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b'When life is busy, our minds are constantly full of things we have to do,\\nplaces we have to go, and people we have to see. It\\u2019s very easy to find\\nourselves becoming a little self-centered. We never intended to live in our\\nown little worlds, but that\\u2019s what life seems to demand right now.\\nIn the event of Jesus feeding the five thousand (which is recorded in all\\nfour Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we find Jesus and His\\ndisciples trying to find a secluded place to rest after a busy series of\\ndays (Mark 6:30-32). But the crowds are eager to hear more of this great\\nmiracle worker\\u2019s teachings, and they follow the Master and His disciples.\\nWhen Jesus sees the crowd, He has compassion on them (verse 34). Knowing\\nthese people are hungry, Jesus decides food is needed. He then turns to\\nPhilip and asks, \\u201cWhere can we buy bread to feed all these people?\\u201d (John\\n6:5). When Jesus asks where, I imagine Philip doing a quick calculation in\\nhis mind, figuring the impossibility of what Jesus wants to do. This\\ndisciple responds by saying there\\u2019s not enough money to buy food for the\\nwhole crowd. There are five thousand men\\u2014not even counting women and\\nchildren! That means there could be more than ten thousand hungry mouths to\\nfeed. There\\u2019s no point asking where to buy food when there\\u2019s no money to\\nbuy food.\\nThen, I imagine Andrew scanning the crowd searching for something or\\nsomeone to help solve this problem. He spots a boy with five loaves and two\\nfish. What is this disciple\\u2019s response to Jesus\\u2019s question? He tells Jesus\\nabout the boy\\u2019s food then adds, \\u201cBut what good is that with this huge\\ncrowd?\\u201d (verse 9). The need is massive; what can five loaves and two fish\\naccomplish?\\nJesus then quiets the people and gives thanks. As the crowd watches in\\namazement, those scant five loaves and two fish are handed out. The food\\nkeeps on coming until everyone has their fill\\u2014and there\\u2019s even some\\nleftover!\\nIt\\u2019s so easy to underestimate what Jesus can do. When life gets busy, we\\nmight feel like there aren\\u2019t enough resources to go around. But, as\\nfollowers of Jesus Christ, we\\u2019re called to be attentive to the needs of\\nthose around us. Instead of living our Christian lives in our own little\\nworlds, Jesus enables us to be compassionate and reach out to help those\\nwho need it, knowing He will provide. \\u2022 Doug Velting\\n\\u2022 Read John 6:1-13. What was Jesus\\u2019s disciples\\u2019 role in feeding the crowd?\\nWhat did Jesus do?\\n\\u2022 Especially when life gets busy, why is it important to take time to rest?\\n(Mark 6:31)\\nJesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the\\npeople. John 6:11a (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nJohn.6.1-John.6.13'