The "Ten Commandments"

"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No' "- (Matthew 5:37, NIV). 


I recently received an email in French requesting a copy of the "Ten Commandments." As I can't read French, I used the Google online translator to read this person's request. When translating online, sometimes the words can come out rather funny. For instance, when I asked Google to translate, "The cat sat on the mat" into French it read, "Le chat s'est reposé sur la natte." But when I asked Google to translate this back into English it read, "The cat rested on the
plait." And then when I checked the word "plait" in my computer Thesaurus it said, "ponytail. So "The cat sat on the mat" ended up as "The cat rested on the ponytail."


Jokes aside, it's understandable that this can happen when translating online from one language to another, but the same thing happens very easily when communicating in person in the same language—especially between parents and children and husbands and wives.


Effective communication should be one of many "commendments" because so many misunderstandings and broken relationships are caused by mis-communications and/or misunderstood communications.


One of the challenges in communication is that we see and hear things, and will even read into things, on the basis of how we feel about ourselves, and on the bases of unresolved issues from past significant relationships.


If I am a very insecure, super-sensitive person, the slightest negative comment can send me into an emotional tailspin. Or if I didn't get along with my mother, and you say or do something that reminds me of my mother, it's going to push my "mother button" and I will overreact way out of proportion to what you said or did. And you are going to be left wondering what on earth is happening to me. Then we get into the battle of: "You said" ... "did not." "Yes you did"... "no I didn't" ... "did" ... "didn't...." And the vicious cycle continues and escalates.


As healthy relationships are vital to healthy living, learning to communicate effectively needs to be a top priority. There are many helpful tips on how we can learn to do this besides learning to hear what is not being said, but the bottom line is that we need to resolve all past impaired significant relationships so our hot
buttons don't get pushed, and that we grow in maturity so we overcome our insecurities.

Who Was Jesus?

The following gives you a quick look at the life of Jesus Christ. These are excerpts straight from the Gospel of John, in the Bible. No comments added. They will give you an accurate and fast read of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection...and why his life is significant for you.

John 3
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you."

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"

Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."

"How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. Everyone who believes in him will have eternal life."

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son.

John 1
In the beginning the Word [Jesus] already existed.
      The Word was with God,
      and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
      and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
      and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
      and the darkness can never extinguish it.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn--not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.

John 5
Crowds of sick people--blind, lame, or paralyzed--lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time.

Jesus told him, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!"

Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, "You can't work on the Sabbath! The law doesn't allow you to carry that sleeping mat!"

But he replied, "The man who healed me told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"

"Who said such a thing as that?" they demanded. Then the man...told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, "My Father is always working, and so am I."

So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

John 6
Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied, "Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!"
Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?"

"Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, "Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted." So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

"I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval."

They replied, "We want to perform God's works, too. What should we do?"

Jesus told them, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent."
"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day."

John 7
On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'" (When he said "living water," he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, "Surely this man is the Prophet we've been expecting." Others said, "He is the Messiah."

John 10
"I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, so he explained it to them:

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him and he isn't their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.

"The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again.

But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father."

John 11
A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Lord, your dear friend is very sick."
But when Jesus heard about it...although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days.

Finally, he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." But his disciples objected. "Rabbi," they said, "only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?"

Jesus replied..."Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up."

The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!" They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. So he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead...Come, let's go see him."

When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask."

Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."

"Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day."

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?"

"Yes, Lord," she told him. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God."

When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see."

Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, "See how much he loved him!" But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?"

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. "Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, "Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible."

Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?"

So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me."
Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!" Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.

But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. "What are we going to do?" they asked each other. "This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him." So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus' death.

John 12
Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

John 13
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!" Judas left at once, going out into the night.

John 14
[Jesus speaking] "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them."

John 15
[Jesus speaking] "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!"

"This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."

"If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 'They hated me without cause.'"

John 16
[Jesus speaking] I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.... the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father."

John 17
After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said:

"Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life--to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.

O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them."

John 18
After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. "Who are you looking for?" he asked.

"Jesus the Nazarene," they replied.

"I Am he," Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) The soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.

Pilate, the governor, asked, "What is your charge against this man?"

"We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal!" they retorted.

"Then take him away and judge him by your own [Jewish] law," Pilate told them.

"Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone," the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This fulfilled Jesus' prediction about the way he would die.)

John 19
Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

Pilate went outside again and said to the people, "I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty."

Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, "Look, here is the man!" When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

"Take him yourselves and crucify him," Pilate said. "I find him not guilty."

The Jewish leaders replied, "By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God."

When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, "Where are you from?"

But Jesus gave no answer.

"Why don't you talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?"

Then Jesus said, "You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin."

Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted... "Away with him," they yelled. "Away with him! Crucify him!" Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross.

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, "I am thirsty." A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn't want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn't break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

John 20
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed--for until then they still hadn't understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.

"Dear woman, why are you crying?" the angels asked her.

"Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don't know where they have put him."

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him.

"Dear woman, why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?"

She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him."

"Mary!" Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, "Rabboni!" (which is Hebrew for "Teacher").

"Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!"

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said.

As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas...was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. "Peace be with you," he said.

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"

"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."

Smelling Like A Rose

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (KJV). 

Back in my hometown, in the evenings, we would sometimes have games until it was time to go home. One favorite night-time game involved finding the other kids -- while wearing a blindfold.

Once when I was wearing the blindfold, my friends kept clicking crickets to give their position. I believed they were trying to lead me to an open sewer someone had dug up that day. So I went the opposite direction. I fell belly-first right into the sewer. Do you remember the expression "smelling like a rose"? I smelled like anything but a rose. My parents would not even let me in the basement. They hosed me off with the garden hose in the yard.

Maybe we have messed up, and, at the present, we do not smell spiritually or morally like a rose. But if we lay it at God's feet, he will turn our defeat into a growth experience. In today's Scripture, God has said, "All things work for the good of those who know and trust (me) and are called according to (my) purpose." God has promised this and he never lies.

Staying Connected

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin." - 1 John 1:7 (NIV). 

Over the past couple of decades I have had the opportunity to teach numerous adults—including many singles. One of the points I continually emphasize is that, while it may not be most desirable for many, we can live without romantic relationships, but we cannot live healthy lives without healthy relationships or connections. We need to be connected in spirit to at least one loving and accepting friend such as a trusted soul-mate, without which we limp along in the shadows of life. This teaching applies to married adults as much as it does to single adults. If, in marriage, you are not truly connected to your partner in an in-depth way, you can live together alone apart, and die a little every day. I know. I was there once. I had to learn the hard way.


And how do we become connected in spirit? We do this by walking in the light, which means bringing our "dark side" into the open and being honest with at least one trusted friend or soul mate. Only then do we have true fellowship and connection—with God and others. Only then do we open ourselves for "purification from every sin."


As we confess our failures, sins, weaknesses, and our true emotions and motives, to safe people—or at least to one safe friend—and are not judged, condemned, or put down, but loved and accepted as we are, little by little we learn to love and accept ourselves. This in turn heals us from the pain of our loneliness, emptiness, and self-rejection—one of the major causes of adding to our acting out in sinful, addictive, and/or self-destructive behaviors.


The point to remember is that when we are acting out in self-destructive ways, we are disconnected. To overcome and live victoriously we need to stay connected—to our inner-self, to our dark side, to safe people, and to God.


None of us can make it alone. God never meant us to. All the spiritual exercises in the world, no matter how good, will not help us to live victoriously without this connection. It is imperative that we stay connected in wholesome, healthy relationships to safe people as well as to God.


Without personal, courageous honesty there is no connection, there is no
recovery, there is no healing, there is no walking in the light—and there is no
intimacy either with God or people. Anything less is but a poor shadow of the real.

Jesus Feeds The five thousand

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (John 6:1-14)

The account of Jesus feeding the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels; and all the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John vary somewhat in their accounts as well as in the amount of information and detail.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand."

And this is John's account of At the end of our study last week, 'The Pool of Bethesda,' Jesus was using Moses, or his scriptures, as a witness for His testimony, and against the Jews.

In today's study Jesus doesn't do any preaching to the people and doesn't explain to them about His feeding of the five thousand, but does in our next study.

In today's study the people accept Him as a prophet but associate this miracle with the miracles of Moses, as when the Children of Israel received "manna" on a daily basis. (Deut 18)

The miracles Jesus did were all closely tied to His teaching. Jesus loved and had compassion on the people, but always managed to have His works, or signs as John might say, point to His teaching, letting them speak for themselves.

