Jesus Feeds The Multitudes....

Jesus Feeds The Five Thousand- Matt. 14:13-23; Mark 6:31-46; Luke 9:7-17; John 6:1-15

A BOY'S LUNCH-BASKET is a very small thing compared with a great miracle. But in this story we shall see how a great miracle grew out of a boy's lunch-basket. It all came about in this manner:

       The disciples whom Jesus sent to preach in the towns and cities of Galilee had returned joyfully, telling their Master about their success in healing the sick and in casting out the evil spirits just as they had seen him do. And now the fame of Jesus was increasing every day, and many more people from distant parts of the country were flocking to hear him.

       So urgent were the people who came to hear Jesus and to have their loved ones healed, that they pressed constantly upon him, and allowed no time for him to rest or even eat. Then Jesus called his twelve disciples aside from the multitude and said, "Come with me to a quiet place, for we must rest a while."

       Taking a ship they sailed away from the multitude to the other side of the Sea, and went into a desert place near a mountain. But they did not find much time to rest even in this lonely spot, for soon they saw a great throng of people coming toward them.

       The multitude had followed from the other side of the Sea. Perhaps the disciples were disappointed because the people had found them again, but Jesus looked pityingly upon the great throng, and said of them, "They are like sheep that had no shepherd. They wander about here and there hunting for their own pasture-grounds."

       In this great throng were five thousand men, who had come from different parts of Galilee. Some of them had brought their wives and children along, and other women had come, too. When they had started they did not know they would have to go so very far to find Jesus, and many of them had brought nothing to eat. One boy, however, had not forgotten his lunch-basket, and in his basket he carried five little loaves of barley bread and two small fishes.

       When the multitude came near, Jesus received them kindly and sat down to teach them again. He healed the sick ones whom they had brought to him, and taught them many things about the kingdom of heaven.

       After a while the day wore on and evening came. Still the people lingered near, seeming to forget they could find no food or shelter in the desert place. The disciples grew impatient with them and came to ask Jesus to send them away.

       "They have brought no food," said the disciples, "and we can not supply food for them in this wilderness; therefore send them away that they may buy food in the towns and villages as they journey home."

       But Jesus answered, "We must feed them before sending them away." Then, turning to Philip he asked, "Where shall we find bread, that all these people may eat?"

       Philip looked at the great multitude and shook his head. "If we should buy two hundred pennyworth of bread," he answered, "there would not be enough for each one to have a small piece."

       While Jesus and the disciples were discussing what to do, the boy who had not forgotten to carry his lunch came near and heard their conversation. Then he showed his basket of food to one of the disciples, and he offered to give the food to Jesus. The disciples, who was Andrew, came and told Jesus what the boy had said.

       "How many loaves are there in the basket?" asked Jesus.

       Andrew said, "Only five and two small fishes. But what will that be among so many people?"

       Jesus replied, "Bring them to me."

       Then he told his disciples to bid the people sit down in groups, in some fifty and in others a hundred, and wait for their evening meal. While they waited, he took the little loaves and the fishes and blessed them and broke them into small pieces. He filled a basket for each of the twelve disciples and sent them to pass the food among the hungry people. Then the disciples returned and again he filled their empty baskets.

       When all the people had eaten, he sent the disciples to gather up the scraps that had been left over, and they found twelve baskets full of scraps. And every one in the great multitude had eaten enough to satisfy his hunger. The boy who had brought the lunch-basket to Jesus had all that he could eat, and he shared his little lunch with every one in the great throng because he had let Jesus bless his offering.

       This unusual miracle caused much excitement among the people. They wanted Jesus to become their king instead of letting the Roman government rule them any longer. They believed that he could set them free from the rule of the Romans, whom they hated. They thought it would be wonderful to have a king rule them who could feed them by working miracles.

       But Jesus would not allow the people to take him for their king. Although he was a King, yet he had not come to earth to rule an earthly kingdom.

       He commanded his disciples to enter their ship at once and return to the other side of the Sea. And when they left him, then he dismissed the multitude and went alone upon the mountain near by to pray.

Chibok Girls Issue Not Yet Over.

Kano - Boko Haram has claimed the 219 schoolgirls it kidnapped in Nigeria earlier this year have converted to Islam and have been married.

