By Pastor William Y. K. Brown Ph.D
(Resident Pastor)
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Osu-Bethel.
Tel: 0244165628/0243310773.
wykbrown@gmail.com
FRIDAY
THEME: WITNESSES OF HIS PROVIDENCE
SCRIPTURES:
Matthew 4:23 – “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
John 6:35 – “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
REFLECTIONS:
God is our hope in this life. He was, He is, and He remains the absolute solution to our challenges. You can trust Him to help you in uncertain and dire situations because He has the power to do so. There is no human need that God cannot supply. Believers read the Scriptures to strengthen their faith because what He has done in the past, He will do again in our time. Trusting God is the pathway to success, peace, and comfort.
God takes absolute responsibility for caring for us because He created us and has redeemed us as well – we are doubly connected and related to Him. Therefore, He does not hesitate to support us, provided we give Him the chance to do so. His desire has always been to bless and give hope to humanity. For Him to know, understand, and be able to help us adequately, He chose to dwell among us (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-3,14). While He lived with us, He was full of compassion and grace. He is the same God; He does not change – His immutability is the collateral and warranty for our firm and unwavering faith in His word (Malachi 3:6).
Remember, God sees first and prepares to help. Indeed, you will worry if you do not believe in this miracle-working, loving, caring, and compassionate Savior. Throughout His life on earth, Jesus Christ demonstrated that there was no need He could not meet and no apprehension He could not resolve and avert. Therefore, Levi-Matthew writes as a testimony: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” – Matthew 4:23.
One of the most eventful days in Jesus’ life on earth is recorded in John Chapter 6. On this day, Jesus demonstrated that He is the bread of life. In verse 48, He announced: “I am the bread of life.” Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and went up to a mountain. The multitude followed Him. When He lifted His eyes and saw them, He had compassion on them, for they were spiritually and physically hungry. But Jesus chose to address their physical need first. He performed a miracle with five barley loaves and two small fish. After praying over the food, God multiplied it to feed 5000 men (excluding women and children). Beyond that, they collected 12 extra baskets of food “so that nothing is lost” (verses 12, 13). Verse 14 records how awesome the occasion was: “Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
This is the only miracle recorded in all the four Gospels. What is your need? God will provide. What keeps you sleepless? Christ will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). What makes you fearful? The compassionate Lord, Jesus Christ, will give you boldness and courage (Acts 4:13,29). Remember, according to James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” You are in safe hands in the Lord. You can lean on His everlasting arms.
MY SONG OF COMMITMENT
SDAH 99 – “God Will Take Care of You”
LET US PRAY
– Praise and thank God for His compassion and love; thank God for providing your daily needs; pray to trust Him always to provide;
– Pray for those who are starving due to their circumstances; pray for humanitarian agencies to be resourced to provide equitably for people in need;
– Pray for all who face severe difficulties and do not know how to overcome them; pray for families and individuals in war situations;
– Pray for five people by name; pray for your church members; pray for the nation and its leadership; pray for the Gospel to reach unreached areas of the world.
