Mark 8:1-21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: God’s Messages - December 6, 2021

“We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). You know, people see signs of God every day. Sunsets that steal the breath. Newborns that bring tears. But do all who see the signs draw near to God? No.

The wise men, however, understood the purpose of the sign, and they followed it to Jerusalem, where they heard about the scripture. The prophecy told them where to find Christ. It is interesting to note that the star reappeared after they learned about the prophecy. The star “came and stood shining right over the place where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9). It is as if the sign and Word worked together to bring the wise men to Jesus. The ultimate aim of all God’s messages, both miraculous and written, is to shed the light of heaven on Jesus.

Mark 8:1-21

A Meal for Four Thousand

 At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said, “This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they’ll faint along the way—some of them have come a long distance.”

4 His disciples responded, “What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?”

5 He asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they said.

6-10 So Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. After giving thanks, he took the seven bread loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples so they could hand them out to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He pronounced a blessing over the fish and told his disciples to hand them out as well. The crowd ate its fill. Seven sacks of leftovers were collected. There were well over four thousand at the meal. Then he sent them home. He himself went straight to the boat with his disciples and set out for Dalmanoutha.

11-12 When they arrived, the Pharisees came out and started in on him, badgering him to prove himself, pushing him up against the wall. Provoked, he said, “Why does this generation clamor for miraculous guarantees? If I have anything to say about it, you’ll not get so much as a hint of a guarantee.”
Contaminating Yeast

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?”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, December 06, 2021
Today's Scripture
2 Corinthians 9:6–15
(NIV)

Generosity Encouraged

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.e 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,f not reluctantly or under compulsion,g for God loves a cheerful giver.h 8 And God is ablei to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need,j you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their giftsk to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”a l

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for foodm will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.n 11 You will be enrichedo in every way so that you can be generousp on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.q

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needsr of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.s 13 Because of the servicet by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise Godu for the obedience that accompanies your confessionv of the gospel of Christ,w and for your generosityx in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to Gody for his indescribable gift!

Insight

Second Corinthians 9:6–15 encourages giving by noting its benefits. However, the idea of “sow[ing] generously” in order to “reap generously” (v. 6) isn’t meant to inspire giving with the intention of having God bless us for our own gain. Instead, the objective is that when God blesses us for giving, rather than hoarding what we receive for ourselves, we in turn give more, so that our “generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (v. 11). When we choose to give, we’re to do so cheerfully (v. 7), for a cheerful giver reflects the generous heart of God. By: Julie Schwab

Cheerful Giver

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7

Nicholas, who was born in the third century, had no idea that centuries after his death he would be known as Santa Claus. He was just a man who loved God and genuinely cared for people and who was known for giving cheerfully of his own possessions and doing kind deeds. The story is told that after learning of a family who was in great financial distress, Nicholas came to their home at night and threw a bag of gold through an open window, which landed in a shoe or stocking warming by the fireplace.

Long before Nicholas, the apostle Paul urged the believers in Corinth to be cheerful givers. He wrote to them about the great financial needs of their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem and encouraged them to give generously. Paul explained to them the benefits and blessings that come to those who give of their possessions. He reminded them that “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6).  As a result of their cheerful generosity, they would be “enriched in every way” (v. 11), and God would be honored.

Father, would You help us to be cheerful givers not only during this Christmas season but all year long? Thank You for Your incredible generosity in giving us Your “indescribable gift,” Your Son, Jesus (v. 15). By:  Estera Pirosca Escobar

Reflect & Pray

Where do you see a need you could help with this week? How could you give generously of your time or resources?

Thank You, giving God, for encouraging me to be generous because in Your economy, generosity will bring the giver and the receiver abundant blessings

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 06, 2021
“My Rainbow in the Cloud”

I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. —Genesis 9:13

It is the will of God that human beings should get into a right-standing relationship with Him, and His covenants are designed for this purpose. Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it. The point is— will I step into that covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.

Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God— a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22).

When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R

Bible in a Year: Daniel 3-4; 1 John 5

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 06, 2021

Your Work and Your Worth - #9106

It starts when you're very little. People lean over to you and they say, "What are you going to be when you grow up?" Now, have you ever heard a little child say, "Well, I'm going to be generous, healthy, helpful, and Godly"? No, the answer is always an occupation. You go to school to get ready for that occupation; you talk about your grades when somebody asks how you're doing. Who are you? You go to college and you get your job. Then you retire, and now who am I? I'm not working any more. What are you going to be when you grow up?

I had a young woman who has an excellent legal career tell me, "Ron, I drive home in my beautiful car with my nice fat paycheck and I say, "What's it all for?" You know, there's a devastating lie that cripples millions of us, and that leaves us disillusioned, burned out, and terribly deceived. Maybe you've bought into it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Work and Your Worth."

Well, our word for today from the Word of God is about our work and it's in Ecclesiastes 2. I'll begin reading with verse 10. Solomon is reflecting on his working life and he said, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor." Okay, he says, "I got some good things; I was able to do some nice things because of what I earned from working. Yet he says this, "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had totally achieved, everything was meaningless...a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained."

Like that young woman said, "What's it all for?" Then in verse 21 he says, "A man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless. What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief, even at night his mind does not rest. This, too, is meaningless."

Solomon had achieved all his career objectives, but he discovered this startling truth: A person's work is not his worth. Now, our society lies to us about that. We believe we are what we do. Executives are sent on retreats sometimes for self-discovery. And I'm told that in their small groups the first night they're asked to answer this question, "Who am I?" without mentioning their company, their career, or their position. They don't know what to say! Take away what I do and I don't know who I am.

There are people who are neglecting God, family, health, and other people because they think their worth is their work. Well, in God's economy, unemployed people are just as valuable as employed people. No job can give you real worth. You are a created masterpiece. Actually, work and the sweat of our brow is part of the curse of the fall.

Your worth is in your identity in Jesus Christ. Listen to these great words from Colossians 2:10, "You are complete in Him." You got Jesus; you've got all you were ever meant to be. Once you're free from the bondage of having to prove your worth, guess what? You get better in your work.

It's time to dig down deep into where our identity was supposed to be; being God's workmanship, the Bible says; paid for by the blood of God's Son, who thought you were worth dying for. Maybe your whole life's been running on a gerbil wheel, trying to be somebody, trying to be accepted, trying to get some sense of being worth something. And you find the One you were made by, made for, and who died for you, you know you are somebody.

Maybe this is your time to discover where your worth really comes from - Who it comes from. Open up your heart to Jesus and say, "Jesus, you died for me. I'm Yours." We'd love to help you know how to begin that relationship and end this endless search for worth that ends in His arms. Go to our website. It's ANewStory.com.

And realize when you've got Jesus, you are complete in Him.