200 Denarii And Beyond

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."

John 6:5-7

Jesus was having some fun with His disciples in this story. He had been performing miracles of healing and therefore drew a large crowd. He looked up and saw a huge number of people following and He asks the question, "Where shall we buy bread?"

Philip shows by his response that though he has just seen Jesus heal the multitudes miraculously, he does not understand that the Lord also can feed them in the same fashion. “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient” He says.

It is believed that a denarii in the time of Jesus was equivalent to a day’s wages for a laborer. So for Philip, who perhaps had never seen this much money, 200 denarii was as far as his imagination could take him. Jesus wants Philip and the other disciples to have their faith stretched beyond their capacity to believe.

"There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" (John 6:9) What a question posed to the master of the universe, the One by Whom all things were made. Did Jesus need 10 loaves and 4 fish to feed everyone? Or how about 40 loaves and 16 fish, “You think you can work with that Lord?” The number of loaves and fish did not matter to Jesus, nor should it matter to us His disciples. In one sense, the loaves and fish on hand represent our unbelief and our lack of spiritual vision. Jesus has no such restriction. The disciples then hand the fish and bread to Him and watch Him work. It is truly amazing. Everyone had more than they needed and as much as they wanted. When all was said and done there were twelve baskets of fragments, which to me represents how God can multiply our faith when we give Him the little that we have.

“So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

200 denarii was Philips "Faith Horizon." Can you believe beyond the problems that confront you today though they seem insurmountable? What is your "Faith Horizon?" Is there something that you are not willing or able to trust God for, or is nothing impossible for you? Give what faith you have to Jesus now and watch Him work a miracle in your life beyond your horizon of faith.

Gentle Words

The teachings of the book of Proverbs are very practical for our lives today. Though written almost 3000 years ago they ring true today even in our fast paced society. Why is that? It’s because man never changes; only his surroundings do. One of the lessons that we can learn in proverbs is how to communicate better to others.

“A soft answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,

But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.” Proverbs 15:1-2

To be gentle in our speech is not always easy to do, and for most of us it doesn’t come naturally. The reason for that is that when we hear people speak we often misinterpret their tone and intention which may cause us to fire back with harsh, hurtful words.

This is most often true in familial situations between spouses or parents speaking with their children. The problem is that we often don’t understand the intention of the one speaking to us. Perhaps they had a rough day and they are talking from their emotions and we take it as a personal attack and spit some fire at them, and then a blaze erupts in the relationship.

We need to be taught how to speak. Our answers must be caring and thoughtful rather than harsh, always imagining that our character is under attack. When we learn to be humble in our speech by controlling our tongue we become a winner in life. “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Proverbs 16:32

Let’s learn as believers how to use our tongues in a way that will honor the Lord and edify and bless the body of Christ. In this way too we are a testimony to those around us who are hit with negativity and anger on a daily basis. Our words should challenge those who need it and we should not cover truth to make someone feel better about living in sin, but even in these circumstances our encouraging words can be used to lead our friends to the one who has the ultimate words of comfort.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Now those are gentle words.

Preparation

Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. He prepared himself for the task ahead. Judges 3:16

Ehud was a man of Israel that we don’t know much about. His story is in the book of Judges Chapter 3. You should read it.

Ehud won a great victory against Moab which gained freedom for the Israelites for 80 years. How did he do it?

The answer is found in verse 16, “He prepared himself for the task ahead.” Ehud studied what needed to be done, practiced and executed (literally) the plan.

We can learn so much from this short history of Ehud. How prepared are we to fight the every day battles that come our way?

Ehud expected opposition that’s why he made a plan for the opposition. We need to anticipate problems in our lives and be prepared for them. Will temptation come our way? It might not today but perhaps tomorrow. What about sickness and unexpected changes in our relationships? Are we prepared?

Ephesians 6:13 says, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

We can stand like Ehud did and indeed be victorious with overwhelming odds against us if we prepare with the whole armor of God, truth, righteousness, faith and the gospel of peace.

Why was Ehud the only one initially to prepare for the battle? It was because the whole of Israel had settled for defeat at the hands of their oppressors. They were subjugated to Moab. Let’s not be under the control of anything but the Spirit of God as we walk in faith and stand in Grace.

