Memorize: And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 1st Kings 17:13

Read: John 6:5-13 (KJV)

5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13 Therefore they gathered them together and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 16-17, Ezekiel 11:14-12:6, Hymn: Sing hymn 3

Message:-
As Christians, we need to recognize that the privilege of God’s grace does not absolve us of our responsibilities.
It is true that for anyone to succeed in life, God’s grace has to come into play. Nevertheless, we must also understand that by God’s design, all good things come at a cost. In other words, to get good output from any endeavor, God expects you to give a tangible input in the form of effort, which His grace will multiply. Indeed, it is our works that lubricate the wheels of grace. Even the Omnipotent God did not form us from nothing: man was formed from the dust of the ground. When we understand this truth and act on it, we create room for God’s grace to be multiplied in our lives. This was what happened in the life of the widow of Zarephath (1st Kings 17:9-16). For her to have food throughout the period of famine, she needed to put in something that would cause God’s grace to work on her behalf. Giving her last meal provided God’s grace an object to act on and multiply. In God’s divine economy, multiplication does not occur in the place of emptiness.

Today’s Bible reading is a testament to how the divine economy works. While the disciples worried about how to feed five thousand hungry people after their retreat, the Master knew that all He needed was something that God’s grace could act upon in order to unleash God’s miraculous provision. All it took was a boy’s lunch of five small barley loaves and two fish. Jesus took the meal, gave thanks and distributed it to the multitude through His disciples.

There is a lot we can learn from this story. First, our God is not presumptuous; rather He is orderly and intentional. Second, though there is nothing He cannot do, there are many things He will not do except we play our part as carriers of His image and collaborate with Him. For example, unless a farmer puts something in the ground, there can be no harvest, not because God cannot do it but because He will not do it. In the same way, unless a man comes together with his wife, reproduction will not take place. Couples waiting on the Lord for the fruit of the womb should know that they have a part to play in this regard for God’s grace to be activated in their lives. Those who keep robbing God of His tithe should also realize that they are preventing God from unleashing His blessing over their lives. May the Lord grant you an understanding of His ways in Jesus’ Name.

Action Point
Examine your life to find out those areas where you have been running away from your responsibilities, and make amends.