SCRIPTURE: (JOHN 6:1-14)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

VERSE 1 - "After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias."

The Sea of Galilee has had a number of names over the centuries, but most seem to think it was called the Sea of Galilee during Jesus time. The city of Tiberias is believed to have been founded around 20AD.

The name of the sea is still the "Sea of Galilee" in our time, but at that particular time in history may have been known as the Sea of Tiberias.

VERSE 2 - "And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick."

John specifically refers to these signs as the healing of the sick; and these signs are what led these people to follow, and seek Jesus.

VERSE 3 - "Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples."

Jesus would have been traveling eastward, so the mountain mentioned would be in what is now the Golan Heights, bordering Syria.

And there He sat with His disciples.

VERSE 4 - "Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand."

Regarding chronological order:

Our last study 'the Pool of Bethesda' is beloieved to have been during the "Feast of Tabernacles', if so, the feeding of the five thousand would have been approximately six months later.

This Passover is thought to be one year later than the one we studied in John 2:13 where Jesus cleansed the temple.

So again, here He was sitting with His disciples on this mountain,

And verses 5-6:

VERSES 5-6 - "Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do."

So why would He ask Philip this question? (can't you just see Jesus setting this up)

He certainly knew that in the practical sense there was no good way to feed this many people in this remote area, but perhaps it was because Philip lived nearby (in Bethsaida) chose to ask him the question.

Jesus was often called Master, Rabbi, or Teacher; In addition to the teaching and working miracles, for most of the three and a half years of His ministry He was also preparing and training His disciples for the ministry, and they were receiving an accelerated course in the New Testament doctrine for their future ministry;

so, Philip and the other disciples, were I guess we could say about to receive a new lesson.

So, in verse 7 says:

VERSE 7 - "Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii[a] would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." (dih-NEHR-ih-igh)

Philip gave a practical 'common sense' answer, didn't he. "Two hundred denarii." was what some have figured out to be the equivalent of 200 days meager earnings in his time. (maybe equal to our minimum wage nowadays?)

Then Andrew spoke up,

VERSES 8-9 - "One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?"

(Fish and bread were staples, few people could afford meat)

Andrew took the same view as Philip' the only difference is that he knew of someone who had a little food.

The only response from Jesus was:

VERSE 10 - "Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number."

So this mountain had grass, which had to make a better seat than the rocks we typically see.

John says there were about five thousand men, but the Greek term used here is gender specific, meaning that only the men were usually numbered, so the whole crowd, including men, women and children, could have been four times that number.

To put this in context: This crowd is nearly as large as the largest theaters in major cities of that time such as Ephesus. (The seating capacity of the Roman coliseum of between 50,000-70,000 was probably the largest in the world.

So, that's a lot hungry people isn't it?

But verse 11 says:

VERSE 11 - "Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted."

Jesus accepted these loaves from the boy and gave thanks for them. It was customary among the Jew to give thanks before and after the meal.

VERSE 12 - "And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost."

So this wasn't a symbolic meal, or even a snack, it was a full meal, and they collected the leftovers. Even though Jesus could miraculously reproduce this food, He gathered it up, so that it wouldn't be wasted.

VERSE 13 - "So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten."

Twelves baskets full is more than they started with.

And there were 12 baskets of fragments left-over. Again, others who have studied the references see this see the number of baskets "12" as being significant, or relative to the 12 tribes of Israel in the desert.

Maybe it is, what do you think? twelve baskets and twelve tribes, Moses feeding people, Jesus feeding people. Bible scripture is intensely connected

It's amazing how the scriptures are so associated, that they tie events together that are sometimes hundreds of years apart, In this case it would have been over 1400 years ago, (between 1440 and 1400) were the years of the exodus and wandering in the desert.

That's so interesting, isn't it!

So, in verse 14:

VERSE 14 - "When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"

They said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" and they were right.

what they were referring to was the scripture in DT. 18:15 where Moses was prophesying to the people: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen..."

(Moses had told them there would be a prophet like himself)

Then they began to follow Jesus hoping for more free food.

