³¹ And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  Mark 6:31 NKJV

Come Aside

In the busy lives we have today it is easy to lay aside a few minutes of devotional time with our audience of One thinking it will get us through the rest of the day.  But we need more than a microwave message and spiritual fast food. Today, let us honor Him by coming aside to a place with Him alone to rest, and be fed, in His presence. (If you can’t do it today then I challenge you to do this by Sunday.)

In the passage above Jesus commands them to come aside for nourishment and rest.  If you were to read the rest of the chapter in Mark, then you would see that they had nothing to feed the followers of Christ.  Jesus fed the five thousand with a small boys lunch because he had packed the fish and the bread and took it with him.  Maybe this boy had a two-fold revelation we didn’t.  You cannot feed others when you have not eaten yourself,  and if you have something to bring to Jesus He can multiply it.

On Sharing the Bread

Have you ever heard the analogy of the starving baker?  He worked so hard to make the bread, but never stopped to nourish himself.

Beth Moore has said, “Eat it before you tweet it.”  I love this because so often something touches us and we want to share it.  Yet if we have not buried the seed in our own hearts the enemy can come and take it away.  Our Audience of One wants to connect with us so that He can plant those seeds we didn’t know to plant at this time.  He wants us to sit in the presence of His living water so they will grow.

Distractions

I for one am always looking for some alone time with my audience of One.  Still I  find myself distracted by what is on my to do list or just so exhausted I fall asleep in His presence.  I really must take the time to eat the bread of life until I am full.

Jesus isn’t going to run around behind us and force feed us.  We have to get to the table.  At the table we receive and gather.  Just like we need physical food for energy, we need spiritual food as well.  A steady diet of “not enough” leaves us malnourished. We cannot feed others when we have not eaten.

If we fail to sit at the table then we will lack the strength to bring it to the tables we are preparing for others.   We also will not have gathered enough food to feed them.

I invite you to sit down with our God and eat.  He is always waiting at the table that He has prepared for you and for me.  I’ll be there at His feet with you.  The good news is there is plenty to go around.

¹⁵ So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah,do you love Me more than these?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

John 21:15

We are His lambs too.  No matter how we make or share the bread of life we need to eat ourselves.  Manja Beloved! Enjoy your audience of One ❤ Melinda

On Thursdays we gather here to acknowledge that the only audience that is important is the Lord.  Our audience of One.  Did this post speak to you?  Is it something you know someone needs to here.  Please share it, and by all means share your thoughts by leaving a comment.  Thanks for stopping by.  I’m so glad you did.