The Loving Meaning of Leftovers

(Author: John Piper)

After Jesus had fed both the 5,000 and the 4,000 with only a few loaves and fish, the disciples got in a boat without enough bread for themselves.

When they began to discuss their plight, Jesus said, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand?" (Mark 8:17). What didn't they understand?

They did not understand the meaning of the leftovers, namely, that Jesus will take care of them when they take care of others. Jesus said:

"When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"

Understand what? The leftovers.

The leftovers were for the servers. In fact the first time there were twelve servers and twelve basketfuls left over (Mark 6:43). The second time there seven basketfuls left over—the number of abundant completeness.

What didn't they understand? That Jesus would take care of them. You can't outgive Jesus. When you spend your life for others, your needs will be met.

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

from Between Two Worlds by JT

He is dead at the age of 50. He had everything the world offered--but no Jesus.

I remember once looking at the liner notes from an album of his, and he quoted the final lines from William Ernest Henley's famous poem, Invictus:

I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Those are not the words you want written on your tombstone.

It is hard to think of a sadder public figure in recent years. A black man who never found his identity as one created in God's image, and who never experienced the identity of being conformed to the image of Christ. Black and white, male and female, rich and bankrupt, genius and punchline, private and public, innocent and deceptive--everything seemed to be jumbled up.

The one thing that comes to mind about Jackson is how bad he was at hiding his brokenness. Even while living in a literal fantasy land, it was obvious to everyone that this was a person--enormously gifted--desperately seeking a mask to cover, in futility, who he was.

May God use even this to increase our compassion and ministry to the lost, broken, and confused.

Update: Andrew Sullivan weighs in:

There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.

But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.

I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.

I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.

The Process...

I received video below from Seth Godin's blog.

Watch the video here.

Honestly, after the first time watching it, I started to feel a little guilty. I kept thinking about how much time I have wasted talking about the things that are incredibly mundane... Yikes.

This video is obviously geared toward people who are in business and the strategies that are involved in launching something new. My question is how does this mirror our efforts within the church?

Think of the programs that we are involved in. BYBC, Sunday School, Small Group, Youth Group, Women's Ministry, Men's Ministry..., etc. The list goes on. How do we busy ourselves with such groups - and perhaps, on occasion forget what the real heart of the matter is.

We all know that it's possible to "program our churches to death." Let us head the warning to not walk down that path. I am not suggesting to abandon our programs, but let's make sure that they don't cover up what truly matters - God dying for His enemies.

This was Paul's approach to the church in Corinth.

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

How about your church? How do you handle the temptation to inflate programs to be bigger than what they really are?

Behold, I Am Vile - Thoughts from Spurgeon

--Job 40:4

One cheering word, poor lost sinner, for thee! You think you must not come to God because YOU are vile. Now, there is not a saint living on earth but has been made to feel that he is vile. If Job, and Isaiah, and Paul were all obliged to say "I am vile," oh, poor sinner, wilt thou be ashamed to join in the same confession? If divine grace does not eradicate all sin from the believer, how dost thou hope to do it thyself? and if God loves His people while they are yet vile, dost thou think thy vileness will prevent His loving thee? Believe on Jesus, thou outcast of the world's society! Jesus calls thee, and such as thou art.

"Not the righteous, not the righteous;
Sinners, Jesus came to call."

Even now say, "Thou hast died for sinners; I am a sinner, Lord Jesus, sprinkle Thy blood on me"; if thou wilt confess thy sin thou shalt find pardon. If, now, with all thy heart, thou wilt say, "I am vile, wash me," thou shalt be washed now. If the Holy Spirit shall enable thee from thy heart to cry

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!"

thou shalt rise from reading this morning's portion with all thy sins pardoned; and though thou didst wake this morning with every sin that man hath ever committed on thy head, thou shalt rest to-night accepted in the Beloved; though once degraded with the rags of sin, thou shalt be adorned with a robe of righteousness, and appear white as the angels are. For "now," mark it, "Now is the accepted time." If thou "believest on Him who justifieth the ungodly thou art saved." Oh! may the Holy Spirit give thee saving faith in Him who receives the vilest.

As Christians, We Should Be the Saddest People On Earth - Paul Tripp

Paul Tripp has a new book coming out entitled Broken Down House. You can check it out here.

From the introduction:

Picture a broken down house. We've all seen them sagging and dilapidated dwellings that look as if they are in physical pain. You wonder what the house once looked like, who lived in it, and how it got into such a miserable condition. Some of us look at this kind of house and are simply overwhelmed. We quickly move on, not for a moment considering the possibility of restoration. Others of us immediately see potential. We can't wait to get our hands on the mess and restore it to its former beauty. Sin has ravaged the beautiful house that God created. It sits in slumped and disheveled pain, groaning for the restoration that can only be accomplished by the hands of him who built it in the first place. The good news is that the divine Builder will not relent until everything about his house is made totally new again. The bad news is that you and I are living right in the middle of the restoration process. We live each day in a house that is terribly broken, where nothing works exactly as intended. But Emmanuel lives here as well, and he is at work returning his house to its former beauty.

Often it doesn't look like any real restoration is going on at all. Things seem to get messier, uglier, and less functional all the time. But that s the way it is with restoration; things generally get worse before they get better. Someday you will live forever in a fully restored house. But right now you are called to live with peace, joy, and productivity in a place that has been sadly damaged by sin. How can you live above the damage? Even better, how can you be an active part of the restoration that is at the heart of God's plan of redemption? That is what Broken Down House is all about.

God Answers Prayers

So last night was small group. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing strange. Everything was normal.

Except we prayed.

OK, that is still normal. We pray every time that we have small group. How was last night different?

We prayed that we would meet non-Christians and invite them to our small group.

Well, as the title states, God answers prayers. Last night as Mary and I were “closing up” the meeting place, we noticed a young couple arguing across from us in the parking lot. She was crying, he was throwing things – like her drink on the ground and then her cell phone. Smashing it.

At that point in time, I felt God tugging on my heart. I normally would have ignored it.

“It’s their mess, it’s their problem, they are leaving now, I don’t need to get involved.”

But I didn’t. I knew what we had just prayed for.

So I spoke, “Sir, is everything OK?”
His reply, “Yeah man, everything is fine.”
Me again, “Ma’am, are you OK? Do you need anything?”

At this point, I am in. I start to walk closer. Actually, it’s as if someone is pushing me closer.

“OK Father, this is it. These people need you. Desperately. Help me say the right things to show the love of your Son.”

To make this long story short… I will attempt to sum up the details.
Ian, the guy, was drunk.
Jenny, the girlfriend is divorced, has two kids.
Ian, goes to AA, killed a girl while drunk driving, headed to jail, prays twice a day.
Jenny is just confused.

So, we went to work. Both Mary and I threw everything out on the "table" for Ian and Jenny.

"If you died tonight, why would God let you in Heaven?" I ask.
“Because I am grateful and because I pray twice a day.” Ian said.
"God demands perfect. You and I have broken His law. We stand condemned."

But Christ…

Ian in tears.
Ticked.
Hurt.
Jenny’s crying again.

Mary and I left them with this, “Your hearts will forever be restless until they are resting in Jesus. Your perfection will not get you in Heaven, your AA, your work, your jail, your sorrow, you pain. Nothing that you are leaning on right now will get you in Heaven.

Only Christ.

Jesus loves you.”

We prayed.
We left.
We rested.
We are thankful for opportunities.
We are thankful for answered prayers.

“He parted with the greatest glory, he underwent the greatest misery, he doth the greatest works that ever were, because he loves his spouse, - because he values believers."
- John Owen, Communion with God, (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2004), 139.