But, wasn't that a natural thing for them to do? They saw Jesus do what appeared to them to be the same thing Moses had done. (actually it was God)

These people had recognized Jesus as being the one in Moses' prophesy, and were hopeing to secure a constant supply of food through Him as their forefathers had through Moses.

OUR LAST VERSE IN THIS PART: (but this story continues next week)

VERSE 15 - "Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself."

Doesn't it cause you to wonder how they could force Him to be king?

But to understand how the Jewish people must have felt, and the hopes they had can help us to better understand their situation.

During Passover their hopes of deliverance ran especially high. And they would actually rehearse how that God had delivered them from their oppressors by the hand of Moses.

At that time the Jews were living under the control, or domination of the Roman Empire, and were just one step above slavery, in fact they were living in a type of slavery.

The people were looking for an earthly leader like Moses. They still considered their country to be "their promised land," with the promise of milk and honey.

They wanted to see great miracles, and to have a king who could free them of their enemies and fully restore their country allowing them to live in peace and abundance as they thought was their heritage under the Old Covenant.

So they had seen this miracle "Feeding of the Five Thousand," and had rightly identified Jesus was the One in Moses' prophesy, but what they couldn't understand was that it wasn't God's plan, nor Jesus' mission.

And although the people may have missed His true intent, they did recognize Him. And who knows how many may have later become Followers and Christians after His death and ressurection.

And wasn't it also for us? We can see another demonstration of God's, love, power, and compassion, and provision. He more than met the needs of these people and offered them still another sign that He was the Messiah, the Son of God.

This is also an example of the seed principle we see through-out the bible, "Seed Time and Harvest.

I think most of us would agree that He didn't have to have these few fish and bread in order to feed these people, couldn't He have just spoken this food into existence, instead He accepted this gift from the boy, and multiplied it until it fed thousands of people.

And there were 12 baskets full left over and I wonder how much of that the boy took back with him. Whatever amount don't you suppose it was more than he brought. If put put your trust in God's word He will provide for you like He fed those people. 

Particulars about the creation :

"That's how God created the heavens and the earth. When the LORD God made the heavens and the earth, no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land.

But streams came up from the ground and watered the earth. The LORD God took a handful of soil and made a man. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing."

Genesis 2 : 4 - 7 (Contemporary English Version)



"Here is a name given to the Creator, "Jehovah." Where the word "LORD" is printed in capital letters in our English Bibles, in the original it is "Jehovah." Jehovah is that name of God, which denotes that he alone has his being of himself, and that he gives being to all creatures and things.

Further notice is taken of plants and herbs, because they were made and appointed to be food for man. The earth did not bring forth its fruits of itself: this was done by Almighty power. Thus grace in the soul grows not of itself in nature's soil, but is the work of God.

Rain also is the gift of God; it came not till the Lord God caused it. Though God works by means, yet when he pleases he can do his own work without them; and though we must not tempt God in the neglect of means, we must trust God, both in the use and in the want of means. Some way or other, God will water the plants of his own planting. Divine grace comes down like the dew, and waters the church without noise.

Man was made of the small dust, such as is on the surface of the earth. The soul was not made of the earth, as the body: pity then that it should cleave to the earth, and mind earthly things.

To God we must shortly give an account, how we have employed these souls; and if it be found that we have lost them, though it were to gain the world, we are undone for ever! Fools despise their own souls, by caring for their bodies before their souls."# 

It Can Be Done

"Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically." - Romans 12:10-11 (NLT).

Some years ago an energetic young man began as a clerk in a hardware store. Like many old-time hardware stores, the inventory included thousands of dollars' worth of items that were obsolete or seldom called for by customers.


The young man was smart enough to know that no thriving business could carry such an inventory and still show a healthy profit. He proposed a sale to get rid of the stuff. The owner was reluctant but finally agreed to let him set up a table in the middle of the store and try to sell off a few of the oldest items.   Every product was priced at ten cents. The sale was a success and the young fellow got permission to run a second sale.


It, too, went over just as well as the first. This gave the young clerk an idea.  Why not open a store that would sell only nickel and dime items? He could run the store and his boss could supply the capital.


The young man's boss was not enthusiastic. "The plan will never work," he said, "because you can't find enough items to sell at a nickel and a dime." The young man was disappointed but eventually went ahead on his own and made a fortune out of the idea. His name was F.W. Woolworth.  


