When the disciples returned from their mission of spreading the message of repentance, they told Jesus everything they had done and taught. Then Jesus suggested that they go away by themselves to rest because there were so many coming and going that they didn’t have quiet time to even eat. They took a boat to a desolate place but the crowds recognised them leaving and ran ahead of them and got there before them. When they arrived, Jesus saw the great crowd and had compassion on them because there were like sheep without a shepherd. They had not received the spiritual leadership they needed from the Jewish leaders. When it got late, the disciples came to Jesus and pointed out that they were in a desolate place and the people needed to go to the surrounding villages and towns to buy themselves something to eat. Jesus’ reply is surprising. He says, “you feed them.” They can’t fathom how they are to do that. It would cost an enormous amount of money to feed all those people (5000 men + women and children). Jesus asks them what they have and it is only five loaves and two fish, just one boy’s packed lunch (John 6:9). Jesus has them all sit down on the grass in groups of hundreds and fifties. He then takes the loaves and fish, looks up to heaven and says a blessing and then broke the bread and fish and shared it amongst everyone. Everyone one ate and everyone was satisfied. There was even twelve baskets of pieces leftover (one basket for each disciple to sit with and marvel at what had just happened).

Jesus’ compassion is incredible. They have been ministering non-stop that they need to get away so they can eat in peace and when He sees the crowd selflessly continues teaching them.

When Jesus said, “you feed them,” I don’t think He wanted them to look at the enormous expense and insurmountable challenge that a task of feeding maybe 20,000 people would be. I think He wanted them to look at the enormous God who asked them and in faith ask, “how would you like us to do that Lord?” I think His answer would have been the same, “what do you have?” When God gives us a task to do, He’s not surprised by how big an ask it is or by how little we have to work with. He just wants us to work with Him in faith and He will move the resources needed in His way and His time. Whatever God has called you to do, you just need to take the next step in faith.

King Herod Antipas heard about Jesus. People had different ideas about who Jesus was. Some said he was John the Baptist raised from the dead, others said he was Elijah and others said He was just a prophet. When Herod heard about Jesus, he was convinced Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead because, we now find out, Herod had him beheaded and was suffering from a guilty conscience.

Herod had John thrown in prison because he had preached against Herod’s marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, saying “It is not lawful for you to marry your brother’s wife” (Lev 20:21). Herodias held a clear grudge against John and wanted him put to death. Herod realised John was righteous and holy and kept him safe. When Herod heard John’s preaching he was unsure what to do about it, yet he continued to listen to John gladly.
Speaking God’s truth into a situation is not always easy and can get you into trouble with those who don’t believe. Are you prepared to stand up for the truth even if it costs you?

On his birthday, Herod held a banquet for all the important men of Galilee. Herod’s daughter came in and danced in a way that pleased Herod and his guests. We can guess the scene: Herod and his guests have had too much to drink and his daughter has probably been performing a seductive dance. Herod boastfully offers her whatever she wants, up to half of what He has. The daughter goes to her mother who finally sees her opportunity and convinces the daughter to ask for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Herod doesn’t want to lose face in front of his guests so, despite being sorry, orders John the Baptist to be killed as requested.
Pride will cause you to do things you will later regret. Pride will then prevent you from changing your mind even after you realise your first action wasn’t so smart. Couple this with drinking and the lack of restraint it brings and you have a recipe for disaster. We are called to be sober-minded and watchful because the devil will look for opportunities to have you slip up (1 Peter 5:8).

When Jesus returned to His home town, He taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath and everyone was amazed at His wisdom and His ability to perform miracles. But they were not able to see those things for what they were. Instead, all they could see was that they knew Him as the son of Mary and brother to James, Joses, Judas (Jude), Simon and their sisters. Because they could only see Him as a common man, they took offence at Him. Jesus responded that a prophet does receive honour but not among his hometown, relatives and family. Because of their inability to see Jesus as more than a mere man, Jesus could not perform many miracles. Their lack of faith hindered His ability to work there. Many people are hindered from believing in Jesus for eternal life because they won’t see Him as more than just a man. He was more than just a good teacher. His incredible wisdom and the miracles He performed were signs to show us that He is God’s only Son, God as man, sent to save us from our sins (John 3:16).

Jesus then sent out His twelve disciples to minister in groups of two. They were to take nothing with them except the basics. When they got to a town they were to look for a place that would welcome them and stay there, but if no one welcomed them, then they should shake the dust off their feet as a sign against them (they didn’t even want to take the dust from that town with them as they left). Their ministry was to go out in faith, trusting that God would supply their needs through the generosity of others as they proclaimed the kingdom message of repentance. We can partner with those whose ministry is sharing the gospel by offering hospitality when they are with us. But our connected world allows us to help and support them even when they are far from us. What are you doing to support those who are out there sharing the gospel?

