How many loaves do you have?

Matthew 15:34

In this passage Jesus feeds the crowd of 4000 men plus women and children, my guess around 9500 people.  One chapter before (Matthew 14:13-21) Jesus fed a crowd of 5000 men plus women and children, my guess 11000 people, with two fish and five loaves. That is close to 21 thousand fed people with 12 loaves and a few small fishes, not bad, not bad at all. Oh yeah, and they were all satisfied!!!

It is interesting that the disciples asked the question “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to fill such a crowd?” (v.33). My first thought was, are you kidding me, are you really asking that question? Didn’t you just experience Jesus feed a larger crowd days before? I wonder if they were actually worried or if they were simply asking in excitement of seeing Jesus provide once again? Then we read in chapter 16:5-7 “We didn’t bring any bread.” Why were they still concern about it? I’m not sure of their intention, I see myself in them, but we can definitely learn from this experience about God and ourselves the following:

1.      God is a compassionate God.

a.       “As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and heal their sick” (Mat. 14:14).

b.      “I have compassion on the crowds, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way” (Mat. 15:32).

c.       We serve a God that understands our pains and needs.

2.       God is faithful.

a.       Where He leads, He provides.

b.      He draws the crowds to hear the good news, and to heal them. He provided not only for their spiritual needs, but also their physical needs as well. “What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?...If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ASK Him” (Mat. 7:9,11).

c.       This is a great example of why Jesus encourage us to “not worry saying, What shall we eat? Or What shall we drink? Or What shall we wear?...your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:31-32).

3.       God is a gracious God.

a.       He asks us to give from what we do have and not from what we don’t have. Plus, what we have He provides and multiplies.

b.      He asks “how many loaves do you have” (v.34) and says “Bring them here to Me” (Mat. 14:18).

c.       That last passage indicates action on our behalf. God can’t use what we don’t freely give back to Him. Also, we are to “bring” to Him, to present ourselves at the altar of the sovereign God and enjoy His presence.

d.      The act of bringing to Him goes far beyond the bringing part, but it’s mainly about the being in His presence. We are called to abide IN Him.

4.       God is our provider—Jehovah-Jired

a.       “Everyone ate and was filled” (Mat. 14:20)

b.      “They all ate and were filled” (Mat. 15:37)

c.       His food, His provision satisfies. There is a lot of trash out there that doesn’t fill you up, but God’s provision will always satisfy your hunger.

d.      The living water that never runs out, and always satisfies (John 4:1-42)

5.      Location matters:

a.       Consider the location and situation of the people. Both passages expressed they were in the wilderness, “a desolate and dry place. But God teaches us that it is at those places that He specially provides. He shows us that He is the provider, therefore being in the wilderness, the dessert, is not an issue when we walk with Him.

b.      Our faith is not to be based on our circumstances, but on our provider.

c.       “The presence of Christ and his gospel makes a desert place not only tolerable, but desirable; it makes the wilderness an Eden, Isa. 51:3; 41:19, 20” (Matthew Henry Commentary).

"AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED/SATISFIED" V.20

PARENTHOOD WISDOM FROM 1 SAMUEL 1-2

Children are a blessing from God and they belong to Him. Whatever He pleases to do with them is His call and not ours. We are not owners of anything in this world; we are stewards of everything including our children. The Lord blessed us with Nehemiah for as long as He pleases and our role is to raise Him with the Gospel in hand and hold tight to the promises God gives us through His word. And it is a process of faith as we trust that He is in control and that He has a plan for him—a plan to prosper him, to give him a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

1 Samuel 1:27 I prayed for this boy, and since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for, I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord. Then He bowed and worshipped the Lord there

God is also a jealous God and every time we placed something/one ahead or above Him He is not pleased. We are not to place our children above God and worry about honoring them instead of God. God in his scripture says “I’ll honor those who honor Me.” And in reality, who can do a better work in raising my kid, me or God? I’ll put my trust in Him.

2 Samuel 2:29-30 …You have honored your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all the offerings of My people Israel…I’ll honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disgraced.

Parents can’t afford to avoid restraining their children when necessary. In the verse above, Eli’s sons, who were entrusted with the Temple’s sacrifices, where desecrating the Lord’s offering from His people. They were literally taking the best out of the offering for themselves, something that didn’t please the Lord. And that wasn’t all, they were also sleeping around with women at the entrance to the tent of meeting. In short, they were not honoring the Lord as they were supposed to, but themselves instead. And the saddest part of the story is that Eli, their father, the one who was entrusted with his children didn’t do anything about out despite knowing the reality of their acts.

V. 22 Now Eli…heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel…

1 Samuel 3:13 I (God) told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are defiling the sanctuary, and he has not stopped them (he did not restrain them ESV).

As parents of Nehemiah we are responsible to raise him with the Gospel, with God’s ordinances, and to restrain him when necessary. As precious creations from God we cannot afford to do nothing as Eli, the consequences are vast and affect not only our family but the world (see Ch 2:27-36).