Years later his old boss lamented, "As near as I can figure it, every word I used in turning Woolworth down has cost me about a million dollars!" 


One of the age-old killers of enthusiasm is: "It can't be done." But if the idea is creative and it comes from God, it can be done! It may not be easy, but it can be done.

Are you sure that you are running towards the will of God?

Jonah is determined to run away from God’s commandment, but God is infinitely more determined that he is going to obey. He went down to the seaport town of Joppa in an effort to flee to Tarshish—the most remote spot available to him. Jonah could have been stopped at any point on his journey to Joppa, but God allowed him to book passage on the ship headed for Tarshish.

Jonah enters the hold of the ship and falls asleep, While he is sleeping, God arranges the ship to experience a huge storm—so severe in fact that the sailors are scared to death and the captain wakes Jonah up and admonishes him to pray to his God!

It is interesting to note how many times the Bible speaks of someone going down somewhere—anywhere—when they are out of the will of God. "Down to Egypt" is mentioned several times. Samson went down to Timnath, Saul went down to see a medium at Endor, David went down to Gath etc. Today most of the Men & woman run from God with variety of reasons: fear, fame, fortune, failure, and sometimes just plain foolishness—but never faith!

Are you sure that you are running towards the will of God? 

Don't overlook Salvation

"........I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."

----2 Cor. 6: 2

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In this world there are lots of things that will be overlooked

or put off until later. There is one thing that we cannot afford

to overlook, and that is salvation. Every person on this side

of eternity must make a choice which will affect their eternal

destination. There is only one right choice and that is to

choose Jesus and ask forgiveness of sins. Living in the light

of the Lord will assure us eternal life. God's love is the greatest

of all and He calls all men to repentance and life in Christ.

There is a little story of a pastor who was waiting in line for a

long time at a gas station. The attendant walked up to him

and said, "I'm sorry for the long delay. Everybody waits until

the last minute to get ready for a trip it seems." The pastor

replied, "I have the same problem in my business as people

wait until the last minute to get ready to meet God."

It is dangerous for anyone to wait to call upon the Lord.

Tomorrow is called the "fools day" as it may never come.

Today is the day of salvation. The Spirit pleads with souls

as God warns them not to put off making a decision for

Christ. The Lord could come back morning, night, or noon

and we must be ready to meet Him at any time.

We must always remember, "now is the accepted time, behold,

now is the day of salvation." In this new year, we must make

our calling and election sure, and tell others the good news

of the Lord Jesus Christ. The words, "Jesus saves" are

truly words of a joyful sound!

He Fooled Himself

"Be sure your sins will find you out." - Numbers 32:23 (KJV).


The story is told of a young actor who was trying to impress an important movie director. The actor wanted to send an expensive gift, but he didn't have the money, but he had an idea. If he could find a valuable vase which was already broken and get it at a very small cost, then he could mail it to the director. He would think it had gotten broken in the mail and would be impressed anyway.


So this actor went to an exclusive store and found a vase that had been broken into many pieces. It was just going to be thrown out, so he was able to get it at a very small cost. He told them to wrap it up and send it and gave them the address. He waited to hear from the director, but heard nothing for several days. Finally he sent a telegram: "Did vase arrive?" Shortly he received this response: "Vase arrived. But why was each piece wrapped separately?"


As Abraham Lincoln said, "You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."


But with God we can never fool him any of the time. "Be sure your sins will find you out"—mine too!

Prophetic Confirmation

"In my Father's house are many mansions ... I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go ... I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also" - (John 14:2-4). 


According to an article in Christian Victory, Holiday Inn had a plan to erect a hotel on the Mount of Olives. They sent engineers to survey the hotel site to make preparations for building. Their conclusion was that it couldn't be done as they found that there was a geological fault under the Mount that is causing it to split.


Some 2,500 years ago the Bible, as stated by the prophet Zechariah, said that this split (possibly caused by a great earthquake) will take place when Jesus Christ returns to earth to put down all evil and rule and reign forever. "Then the Lord will go out fully armed for war, to fight against those nations. That day his feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a very wide valley running from east to west, for half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south." - Zechariah 14:3-4, (TLB).


Christ's first coming is an indisputable fact of history. We can be just as certain of his second coming because he promised that if he went away he would return. Numerous prophecies regarding his first coming were fulfilled in minute detail. We can be just as certain that all the prophecies regarding his second coming will also be fulfilled in minute detail. Zechariah's prophecy and the evidence of the geological fault under the Mount of Olives is just one more confirmation of the validity of God's Word and the hope we have of Christ's return for his own. The important thing is to be ready because when we least expect it, Christ will come.


His coming will be somewhat like the earthquakes in California or anywhere else, we know they are going to come, but they strike without warning. The important thing is to be prepared ahead of time. 

If Christ should come today, would you be ready? You can be by confessing your sins to him and inviting him into your heart and life as personal Lord and Savior.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

------James 1:5 (New International Version)

Abba Father, Source of wisdom, we pray for all the children who are appearing for their final examination. Enlighten their intellect, memory, will, mind and senses. Give them concentration in studies, Remove all distractions, dwell in their hearts and guide them in everything. Keep them under your care and protection. Encourage our children when the studies are difficult and when they are tempted to give up. Enlighten them when their brains are tired. Renew Your Holy Spirit in them so that they may remain alert at all times and their brains sharp. In days of academic stress and strain, we pray that you would stabilize our children with your Word and presence. It's not in us, O Lord. But it's you who teach us and prepare us for the battles that we face in our academic and work spheres. It's You who gives us the wisdom, abilities and talents. Give us the grace to use them diligently and to bring glory to your mighty name. We again lift up our children unto you. Let them experience Your love and providence in a new way. Raise them up to a new level of relationship with You. Let them come to this realization that they are Your responsibility and You are more than enough for all their needs and that You are a very present help in times of their needs. Through the grace of Jesus, we pray. Amen. 

1. Only in recent years has science discovered that everything we see is composed of invisible atoms. Here, Scripture tells us that the "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

2. Medical science has only recently discovered that blood-clotting in a newborn reaches its peak on the eighth day, then drops. The Bible consistently says that a baby must be circumcised on the eighth day.

3. At a time when it was believed that the earth sat on a large animal or a giant (1500 B.C.), the Bible spoke of the earth’s free float in space: "He...hangs the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7).

4. The prophet Isaiah also tells us that the earth is round: "It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth" (Isaiah 40:22). This is not a reference to a flat disk, as some skeptic maintain, but to a sphere. Secular man discovered this 2,400 years later. At a time when science believed that the earth was flat, is was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around the world (see Proverbs 3:6 footnote).

5. God told Job in 1500 B.C.: "Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?" (Job 38:35). The Bible here is making what appears to be a scientifically ludicrous statement—that light can be sent, and then manifest itself in speech. But did you know that radio waves travel at the speed of light? This is why you can have instantaneous wireless communication with someone on the other side of the earth. Science didn’t discover this until 1864 when "British scientist James Clerk Maxwell suggested that electricity and light waves were two forms of the same thing" (Modern Century Illustrated Encyclopedia).

6. Job 38:19 asks, "Where is the way where light dwells?" Modern man has only recently discovered that light (electromagnetic radiation) has a "way," traveling at 186,000 miles per second.

7. Science has discovered that stars emit radio waves, which are received on earth as a high pitch. God mentioned this in Job 38:7: "When the morning stars sang together..."

8. "Most cosmologists (scientists who study the structures and evolution of the universe) agree that the Genesis account of creation, in imagining an initial void, may be uncannily close to the truth" (Time, Dec. 1976).

9. Solomon described a "cycle" of air currents two thousand years before scientists "discovered" them. "The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north; it whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according to his circuits" (Ecclesiastes 1:6).

10. Science expresses the universe in five terms: time, space, matter, power, and motion. Genesis 1:1,2 revealed such truths to the Hebrews in 1450 B.C.: "In the beginning [time] God created [power] the heaven [space] and the earth [matter] . . . And the Spirit of God moved [motion] upon the face of the waters." The first thing God tells man is that He controls of all aspects of the universe.

11. The great biological truth concerning the importance of blood in our body’s mechanism has been fully comprehended only in recent years. Up until 120 years ago, sick people were "bled," and many died because of the practice. If you lose your blood, you lose your life. Yet Leviticus 17:11, written 3,000 years ago, declared that blood is the source of life: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood."

