Journey Through John预览

Scripture:

John 6:9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Observation: 

Whoever this boy was, he was willing to give up his own lunch and give it to Jesus, even though it seemed ridiculous to even offer such a small amount of food in the face of such a huge crowd. The boy could have just kept his lunch to himself, thinking that the others should have thought ahead, as he had. Or he could have assumed it would be useless to even offer it. But his willingness to offer all that he had is what made this huge miracle that impacted thousands of people possible. Just think what he and others would have missed out on if he had just eaten his lunch on his own. What we refuse to give up ultimately leads us to miss huge blessings God wants to lavish on us and others. 

Application: 

Jesus can take whatever I have – no matter how small – and use it to do great things, if I am willing to give it completely over to Him to do as He will. I should never think that what I have is just for me to enjoy. It’s tempting to just hoard my stuff and keep it for myself. But I want to have the attitude of this boy: giving all that I have completely over to Jesus to do whatever He wants to do with it. And I need to realize that nothing is too small for Jesus to use. If my attitude is one of complete submission to Him, He can cause even the smallest things I have to offer to bear fruit for eternity. And in the process, I will have the joy of being part of His amazing work in the world. 

Prayer: 

Jesus, forgive me for hoarding my stuff. Help me to surrender everything I have to you and your purposes – my money, my talents, my time. Don’t let me believe Satan’s lie that fulfillment lies in hanging on to what I have for myself. Help me have an open hand and allow you to do your eternal, miraculous work through me. I praise you because this is the way to true fulfillment. Amen

Truths to notice:

6:15 The Jewish people wanted to make Jesus their earthly king, especially because of how He provided for their physical needs. But this was not Jesus’ purpose on earth, so He resisted it by going off by Himself whenever the movement gained strength. 

6:26 Jesus recognized that many of the crowds following Him did not see Him as God’s Son to help them spiritually, but as one who could meet their physical needs. 

6:35 Jesus teaches that our deepest hunger is for the eternal and can only be satisfied by a relationship of faith with Him. 

6:40 Anyone who has faith in Jesus will be raised up to eternal life after death.