136 "Reality is measured by the fruit you produce, not the perception you create."

Day 136 Matthew 15:32-39 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala. Jesus has been ministering with four thousand men, plus women and children for three days. He has been healing the sick, the lame, and so much more; everyone surely must be tired. If you have ever been camping (in a tent, not the Taj Mahal on wheels) for three days, you understand how little fun it can be, especially when you're not prepared as these folks were. However, as unprepared and tired as they were, they were even more desperate–desperate for a touch from the Master–so much so that they persevered and hung in there. I wonder how many walked away and how many got tired of waiting in line and just gave up, going back home to what was comfortable to them? Or how many never really entered in; maybe they heard about it, came out and looked at what was going on, but wouldn't make the effort to press in. The odds are, people being people, surely there were both–those who left and those who didn't join in–and all of them have one thing in common, they missed out! Their unbelief, fear, pride, or just plain laziness keeping them from having all this life has to offer, and so much more. More than ever, my heart is aching for these people, the ones who just can't, or won't for whatever reason, seek to find the truth. The season of this writing has been one of the most difficult in my life when it comes to seeing people come to Christ. We have had more opportunities, prayed harder, clung on to Christ, and persevered to be more in the Word than ever before, yet seen so many just walk away or not enter in. Times are truly changing. People are losing hope, not just in themselves but in their country, their future, their family, their values, their Church and, yes, even in their God, but why? Can it be that the leaders in our country have failed so badly at leading morally that the hope in morality is gone? Has the separation of the classes become so evident, the gap so wide, and the numbers so large that financial security seems an impossible goal? Is it that the lies being spewed out by the media on a momentary basis have finally taken the toll or could it be that we have become so technologically advanced that we have become people who have no understanding of intimacy? Maybe we have just become complacent, able to be satisfied where we are, and so caught up in instant comfort that eternal decisions are something we can't or won't think about just yet. The truth is, I don't know. Maybe it's some or all of the above or something entirely different, but one thing that is certain, times and people are changing and, in many ways, not for the better. For those who persevered with Jesus, there was physical healing, spiritual satisfaction, eternal blessing and, in the end, even physical satisfaction; today the end result remains the same, the hope of glory. Somehow we must continue to be diligent and work all the harder to spread the message of Jesus Christ to one person at a time, no matter what it takes. These are desperate times, and they require desperate measures, the first of which must be for each of us to live lives worthy of Him who called us, for if we are fakes, our religion, faith, and our savior appear to be no less the same. Daily Prayer: Father, I confess to You my shortcomings and failures. Help me Lord to be the very best testimony for You that I can possibly be. Strengthen me, I pray, and use me for Your glory. In Jesus’ name I ask these things. Amen. "Reality is measured by the fruit you produce, not the perception you create." Pastor Gene Burroughs