Good morning! Have you ever looked around to take inventory of the things you have? Have you noticed that there are things you want to keep, things you want to use, and other things you want to give away? Today’s devotion ends our reading in Matthew chapter 15, with Jesus asking the disciples, “How much bread do you have?”. Enjoy your reading.

BIBLE VERSE – Matthew 15:32-39 NLT
“³² Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

³³ The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
³⁴ Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
³⁵ So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground.  ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
³⁷ They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.  ³⁸ There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children.  ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.”

REFLECTION
While there are many observations in these verses, here are ten quick observations for this morning.

• The people sat with and heard Jesus preach for three days.
• Jesus had their wellbeing in mind and had compassion to feed them. 
• The disciples questioned how to provide food for the large group. 
• Jesus asked (paraphrased by me) What do you have?
• The disciples told Jesus what they had.
• Jesus instructed everyone to sit down.
• Then Jesus thanked God for the seven loaves and small fishes. Broke them into pieces and gave it the disciples to give to the crowd.
• The crowd ate as much as they wanted. 
• Seven large baskets of food was leftover. 
• 4,000 plus were fed.

The disciples had already experienced the miracle of feeding 5,000 plus. The Lord, shows them again. However, this time I noticed he asked “How much bread do you have?”

Brothers and sisters, the world is in need. The world needs people who are concerned about their wellbeing and to have compassion on them. Sometimes, the Lord needs us to sit down at his feet to see the need and to look to Him to help us address the needs.

Today, the Lord is asking: What do you have? _________

Brothers and sisters, what do you have that the Lord can use to help feed (physically and spiritually) his people and show compassion for them? __________

In the end, the disciples were blessed with more than they provided, which shows the Lord not only wants to bless others He wants to bless you too. It may not be a financial blessing, but a spiritual blessing to see the amazing work of God and the opportunity to be used by Him.

Your gifts, talents, time, money, etc., in the hands of God will bring a great return…in this case it fed 4,000 plus. Allow God to use your gifts to care for His people.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for today. Thank you for opening up our eyes to see you move in a mighty way. Lord, thank you for saving us from our sinful and destructive path, to follow you. Lord, you know everything about us and yet, you give us an opportunity to repent of all our sins and surrender our lives to you. Lord, forgive us, we surrender our all to you and will follow you from this day forward. Lord, teach us your ways. Use us Lord to help advance your kingdom and learn all your ways. Lord, remind us to be still and sit at your feet to hear from you. Lord, teach us to be attuned to your voice when you ask us “what do we have”. Lord, remove the obstacles around us that are holding us back from fully serving as you desire for us to serve. Lord, cover our families: marriages, children, friends and loved ones. Restore what has been broken, pour out forgiveness and love, saturate our hearts with your Holy Spirit and change us to be more like you. Lord, heal the woman suffering with Lupus. Heal the woman who is sick. Heal the woman and man suffering with chronic pain. Lord, have favor on the young man who was denied from a program. Lord, be with him and his family as they wait for you to open up better opportunities that will work in his favor. Lord, we pray for his parents – give them strength and peace as they trust you. Lord, work in our lives today. Give us discernment and wisdom as we live our lives to serve and praise you. In Jesus name, amen! Amen!

—–

The next Women’s Retreat Planning meeting is Saturday, June 27, at 9:00 a.m. send email for the Zoom link to contactus@maryewhiteministries.com

Women’s Retreat Information 

We added speakers:

• Pastor Nicole Kalout
• Susie Cortez
• Panelist Moderator – Dr. Linda Rose
• Panelist
  • Sherri Lucas
  • Sundae Sayles
  • Deidra Turner

We are saving a space for you. The last day to purchase your ticket is July 3, 2025. 

The retreat will be a in-person with limited virtual participation. Tickets are $45.00 ( includes a light breakfast and lunch) and must be purchased prior to the event. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

Tickets can be purchased online through our Online Ticket Account click below:

http://mewministries.betterworld.org/events/2025-women-s-retreat

Retreat themed t-shirts are on sale. There are two styles and two colors.

• You can purchase your t-shirt by using the following vendor link: https://www.injesusnamecreations.com/product-page/whitecircleshesarmeddangeroust-shirt

—————-

PRAYER REQUEST
Do you have a prayer request? We would love to pray for you. Send your prayer request to: contactus@maryewhiteministries.com

Bible Reference: http://biblegateway.com

Copyright ©️ 2017-2030 Mary E. White Ministries, all rights reserved.