Joel M Bradshaw

42A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” 43But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” 44So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.–2 Kings 4

1. Jesus would later do a miracle where he fed 5000+ people from a small amount of food (Luke 9:10-17).
2. Elisha was a prophet. This meant that God spoke to him and literally revealed His divine will. God used Elisha to provide miraculously. In a pagan world where the gods and goddesses claimed power, God’s power to work actual miracles was thus on display. God is God and the others are not in His category.
3. God directs us today through the pages of the Bible.
4. Since the Bible is complete, there is no need for anything separate and new from God.
5. There is a great difference between saying “God spoke to me” when your Bible is open and when your Bible is closed.
6. With your Bible open, we can both go to the passage or verse you were reading and assess what you claim God told you. With your Bible closed, I have to depend upon a moment only you experienced. You see the difference?
7. I am grateful for the Bible. It is sufficient and requires no update or addition. I am always skeptical of people and messages that depend on the Bible being closed rather than open. Thank you for joining me on this daily journey as we investigate and apply Scripture.–JMB