My prayer is that we honor God in our relationships with our children, keeping Him as a priority and trusting in Him as He guides us to raise our children with the Gospel, loving them and restraining them when necessary. May His will and not our will be done with all His children.

YOUR PROVIDER, YOUR PROVISION-LUKE 9:1-17

In commissioning the twelve disciples Jesus told them, “Take nothing for the road, no walking stick, no traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt” v. 3. If you are new to the Gospels you might think Jesus was an insensitive, cruel leader. But if you explore all of Scripture you come to understand that Jesus is teaching them, and us, that He is not only our provider, but He is also our provision.


Jesus is a sovereign and gracious God. After sharing that to His disciples, He goes even farther and gives them an example of His provision. In verse 10 we read about the feeding of the five thousand men, plus the women and children. In this situation thousands of people are following Jesus and His disciples into the wilderness to hear Jesus’ preaching and to be healed of diseases. After a long day the disciples became concerned and asked Jesus to send the people back so that they can go and find something to eat (v.12). To what Jesus responded, “You give them something to eat” (v.13). Jesus is telling them why should I send them away to find something to eat when they have already found, when they are already in the presence of their provider, their provision?

If you know the story, Jesus fed 5000 men, plus women and children with five loaves and two fish. He TOOK the five loaves and the two fish and LOOKING up to heaven, He BLESSED and BROKE them (v.16). And it doesn’t stop there, the Bible teaches us that that everyone ate and were filled, satisfied. And not only that, but they picked up 12 baskets of leftovers!

Throughout this experience the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was not only glorified, but in His grace He gave a picture to His disciples of what He is going to do for them. Of how He is going to provide and be their provision, an abundant provision, as He call them to go and preach the Gospel and leave everything behind taking no bag, no money, no food, no shirt. Jesus is saying, the message you carry is so important that you do not have time to pack your bags, you need to go immediately. But He is also sharing that the only way you can go and preach this message is by totally abandoning yourselves to the cause, therefore taking nothing. And take nothing because you serve the One who is everything, who created everything and He will be your provider, and more than that, He will be the provision at all times.

Jesus is not only asking us to deny ourselves, but to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He modeled that for us, He denied His nature as God and humbled Himself and became a servant for all of us. He took up the cross daily, and went beyond to fulfill His Father’s will and gave up His life on that Cross. He followed the will of His Father above all. He was God in the nature of men; He felt the pain, the anguish, so that we can have the hope that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. We can do it all because He already did it for us; all we have to do is follow the model, Jesus Christ.

Will I today take up my cross and deny myself and follow Him? And not waste time in worrying about the needs for the road. Why? Because we serve the one that created the road, we serve the one that fed 5000 men plus women and children, not only once, but twice with two fish and five loaves. We serve the one who gave it all so that we can have life, a new life in Christ.

So go and enjoy of His presence, enjoy of His provision, His abundant provision.

…And they were satisfied


Enjoy His Grace, Extend His Glory,

The Power Source

“…behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17)

This passage marks the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is His public inauguration. And what made me reflect was the thought of understanding that Jesus didn’t start His ministry until the Holy Spirit came down on Him. This to me says a lot about the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Even as I start my day I strive to face my Father in Heaven first through prayer and the reading of scripture before I face the world. I pray that God will guide me through His Spirit to walk in accordance to His word. Believe me I do not think to highly of myself, I do not expect to go on in my day expecting to follow Christ if I do not come face to face with Him before I get up my bed. I need to remind myself daily that He is my source for everything. Like putting gas on a car or plugging a light bulb in the power outlet, it won’t serve its purpose if it is not plugged or filled with the right source of energy. Same with God, He is my source, therefore I die daily to myself so that not me but the Holy Spirit will guide my steps, the work of my hands, thoughts, and actions. And ultimately all this has a purpose…so that I may know Him, and make Him known among the nations.

The beauty of things is that the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus is available to us today through Him. The Spirit descended upon Him, by Him to be delivered to all believers.

Do not face the world, before you face your Father first,

May the Holy Spirit of God overtake us and may He say to us “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

All for His Glory,


Jorge Vallejo

THE DANGER OF DRIFTING AWAY

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).

The world we live in is an interesting place, and if you live in a city like I do where we are surrounded by many different kinds of noise and other distractions, it is easy not to pay closer attention to the Word of God. And that is a dangerous place to be if you are a follower of Christ.

Picture the world we live in as a river with a strong current that drives us away from God towards sin, complacency, and towards self. And God call us to go against that current of self-gratification and self-absorption; He calls us for something greater than that, something greater than ourselves, to love God and to love others. So first let’s see how we can recognize if we are drifting away, below are some points I learned from Dr. Stanley and some I have learned through exploring the word of God. I recognize that these are not the only ones, so please let me know what other you might see are essential:

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM DRIFTING AWAY

1. Your interest for the Word of God and Prayer decreases
If you call yourself a follower of Christ, but are not putting your face in the book and your knees on the ground my guess will be that you are being taken away by the current. And as Christians the issue of drifting is that we do not simply stop moving and stay where we are until we get it together and continue to go against the current, but that we continue to move, but moving the wrong direction. To drift away does not require effort; even a dead fish can do that. I heard once said that sin will take you farther away than you wanted to go, and keep you there longer that you wanted to stay, and we all know how true of a statement that is.