12. All things were made by Him (see John 1:3), including dinosaurs. Why then did the dinosaur disappear? The answer may be in Job 40:15–24. In this passage, God speaks about a great creature called "behemoth." Some commentators think this was a hippopotamus. However, the hippo’s tail isn’t like a large tree, but a small twig. Following are the characteristics of this huge animal: It was the largest of all the creatures God made; was plant-eating (herbivorous); had its strength in its hips and a tail like a large tree. It had very strong bones, lived among the trees, drank massive amounts of water, and was not disturbed by a raging river. He appears impervious to attack because his nose could pierce through snares, but Scripture says, "He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him." In other words, God caused this, the largest of all the creatures He had made, to become extinct.

13. Encyclopedia Britannica documents that in 1845, a young doctor in Vienna named Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was horrified at the terrible death rate of women who gave birth in hospitals. As many as 30 percent died after giving birth. Semmelweis noted that doctors would examine the bodies of patients who died, then, without washing their hands, go straight to the next ward and examine expectant mothers. This was their normal practice, because the presence of microscopic diseases was unknown. Semmelweis insisted that doctors wash their hands before examinations, and the death rate immediately dropped to 2 percent. Look at the specific instructions God gave His people for when they encounter disease: "And when he that has an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself even days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean" (Leviticus 15:13). Until recent years, doctors washed their hands in a bowl of water, leaving invisible germs on their hands. However, the Bible says specifically to wash hands under "running water."

14. Luke 17:34–36 says the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur while some are asleep at night and others are working at daytime activities in the field. This is a clear indication of a revolving earth, with day and night at the same time.

15. "During the devastating Black Death of the fourteenth century, patients who were sick or dead were kept in the same rooms as the rest of the family. People often wondered why the disease was affecting so many people at one time. They attributed these epidemics to ‘bad air’ or ‘evil spirits.’ However, careful attention to the medical commands of God as revealed in Leviticus would have saved untold millions of lives. Arturo Castiglione wrote about the overwhelming importance of this biblical medical law: ‘The laws against leprosyin Leviticus 13 may be regarded as the first model of sanitary legislation’ (A History of Medicine)." Grant R. Jeffery, The Signature of God With all these truths revealed in Scripture,how could a thinking person deny that the Bible is supernatural in origin? There is no other book in any of the world’s religions (Vedas, Bhagavad-Gita, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc.) that contains scientific truth. In fact, they contain statements that are clearly unscientific. Hank Hanegraaff said, "Faith in Christ is not some blind leap into a dark chasm, but a faith based on established evidence." (11:3 continued)

What does it take for God to answer our prayer?

How to Pray: Prayers That Get Answered

Click above to watch video

Have you ever known someone who really trusts God? When I was an atheist, I had a good friend who prayed often. She would tell me every week about something she was trusting God to take care of. And every week I would see God do something unusual to answer her prayer. Do you know how difficult it is for an atheist to observe this week after week? After a while, "coincidence" begins to sound like a very weak argument.

So why would God answer my friend's prayers? The biggest reason is that she had a relationship with God. She wanted to follow God. And she actually listened to what he said. In her mind, God had the right to direct her in life, and she welcomed him doing just that! When she prayed for things, it was a natural part of her relationship with God. She felt very comfortable coming to God with her needs, her concerns, and whatever issues were current in her life. Furthermore, she was convinced, from what she read in the Bible, that God wanted her to rely on him like that.

She pretty much exhibited what this statement from the Bible says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."¹ "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer..."²

So, Why Doesn't God Answer Everyone's Prayers?

It may be because they don't have a relationship with God. They may know that God exists, and they might even worship God from time to time. But those who never seem to have their prayers answered probably don't have a relationship with him. Further, they have never received from God complete forgiveness for their sin. What does that have to do with it you ask? Here is an explanation. "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."³

It's pretty natural to feel that separation from God. When people begin to ask God for something, what usually takes place? They begin with, "God, I really need your help with this problem..." And then there's a pause, followed by a restart... "I realize that I'm not a perfect person, that I actually have no right to ask you for this..." There's an awareness of personal sin and failure. And the person knows that it's not just them; that God is aware of it too. There's a feeling of, "Who am I kidding?" What they may not know is how they can receive God's forgiveness for all their sin. They might not know that they can come into a relationship with God so that God will hear them. This is the foundation for God answering your prayer.

