SITTING

“For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, make them sit down in groups of fifty” (Luke 9:14 NKJV).

Before performing this great miracle of feeding the five thousand, the Lord Jesus had the people sit down. The people had been standing while the Lord Jesus had been teaching as well as healing the sick. But now before He feeds them, He has them sit down. Thus, we want to note two things about the crowd sitting down: the order for the sitting and the orderliness in the sitting.

Order for the sitting - “Make them sit down.” The order was to do a very simple thing, namely, sit down. It was not an order to walk on water or to do something spectacular; it was just to do something ordinary. Though not spectacular, the order or command to do the ordinary is just as important as the command to do the spectacular. This order to sit down speaks of taking time to slow down and be quiet in order to ponder about God. The Psalmist says that God “makes me to lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2). We generally do not like sitting commands. We much prefer action commands. We like to be up and doing, not sitting and waiting. But the sitting commands in life need just as much attention as the doing commands, for they are just as important. Sometimes the reason we do not do much is that we do not spend time sitting and be still as we wait on God.

Orderliness in the sitting - “In groups of fifty.” The order for the people to sit was not to have the people sit haphazardly, but to sit in organized groups. This would obviously aid in the distribution of the food later. One lesson we can learn from the sitting of the people in groups in an orderly fashion is that when the Lord Jesus takes control of our life, there will be orderliness. Chaos and confusion are not a mark of the Lord in control of our lives, but evidence that He is not in control. We are reminded in 1 Cor. 14:33 that, “God is not the author of confusion.” His desire is that “all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). When we let the Lord Jesus control our lives, it will be orderly, efficient, and productive.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Reading 2)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given!”

George Campbell Morgan (1863 – 1945)

British Evangelist, Bible Teacher, and Author

Word Study

Eyeservice

In Eph. 6:6 we read, “Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart" (NKJV).

“Eyeservice” is the Greek word ophthalmodouleía (ὀφθαλμοδουλεία = of-thal-mod-oo-li'-ah). It is made up of two words: “ophthalmos” which means eye, and “douleia” which means service. Thus, the word refers to service rendered only for appearance's sake. It is working when the master is watching and loafing when he is gone. Literally, the word means eye slavery. Slaves were under more temptation in this respect than paid laborers, since they had nothing to gain materially from diligence. Hence, it describes work done without dedication or a sense of inner obligation but primarily to impress and to attract attention. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ need to avoid this kind of behavior.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11 NKJV).

Did You Know…

The unique thing about the clothing of the Israelites when they wandered the desert for 40 years was that their clothing never wore out (Deut. 8:4).

Bible Quiz

Who was the man who tried to kill all the Jews at the time of Esther?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to the Book of James, what will the man who endures temptation receive from the Lord? “The crown of life” (Jam. 1:12).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“PROPITIATION”

"And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2 NJKV).

1. Meaning – PROPITIATION speaks of the Lord Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

2. Insights – “Propitiation” carries the idea of placating or pacifying one who has been wronged. It means that the Lord Jesus has appeased God’s just wrath against sin by His sacrificial death on the cross. He propitiated, i.e. satisfied God’s righteous demands so that God is favorably disposed toward those who place faith in the Him for eternal life. The wrath that should have been poured out on sinners was poured out on the Lord Jesus. Thus, the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, His becoming man and dying on the Cross, turned the tide of man’s rebellion and reconciled him, the prodigal, to God, the waiting Father.

Did You Know – Christian History

Peter Bohler was born December 31, 1712 in Frankfurt, Germany. He was a German-English Moravian bishop and missionary.

Bohler was a graduate of the University of Jena. His father wanted him to study medicine, but he was drawn to theology instead. Among those who had an influenced on him during his student years were Count von Zinzendorf and Professor Johann George Walch; both strongly aligned with the Lutheran new-life movement known as Pietism. Bohler went on to become a missionary and bishop in America, where he directed the founding of many Moravian settlements. His influence was also directly felt in England, where he established a Moravian work. In America, Bohler was one of the first men to undertake the education of black people and was involved in the early years of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and founded nearby Nazareth. He and some other Moravians undertook long, hard journeys to preach to slaves. He also served as a missionary among the Indians.

Bohler was dearly loved in Bethlehem. During the dark years when entire Moravian mission colonies were massacred in America’s wars, people looked to him for hope. But the connection in which Bohler’s name most often appears is with the Wesley brothers.  Thinking themselves saved because they did their best to please God, the Wesley’s discovered that Peter did not see it that way. It was Bohler who convinced John Wesley of the doctrine of justification by faith, thus freeing his troubled soul from trying to earn his salvation through righteousness. Charles wrote later that he had thought Bohler unloving. But eventually came to understand that salvation is by faith alone. The conversion of both brothers led to the phenomenal growth of the Methodist movement. Doctrinal differences caused the Wesley’s to separate from the Moravians, but Bohler and John were still friends at the end of their lives. Bohler died in London in 1775. He was 62. The City of Frankfort named a street in his honor.

A Little Humor

A flood struck a town, and one man was stuck on his roof. He prayed, asking God to save him. Soon, a rowboat came by. The rower yelled, “Jump, I can save you.” The man replied, “No, I prayed, and God will save me.” Later, a motorboat came along. The motorboat operator yelled, “Get in, quick.” Again, the man on the roof said, “No, its fine. God is going to save me.” A helicopter flew over and dropped a rope ladder onto the roof. Again, the man said no, that God would save him. The waters rose, and soon the man was at heaven’s pearly gates. He saw God at the entrance and said, “What happened? I prayed and trusted you would save me.” God said, “Well, I sent you two boats and a helicopter.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Give God What’s Right, Not What’s Left!”