Observations/Interpretation:
Why it is significant that ‘about four thousand men were present’ is mentioned?
It is significant because it shows the men wanting to hear Jesus and learn from Him. They were there for three days and now had been fed spiritually and physically. They had come to hear Jesus and also Jesus had been there to take care of them. They did eat well and were satisfied because only 7 basketfuls were left over after feeding about 4000 men. That is awesome!

Implication:
I saw an important implication for my own life. As I thought about this verse in its context of the previous verses, I realized the amount of time the large crowd spent with Jesus. Four thousand is a lot of people. Yet, they were there to hear Jesus for 3 days. It is like they were having a 3-day Promise Keepers like conference with Jesus being their speaker. I need to make time to spend with Jesus hearing from Him too!

I ask you now dear friend, do you hear from Jesus?
Dear friend, sometimes it is so easy in our hectic schedules to hear from no one but our own selves. Our mind tells us all the things we have left undone and everything we have to do. We keep hearing mostly negative things in our head. We forget the most important thing we can do is not hearing our mind and thoughts but to take time to hear from Jesus. Yes, friend as the large crowd heard from Jesus, you can too! It may not be audible as the crowd heard Jesus but when you read His Word and spend time in prayer, you will hear from Him and can know at times that it is beyond a shadow of a doubt from the Lord. Sometimes, it can be audible! At other times as you take the Word of God, you have to go in faith testing 'what you think you hear you have to do' with the Word of God. Hearing from Jesus and what is in the Word will never be contradictory.

So, what does that mean?
When people say, I heard from Jesus and have such a peace in my life even though I am a practicing homosexual, that it is alright, they are not hearing from Jesus. Jesus will not contradict the Word He has given us. When they turn to Him and ask for help, I believe He will help them to overcome what they are going through.

Others would say, they have such a peace about divorcing their husband/wife after spending time in prayer with the Lord. That is a bunch of hogwash. If anything selfish motives and ambitions are involved. In a Christian family where both are following the Lord Jesus Christ, divorce should not even be an option and the same goes with abortion, etc. It is a sad statistic when those who are followers of Christ have the same divorce rate as non-believers.

We live in a sinful world and are bombarded with sin so we need the Lord's help. One of the best ways the Lord has given us His help is through a community of believers who believe in the Word of God to be the Word of God and not man made. Those churches that pick and choose from the Word of God are basically making up their own rules and are not following the teachings of Christ. Jesus will help us through our issues! Yes, He will friend!

Homosexuality, divorce, abortion, etc are vices the Lord Jesus wants us to overcome and not be part of. He will help us when we hear Him. There will be a lot of things that are hard but if we give in, we are being selfish. Many times it takes suffering to be obedient but will be worth it in the long run.

People do a lot of things in the name of the Lord or doing it for the sake of the Lord. The Word of God says, our Lord is pleased more with our obedience than our sacrifice (whether it be our time, money, etc for the Lord). We can sacrifice so many things but if we are not obedient to the teachings of Christ we are not really honoring Him and hearing Him.

There are two kinds of hearing I like to categorize in. There is a passive hearing which is you hear what others say but it goes from one ear out to the other. You have not only wasted your time but the time of the person who you were supposed to hear. The other hearing is proactive hearing where a person hears and really hears and takes to heart what is being said and implements in their life.

I believe about 4000 men who were there for 3 days with Jesus wanted to be proactive in their lives and implements Jesus’ teachings in their lives with their families.

Won’t you do that friend?
You can be proactive and hear the Lord in your life. He will only give you the best. As Jesus did not ignore the crowd, He will not ignore you either.

May you know helpful emancipation Almighty reassures!

“Helpful Emancipation Almighty Reassures!” (H.E.A.R)/”Do you hear from Jesus?”

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you so much for letting me know about 4000 men who were with you heard you for 3 days. They not only heard you spiritually and were fed but you fed them physically. You took care of them as they spent time with you. Thank you Lord you are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. As you took care of the crowd, you will take care of us too as we spend time with thee. Thank you Jesus! We entrust this time to you! Help us Jesus to follow you faithfully. Thank you for hearing and answering us! You are so proactive and help us to follow in your footsteps. Thank you so much Jesus. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Make this your prayer. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking you need all the answers before coming to Christ. Let me just assure you though you may not have all the answers right now before coming to Jesus, He will answer them slowly. Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer will! Amen!

PRAYER:
Father God thank you, you love us so much that you sent your only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. I love you Lord. Thank you Father God for your Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus thank you for loving me so much. Thank you Jesus, you will take care of my problems. Nothing is too hard for you. For many of us Lord, we face many obstacles in life whether it be Spiritual, financial, marital, emotional, physical, or educational problems. We turn these problems and the prayer requests to you. Thank you Lord you never fail to answer our prayers. Just because we don't understand does not mean you didn't answer our prayers. Thanks Lord for cleansing us by your precious Blood. Please come into my heart Jesus. Please forgive my sins. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart. Thank you Jesus for making my heart, your home. Thank you Jesus for living in me. I will live for you Jesus and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I pray right now for the one who is so troubled that only your presence and love can meet them where they are at. Come Lord Jesus and please intervene in their life. Cover them with your awesome presence and help them through what they are going. Thank you Jesus as you saw the disciples in trouble and came to their rescue, you can come to our rescue too. We entrust our lives in your care. Thank you for the answer and you will carry us! IN YOUR NAME, I PRAY JESUS THANKING YOU FOR EVERYTHING. AMEN.

Friend you may feel something or may not feeling anything but do not go by your feelings. When you ask Jesus to come into your life, He will and does. He will take over from here as you depend on the Lord and let Him work in you and through you! This is exciting friend! May each one that came to know Jesus be filled with His Holy Spirit forever more and those that know Jesus come to know Him more and more! Amen!

Get yourself involved in a campus Bible study, fellowship, and most of all find a Bible believing church and be involved to grow in your Christian walk with the Lord. They all need to be supplements for your own precious time with the Lord in prayer and meditating on His Word. If you need a Bible, please let me know!

As the movie DaVinci Code opened across the theaters on May 19, 2006, which speaks against the church and most importantly degrades the Name of Jesus Christ, we need to make ourselves available to speak the truth to the falsity presented in the movie and the novel. If you plan to watch the movie or have read the book and have questions or your faith seems to be shaken, please email me or give me a call at 412-720-4579 so we can discuss the false claims in the book that are presented as fact even though the book itself and the movie is presented as fiction. May the Lord bless you and guide you!

If you need anyone to talk to, pray with, or study the Bible with this Summer of 2006, you can email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com or call me at 412-720-4579. Please do not hesitate. One-one Bible studies can be so powerful too because the Holy Spirit is still in the midst.

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Express Your View

SEPTEMBER 2005

MARK: CHAPTER 1

How seriously do you T.E.S.T.I.F.Y to prophecy? (Sept 01, 05)

Who do you P.O.I.N.T to? (Sept 02, 05)

"Will you take a S.T.A.N.D?" (Sept 03, 05)

How is your loving P.R.A.I.S.E? (Sept 06, 05)

"How do you handle T.E.M.P.T.A.T.I.O.N?" (Sept 07, 05)

"Who controls your T.I.M.E?" (Sept 08, 05)

"What kind of P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N are you in?" (Sept 09, 05)

"Whose T.E.A.C.H.I.N.G.S do you listen to?" (Sept 12, 05)