One particular Sunday morning, a Pastor was running a little overtime on his message. He noticed his wife in the second row pointing to the Timex watch on her wrist. He became a bit flustered and mixed up some of his words. He said, “The Lord took 5,000 barley loaves and 2,000 fishes, fed 5 people and had plenty left over.”

An unruly parishioner near the front of the church spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear, “Anybody could do that!”

“Could you?” asked the Pastor, unaware that he had the numbers mixed up.

“Certainly.”

After the service, the Pastor complained about the man’s conduct to one of his board members. As the board member gently pointed out the error, the preacher thought to himself, “Well, next week, I’ll fix that fella.”

The next week came and the Pastor took his notes to the podium. And once again, he brought up the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. He told how the 5 barley loaves and the 2 fishes fed the multitude of more than 5,000 people. The he pointed to the heckler and asked emphatically, “Now could you do that?”

“Of course,” said the heckler. “And may I ask how?” the frustrated Pastor replied. “With all the food you left on the platform from last Sunday!

 

 

The feeding of the 5,000 is one of the great passages in Scripture. It’s found in John 6:1-13, as well as in the other three Gospels.

In the Gospel accounts, the crowd suddenly grew. Dramatically, it grew. And soon the hillside was filled with people who were hungry for something more than religious traditions.

They wanted a miracle in their hearts

Feeding 5,000 people from a boy’s sack lunch was just as easy for Jesus as creating moons or mountains. Someone once said, “Miracles are the common currency of heaven. The feeding of the multitude was just a little loose change spilling from a hole in its pocket.” Although the New Testament is filled with miracles, the feeding of the 5,000 was on e of such magnitude that it is recorded in all four Gospels. It’s an incredible true account of God’s amazing grace.

You and I meed miracles from time to time. You may not be called upon to feed 5,000 (unless you have a big family and they are all dropping by for lunch after church!). But you and I come face-to-face with uncertainties – financial, physical, social, or spiritual – that need God-answers. We need to know that God has enough to make up for our lack. We need to know that He cares enough about our condition to give us more than a passing smile or a heavenly nod.

Here’s the bottom line: God has your situation under control. He doesn’t need any subcontractors.j And He doesn’t outsource. He is able to move through the obstacles of our lives with power and purpose.

He simply gives you and me an invitation to take baby steps of faith toward His inexhaustible and eternal supply.