Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
MIRACLES FOR 2025
Lessons from the Feeding of the 5000
Matthew 14:16-21
But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. Mat 14:17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. Mat 14:18 He said, Bring them hither to me. Mat 14:19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. Mat 14:20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. Mat 14:21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
Jesus used many ways to teach people important lessons regarding how to live and serve Him. A great multitude had gathered to hear Jesus and learn from Him. Many of them came to be healed, while others came to see the miracles, but still others came to hear the teachings of God. At this event, Jesus used another method to show them important life lessons. This was true for the hearers, but it was also for His disciples.
At the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus had a valuable lesson for the disciples. He had compassion on the multitude. After He had taught them, when it was late in the day and the people were hungry because they had traveled such a great distance to get there, Jesus wanted to feed them. This became a teaching lesson for them all.
The disciples wanted to rest, so their first reaction was to send the people away. But Jesus said that many would faint in the way and told them to feed the people. They did not know how to respond, so Jesus taught them a lesson on problem solving.
1. Start with what you have. Andrew found a lad who had a small lunch.
2. Give what you have to Jesus. The boy was willing to give up his lunch to Jesus.
3. Obey what the Lord commands you to do. The disciples had the people sit down, and they took the food and gave it to the people.
4. Conserve the results. After the people were fed all they wanted, the leftover pieces were carefully collected so that nothing was wasted.
Jesus knew that the disciples would obey what He taught, and He wanted them to trust Him. This is a great lesson for us as we learn to follow Christ’s direction in our own lives. He can do great things for us and with us, if we will submit to follow His leading.
Bible Reading for the Year
We will be reading the New Testament four times.
January 22nd, Luke 15-17
Prayer Needs
Pray for Martha and Michael Weston, Leckie’s niece and her husband. Michael’s mother passed away Thursday night unexpectedly.
Please pray for a friend’s grandson who had an accident and is in the ER.
Please continue to pray for Florence Parkhill! She will have a CT scan on the 27th and get BEV medication afterwards.
Pray for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She saw the doctor and needs to have three more rounds of Keytruda, plus an oral chemo drug as well. Please hold her up in prayer. She also has an appointment at Duke Cancer Center on the 31st to get a second opinion.
Please pray for Kenny Berven, a friend of Deb and Bubba is home but still needs prayer.
Pray for Leckie Langley that she will soon have an answer and treatments for her rapid heart rate.
Pray for Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
Pray for our nation as we begin with a new administration.
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Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia.
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries.)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia.