W@W WRAP – Week 308

Packing Our Lunch Well!

Read:

Mark 6:39-46 (AMP): “Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties [so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colourful garden plots]. Taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing [of praise and thanksgiving to the Father]. Then He broke the loaves and [repeatedly] gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied. And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish. Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men [not counting the women and children]. Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd. And after He said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.”

Act:

Let us stand in awe of our miracle-working Lord and Saviour. Let us open our Spiritual eyes to appreciate His light, signs and wonders all around us. May we not miss a moment, but recognise that:

Jesus cares about our every need. He could easily have sent the crowd home to eat, but He chose to meet their physical and spiritual needs. As He fed them, the people followed Jesus to bring the sick among them to be healed. He knew their motives, but He showed His love and power in ways they could understand. Jesus could have fed those thousands of people any way He chose. He could have made the food appear out of thin air. He could have waved His hand over empty plates, but He didn’t. Jesus chose to take a little boy’s lunch (perhaps packed lovingly by a caring mom who did not want her son to go hungry during his day), bless it, multiply it, and feed the multitudes. His miraculous power was also demonstrated in that there was even more food left over than what He began with. May this incredible story of Jesus caring for others remind us to ‘pack our lunch’ really well. What is in your lunchbox today that you could give to Jesus to bless, and use in His miraculous way… to meet the needs of others and yield further eternal results as leftovers? Heaven alone will reveal the outcomes of the ‘lunches’ we have ‘packed well’ for the King. The beauty of Jesus caring about our needs is not only the blessing and miracles which result, but also the security and stability we find in the presence of our Lord! What is keeping you from sitting on the green grass in front of Jesus? Are we truly relying on our Lord to provide for us, feed us, and give us rest, or are we relying on our own strength and the things of this world? May we not be so busy that we miss the miracle-working power of Jesus in our lives!

Doing life God’s way will grow our confidence in Him, so that our lives can glorify our Lord! Jesus always stopped, looked to the Father and pointed others towards Heaven. As we see in our Scripture today: Jesus looked up to heaven and said a blessing [of praise and thanksgiving to the Father]. He used the power given to Him by God to bless and feed the multitude. May we always be ‘God-fident’, doing life God’s way and pointing others to Him! In a world of self-focus, may we be counter-cultural, living boldly and courageously, stepping out in faith. We have seen God work in our lives in the past, as well as heard from others of His miraculous hand in their lives. His power is displayed on all the pages of His Word. So, may we be confident in our walk with Jesus and point others to God.

Even when things aren’t visible to our human eyes, God is doing a mighty work around us, and for us. Let us make an intentional effort to see with our Spiritual eyes, without being distracted by what we see in the physical realm – just as Elisha prayed in 2 Kings 6:17 (AMP), “Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servants’ eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha. Sometimes we need to cover our eyes, cutting out the busyness and noise of this world, to really see what God wants us to see. May we look at the world around us and see through the eyes of Jesus. May we not limit what our Lord can do in and through our lives because of our unbelief. Let’s trust our Father God to open our eyes today, so that we may see Him, His light, His power, and His miracles all around us! Let us press in and pray expectantly for more, for God’s Glory and Majesty to be displayed and manifested even more! As Paul prayed for the Philippians, I pray for you today, that: “your love will grow and increase beyond measure, bringing you into the rich revelation of Spiritual insight in all things. This will enable you to choose the most excellent way of all — becoming pure and without offense until the unveiling of Christ.” Indeed, may our ‘most excellent way’ be to ‘pack our lunches well’ so that Jesus’s miracle-working power and light can shine for all the world to see.

Pray:

Father, we thank and praise You for the privilege of coming together as Your church, as Your people, to seek Your face and to hear You – to hear Your heartbeat, Your call. We apologise for the times that we have been so busy – with everything that seems important, that seems urgent – that we forget to make space for You Lord, to hear Your voice, to be still with You. Father, we forget to dwell in Your rest and abide in Your peace. I pray that You would stir in our hearts a need and a desire for that peace that comes in Your rest. Father would You awaken our hearts to the stability found in You, and in Your call to come away and be intimate with You. I pray that You would make this a reality in our lives – and in the lives of my brothers and sisters here today. May we have a hunger to seek You in the quiet. May we have the courage to disconnect from the things that we need to do that seem important, that the world tells us are urgent. May we truly and deeply seek You Lord. We pray this in the most beautiful name we know, in the name of Jesus.

Father God, we just thank You for the opportunity to come together and stand united in prayer. You created us uniquely, and within that uniqueness there is purpose. Lord, I ask that You will help each and every one of us to be ‘God-fident’, not confident in the way the world shapes us, but ‘God-fident.‘ May we know who we are in You, and may we become self-aware of who You created us to be. Thank You that we are not on this journey alone. Thank You that we know that You walk with us. Help us to look to You, the architect of our lives, to understand how You have put us together. Lord, shape us and equip us for everything that You have called us to do. Thank You that we can confidently walk with You. I pray this in Jesus’ name.

Thank You Lord for Your Word that is a lamp unto my path. Help me to reflect Your light wherever I go. You are the Creator of the universe, the God of all gods. Help me to realise and remember You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords! You deserve the honour and glory forever and ever.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You so much for Your love and for Your light that is changing us. Thank you that we have the ability to hear with spiritual ears, and see with spiritual eyes what is happening in Your kingdom. We just pray today that we would be able to close our ears and our eyes to this natural world, and have supernatural ability to see and hear You and not miss out on Your sign and wonders. In the mighty name of Jesus.

Father God, thank You for this absolute privilege – that we can come and open our hearts and sit at Your feet. You are the One Who is willing to help us with our unbelief and put us in awe and wonder of Your greatness and Your majesty. You are the One Who helps us to pray bold prayers that cause You to move. When You move the world is in awe! May we always have faith and the prayer-life that causes You to move, so that the whole world may have You. We pray this in Your name alone. Amen.