Jesus had stopped his journey to the ruler of the synagogue’s house to speak with the woman who had touched his cloak. His pause had resulted in Him not getting to the ruler’s daughter soon enough and she had died. Jesus hadn’t even finished speaking to the woman when people arrived and told the ruler that his daughter was dead, there was no hope anymore and he should not bother Jesus further. Jesus turned to the ruler and told him not to fear, only to believe. Then Jesus stopped the crowd from following Him and took only Peter, James, and John with him. When they arrived at the ruler’s house they saw a commotion of people mourning, probably professional mourners who would cry loudly outside the house of the dead. Jesus asked why they were making this commotion because “the child is not dead but sleeping.” They knew she was dead but Jesus was indicating that it was only temporary because of what He was about to do. He removed the mourners from the house and took in only His three disciples and the girl’s parents and there He told her to get up. She got up immediately. Mark tells us here that she was twelve years old which is the same length of time the woman had her bleeding condition. Everyone was amazed but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened. While Jesus cured many sick and demon-possessed people, He wasn’t going to be raising many from the dead. Finally, he told them to give the girl something to eat. She had been miraculously raised but she would need practical things like food to stay alive.

How far will your faith go? Does it have a cut-off point where you no longer believe God can help you? The ruler had asked Jesus to help with his daughter and Jesus had said He would. The death of the girl brought an end to the faith of many who thought Jesus would help. Jesus said, “don’t fear, only believe.” If your faith is rooted in a specific outcome (He will heal her before she dies) then it is easier for your faith to fail when you don’t get your expected outcome. But if your faith is rooted in God doing what’s best for you and working for His ultimate glory, then you will get to see much bigger things than you even hoped for (Rom 8:28-29; Eph 3:20).

Jesus again crosses the sea back to the side of the Jews. Again He was surrounded by large crowds. Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, came to Jesus and implored Him to come and heal his daughter who was at the point of death. Jesus immediately went with Him and the crowds followed bustling around Him.

In that crowd was a woman who had suffered from a menstrual condition that had continued for twelve years. She had suffered much as she tried to have the condition cured and had spent all that she had yet the problem had not gotten any better, it had only gotten worse. Because of her condition she would have been considered unclean the entire time. Anyone who touched her would also become unclean meaning she didn’t only suffer physically but also suffered religious and social isolation. She had heard the reports about Jesus healing people and came up behind Jesus and touched His clothing knowing that would be enough to heal her. As she touched his cloak she immediately felt that she was healed. At the same time, Jesus felt power go out from Him and He stopped. The urgency of going to Jarius’s daughter becomes secondary as Jesus turned and asked who had touched Him. His disciples think His question is unanswerable because with the huge crowd many people were touching Him as they bustled around Him. But the woman knew because of her healing that Jesus was referring to her. She came forward in fear and trembling probably expecting a negative response (she had “taken” her healing). She fell down in front of Jesus and told Him the whole truth. Jesus calls her daughter showing He cares for her. He told her that it was her faith that had made her well. Because of her faith in Him she had been cured and Jesus send her off in peace.

In the urgency of the bustling crowd heading to help a sick young girl, Jesus stopped and took time to deal with an older woman’s situation, engaging with her personally. Your situation, whatever it is, is important to Jesus because He cares for you. We would do well to follow Jesus’ lead and look for opportunities to deal with people individually showing care for their personal situation.

Paul’s desire for all believers was that they were completely sanctified, that is holy, set apart for God. This is not about sinlessness, which no one will achieve in this life. We must set apart every aspect of our lives for God including relationships, school or work, hobbies, food, entertainment, sexuality—everything. Our lives should be wholly lived for God and in accordance with His will. Paul clarifies this by saying that our whole spirit and soul and body should be kept blameless. Again, he’s not talking about sinlessness but obedience and being above reproach. Every part of us must be lived for God. It’s no use trying to dedicate your spirit and soul to God but then sinning in the body. This is not something we can do by trying harder. God must do the work in us. God calls us to live this way and, if we submit to Him, He will surely do it. Can your life be described as blameless? What specifically do you need to change for that to be true of you? Is there an area where you’re trying too hard and you need to let God do the changing?

Paul asks the church for prayer reminding us that we must pray for our leaders.
He sends greetings to all the brothers (and sisters) with a holy kiss. This was a conventional greeting of the time. Today it might be a hug or a handshake (or an elbow bump).
These letters Paul wrote were intended for the whole church and to be passed on to other churches, even though they dealt with specifics in one church, the lessons are applicable to all of us.

