The Good News
Years ago a small task force of people were working on plans to present an outreach of learning to kids who needed it most. The program began shaping up to be a series of presentations that the grownups liked and looked impressive to the outside world, but in the heat of preparation one person asked, “But, will the kids benefit? If our bottom line is to teach in a way that kids learn best to encourage THEM to be lifelong learners then have we missed the point? It is so easy to miss the point. It’s like building a ladder to get over a wall, then find out we put it on the wrong wall.
Our simplistic thought life about spiritual teaching can go awry, too! We take many “rabbit trails” in worldly thought until we hear the Holy Spirit say, come back to Jesus. Come back to the point of HIS teaching. Jesus had to train his own disciples to “get it”, really “get it” many times. We are no different.
The Pharisees have confronted Jesus after the miracles of feeding thousands and healing of many to harass and badger The Master, Jesus Christ. WOW! Worldview versus Biblical view.
Mark 8
13-15 He then left them, got back in the boat, and headed for the other side. But the disciples forgot to pack a lunch. Except for a single loaf of bread, there wasn’t a crumb in the boat. Jesus warned, “Be very careful. Keep a sharp eye out for the contaminating yeast of Pharisees and the followers of Herod.”
16-19 Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, “Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don’t you see the point of all this? Don’t you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
They said, “Twelve.”
20 “And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?”
“Seven.”
21 He said, “Do you still not get it?”
Poor disciples, they thought Jesus was talking about the physical things around them…what they could see with their eyes. Jesus was talking about being alert to the contamination this world can bring to their very souls. Jesus, The Bread of Life, wants us to be alert to worldview thinking that contaminates and instead be nourished with HIS way of thinking and behaving. Jesus transforms us from the inside out when we “get it” and are “all in”.
Do we get it?
Dear Heavenly Father, I give you my heart, mind and soul, all of it to be filled with all of You! Continue to guide us, keep us alert, with Your wisdom, insight and understanding flowing though us. Thank you for saving our souls by Your sacrifice. Be our discernment when challenged to choose between what the world thinks and what YOU think. Cleanse us this day of any contamination that is in us now. In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 