The Islamist group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, also denied claims by Nigeria's government that it had agreed to a ceasefire and apparently ruled out future talks.

In addition, Shekau said the Islamists were holding a German national, who was kidnapped in Adamawa state in northeast Nigeria in July.

The schoolgirls were kidnapped from the remote northeast town of Chibok in Borno state in April, raising global awareness about the group whose five-year insurgency in northern Nigeria has claimed an estimated 13 000 lives.

Little trust

The new video, obtained by AFP on Friday, comes after a surprise announcement by the Nigerian military and presidency on 17 October that a deal had been reached with the militants to end hostilities and return the children.

There was immediate scepticism about both claims. Previous ceasefires have proved fruitless and there is little trust in the influence of the purported Boko Haram envoy, Danladi Ahmadu.

Violence - and renewed kidnappings - have continued unabated since the announcement, including a triple bombing of a bus station in the northern city of Gombe on Friday that killed at least eight.

Nigeria's government maintains that talks are ongoing in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena.

But Shekau, speaking in Hausa, dressed in military fatigues and boots with a black turban, and flanked by 15 armed fighters, said: "We have not made ceasefire with anyone.

Marital homes

"We did not negotiate with anyone... It's a lie. It's a lie. We will not negotiate. What is our business with negotiation? Allah said we should not."

He also said he did not know Danladi.

Shekau previously threatened to sell the girls as slave brides and also suggested he would be prepared to release them in exchange for Boko Haram prisoners.

In the latest message, he said while laughing: "We have married them off. They are in their marital homes."

Human Rights Watch said in a report published this week that Boko Haram was holding upwards of 500 women and young girls and that forced marriage was commonplace in the militant camps.

LVG gives Rooney derby go-ahead

 Manchester - Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has been passed fit for the Manchester derby on Sunday, manager Louis van Gaal has said on Friday.

However, Radamel Falcao has been ruled out of the clash with reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

Van Gaal dismissed reports England striker Rooney was suffering from a foot injury and said his skipper would be fit to start at Eastlands after serving a three-game suspension.

But Falcao, who missed the last two games following a kick in training, is still injured and the Colombian will miss the match at City.

Some reports suggested Rooney was doubtful after he was apparently seen hobbling at a sponsor's event at Old Trafford on Monday.

"Rooney was not injured. The media was writing that but he was never injured," Van Gaal told a news conference on Friday.

"Maybe his shoes were too tight, that is possible. But he was never injured and he shall play. He is my captain."

However, turning to Falcao, Van Gaal added: "Falcao is still injured."

But Rooney's return is a boost for the Dutch boss, especially as the forward has scored 11 goals against City, notably the dramatic overhead kick which sealed a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in February 2011.

"I have heard that also he has scored a lot of goals against Manchester City, the most of any player," said Van Gaal. "I said that to him to stimulate him but he doesn't need that.

"I am very happy that he can play again and he shall play," the Dutchman added.

City have won five of their last six league encounters against United but Wednesday's League Cup defeat by Newcastle stretched their winless run to three matches across all competitions.

"It is not the greatest moment of Manchester City," said Van Gaal ahead of his first Manchester derby.

"What we have seen of Manchester City in the last matches was not so good.

"We have a good feeling about this match."

However, Van Gaal warned his players not to get too caught up in the fervour of a derby clash and said it was important they retained their composure.

"We don't have to accelerate this feeling because it is football and you have to play the game, not only a game with emotion but also in a tactical way.

"For me, I have to analyse and prepare for the games in the same manner (as the other matches)."

United make the trip across Manchester knowing a win would close the gap between themselves and City to just a point.

Synagogue submits building collapse victims’ names to coroner

The coroner probing the September 12 Synagogue building collapse, Magistrate O.A. Komolafe, said on Wednesday that he had received the list of the names of the people lodging in the church guest house prior to the collapse.

The coroner had demanded for the list from the Synagogue Church of All Nations, following a request by the Lagos State Chief Forensic Pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa.

Obafunwa, leading a team of forensic pathologists conducting autopsy on the bodies of the building collapse victims, had said the list of the lodgers would be needed to identify the bodies.

No fewer than 116 persons lost their lives in the Synagogue tragedy while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

At the Wednesday proceeding, Obafunwa gave the assurance that his team would reveal the identities of the dead persons upon the conclusion of their work.

