Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Richard Murray

Home
Prorgessive Christian
The One Thing Jesus said to Never Forget

The One Thing Jesus said to Never Forget

Last updated on: September 7, 2019 at 8:48 am by Richard Murray

The One Thing Jesus said to Never Forget 2019-09-07T08:48:22-04:00 Richard Murray

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What is the one thing Jesus says to never forget? Or, perhaps better, the one thing to always remember.

In Mark 6:52, the disciples were said to have “hardened hearts” because they failed to remember something, failed to consider something—– something crucial, something incredible, something powerful. What was the “forgotten” element which hardened them to the supernatural power of a supernatural God? It was THE MIRACLES OF THE LOAVES!

But why? Why is remembering these particular miracles so critical, so important? The answer lies in Mark 8:13-21. In verse 13, we see the disciples departed in a ship to “cross over” to Bethsaida. The problem was that they all had forgotten to bring bread and had only one loaf to share between them. In verse 17, Jesus discerned that they were REASONING IN UNBELIEF about having no bread.

Jesus then challenged them:

“Why do you reason, ‘because we have no bread?’ Perceive you not, nor do you understand? Is your heart so hardened? Having eyes, you see not? And having ears, you hear not? AND DO YOU NOT REMEMBER?” vv 17-18.

So Jesus said here that their failure to REMEMBER something is costing them dearly—- costing them faith-vision, faith-hearing, and faith-understanding. The end result is a hardened heart unable to believe God for supernatural miracles. So WHAT was it they were supposed to remember, to consider, to see, to hear?

“’When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?’ They said to Him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when the seven among four thousand, how many fragments did you take up?’ And they said, ‘Seven.’ And He said to them, ‘How is it then that you don’t understand?’” vv19-21.

Here is the explosive point we are to always keep near the surface of our thoughts. Jesus fed MORE (5,000 versus 4,000) with LESS (5 loaves versus 7 loaves) and had more LEFT OVER (12 baskets versus 7 baskets). Jesus does more with less. JESUS DOES MORE WITH LESS! What was the point the disciples were missing? With the mere one loaf the disciples had in the boat, Jesus could feed thousands, tens of thousands, even millions. With one crumb Jesus could feed the entire world BECAUSE He supernaturally does more with less.

The disciples were NOT considering the SUPERNATURAL POWER OF GOD to meet their EVERY need, even the simplest ones. Having their every need met was only a faith impulse away BECAUSE Jesus was WITH them. But the disciple’s hardened hearts seemed to continually forget or neglect the ABUNDANT AVAILABILITY of Jesus’ miracle working anointing. Of all His miracles, Jesus believed the Miracle of the Loaves was the most important one for us to constantly remember.

The good news for us is that Jesus is not just WITH us as He was the disciples, but Jesus is WITHIN us by the power of the Holy Spirit. His miracle power to transfigure our darkness into light abides in us in 24/7. But, like the disciples, we too can be sooooo hardened to it. We can be blind, deaf and dull to the supernatural power of God to be OUR ever-present help in time of need. And not only to helps meet OUR every need, but also to leave “baskets” of abundance to overflow blessings to others.

Personally, I believe Jesus reveals the master key to the Miracle of the Loaves in the following verse: “And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he BLESSED [literally “eulogeo” meaning “to speak well of, thank, celebrate, bless and praise.”] and broke them, and gave the the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.” Matthew 14:19.

JESUS FOCUSED ON WHAT HE “DID” HAVE RATHER THAN ON WHAT HE DIDN’T HAVE. He could have said, “I don’t have the bread to feed this huge crowd. We are in lack. How will this ever work out? Father, we are in trouble.” No, Jesus gave thanks to heaven for what He DID have, the five loaves and two fish. This is the key. When we start from a position of lack by focusing on what is missing from the situation, we start to fret, panic, fear and harden.

But when we are thankful toward, speak well of, and give praise to heaven for the smallest of blessings we do have, THEN the supernatural power of God is released to MULTIPLY that blessing a thousandfold.

Years ago, during a time of financial famine, I was praying for the Lord to help bring me a wave of new clients. He quickly spoke to my heart THROUGH this passage that I needed to bless heaven for the clients I DO have, to value and esteem them, to honor them and speak well of them from my heart. If I did this, then the Lord said He would multiply them and to meet all my needs and more. I then applied myself for four days to do nothing but bless, give and show thanks for my current clients. On the fifth day, a supernatural flood of new clients rushed into my office ALL DAY LONG, one right after another.

My eyes were opened to this dynamic truth; even though I have failed to remember it during certain seasons. I try to avoid focusing on lack by mumbling, grumbling, complaining or fretting over what I am not doing or not possessing. Instead, when I have my spiritual ‘A’ game, I pray in appreciation and toward heaven to bless and share what I do possess NOW, this very moment, knowing that God WILL continue to help me meet the crucial needs around me.

This doesn’t just apply to finances and food. In relationships, let’s be openly thankful to God for the friends we DO have rather than the ones we don’t. Instead of being disappointed in people, let’s give thanks to God for their good qualities we DO recognize, no matter how small they may appear. This helps “prime the pump” for supernatural multiplication of blessings to spread over both them and us.

If we are struggling with illness, let’s focus on the health we DO possess rather than on the symptoms we suffer from, even if our remaining health is just the size of a breadcrumb. Thank God we can stand, walk, breathe or even think. Let’s start THERE with thanksgiving, blessing and devotion.

THEN let’s look for the Lord’s curative energies to supernaturally multiply that health to us in all the other areas of our need.

Let’s not forget the miracle of the loaves. And then, even if the multiplications don’t then manifest, it won’t be because our hearts are hard to it, but because of some other obstructive dynamic.

About Richard Murray

Richard K. Murray is a practicing criminal-defense attorney from Dalton, Georgia where he lives with his wife Rita and their seven children: Sloan, Caleb, Micah, Abraham, Sarah, Ben and Annie. Richard has a B.B.A. and J.D. from the University of Georgia and a M.A. from Regent University School of Divinity. He has written several books, including: THE SPIRITUAL EYE OF THE TIGER THE POWER: Discovering the Real "Secret" of Life LIFT UP YOUR JAWBONE: Developing Samson-like Strength by Daily Confession THE JESUS MOOD: Discovering the Treasure of Imperative Faith GOD VERSUS EVIL: Sculpting an Epic Theology of God's Heroic Goodness You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

August 30, 2019

Defeating Hell: Discovering the “Real” Rock of Christianity

Next Post

September 14, 2019 IS "JUSTICE" AN ESSENTIAL PART OF GOD'S NATURE?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian tradition is especially associated with speaking in tongues?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Presbyterianism Pentecostalism Methodism Anglicanism