A View From Above

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

When you think about all the great things that men and women have done over the centuries of human history it is hard to understand how we could be made from such a common substance as dirt. But that’s what the Bible says. It is humbling to realize that man is made from something so common. The word dust is mentioned in 102 passages of the Bible. The word means dry or loose dirt. God made man from dirt.

People who succeed at navigating life well and get to the end without having suffered great disappointment or great loss will still die. They may be able to look back and say “I did well for my wife and kids. I built a good business. I was a good man, and never even got a parking ticket.” I say hooray for those who can look back and say their life was a success. The flip side to this is the person who cannot make the same declaration. They were not good. Their goals were never met. They suffered much pain, sickness and disappointment. They might even have become a criminal in life and spent their years in a cage. No one plans for this to happen. They aspire for success, but the gravity of sin and weakness pulls them down and causes them to forget right and wrong and just do what seems right for the moment. Either path ends in dust.

This is where redemption comes in. When a person looks to Christ and believes in the power of His work on their behalf, this individual is no longer just dust, controlled by the wind of life, but an object of God’s grace, love and mercy.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-6)

As God breathed the breath of life in Adam, and brought him up from the dust, we who put our faith in Jesus are lifted up from this world system and made to sit together with Him in the heavenly places. In other words, though we might seem to be an insignificant speck, we are in fact made alive eternally, raised up, and seated above.

We can have a new view. We no longer have to look up at the hurts and sins that weigh us down, but we can look forward with a vision of a new life in Christ, knowing that old things are past away and all things have become new for the one who trusts in Jesus. Our position is not looking up at our problems, but looking down from above with a heavenly perspective that says, “Success in life is great, but do I want to come to the end of my life and be able to show all the stuff I was able to accumulate?” The answer is no. I want to say, “In this life I found freedom not to be controlled by the necessity to succeed, but by the need to know the Savior and make Him known.” That is a view that can’t come from the dust of the natural life but comes through the above life of Christ.

That Which Quiets and Assures

By Pastor Phil Walter

There is something God has given each of us, which, like most blessings God provides, isn’t tangible, but is nonetheless very much real.  It produces what Isaiah 32:17 speaks of, quietness inside that makes us confident in our union with God.  When we become troubled in our emotions because the adversary of our souls brings back the memory of just how imperfect we’ve been lately, or even long ago, this gift from God can reassure us.  It can also give us an expectation of good for our lives from our Father {Psalm 27:13 – 14; Jeremiah 29:11.

Ephesians 1:7 says that our redemption came at no less than the price of Jesus’ Life in our place.  And what is our redemption?  Nothing less than the forgiveness of our sins.  It was the ransom Jesus gave, His blood {Acts 20:28; Leviticus 17:11} that is the basis for us to no longer live in guilt, no longer have memory of personal offense {done to as well as done by us}, and to share in a destiny {with all who’ve trusted Christ as their Savior} from Heaven.

No matter what we’ve done, said, or even thought, once we acknowledge to the Holy Spirit that we’ve again fallen short of His glory {Romans 3:23}, we say individually to God, “Yes, what was done, said, or thought was not from You.”  Then, we’re catapulted right back into fellowship with our Lord.  This happens because of the value to God the Father of Jesus Christ’s offering of Himself {John 10:17 – 18}, and our choice to specifically do what we’re told in I John 1:9.  Now, having done so, any guilt we still feel is not bonafide, and remains because of the devil speaking lies to our conscience that Christ’s payment for our sins was not sufficient.  These feelings of guilt after confession of sin must be resisted by the repetition of Truth to ourselves {Psalm 15:2c; 51:6} or, we have an experience in time severed from the enjoyment of our Father’s love for us.

So, the permanent removal of our sins gives us the opportunity to not live in guilt, provided we don’t ignore the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sins {John 16:8 – 9}.  Our minds can always be refreshed {Ephesians 4:23} by the truth that Christ’s blood does remove guilt from the conscience {Hebrews 9:14}.  Perhaps all we need sometimes is just some minutes reminding ourselves of this.