A Morning Cup of Tea: Sending Out the Twelve, Feeding the 5000

Good morning! Today's reading is Luke 9:1-17.  Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them power to cast out devils and to heal the sick. He sent them all out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He gave them specific instructions not to take even a second coat with them. No money, no food, nothing. He wanted them to realize that God would provide for them. And if they were not welcomed in an area, Jesus told them to argue with the person to try and convince them of the truth. No, that's not right at all.
 5. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
 Jesus told them to shake the very dust from their feet. When talking to others, sometimes it is easy (for me anyway) to want to try and change the person's mind when they are obviously set against hearing it. In cases such as that we should simply move on. There are people out there who will hear the word gladly.
  When the apostles returned from their mission Jesus wanted to take them to a desert place in or near Bethsaida. They needed some time to themselves. In more modern terminology (but still showing my age, hee hee) they needed to recharge their batteries. But the people soon found where they were and came to them. Jesus didn't turn them away though. He taught them about God and healed those who needed healing. Jesus had a genuine love for people.
  As the day grew shorter, the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away so they could go and find a place to sleep for the night, and to eat. Jesus said , Feed them."
  The answer of course, was, we can't. All we have are five loaves of bread and two fishes. The crowd consisted of about 5000 men, and no one really knows how many women and children were present, although we are pretty sure they were there. During this time only the men were counted.
  Jesus had them all sit down in groups of fifty and then he took the bread and the fish and blessed it, giving it to the disciples to feed the multitude. When everyone had eaten their fill there were 12 baskets of food remaining. 

Good morning! Today's reading is Luke 9:1-17.  Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them power to cast out devils and to heal the sick. He sent them all out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He gave them specific instructions not to take even a second coat with them. No money, no food, nothing. He wanted them to realize that God would provide for them. And if they were not welcomed in an area, Jesus told them to argue with the person to try and convince them of the truth. No, that's not right at all.
 5. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
 Jesus told them to shake the very dust from their feet. When talking to others, sometimes it is easy (for me anyway) to want to try and change the person's mind when they are obviously set against hearing it. In cases such as that we should simply move on. There are people out there who will hear the word gladly.
  When the apostles returned from their mission Jesus wanted to take them to a desert place in or near Bethsaida. They needed some time to themselves. In more modern terminology (but still showing my age, hee hee) they needed to recharge their batteries. But the people soon found where they were and came to them. Jesus didn't turn them away though. He taught them about God and healed those who needed healing. Jesus had a genuine love for people.
  As the day grew shorter, the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away so they could go and find a place to sleep for the night, and to eat. Jesus said , Feed them."
  The answer of course, was, we can't. All we have are five loaves of bread and two fishes. The crowd consisted of about 5000 men, and no one really knows how many women and children were present, although we are pretty sure they were there. During this time only the men were counted.
  Jesus had them all sit down in groups of fifty and then he took the bread and the fish and blessed it, giving it to the disciples to feed the multitude. When everyone had eaten their fill there were 12 baskets of food remaining.