"Not only when thou wast born into the world did Christ love thee, but his delights were with the sons of men before there were any sons of men. Often did he think of them; from everlasting to everlasting he had set his affections upon them. I am sure he would not have loved me so long if he had had not been a changeless Lover. If he could grow weary of me he would have been tired of me long before now. If he had not loved me with a love as deep as life and as strong as death, he would have turned from me long ago. Oh, joy above all joys, to know that I am his everlasting and inalienable inheritance, given to him by his Father."
-Spurgeon

Trials Will Come

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials
1 Peter 1:6

I realize that many of us have sung or at least heard the song “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman, but I believe the words of it stand true. Please take a few moments now and watch this video. Be encouraged. Move from “shoe-gazing” to Christ praising. Your heart will feel better and it’s what Christ deserves.


For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18

Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.
Exodus 3:7

I Heard God Speaking to Me

A couple of years ago, John Piper sent a letter to his congregation regarding the topic of hearing the voice of God. It caused quite a stir for reasons I think you would agree with.

He opened his letter by saying the following:

Let me tell you about a most wonderful experience I had early Monday morning, March 19, 2007, a little after six o’clock. God actually spoke to me. There is no doubt that it was God. I heard the words in my head just as clearly as when a memory of a conversation passes across your consciousness. The words were in English, but they had about them an absolutely self-authenticating ring of truth. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God still speaks today.

He goes on to say that he was on a staff retreat and for some reason was not able to sleep, so he got up. He went to an area in the center that they were staying in that was quiet, where he would be undisturbed. He began to pray.

Piper continues,

As I prayed and mused, suddenly it happened. God said, “Come and see what I have done.” There was not the slightest doubt in my mind that these were the very words of God. In this very moment. At this very place in the twenty-first century, 2007, God was speaking to me with absolute authority and self-evidencing reality. I paused to let this sink in. There was a sweetness about it. Time seemed to matter little. God was near. He had me in his sights. He had something to say to me. When God draws near, hurry ceases. Time slows down.

I wondered what he meant by “come and see.” Would he take me somewhere, like he did Paul into heaven to see what can’t be spoken? Did “see” mean that I would have a vision of some great deed of God that no one has seen? I am not sure how much time elapsed between God’s initial word, “Come and see what I have done,” and his next words. It doesn’t matter. I was being enveloped in the love of his personal communication. The God of the universe was speaking to me.

Now at this point, as I am reading this letter the hair starts to rise on the back of my head. What? God doesn’t speak to people anymore. The Cannon of Scripture is closed. Most importantly – is John Piper now a charismatic? What is going on here?

Piper continues,

The words came again. “I turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There they rejoiced in me—who rules by my might forever.” Suddenly I realized God was taking me back several thousand years to the time when he dried up the Red Sea and the Jordan River. I was being transported by his word back into history to those great deeds. This is what he meant by “come and see.” He was transporting me back by his words to those two glorious deeds before the children of men. These were the “awesome deeds” he referred to. God himself was narrating the mighty works of God. He was doing it for me. He was doing it with words that were resounding in my own mind.

There settled over me a wonderful reverence. A palpable peace came down. This was a holy moment and a holy corner of the world in northern Minnesota. God Almighty had come down and was giving me the stillness and the openness and the willingness to hear his very voice.

At this point it almost appears as if Piper is having an “out-of-body-experience.” I am thinking he has gone over the edge. He continues by saying that this experience is “breathtaking,” “serious,” “almost a rebuke,” “a warning.” Piper is saying that it’s one thing that God spoke those words, but that He specifically spoke them to him! That is what is incredible. And frankly, I tend to agree. Why Piper? Why him and not me?

He continues more,

Think of it. Marvel at this. Stand in awe of this. The God who keeps watch over the nations, like some people keep watch over cattle or stock markets or construction sites—this God still speaks in the twenty-first century. I heard his very words. He spoke personally to me.

What effect did this have on me? It filled me with a fresh sense of God’s reality. It assured me more deeply that he acts in history and in our time. It strengthened my faith that he is for me and cares about me and will use his global power to watch over me. Why else would he come and tell me these things?