This is a short, sharp list of things every believer should do (God’s will for you), but that does not mean it is easy.
Rejoicing always requires that our joy is not based on our circumstances but instead is based on a mind focused on God, on Jesus’s imminent return, and all we have to be thankful for.
We should be in constant communication with God. The idea is that we pray regularly and about all things. There is no part of your day that shouldn’t be lived in dependence on God. Prayer doesn’t just need to be a time on your knees in your bedroom but can also be quick requests and thanks to God as you go about your day.
No matter what situations you find yourself in, you should give thanks. Not just be thankful, but actually give thanks to God. Lack of thanks deadens the soul while constant thankfulness keeps our hearts vibrant.

As a church, we must be careful not to quench the things God is doing by His Holy Spirit. In the early church, God’s will was still communicated through prophecy which the church needed to test to ensure it was actually a word from God. Then they were to hold fast to what was good and do what God called them to do. Today we have the complete word of God in the Bible. We must test all we are taught against God’s word and then hold fast to what is good (the truths taught from God’s word) and do what it says. Holding fast to what is good also requires that we abstain from what is evil. Teaching God’s truth is the responsibility of the church elders, but testing the truth requires that we each know our Bibles. How well are you able to test what is good?

God, in His grace, has decided that believers do not need to go through the Tribulation (not destined us for wrath). We will be saved from that time through our Lord Jesus Christ. Part of Jesus’s death for us is that whether we are awake and watchful as we should be (faithful, see yesterday) or asleep (less than faithful) we will be with Him when He returns. We should encourage each other and build one another up with reminders that Jesus is coming soon and will rescue us from God’s wrath when it is poured out on mankind. This should also cause you to think about those who do not have such a guarantee in Christ. There are many who will go through the Tribulation, let it not be because you failed to tell them about Jesus when you had the opportunity.

Paul’s final exhortations include respecting the church leaders who have been put in spiritual authority over you in the Lord. The church elders have a responsibility to admonish and encourage you to live in the light of Christ’s soon return. We should esteem them very highly in love because of their work. It can be very easy to grumble because they don’t lead the church the way we might prefer. Paul reminds us to value them and encourage them as they lead us.
We should live in peace with each other. Again it is too easy to grumble when things don’t go our way. Being at peace with each other requires that we are peacemakers, that we lay aside our preferences for the sake of others.
As we seek to build up the body of Christ, we need to deal with each person where they are spiritually. We need to warn those who are lazy that they need to do the work God has called them to do whether in ministry or in supporting themselves. For the fainthearted, we need to encourage them emotionally in their struggle. The weak need physical help. Everyone needs us to be patient with them as they move forward in the Christian walk.
Most importantly, do not repay evil for evil but always look for ways to do good. What are your relationships like with the church leaders and fellow believers? In what area do you need to make some specific changes in how you are dealing with people?

When will Jesus come and take us to be with him (the times and the seasons)? We don’t know. Jesus told us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (Mat 24:42-44). People will feel like all is well and there will be a sense of peace and security and then suddenly, destruction will come upon them. The world is like a pregnant woman waiting for labour and those unbelievers left behind will not be able to escape the labour pains of the Tribulation.

But we are not in darkness that Jesus’ arrival should surprise us. We can live in anticipation because we know that day could come at any moment. We should not be living like those who ignore the imminent return of Jesus (asleep in the night) and carry on sinning and doing shameful things that need to be hidden (get drunk at night). Instead, we should be living as those who belong to the day, sober and putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of our hope of salvation.

Are you living with the expectation that Jesus will literally return at any moment? When Jesus returns will you be ready to give account for how you have lived for Him as someone who has lived in the light? Or are you more like those who are living in darkness, asleep or doing things that you prefer remain hidden? Jesus is returning soon. What change do you need to make today?

The Thessalonians seem to have been concerned that if Christ returned, those believers who had died before that might miss out on what God had planned, like the Millennium Kingdom. Paul doesn’t want them to grieve about those who have died like unbelievers who have no hope. He then points to Jesus’ resurrection as the hope for all of us to be resurrected. Those who are alive when Jesus returns will not go ahead of those who have died. When Jesus returns there will be a great command from heaven and the sound of a trumpet and with that, all believers will rise from the grave and then those of us who are still alive will be caught up (raptured) to meet Him in the clouds. And from that point, we will always be with Jesus. We can encourage each other with the reminder that as believers we will all rise again after death and no one will miss out on any part of God’s future plan, even if we die before Jesus comes again.