Digging in Deeper: Mark 6:38, 41

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“He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ When they found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ . . . He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had to stretch something scarce to make it last further and longer than it looked like it would be able to do? I was cleaning out a container of cream cheese the other day. It looked at first like there was only going to be enough for half of a bagel. I managed to scrape and spread to make it cover both sides. Managing this feat really didn’t matter very much beyond convenience as I had another container of it unopened and sitting on the counter next to me, but it was a small win. Sometimes the things we have to make last are more significant than a bagel topping. You may have had to do it so that everyone in your family could eat or so that all the bills could somehow get paid…or both. The story of the feeding of the 5,000 is about a whole lot more than just this, but it does offer us some hope that in Christ, what we think is insufficient can prove to be more than enough.

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Morning Musing: Mark 6:35-37

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“When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, ‘This place is deserted, and it is already late. Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.’ ‘You give them something to eat,’ he responded. They said to him, ‘Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had company stay too late? If you’ve been there, you know exactly how that goes. You invite some friends over for an afternoon visit. They arrive and everything goes swimmingly. Then the hour starts getting on toward dinner and you hadn’t planned on their being there for that and therefore have nothing prepared. But they just won’t leave. They just keep talking. One more story. One more story. Then your stomach starts rumbling loudly because you’re hungry and they joke about it being time for dinner. But they won’t leave. So you start fixing dinner…and they keep talking. You tried to be subtle, but they wouldn’t take the hint. You just want to pull your hair out! Well, after Jesus had spent a whole day teaching another huge crowd that had shown up uninvited and taken the time the disciples were going to have with Jesus for themselves, they wanted the guests to go home. Jesus had other ideas.

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Invest in Tomorrow

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All this month we have been talking about what it looks like to have a fresh start that means something more than it usually does. We’ve been talking about how to make our fresh starts something more than accomplishing the same old things with the same old efforts. The secret here when it comes to our relationship with Jesus is the spiritual disciplines. Each week in this journey we have talked about a different practice that will create space in our lives for the Holy Spirit to do His good work in us. This last part will be no exception. All of these efforts have been aimed in the direction of our living more fully the abundant life Jesus came to bring us. How do we live this abundant life? This last discipline is the key. Read on to find out what it is.

Invest in Tomorrow

One of my favorite cartoons growing up was Duck Tails. It was just one of those genre-defining shows that was beloved by a whole generation of kids. And that’s not just me speaking as a fan. The show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award four different times including Best Children’s Animated Program twice. It was popular enough that it got a modern remake a few years ago. Of course, this wasn’t anywhere as good as the original—but not many things ever are.

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Morning Musing: Romans 1:21

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“For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A couple of days ago, I started listening again to a modern Broadway classic. I guess I was just missing the stage a bit. Not the being on it, just the watching. One of the things Lisa and I so enjoyed doing together before COVID shut everything down was going to the theater–that is, stage shows, not the cinema. This particular show is widely held to be one of the best of this generation. It was certainly different from anything that had premiered before. Technically an opera, it glorified one of America’s less well-known Founding Fathers and did so almost entirely with the musical genre of hip-hop. And by now you know exactly what show I’m talking about. I spent this week listening to the excellent music of Hamilton.

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Morning Musing: Mark 6:34

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“When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

If you have kids, you can probably relate to this situation. You get home from work and it’s been a long day. You have used every last brain cell just to survive. You’ve been emotionally and vocationally bruised. Nothing went right, but you managed to put out all the fires. You still have a mountain of work waiting for you in the morning and that’s weighing pretty heavily on your mind, but for now you’re gratefully done. You manage to get through dinner and baths without losing it. Once the dishes are done you finally sit – collapse really – on the couch and prepare for nothing. Then it starts. “Daddy, will you?…” “Mommy, will you?…” If you’re being honest, the last thing in the world you want to do is whatever happens to follow the “you.” But you love your kids. So you dig down into those emergency reserves, get up off the couch, and say, “Yeah, let’s go, Buddy.” What we see here is Jesus saying, “Yeah, let’s go, Buddy.” Let’s talk about it.

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