The rodeo was in town, and Papa Tim and I went to it. We watched the cowboys rope calves and ride broncos. It was almost nighttime when the bull riders began their show. The bucking bulls raced out onto the field, kicking and tossing their horns around, trying to throw the cowboys off. It was very exciting!
But then, right in the middle of one scary ride, something happened. The sky turned bright gold and red and purple! It was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen! Everyone in the stands said, “Oooooh!” And they weren’t watching the bull rider— they were watching the sky!
I believe God sent that sunset to remind us that HE is more fun than bull riding! Fun? Yes! God is FUN! He does things nobody else can do.
Once Jesus, God the Son, was teaching a huge group of 5,000 people out in the countryside. When evening was near, his disciples told him, “We should send these people away so they can go buy food and eat.”
Jesus said, “They don’t need to go away. YOU feed them!”
The disciples were so puzzled! “How can we do that?” they asked. “It would take all the money we could make in a year to feed these people!”
A boy heard what Jesus said. His mother had sent him a lunch of loaves and fish. He held it up to Andrew, one of the disciples. Andrew must have smiled. But he said, “Jesus, we have a boy here with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish. But what are these among so many people?”
Jesus said, “Bring them here.”
Andrew brought the boy and his lunch to Jesus. That little boy had great faith! Jesus must have smiled pretty big, because that boy believed in him. Jesus took the fish and bread and prayed over it, then began breaking off pieces to give to the disciples. “Give these to the crowd,” he said, while he kept breaking up the bread and fish.
The disciples held out baskets and took the pieces, which kept coming and coming until they filled all the baskets! They fed all 5,000 people, and then gathered up the leftovers. There were 12 baskets of bread and fish left! Jesus did that because a little boy believed in him.
When we are having a hard time, we can always ask God to help us. We ask in Jesus’ name. That’s when miracles can happen!
Here’s a Bible verse you can memorize to remind you of God’s great care for you. The Apostle Paul wrote:
"This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 4:19, New Living Translation)
See you at the next Campfire!
Hugs & kisses,
Montana Gramma