Leftovers From God

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When Jesus saw the large crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?”  He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered, “Don't you know that it would take almost a year's wages just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?”  Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples. He spoke up and said,  “There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people?”  The ground was covered with grass, and Jesus told his disciples to tell everyone to sit down. About 5,000 men were in the crowd.  Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat.  The people ate all they wanted, and Jesus told his disciples to gather up the leftovers, so that nothing would be wasted.  The disciples gathered them up and filled twelve large baskets with what was left over from the five barley loaves.  

John 6:5-13 - CEV

Every day, all over the world, God multiplies grain after it is planted in the ground and watered.  The barley seeds that made the five loaves could have been planted in the ground and produced many more seeds.  Then, when those seeds were planted in the ground, there would be even more. Repeating this process a few times would produce more than enough grain to feed 5000 people, and even have the 12 baskets full of leftovers!  The same was true with the two fish.  If they had not been caught and one had been a male and the other one female, in time they would have produced plenty of fish for the crowd!  

Why did Jesus tell His followers to gather the leftover bread?  The Bible says so that nothing would be wasted.  One of the best things about a large family dinner is the "leftovers."  At our house we usually send most of them home with our children, but there almost always are enough for a few meals at our house too!

When you see the power of God making miraculous provision for those who are hungry for God, don't forget to gather the baskets of leftovers!  Don't waste the spiritual food that can still feed you for days and even beyond!

When Jesus feeds the crowd around you, don't forget to gather the leftovers and be sustained by them.  Sometimes those leftovers can give you strength for all the days of your life to come here on earth!

"Lord Jesus, thank You for always providing enough of Your Word to feed the crowd and satisfy Your Children now and forever.  Praise Your Holy and Righteous Name always!  Amen."