Monday, March 30, 2009
You Give Them Something to Eat
In the 6th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, we find a large group of people following Jesus. They spent the entire day listening to Jesus as he taught and as dinner time approached the disciples urged Jesus to send the people away so that they could get food to eat. Jesus responded to the disciples by saying, “You give them something to eat”. The task of feeding such a large group of people appeared to be impossible. After all, there were about 5,000 men as well as their families who needed to eat. Jesus didn’t ask the disciples what they needed in order to meet such a vast need. Rather, he asked them what they had. The disciples were able to come up with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Jesus then gave thanks to God for what was provided and he handed it back to the disciples to give to the people. As you may recall, everyone who was hungry was able to eat until they were satisfied, and they even had plenty left over.
During these uncertain economic times, many people may be tempted to hold onto every little bit that they can because they are not sure what tomorrow may bring (or not bring for that matter). One lesson that we can take away from this passage in Mark however, is that we don’t need to worry about our needs. What we do need to do is give what we have to Christ and then use it as he leads us to. It all belongs to God anyway.
At Wheeler Mission Ministries, we get the privilege of seeing this principle in action every day. Even though times are a bit tougher, our wonderful volunteers and donors continue to bless this ministry with their time, talent and treasure. As they give what they have to the ministry in the name of Christ, he is faithful to continue meeting the needs of the homeless and less fortunate men, women and children of Indianapolis. In the month of February alone, Wheeler Mission provided 11,400 nights of lodging and we were able to serve 23,564 meals. All of this is possible because God’s people have not allowed themselves to focus on the vast need, but rather they shared what they had in the name of Christ.
Thanks again to all of you who support us with donations, volunteer hours and especially your prayers.
Rick
During these uncertain economic times, many people may be tempted to hold onto every little bit that they can because they are not sure what tomorrow may bring (or not bring for that matter). One lesson that we can take away from this passage in Mark however, is that we don’t need to worry about our needs. What we do need to do is give what we have to Christ and then use it as he leads us to. It all belongs to God anyway.
At Wheeler Mission Ministries, we get the privilege of seeing this principle in action every day. Even though times are a bit tougher, our wonderful volunteers and donors continue to bless this ministry with their time, talent and treasure. As they give what they have to the ministry in the name of Christ, he is faithful to continue meeting the needs of the homeless and less fortunate men, women and children of Indianapolis. In the month of February alone, Wheeler Mission provided 11,400 nights of lodging and we were able to serve 23,564 meals. All of this is possible because God’s people have not allowed themselves to focus on the vast need, but rather they shared what they had in the name of Christ.
Thanks again to all of you who support us with donations, volunteer hours and especially your prayers.
Rick