The pathologist, who said his team was able to identify 100 per cent and 98 per cent of the victims of the Associated Airlines and Dana Airlines plane crashes respectively, assured that the Synagogue’s case would not be different.

Obafunwa gave this assurance while answering questions under cross-examination by lawyer to the church, Mr. Olalekan Ojo.

He said, “We know what we had to do and how we had to do it. The same thing happened in the Dana crash in which we identified 98 per cent of the victims. The same thing happened in the Associated Airlines crash in which we identified 100 per cent of the victims.”

In his testimony, the pathologist told the coroner that his final report would both reveal the identities of the victims and the cause of their deaths and the possible cause of the building collapse.

“The final report will contain the various causes of death, which will answer so many questions as to what collapsed the building. It will tell us who died in the accident, by way of disaster victim identification,” Obafunwa said.

The pathologist further testified that he was in the position to tell whether the victims were exposed to smoke or corrosive odours from an explosive, if it was true that the building collapsed as a result of detonation.

He said, “As a forensic pathologist, I can identify the effect of corrosive burns, even when I was not there, even with just the photographs (taken during autopsy) and the detailed information from the autopsy report.

“Something related to that is the presence or absence of smoke after 10 days of embalmment. You don’t look for smoke outside the body; the evidence of smoke inhalation is in the lungs and we took samples of the lungs and examined them under the microscope.”

Asked if he could identify some injuries peculiar to explosion even after the bodies had undergone embalmment, Obafunwa said, “If a building collapsed as a result of explosion, there could be a variety of injuries. Some people might die from the crush effect, some people might die as a result of fire; the fire could occur before or even after, you will still see burns.

“The question is whether the person died in the fire or before the fire. The person could die as a result of severe blood loss because of injury from shrapnel. There are multiple ways in which death could arise when you have an explosion, you could have complete disintegration; I am just giving a general answer.”

Meanwhile, a Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to put a halt to further proceedings of the coroner court.

Ogungbeje, in his suit filed on Tuesday, is arguing that the setting up of the coroner court was in violation of the fundamental principles of natural justice as preserved by Section 36 of the Constitution.

The lawyer contended that the outcome of the coroner’s inquest was already a predetermined one.

He argued that the coroner was set up by the Lagos State Government after its agencies had already made public statements indicting the SCOAN and its founder, Pastor T.B. Joshua.

Ogungbeje said, “The Lagos State Building Control Agency even went ahead to seal up the main building of the church. The General Manager of the agency even said in the papers and I quote him as follows, ‘We have investigated and found that they had no approval for the additional structures. Even the main church which they have added about three floors on was sealed two days ago.’”

Adamawa on fire: B’Haram sacks police station, prison

Fighting between Nigerian troops and Boko Haram insurgents escalated in Mubi, Mararaba Mubi and Uba in Adamawa State on Wednesday.

Casualty figures could not be obtained as of 8pm but the development forced the state government to impose 24-hour curfew on the affected communities.

Our correspondents gathered that   Mubi, the second largest town in the state and host of two high institutions, was the worst hit.

A parent, Ahmad Sajoh, whose   daughter is studying at the Adamawa State University, said that as of 2pm on Wednesday, the police barracks in the Government Reservation Area was overrun by the insurgents while the prison in the town was blown open.

He added that   fighting which was ongoing at the army barracks caused confusion at the IDP camp in the Lamorde area of the town.

However, an online newspaper, SaharaReportersreported that Boko Haram insurgents took over the headquarters of the 234 battalion in the town.

Our correspondents gathered that the development made banks to move their cash to Yola, the state capital.

Sources told The PUNCH that insurgents   launched an attack on Uba   in the Michika-Madagali area of the state in response to sustained aerial bombardment of their hideouts by security forces.

Residents said they saw a large number of insurgents at Mararaba, a town about seven kilometres from Mubi.

Sajoh told one of our correspondents that his daughter called to inform him about the development in Mubi.

He said, “This morning, I got a call from my daughter who is a 200-level student. She was hysterical. I was in Abuja for a meeting, but her information forced me to head back to Yola immediately.

“I ordered her to leave the hostel and join her cousins to escape the town. I called my father who confirmed the story. By the time I arrived at Yola airport, the town had fallen to the insurgents.

