Basket of Bread

When you read Matthew 16:7-12, it is clear that Jesus admonished His disciples, not because of lack of information or understanding, but because of unbelief. Specifically He admonishes them for forgetting the great miracles He had performed in the feeding of the 4000 and the feeding of the 5000. In each case Jesus took a few loaves of bread and fed thousands of people, and in both cases there were baskets full of bread left over. Yet when Jesus warns them about the teaching (leaven) of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they immediately think He is upset with them for not bringing bread for the trip. They are concerned about bread, when they have the one with them in the boat that can make bread. I believe the Lord admonished them because they had quickly forgotten the miracle He had worked in feeding thousands of people. Their unbelief came from a lack of remembering what the Lord had done. It is so important that we remember the miracles that God has worked in our lives in the past. As we remember what God has done, it builds faith in our hearts to believe that God can and will work in our current situation as well. One reason we get distressed when dealing with present cares and difficulties in our lives is because we do not remember the faithfulness of God in the past.

I like what Bill Johnson has to say concerning the miracles of God …

"Always feed yourself with what God is doing now and what He has done, do not feed yourself on what He has not done … that will be expressed in unbelief" (Bill Johnson).

If we focus on what God has not done, it will produce unbelief in our hearts. If we focus on what God has done in the past for us, it builds faith in our hearts, so we can face the present.

Take note of the miracles God has performed in your life in the past. Allow these to become memorials to remind you of God's goodness. We serve a God of great compassion, who not only can perform miracles, but wants to perform miracles in our lives today.

Do not be caught without bread.