Watch Out for Bad Bread! : Mark 8:14-15 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

Home > Devotionals > What Jesus Did! > May 16

Watch Out for Bad Bread! - Mark 8:14-15

The followers had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. They forgot to bring more bread. Jesus warned them, "Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod. " (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

Don't you just love the way Jesus helps his disciples move from temporal concerns and physical needs to spiritual and eternal issues? How often do we get so bogged down in the physical details that we lose sight of spiritual truths? Let's ask Jesus to take us deeper into what is truly life, what is genuine spirituality. Let's not settle for worrying about temporal "stuff" God has already promised to take care of for us!

Today's Prayer

Get WJD by EMAIL!

Enter your email address above to subscribe to the email edition of What Jesus Did! Follow along FREE every day as we go through Mark in a year.

More Info on Mailing Lists

O God, please forgive me. I confess that I sometimes get anxious about things that don't really matter. I sometimes get hung up on concerns that are not spiritual matters. Help me see the issues, needs, and concerns that are truly important. Help me focus on them! In Jesus' name. Amen.

NEW: Get Phil's What Jesus Did devotional in a paperback book. Click here to find out more!

Today's Verses in Context

The Pharisees came to Jesus and asked him questions. They wanted to test Jesus. So they asked Jesus to do a miracle to show that he was from God. Jesus made a sad sound like he was troubled. He said, "Why do you people ask to see a miracle as proof? I tell you the truth. No proof like that will be given to you." Then Jesus left the Pharisees. Jesus went in the boat to the other side of the lake. The followers had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. They forgot to bring more bread. Jesus warned them, "Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod. " The followers discussed the meaning of this. They said, "He said this because we have no bread." Jesus knew that the followers were talking about this. So Jesus asked them, "Why are you talking about having no bread? You still don't see or understand? Are you not able to understand? Do you have eyes that can't see? Do you have ears that can't hear? Remember what I did before, when we did not have enough bread? I divided five loaves of bread for 5,000 people. Remember how many baskets you filled with pieces of food that were not eaten?" The followers answered, "We filled twelve baskets." "And remember that I divided seven loaves of bread for 4,000 people. Remember how many baskets you filled with pieces of food that were not eaten?" The followers answered, "We filled seven baskets." Then Jesus said to them, "{You remember these things I did,} but you still don't understand?"

— Mark 8:11-21 (ERV)

Comments on "Watch Out for Bad Bread!":

"No person can serve two masters at the same time. He will hate one master and love the other master. Or he will follow one master and refuse to follow the other master. So you cannot serve God and Money at the same time. "So I tell you, don't worry about the food you need to live. And don't worry about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more important than food. And the body is more important than clothes. Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or save food in barns. But your heavenly Father feeds those birds. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.
Matthew 6:24-27 (ERV)

But if any of you needs wisdom, then you should ask God for it. God is generous. He enjoys giving to all people. So God will give you wisdom. But when you ask God, you must believe. Don't doubt God. The person who doubts is like a wave in the sea. The wind blows the wave up and down. The person who doubts is like that wave. The person who doubts is thinking two different things at the same time. He cannot decide about anything he does. A person like that should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. Believers who are poor should be glad that God considers them so important. Believers who are rich should be glad when bad things happen that make them humble. Why? Because even rich people will die as quickly as wild flowers: The sun rises and becomes hotter and hotter. The sun's heat makes the plants very dry. The flowers fall off. The flowers were beautiful, but now they are dead. It is the same with rich people. While they are still making plans for their business, they will die.
James 1:5-11 (ERV)

Don't worry and say, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' All the people that don't know God try to get these things. Don't worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need these things. The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing the good things God wants you to do. Then all these other things you need will be given to you. So don't worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.
Matthew 6:31-34 (ERV)

Share with Others

Print this Devotional

Send it to a Friend

Discuss