Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

July 5
Monday


RETREATING
FORWARD

READ:
Matthew 14:13-23
_____________________________________________________________

When He had sent
the multitudes away,
He went up on the
mountain by Himself to
pray. Now when evening
came, He was alone
there. __Matthew 14:23
_____________________________________________________________

A friend told me about his church's leadership retreat. For 2 days, church leaders pulled away for a time of prayer, planning, and worship. My friend was not only refreshed but also energized. He told me, "This retreat is really going to help us move forward as a church ministry.


It sounded funny to me--this notion of retreating in order to move forward. But it is true. Sometimes you have to pull back and regroup before you can make meaningful forward progress. this is particularly true in our relationship with God.

Jesus Himself practiced "retreating forward." After a busy day of ministry in the region of the Sea of Galilee, He retreated. Matthew 14:23 tells us that "when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there." Alone in the presence of the Father.

In this fast-paced, get-ahead world, it's easy to wear ourselves down-pressing ahead and moving forward at all costs. But even in our desire to be effective Christians, we must consistently be willing to retreat into God's presence. Only in the refreshing of His strength can we find the resources to move forward in our service for Him. Retreat in Jesus before moving forward. __Bill Crowder
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``````````````````````To face life's many challenges``````````````
````````````````````````And overcome each test,````````````````
`````````````````````The Lord tells us to take the time`````````````
````````````````````To stop. To pray. To rest. __Sper````````````
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Alone with the Father is the only place
to find the strength to press on.

***********Today's Bible Reading __ Matthew 14:13-23************

13 When Jesus heard it, He
departed from there by boat
to a deserted place by
Himself. But when the
multitudes heard it, they
followed Him on foot from
the cities. 14 And when
Jesus went out He saw a
great multitude; and he was
moved with compassion for
them, and healed their sick.

15 When it was evening, His
disciples came to Him,
saying, "This is a deserted
place, and the hour is
already late. Send the
multitudes away, that they
may go into the villages
and buy themselves food."

16 But Jesus said to them,
"They do not need to go
away. you give them
something to eat."

17 And they said to Him,
"We have here only five
loaves and two fish."

18 He said, "Bring them
here to Me." 19 Then he
commanded the multitudes
to sit down on the grass.
And He took the five loaves
and the two fish, and
looking up to heaven, He
blessed and broke and gave
the loaves to the disciples;
and the disciples gave to the
multitudes. 20 So they all ate
and were filled, and they
took up twelve baskets full
of the fragments that
remained. 21 Now those
who had eaten were about
five thousand men, besides
women and children....

23 And when He had sent
the multitudes away. He
went up on the mountain by
Himself to pray....

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Verse 21 numbers those fed at 5,000 men, "besides women and
children." Some say that "besides" means "excluding" so that only
men were present. It is more likely, however, that it means 5,000
men plus women and children, possibly making the total number
15,000 or more. __BILL CROWDER

[Lani]

Alone with the Father is the only place to find the strength to press on.

*ohyeah*

That is a great sentence!!

Thanks for sharin Cimi!

Peace and Love in Christ,
Lani