Are You Eating Leftovers? - Thanksgiving Devotional #10

A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash. For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

Proverbs 15:13-15 NLT

If you want to get people talking, ask them what tradition makes it Thanksgiving for them. Even if they don't have fond memories of childhood gatherings, they usually DO have fond wishes of what they thought should be part of it. And I've never seen it fail that once that conversation starts, it usually progresses into the weirdest recipe ever used to serve turkey leftovers, with everyone in agreement that by the third day, they're done with turkey. They don't want to look at another piece of turkey, let alone eat it again.

I know lots of people who will not eat leftovers - ever - no matter what it is. They're a one-time-only eater. As a general rule of thumb, I don't mind leftovers. In fact, some things taste better the next day - pot roast, chili, meatloaf sandwiches - but, I don't want a daily diet of leftovers and I don't know anyone who does. Do you?

And yet, many people eat leftovers every day. You know them. They're the ones who can't or won't trust God because they're still chewing on leftover disappointments. Still picking their teeth with sticks and stones from the past. They can't hear the kind words that are like honey - "sweet to the soul and healthy for the body" (Proverbs 16:24) because they're still full from yesterday's generous helpings of bitterness that they're trying to digest. By the same token, many can't take in the goodness of God because they've filled up on garbage.

What are you hungry for? Will you be wise or foolish in your choices? Do you want something fresh from Heaven or something that's been lying around for years? It's feeding time. What will you feed on today?

Prayer:

Father,
           Your Word declares that You sent Your Son to set at liberty those who are held captive. It declares that we are new creations in Christ Jesus. Open our eyes and our hearts to understand and embrace the TRUTH of Your Word over the experiences of our lives. We want more of You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Our Daily Bread

Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, "Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don't you see the point of all this? Don't you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?"
They said, "Twelve."
"And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?"
"Seven."
He said, "Do you still not get it?"
Mark 8:16-21 The Message

I know quite a few people who won't have anything to do with eating leftovers. They just refuse. I don't always understand that, but to each his own, I guess. I don't have a problem with most leftovers. In fact, some things I'll fix just so they will be leftover because they taste better the second time around. Other things, I won't eat after the first round of it. Funny thing is, I've discovered God is the same way about that.

God cares about the leftovers. Scripture tells us that when partaking of the Passover Feast, one is never to eat the leftovers. And in Leviticus, the Israelites were never to eat leftovers from an offering made for thanksgiving. On the other hand, God made provision for the priests and their families from the leftovers of other offerings and He described the leftovers as "most holy."

We all know the stories of how Jesus fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, with twelve baskets leftover (Matthew 14). And how He fed the 4,000 with 7 loaves and a few fish, and had seven sacks of leftovers (Matthew 15). But did you know there's another story involving Elisha and twenty loaves of bread?

Here, read it for yourself - 2nd Kings 4:42-44 The Message.
One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh-baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard.
Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.”
His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!”
Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. God says there’s plenty.”
And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.

Old testament, new testament, it doesn't much matter when we're dealing with God's ability to multiply. When it comes to the Bread of Life Himself, I'll take the loaf, the leftovers, or even any crumbs.

It's all good.

Prayer:

Father,
           We will gladly eat from the table You set before us in the presence of our enemies and we are more than grateful for it. Give us this day, Lord, our daily bread. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Our Daily Bread

Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, "Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don't you see the point of all this? Don't you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?"

They said, "Twelve."

"And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?"

"Seven."

He said, "Do you still not get it?"

Mark 8:16-21 The Message

I know quite a few people who won't have anything to do with eating leftovers. They just refuse. I don't always understand that, but to each his own, I guess. I don't have a problem with most leftovers. In fact, some things I'll fix just so they will be leftover because they taste better the second time around. Other things, I won't eat after the first round of it. Funny thing is, I've discovered God is the same way about that.

God cares about the leftovers. Scripture tells us that when partaking of the Passover Feast, one is never to eat the leftovers. And in Leviticus, the Israelites were never to eat leftovers from an offering made for thanksgiving. (That will be someone's new argument this year for not eating leftover turkey.) On the other hand, God made provision for the priests and their families from the leftovers of other offerings and He described the leftovers as "most holy."

We all know the stories of how Jesus fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, with twelve baskets leftover (Matthew 14). And how He fed the 4,000 with 7 loaves and a few fish, and had seven sacks of leftovers (Matthew 15). But did you know there's another story involving Elisha and twenty loaves of bread? 

Here, read it for yourself - 2nd Kings 4:42-44 The Message.  

One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh-baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard.

Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.”

His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!”

Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. God says there’s plenty.”

And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.

Old testament, new testament, it doesn't much matter when we're dealing with God's ability to multiply. When it comes to the Bread of Life Himself, I'll take the loaf, the  leftovers or even any crumbs. 

It's all good.

Prayer:

Father,

          We will gladly eat from the table You set before us in the presence of our enemies and we are more than grateful for it. Give us this day, Lord, our daily bread. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen