John 7:25-52 (NIV)

John 7:25-52 (New International Version)

25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? 27But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” 28Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” 30At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. 31Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?” 32The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. 33Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” 37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. 40On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” 41Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. 45Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards declared. 47“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48“Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” 50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51“Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?” 52They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Devotional

Have you ever been so thirsty that any amount of water would be refreshing? I remember hiking down the Grand Canyon. It seemed that no amount of water I drank would fully fill me. Then I thought about how terrible it would be to be walking through the desert with nothing to drink.
When Jesus came on the scene, the Jewish people had been waiting for 400 years to hear from God.

They were thirsty.

Ironically, as Jesus revealed himself to them, many of them rejected receiving anything from him. So we come to this point where he says, all you have to do is come to me to drink and the life giving water of my Spirit will overwhelm you and fill you and sustain you.

How profound.

When I remember that accepting Jesus is accepting his Spirit to be my teacher I can see how being open to receive Him puts within me the same Spirit that guided and strengthened Jesus.

Do you feel like you’ve been in the desert? Do you feel like you need to taste of the goodness of God? I often pray that God would make me sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. I know that sometimes our own voices and those of others can loudly distract us so I ask God to help me recognize His voice above all others.

Prayer

God, I desire to drink from you and be refreshed. I often try to do things on my own and in my own power, but I pray that you would make me obedient to Your Spirit that gives me the power to do all that You have called me to. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 6:1-24 (NIV)

John 6:1-24

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
1Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages[a] would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. Jesus Walks on the Water 16When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19When they had rowed three or three and a half miles,[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. 22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Devotional (Mikey Skoglund)

I find it very intriguing that Jesus would ask Philip where they should buy bread in order to feed the crowd of people gathered around Jesus. Jesus knew what he was going to pull in this crowd. Notice how Philip answers, thinking about a way to come up with enough money to buy the food, eight months wages, that seems pretty impossible to come up with in one afternoon. Now look at Andrew’s answer. He notices someone that has a few fish and some loaves of bread though he doesn’t believe it is enough to feed all of the people. So let’s see what’s happening here. Jesus asks these men a question, wanting them to come up with a solution to the problem of feeding thousands of people. Philip sees the situation as hopeless because he views it that we must do everything on our own to solve the problem (i.e. come up with eight months of wages in one afternoon). Andrew sees that there’s something that can be used to solve the problem, but doesn’t think its enough (five fish and two loaves of bread can’t go very far to feed five thousand people). No w Jesus shows Philip and Andrew that the real answer is to trust in Him for the solution. We don’t have to work through the problem all alone and Jesus can use whatever we have (no matter how small it is) to solve any size of problem (no matter how big it may seem). 
Prayer
Lord, please help me to experience You this week and to know that You’re by my side when I face challenges in life. Lord, even though at times I feel like I have to come up with all the answers, let me know that You’re there and I’m not alone. Thank You for being able to use whatever I have to give, no matter how big or small. I lay my struggles, problems, and worries at Your feet Lord. Help me to understand that You are the real answer to the questions in life. Reveal Yourself to me this week as I lay myself in Your hands. In Your name I pray, amen.