Matthew 14: 14 - 21

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.

In these verses of scripture, Jesus was showing through his actions, His genuine compassion for people. He was practically living out His compassion and empathy for humanity. His compassion was evidenced by Him healing the sick amongst them. He understood the pain and discomfort they were going through with sickness in their bodies so He did something. His compassion was evidenced by Him not sending the people away hungry, but by Him feeding them. He did not look at their sheer number and throw up His arms and say; they are too many, how can I feed all of these like the disciples did? He understood that these people must have been physically hungry, haven not eaten all day, and if they were to be sent away like that, some will have fainted or collapsed on the way, so He did something.

Hebrews 9: 11 -14 (NKJV)

¹¹ But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. ¹² Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Hebrews 10: 19 - 22 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 

These verses of scripture remind us that the blood of Jesus is powerful and it is what has given us eternal life. The blood of Jesus is what cleanses our conscience from dead works. Nothing else.  Without the blood of Jesus, you and I have no remission and forgiveness for our sins.  Without the blood of Jesus our sins are not washed away. We are purified by the blood of Jesus. Only the blood of Jesus. There are no sins already committed in the past and to be committed in the future that the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse. The blood of Jesus covers all sins for all times and all peoples. Wow!

Psalm 80 verses 3, 7, 19 (NKJV)

Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

Job 42: 10 – 11 (NKJV)

¹⁰ And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.

Three times in this Psalm prayer was made to God for restoration for the children of Israel.

Dear Sister, have you suffered losses in different areas? Perhaps in your health, in your finances, in your home, in your family, in your career, in your ministry, your dignity, your honour?

Zechariah 4: 6 - 10 (NKJV)

So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

This is the Word of the Lord to you today Dear Sister, not by might or by power but by My Spirit says the Lord every great mountain that stands before you shall be made plain.

John 10: 11 – 14 (NKJV) 

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 

Happy New Year Sisters!

I want to encourage you today based on the Scriptures that Jesus is your Good Shepherd. In Him is all the goodness that you need.