It’s at this point that the “light” turns on in my mind and I am beginning to figure out what Piper is really saying…

[God speaking to me] has increased my love for the Bible as God’s very word, because it was through the Bible that I heard these divine words, and through the Bible I have experiences like this almost every day. The very God of the universe speaks on every page into my mind—and your mind. We hear his very words. God himself has multiplied his wondrous deeds and thoughts toward us; none can compare with him! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told (Psalm 40:5).

And best of all, they are available to all. If you would like to hear the very same words I heard on the couch in northern Minnesota, read Psalm 66:5-7. That is where I heard them. O how precious is the Bible. It is the very word of God. In it God speaks in the twenty-first century. This is the very voice of God. By this voice, he speaks with absolute truth and personal force. By this voice, he reveals his all-surpassing beauty. By this voice, he reveals the deepest secrets of our hearts. No voice anywhere anytime can reach as deep or lift as high or carry as far as the voice of God that we hear in the Bible.

So, this begs the question, why would I be sending you this info. Well, this past week on this blog, I posted the poll with the statement: I schedule my day around spending personal time alone with God

The results? Strongly agree – 0, Agree - 28%, Disagree - 42%, and Strongly disagree - 28%

My thought is that ultimately we are not aware of the fact that the God of the universe is the One who will speak to us everyday. I think that if we were really, consciously aware, we would go to His Word.

I don’t say this to bring guilt on us, but to really say that if you want life, abundant life – go to the Word and hear your Father speak to you. Hear Jesus speak to you.

My friends don’t be afraid. Jesus loves you and He wants you to hear His voice.

Eight Habits of a Christlike Disciple

Some time ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to Faith Church of the Valley in Phoenix. On their web site they had a very strong plan for discipleship of their congregation.  The great thing about this church is that they don't assume that everyone at Faith Church has "arrived" spiritually. The leadership of Faith Church is very proactive in teaching, training and discipling their congregation.

I thought that their "Eight Habits" where really good and challenging. They are listed below:


A Mind Transformed by the Word

We progressively come to view the world as God views it: setting aside the world's values as our minds are continually renewed by God's word.

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

so that you may prove what the will of God is,

that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Knowing the Scriptures and committing oneself to the Word of God is foundational to our knowledge and growth in Jesus Christ. If we are to conform ourselves more to the Heavenly Man, Jesus, and die to this world, we must be fed by His Word. Peter wrote:

"like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word,

so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,” 1 Peter 2:2

We are to hunger for it as naturally as a baby craves its milk, and we are to be nourished by it, our spiritual food, even as we are nourished by our physical. In the same way we become malnourished if we stop eating our physical food, so we do with our spiritual food.

A voice to speak the good news

We joyfully share Jesus with those who do not know Him: leading them to faith and answering questions. We also provide hope and encouragement for those who already know the truth.

A heart for Christ alone

Jesus, as the one-and-only Son of God, becomes the priority in all of life; as our most precious treasure, we worship Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

Arms to love

We embrace humanity: coming alongside others in need, extending compassion, welcoming the stranger, and living in a community of mutual care with other disciples.

Hands that give and serve

We live as servants of God and each other: doing good through the gifts the Spirit has given us, living generously and simply, and seeking to bring about the fullest expression of God’s rule in our culture.

Knees for prayer

Our posture before God is one of continual dependence: trusting deeply that God is in charge of everything and conversing always about what we are accomplishing together with Him.

Feet that bring the good news to foreign lands

We fulfill the great commission by establishing church planting movements among the most spiritually unreached people groups of the world.

A body that bears the scars of Jesus

We gladly bear the reproach of Christ: sharing in His suffering and being conformed to His death in order to share in the triumph of His resurrection.

As you read these, what comes to mind?

I don't want to "guilt" you in Godly habits, but how are you doing? Are you seeking Christ today, in all that are?

John, in his gospel, stated, "He must increase and I must decrease." What steps are you taking to do what John did?