<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 8;4-10<div><br></div><div><b>4. &nbsp;And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?”</b></div><div><b>5. &nbsp;And he asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven.”</b></div><div><b>6. &nbsp;And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.</b></div><div><b>7. &nbsp;And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them.</b></div><div><b>8. &nbsp;And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.</b></div><div><b>9. &nbsp;And there were about four thousand people.</b></div><div><b>10. &nbsp;And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanutha.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>This is not a retelling of the feeding of the five thousand, but with different numbers. &nbsp;This is an entirely separate event. &nbsp;Later in this same chapter, Jesus reminds the disciples of these two different, but similar events.</div><div><br></div><div>What is the point? &nbsp;As best as I can understand, there are two big take-a-ways from this ‘dejavu moment’.</div><div><br></div><div>First, is the ongoing&nbsp;consistent&nbsp;compassion of Jesus for the physical needs of the people. &nbsp;This cannot be over stressed. &nbsp;It is God alone who is feeding all of us. &nbsp;Do we, (as Believers who are&nbsp;indwelt with the living Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit) publicly&nbsp; acknowledge this&nbsp;every time before we eat? &nbsp; We should. &nbsp;It is an important part of our witness to the world,&nbsp;that it is God who supplies our daily bread. &nbsp;Whether at home, or in the car, or at a restaurant, we should <u>always</u>&nbsp;reverently&nbsp;give thanks, it is part of our evangelistic witness to our own souls and&nbsp;the world around us. (I love the 1951&nbsp;Norman Rockwell painting, ‘Saying Grace’. &nbsp;He captures the impact of doing so on others.)</div><div><br></div><div>Second, we see the incredible patience of God, repeatedly teaching us all the same lessons, over and over,&nbsp;until they sink in. &nbsp;Our Lord is faithful, He is gentle with those who don’t quickly learn. &nbsp;This is a very good thing for me, for&nbsp;I am slow to understand most&nbsp;of God’s truths. &nbsp;Like the disciples, I keep on asking questions I should by now already know the answers to. &nbsp;There is so much I am so slow to&nbsp;understand. &nbsp;Praise God, He does not give up on me or any of us, as we slowly begin to embrace the greatness and magnitude&nbsp;of &nbsp;God’s wonderful works and endless&nbsp;love for us all.</div><div><br></div><div>Please note, there is an important&nbsp;difference between the feeding of the Five thousand and that of the four thousand. &nbsp;After&nbsp;the five thousand, Jesus sends the disciples away while He dismisses the crowd and then goes up into the hills to pray. &nbsp;Later that night He walks on water to them…. With the four thousand, He immediately&nbsp; gets into the boat with them. &nbsp;They are most certainly two separate events, the same but different! &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, we praise you for Your patience with us. &nbsp;Have mercy on us and enlighten us continually, so that we continue to be led into all Your truth and love. &nbsp;Bless us to not be content with ‘understanding’, but bless us to ‘apply’ what You teach us into our own daily witness. &nbsp;(The lesson is not fully learned until it is lived.)&nbsp;&nbsp;In Christ Jesus&nbsp;we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 8;4-10
4.  And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?”5.  And he asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven.”6.  And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd.7.  And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them.8.  And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.9.  And there were about four thousand people.10.  And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
This is not a retelling of the feeding of the five thousand, but with different numbers.  This is an entirely separate event.  Later in this same chapter, Jesus reminds the disciples of these two different, but similar events.
What is the point?  As best as I can understand, there are two big take-a-ways from this ‘dejavu moment’.
First, is the ongoing consistent compassion of Jesus for the physical needs of the people.  This cannot be over stressed.  It is God alone who is feeding all of us.  Do we, (as Believers who are indwelt with the living Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit) publicly  acknowledge this every time before we eat?   We should.  It is an important part of our witness to the world, that it is God who supplies our daily bread.  Whether at home, or in the car, or at a restaurant, we should always reverently give thanks, it is part of our evangelistic witness to our own souls and the world around us. (I love the 1951 Norman Rockwell painting, ‘Saying Grace’.  He captures the impact of doing so on others.)
Second, we see the incredible patience of God, repeatedly teaching us all the same lessons, over and over, until they sink in.  Our Lord is faithful, He is gentle with those who don’t quickly learn.  This is a very good thing for me, for I am slow to understand most of God’s truths.  Like the disciples, I keep on asking questions I should by now already know the answers to.  There is so much I am so slow to understand.  Praise God, He does not give up on me or any of us, as we slowly begin to embrace the greatness and magnitude of  God’s wonderful works and endless love for us all.
Please note, there is an important difference between the feeding of the Five thousand and that of the four thousand.  After the five thousand, Jesus sends the disciples away while He dismisses the crowd and then goes up into the hills to pray.  Later that night He walks on water to them…. With the four thousand, He immediately  gets into the boat with them.  They are most certainly two separate events, the same but different!  
Prayer:  Merciful Father, we praise you for Your patience with us.  Have mercy on us and enlighten us continually, so that we continue to be led into all Your truth and love.  Bless us to not be content with ‘understanding’, but bless us to ‘apply’ what You teach us into our own daily witness.  (The lesson is not fully learned until it is lived.)  In Christ Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”



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