1 August 2016 - bring them here to me

[ Today's Readings ]

We can't tell tell people something just because we think it is what they want to hear.

The LORD has not sent you,
and you have raised false confidence in this people.

We can't proclaim deliverance and salvation apart from what God tells us. We can't just fabricate nice sounding words ourselves. And yet we don't have to send the crowds away. We do have something to offer.

He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”

If we try to give the crowds five loaves and two fishes without first bringing them to Jesus we will do little but upset the crowds. They'll still be hungry. But not a few of them had a few bites and the rest didn't and there is still not enough. So we bring what we have to Jesus.

“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.

In the hands of Jesus words which on their own are insufficient become powerful. Loaves and fishes that cannot feed the crowd become enough to leave leftovers.

They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.

If the LORD is calling us to be honest about the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, we must be honest about it. These words seem like a harsh sentence. But even these words in the hands of Jesus can lead to life and salvation if we accept them.

From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.