2. You stop sharing to people about Jesus Christ
Ask yourself, when was the last time you share to someone about Him? Or when was the last time you encouraged a fellow believer in Christ?

3. Not feeling as close to God as we used to
We do not hear the God anymore or sense His presence around us anymore. This is a dangerous place to be. God speaks to us in different ways, through the Bible, prayer, other people, circumstances, but if we keep ignoring His voice again and again our ears will grow deft and our hearts will become hard. If you hear God calling your name, respond as Samuel: “Speak Oh Lord, for your servant is listening” 1 Samuel 3:10).

4. Your desire to gather among fellow believers diminishes
Not only am I talking about going to church, which is essential in our faith walk, I know for some of us that is a box we like to check once in a while. But I am talking about intentionally gathering and having fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ daily. We are called to live in community, encouraging each other, so that none of us is hardened by sin’s deception, are we are to do so as it is still called today, meaning daily (Hebrew 3:13).

WHAT CAN I DO TO AVOID DRIFTING

1. Keep paddling
The word retirement does not exist in living the life of a Christian

2. Join efforts
Understand that the Christian faith was meant to be lived out in community. You cannot do it by yourself, believe me on this I tried it! It takes humility to understand that we need of each other and it reminds us that we are all one body with many parts, and each part is unique and essential for the body to be healthy.

3. Recognize the different currents
Stay on guard. In order to battle sin, we need to recognize our weaknesses and temptations so that we can be on alert and ready to combat/avoid those. Do not be ignorant on these, otherwise you will not know when or what hit you. It has been of great benefit for me to understand that I am not to resist sin, but to flee from it just as Moses did (Genesis 39:12).

4. Have a sure and firm Anchor
The only way we can be successful in avoiding going against the current is to have a sure and firm anchor, Jesus Christ (Hebrew 6:19). He is on our behalf.

In closing dear brother and sisters, it is important to know that we all fall short of the glory of God but that it is only by His grace that we find redemption through Jesus Christ. He is our high priest forever.

All for His glory!

GO, DO IT!!!

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again” (John 10:17).

"Many of us want Christianity on our own terms. We want to stay alive - we want the benefits of the Cross, but not the requirements of it. But whereas the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses us with all the pleasures of Heaven, it asks for something in return - our lives"—Pullinger

Check this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIc631LALz8

I have always heard it say that the price we pay to become followers of Christ is a big price to pay, which I say right on! But let me tell you, what we pay cannot even be compared to what we get back in return from our relationship with our Father.

"Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. ‘Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?’” [Matthew 16:14-16 (MSG)].

Dying to self is not something we do once and for all; instead it is something that we are to intentionally pursue daily through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In order to serve and be used by God He needs to be the 100%. I have to become a 0 on the side for Him to be ALL. Radical? Yes it is, but there is nothing more joyful for a human life than to be used by a great and merciful God and to be part of His work.

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:12-14).

He gave his life for you and I, the least we can do is to do the same. And know that wherever He sends you He will provide for you the gas to get there, and the resources to stay there.

All for His Glory,

LIGHT THE FIRE, KEEP THE FIRE

I have been a follower of Christ since 1999, and since then my Christian life has been an ongoing process. I know this is not new news to many as this is the reality for most, if not all of us. But yesterday while attending a Christian gathering at the University of Pennsylvania something came to mind that reminded me of a critical part of my faith, the nurturing of it.

My desire is to have a personal, real, and practical relationship with God, but if my face is not in the Word daily, if my knees are not on the ground constantly in prayer, it is impossible to nurture my relationship with my Father in heaven. I had a picture in my mind of a fire, it started small but it became bigger and stronger as I continued to praise the Lord. So here is the portrait: the fire is our relationship with God and the wood feeding the fire is the Word of God, Prayer, serving others, loving others, being in community, sharing about Christ and much more. The fire (our relationship and passion for God) will grow if we throw more wood to it constantly. In the same way, like a fire, if we do not continue to feed it, it will fade away. If we fail to feed (nurture) our relationship with God I cannot tell you it will fade away, but I can tell you it will definitely not be the same as if we did.

In closing I want to be clear that I am NOT sharing this as simply a method we can use to nurture our faith, while ignoring the grace and will of God. It is impossible to please God while ignoring His Spirit in us. What I do want to share is that as followers of Christ we are to intentionally engage in the nurturing of our faith. We put our time in reading the Word, in prayer and God will do the rest. In all, “it is God who is working in you, [enabling you] both to will and to act for His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

Burn in passion for Christ for I assure you some will come to watch you burn and will catch on fire.

Keep the fire burning in you,

All for His Glory,