God’s Provision

-


Scripture:

Mark 6:8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;  9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

Observation:

Jesus sends out the twelve to be engaged in ministry and as he sends them out they are given these instructions. Interestingly these are the same items that God instructs the Israelites to take with them when they leave Egypt. The children of Israel were to be prepared for a new and foundational shift in their relationship with God. The same could be said for the disciples for this signaled another major shift in humanity’s relationship to God. The old would pass away and the new would come and just as the Israelites were to be entirely dependent upon God for their needs, so were the followers of Jesus Christ. God provided for those who wandered in the wilderness and God provided for the disciples. The call was to a life unencumbered by the things of the world with the freedom to serve as a result of God’s provision.

Application:
Dependence upon God in all the things of life is not easy. I don’t think that this was easy for the disciples when they were sent off by Jesus. But they did step out in faith and trust him, that he would provide. The way of provision was to be through the people in the towns that they visited. Would they always be welcomed? NO — and if not, they were to move on!

Walking in faith on a daily basis is transformational to our lives. It is that daily walk in which we learn about his provision. We won’t learn about that provision if we are finding ways to take care of ourselves. For the disciples it may have been the temptation to take that extra pair of sandals or the second tunic. What is it for us? What keeps us from becoming unattached to our security blankets and completely trusting in God? (Check out this great blog post about Linus' blanket in the Peanuts Christmas Story)


The disciples were able to freely share the good news about Jesus Christ as they traveled and this became the focus of their lives. Just imagine if all of God’s children were unleashed from the things that tie them down to be engaged in kingdom’s work. The older we get we realize that this is all “stuff” and someday we (or our children) will have to do something with it.

I want to lean into a life where I trust God for his provision.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your promise of provision.  Amen.

If you would like to read more "Reflecting the Image"  click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.


http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/nph/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834135277

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more