How to Pray: The Foundation

You must first begin a relationship with God. Imagine some guy named Mike decides to ask the president of Princeton University (whom Mike doesn't even know) to co-sign a car loan for him. Mike would have zero chance of that happening. (We're assuming that the president of Princeton is not an idiot.) However, if that same president's daughter asked her dad to co-sign a car loan for her, it would be no problem. Relationship matters.

With God, when the person is actually a child of God, when the person belongs to God, he knows them and hears their prayers. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me...my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."⁴

When it comes to God then, do you really know him and does he know you? Do you have a relationship with him that warrants God answering your prayers? Or is God pretty distant, pretty much just a concept in your life? If God is distant, or you're not sure that you know God, here is how you can begin a relationship with him right now: Getting Connected.

Will God Definitely Answer Your Prayer?

For those who do know him and rely on him, Jesus seems to be wildly generous in his offer: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."⁵ To "remain" in him and have his words remain in them means they conduct their lives aware of him, relying on him, listening to what he says. Then they're able to ask him whatever they want. Here is another qualifier: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of him."⁶ God answers our prayers according to his will (and according to his wisdom, his love for us, his holiness, etc.).

Where we trip up is assuming we know God's will, because a certain thing makes sense to us! We assume that there is only one right "answer" to a specific prayer, assuming certainly THAT would be God's will. And this is where it gets tough. We live within the limits of time and limits of knowledge. We have only limited information about a situation and the implications of future action on that situation. God's understanding is unlimited. How an event plays out in the course of life or history is only something he knows. And he may have purposes far beyond what we could even imagine. So, God is not going to do something simply because we determine that it must be his will.

What Does It Take? What is God Inclined to Do?

Pages and pages could be filled about God's intentions toward us. The entire Bible is a description of the kind of relationship God wants us to experience with him and the kind of life he wants to give us. Here are just a few examples:

"...the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for [trust] him!"⁷ Did you catch that? Like someone rising out of his chair to come to your help, "He rises to show you compassion." "As for God, his way is perfect...He is a shield for all who take refuge in him."⁸ "The Lord delights in those who fear [reverence] him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."⁹

However, God's greatest display of his love and commitment to you is this: Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,"¹⁰which is what Jesus did for us. And so, "If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?"¹¹

What about "Unanswered" Prayer?

Certainly people get sick, even die; financial problems are real, and all sorts of very difficult situations can come up. What then?

God tells us to give our concerns to him. Even as the situation remains dismal, "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."¹² The circumstances may look out of control, but they aren't. When the whole world seems to be falling apart, God can keep us together. This is when a person can be very grateful that they know God. "The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."¹³ God may provide solutions, resolutions to the problem WAY beyond what you imagined possible. Probably any Christian could list examples like this in their own lives. But if the circumstances do not improve, God can still give us his peace in the midst of it. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."¹⁴

It is at this point (when circumstances are still tough) that God asks us to continue to trust him -- to "walk by faith, not by sight" the Bible says. But it's not blind faith. It is based on the very character of God. A car traveling on the Golden Gate Bridge is fully supported by the integrity of the bridge. It doesn't matter what the driver may be feeling, or thinking about, or discussing with someone in the passenger seat. What gets the car safely to the other side is the integrity of the bridge, which the driver was willing to trust.

In the same way, God asks us to trust his integrity, his character...his compassion, love, wisdom, righteousness on our behalf. He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."¹⁵ "Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us."¹⁶

In Summary...How to Pray

God has offered to answer the prayers of his children (those who have received him into their lives and seek to follow him). He asks us to take any concerns to him in prayer and he will act upon it according to his will. As we deal with difficulties we are to cast our cares on him and receive from him a peace that defies the circumstances. The basis for our hope and faith is the character of God himself. The better we know him, the more apt we are to trust him.

For more on the character of God, please see "Who is God?" or other articles on this site. The reason for our prayers is God's character. The first prayer God answers is your prayer to begin a relationship with God.