Do you have Jesus in your heart? In the Bible, the word “heart” refers to your innermost being--the place where your thoughts, feelings, and desires come from. The Bible says our hearts are sinful, which is why we need Jesus to free us from sin and change the way we think and the things we desire. When we trust in Him, He comes into our hearts--not physically but spiritually. Trust Him to change your heart today.

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All of us have been afraid at one time or another, even adults. Being scared is nothing to be ashamed of. When we invite Jesus into our lives, we don’t have to be afraid, because we aren’t alone.

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Have you ever had to prepare a meal for a large group of people with little or no advance notice?
When you prepared that meal, did you ever stop to wonder how you would do it, especially if you realized that you did not have enough food and you did not have the time or money to go to the grocery store? If that is the case, perhaps you can sympathize with the disciples in the story of the feeding of the crowd, which is written in John 6:1-21.

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The Gospel reading which we just heard from John 6:1-21 is full of rich imagery. Although the story of the feeding of the 5,000 appears in all four Gospels, John’s version has a slightly different meaning. In fact, John includes only seven of Jesus’ miracles in his Gospel, and in each miracle the believer is brought closer to God. Each miracle invites us to reflect on what the miracle says about Jesus.

John most likely included this version of the feeding of the 5,000 to provide additional information that was not recorded in the other three Gospels. For the early Christians, this story got to the heart of something they knew was important about Jesus, about who he was, what he was up to, and what he found to be important. John’s recording of this miracle showed the creative power of Christ and set the stage for Jesus’ talk about the “bread of life” in the remaining verses of Chapter 6. The purpose of John’s Gospel is to show that Jesus is the mind of God in human form, so the signs in John’s version of the feeding of the 5,000 are designed to show God at work in the lives of his people.

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How do you handle it when your plans get changed, even for good reasons? Do you feel disappointed or angry? The passage from Mark’s Gospel gives us some ideas about how to handle unexpected changes in plans.

Jesus’ disciples led busy lives. They were tired. They were too busy from ministry with Jesus and the people to even find time to eat. Jesus displayed His concern for practical matters. His disciples had just returned from a ministry trip, so He expected them to “come aside…and rest awhile.” Jesus saw the problems and suggested that they get away and get some rest.

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Herod’s story was one of impulse, pride and stubbornness, and the story of our lives is similar. Herod gave his word to his stepdaughter Salome in front of his friends, so he had no choice but to agree to her demands. To do otherwise would have led to a loss of power. Politics overruled principle. Herod was infected with guilt both physically and psychologically. Guilt does that to everyone. Herod had greater concern for his pride and reputation than for truth and integrity. Believers and unbelievers alike can easily allow peer pressure and public opinion to turn them away from doing what they know in their hearts is right.

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The passage we heard from Ephesians expresses a new understanding that Paul has talked about in his other letters but never fully developed. The abolishment of the barrier between Jews and Gentiles is the key to understanding God’s plan for the universe. His plan was and is to unify the entire universe in Christ Jesus. That is God’s gift to us, and we should be grateful for what He has done for us.

The author of Ephesians refers to God’s gift of grace as a lavish inheritance. Something we didn’t earn, but which is gifted to us. How often do we settle for less when God is dying to give us grace? How often do we settle for the tired old habits of religion—legalism and dogmatism- instead of waiting in expectation for the lavish gift of forgiveness, the mystery of adoption by God? How do we correct our vision?

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The Gospel reading from Mark 6:1-13 occurs just after the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage and the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead. It is two different stories about faith, and that’s where the similarity ends. Unlike the two miracles that we heard about in Mark 5:21-43, which demonstrate faith in Jesus, the first parable we heard in this passage is about the lack of faith.

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There is nothing more natural than to grieve the death of a friend. The ability to grieve is God’s gift which allows us to process our loss in such a way that we can go on living without a sense of grief. Just like Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, David and his men grieved when they heard of the death of the soldiers, Saul and Jonathan. David honoured Saul, but he celebrated his dear friend Jonathan. David did this because what he was at least in part was because of Jonathan. Friends play important roles in shaping our spiritual destinies.

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In this story we saw how much Jairus loved his daughter and would do anything for her. God our heavenly father is the same. He loves us so much that he would do anything for us, including sending his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

Something else that we learned was that with God anything is possible. Jairus’ daughter was dead, and the situation was hopeless, but Jesus raised her from the dead because of Jairus’ faith. When we face hopeless situations, we must remember what Jesus said-“Only believe.”

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