Key Thought

Sometimes God's truths need to be heard with finality and without a lot of discussion. The power of the simple truth takes time to be absorbed. The starkness or challenge of the truth sometimes needs to be left in the hands of the hearers and the messenger needs to move on to the next group of people who need God's truth, grace, and hope. May God give us the wisdom to know when to stay and when to go. May God's grace give us the love to stay in tough circumstances when it is his will and the courage to leave when we need to move on to other places. May the Father give us the courage to leave and allow time for the Word to convict and germinate in the hearts of men and women who are not ready to respond immediately.

Today's Prayer

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Father in heaven, I cannot read the hearts of people very well. I know that you know them. I know that you know what is best for them at any given moment. Please, dear Father, help me to know when to move on to other people and other fields of service that are ready for truth, love, and grace. However, dear Father, help me know when to stay and keep loving and serving people as well. Please give me this wisdom in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Another time there were many people {with Jesus}. The people had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his followers to him. Jesus said, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days. And now they have nothing to eat. I should not send them home hungry. If they leave without eating, they will faint while going home. Some of these people live a long way from here." Jesus' followers answered, "But we are far away from any towns. Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people?" Then Jesus asked them, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" The followers answered, "We have seven loaves of bread." Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. Then Jesus took the seven loaves and gave thanks to God. Jesus divided the bread and gave the pieces to his followers. Jesus told the followers to give the bread to the people. The followers obeyed him. The followers also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for the fish and told the followers to give the fish to the people. All the people ate and were full. Then the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. There were about 4,000 men that ate. After they ate, Jesus told them to go home. Then Jesus went in a boat with his followers to the area of Dalmanutha.

— Mark 8:1-10 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.