Skip to main content

God’s Reminders



Our Daily Bread Devotional

Read: Mark 8:11-21
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 14-16; Ephesians 5:1-16

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
(Mark 8:21).

My friend Bob Horner refers to Jesus as “the Master Reminder.” And that is good, because we are so doubting and forgetful. No matter how often Jesus met the needs of the people who came to Him when He was here on earth, His first disciples feared they would somehow be left in need. After witnessing miracles, they failed to understand the greater meaning the Lord wanted them to remember.

On a journey across the Sea of Galilee, the disciples realized they had forgotten to bring bread and were talking about it. Jesus asked them, “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?” (Mark 8:17-18). Then He reminded them that when He fed five thousand people with five loaves, the disciples had collected twelve basketfuls of leftover pieces. And when He fed four thousand with seven loaves, they filled seven baskets with leftovers. Then “He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’” (v. 21).

The Lord’s miraculous provision for people’s physical needs pointed to the greater truth—that He was the Bread of Life and that His body would be “broken” for them and for us.

Every time we eat the bread and drink the cup during the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of our Lord’s great love and provision for us. —David McCasland

In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus left us a great reminder of His sacrifice. Read about it in Matthew 26:17–30; Luke 22:14–20; 1 Corinthians (11:23–26).

Communion is the Lord’s reminder to us of His love and provision.

INSIGHT: In Mark 7-8, Mark records three stories that highlight Jesus’s ability to meet the needs of His followers: the exorcism of a demon-possessed girl (Mark 7:24-30), the healing of a deaf and mute man (7:31-37), and the feeding of four thousand people with seven simple loaves of bread (8:1-10). Mark tells these three stories in quick succession, underscoring Jesus’s ability to meet the needs of people in a variety of situations. The apostle John calls the miracles Jesus performed “signs.” Like all signs, they point to something. In the case of Jesus’s miracles, they point to His true identity. J.R. Hudberg

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Can you ruin your destiny?

God had something in mind when He created you, right? But what if you’ve screwed up? Dropped out? Quit before it was over? Maybe you decided to do your own thing, it didn’t work out, and now you’re just sucking air and hoping there’s still hope. Guess what? There is! For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. (Romans 11:29 NLT) You don’t even have to start over. Every single thing you failed at? God will use it. (Romans 8:28) Every shot you called that was way off? God will repurpose it. (Proverbs 19:21) Every weakness you thought you had to hide? God’s power will show through it. (2 Corinthians 12:9) God created you for good works. As soon as you quit the past and sell out for Jesus, those works will happen. (Ephesians 2:10) He’s establishing you, step by step. (Proverbs 16:9) God’s a good Father. He knows how to bring you back and take you further than you ever imagined. (Ephesians 3:20) Spend some time really reflecting on these truths. What do you secretly hope is p...

Marriage Booster: Do You Still Love Her/Him ?

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Ephesians 5:25 KJV "This is what I love about you" In the beginning you love everything about him. You are captivated by his six pack, his spirit of adventure, and his lion’s heart. In the beginning you love everything about her. You go crazy with the swing of her hips, a wink or a chewy chocolate cake baked especially for you. One day you wake up. Daily routine has shattered your rose-tinted glasses. “His six pack is not so hot anymore, instead his joints creak with every move.” Or: “It would be better if she swung her hips into a gym one of these days.” You realize: “My partner has changed.” Fortunately! He isn’t standing still. The problem is not the change but rather, that you are a creature of habit. It is your task to rediscover your partner and to simultaneously not forget why you went up the aisle with sparkling eyes to marry your bride/groom. MARRIAGE BOOSTER Write d...

Called to Be Peculiar

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:15-16) Being peculiar. That's not something most of us work to achieve, is it? But, you know, we should. God has called us to be peculiar—to stand out from the rest of the world as living proof of His power and His love (1 Peter 2:9). He doesn't, for example, want us to share the ailments of the world. He doesn't want us to share their sickness and poverty and failure. He's never wanted that for His people. He gave us a physical illustration of that during the time the nation of Israel was held captive in Egypt. Pharaoh had refused to set the Israelites free, so God had allowed a thick darkness to cover the whole land. The darkness was so dreadful throughout Egypt that no one moved for three days. "But," says Exodus 10:23, "all the children of Israel had light in their ...