doing is wrong. This is a day of good news; if we are silent and wait until the morning light, we will be found guilty; therefore let us go and tell the king’s household.” So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, “We went to the Aramean camp, but there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied, the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were.” Then the gatekeepers called out and proclaimed it to the king’s household. The king got up in the night, and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Arameans have prepared against us. They know that we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’” One of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, since those left here will suffer the fate of the whole multitude of Israel that have perished already; let us send and find out.” So they took two mounted men, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and find out.” So they went after them as far as the Jordan; the whole way was littered with garments and equipment that the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned, and told the king. Then the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a measure of choice meal was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. (2 Kings 7:3-16, NRSV)

Here is the story. 4 men living outside of the community with no hope for survival, but even if they were inside the city and a part of the community there was no hope for survival. All of the town was starving from a famine brought on by the Aramean army laying siege on the city…

So they are going to die outside the city or inside the city it doesn’t matter.

So they get the idea to go and besiege the Aramean’s for help. And when they arrive, they are greeted by no one, because God made them run away.

And instead of shunning the village as they were shunned they return and tell the king. So the famine is over and the ones who were dead to us, are the ones who saved us.

God will always provide, if we only trust. We may not know how, or when, or why He chose to do it the way He did, but He will always provide if we are open to following where He will lead us!

How can I?

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD. (2 Kings 4:42-44, NRSV)

God how can I do that?

This isn’t possible, how is this going to work…

So many times in my life I have had to let go and let God handle the details and just trust that it was going to work out. We want to control and see things with our eyes, but in the grand scheme of things we can not see or understand the cosmic wonders of this world we are in and have to allow the one who created all things, who walks by our side everyday have the wheel and control and sit back and enjoy the ride.

We will never get the view He can give us if we always say, that won’t happen, or can that be…

Know that with God all things are possible and give Him the wheel and enjoy the view as He takes you kn a tour you could never imagine!

God Provides

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.’” And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’” In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. (Exodus 16:2-4,9-15, NRSV)

We always look back… We remember the things that make where we were great…

The fleshpots, and eating our fill, and now here we are out here in the wilderness and we are going to starve to death.

And no what is this…

We complain when things don’t go our way, or the way we think they should go.

That is why we should listen to the immortal words of Pumba, “In times like this… You got to put your behind in the past.”

We need to not look back and move forward. The Israelites were walking in the wilderness with God! They had His protection and His provision, He was providing for them, and even gave them meat when they whined about it. Ungrateful for what He had given them, they just whined for more…

So put your behind in the past and look forward to God’s provision.

Behind the scenes

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:13-21, NRSV)

The disciples were wondering where the food was going to come from to feed all of these people…

How many of us have ever planned a dinner party for a few hundred people let alone thousands?

And to put an even bigger damper on the scene, all the food they have are five loaves of bread and two fish, and this is only brought to light after Jesus tells the disciples to give them something to eat.

Was the 5 loaves of bread and two fish for the 13 of them? Was Jesus trying to find out what He had to work with?

But then they disciples actually did what Jesus told them to do. A little thing we over look. We see Jesus taking 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and feeding 5000 men, plus women and children. We see the miracle of the 12 baskets left over. But we miss the work.

Jesus blesses and breaks and gives it to the disciples, who then hand out the food to the 5000 men, plus women and children. Then they go around again and pickup the leftovers. The 12 of them serve 416 2/3 men, plus the women and children… Imagine it! The work the disciples did to make this miracle possible is something we overlook, but it happens all the time!

Through your hands you serve others and help God’s miracles to happen!

seek

My child, if you accept my words and treasure up my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly, guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his faithful ones. (Proverbs 2:1-8, NRSV)

Seek it like silver…

Go after the knowledge and wisdom that God will give like you go after your paycheck!

If we seek after God and His wisdom and treasure the commandments like they are hidden treasure, then He will be a shield for us!

So seek after God and the knowledge that He alone can give you and trust not in your own understanding. Allow your heart to be inclined to His wisdom, and filled with His Spirit!