“My parents are trapped while my daughter and her cousins are missing. We have lost contact for   six hours.”

Sajoh, who is the director of Press and Public Affairs to the former Governor Murtala Nyako, added, “Mallam Iliyasu of the Bursary Department of the state university, who is trapped in the town said by 2pm, the Police Barracks in the GRA was overrun by the insurgents, the prison was blown open while fighting was going on at the army barracks. The IDP camp at Lamorde area was thrown into confusion.

“The new rulers of the town had issued a decree banning   entry and exit to the town. Students who trooped to the motor park were stranded with most taking refuge in any house that could welcome them.

“The barracks are the least safe locations in the town. So far, there are no reported cases of killings or abductions. But fear and apprehension have taken over.”

Another source said that Mubi was currently deserted by residents after the incident, the second in three months.

The   higher institutions in the   town were forced to close down again.

There are fears of   humanitarian crisis should the town fall into the hands of the insurgents.

A fleeing resident, Joshua Gajere, said   several people might have been killed during the shootings that lasted for almost two hours in Uba and other villages.

He said, ‘‘We are in serious trouble as these boys (Boko Haram) have taken over our towns, splitting into groups and advancing towards Mararaba, Mubi and Vintim, the home town of the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh. They made the   Nigerian troops to retreat to Mubi’’.

Gajere added, “As I am talking to you now, residents are scampering for safety.

‘‘Mubi has now become a ghost of itself as people in their hundreds are fleeing for their lives.

‘‘Even here in Maiha, we saw military vehicles zooming off towards Yola, the state capital.’’

However, a resident from Michika, Mr. Siva Zira, told one of our correspondents that the   military was having an upper   hand as they were able to dislodge the insurgents in Michika and Uba.

Meanwhile,   Governor James Ngillari has asked the people of the state, particularly those in the affected areas to remain calm as security agents were on the top of the situation.

His Director of Press and Public Affairs,   P.P. Elisha, said   the governor met with security heads in the state to assess the situation.

He said, “It’s unfortunate with this development, His Excellency, has met with security chiefs in the state on Wednesday to assess the situation.

“People should remain calm, security agents are on the top of situation.’’

It was further gathered banks in Mubi have taken the pre-emptive steps to move out large volume of cash to the Central Bank of Nigeria in Yola.

Our correspondents could not get the Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, to comment on the   hostilities as the calls to his mobile telephone line did not connect.

The government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Mubi, Mararaba Mubi and Uba.

The Secretary to the State Government, Mr Andrew Weyle, who announced this, advised the people to stay away from the roads and other public places.

He said,“Following the escalation of violence by the insurgents, his Excellency the Governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Bala James Ngillari, has approved the imposition of 24 hours curfew on Mubi, Mararaba Mubi and Uba, with immediate effect.

“People are advised to stay off the roads and public places except those on essential services.”

It was further gathered that the insurgents   killed the son of a prominent traditional ruler in the area.

A resident, who identified himself as Kwahir Sani, said, “We fled to a village called Wuro Gude near Mubi when the violence erupted and I have lost contact with some of my children.

“As I am talking to you now, we are hearing gunshots by military in Mubi.”

It was gathered that the insurgents also attacked Askira Uba and Kukawa in Borno State for over six hours.

A fleeing resident said the terrorists killed many people, burnt many houses and carted away food stuffs.

Agence France Presse reported that the heavily armed terrorists, on arrival in Kukawa, opened fire on a police station and market, sending many fleeing.

KOLAROV OF MAN CITY

Cape Town -  Manchester City's Serbian defender Aleksandar Kolarov has opened the mind games ahead of Saturday's Manchester derby.

The 28-year-old defender has labelled his side "superior" to that of neighbours Manchester United according to the Daily Express.

"It is a great game to watch or play in - I think every player in the world would like to play this game." said Kolarov

"United has a great history but in the last five or six years, I think we have been superior to them.

"It will be a great game to play."

City head into Sunday's derby on the back of a loss against West Ham United and anything but three points against their arch-rivals will be a hammer blow to their chances of retaining their English Premiership title.

The Citizens have gained the upper hand in this fixture in recent time and completed a league "double" over their neighbours last season.

Sunday's derby at the Etihad kicks off at 15:30.

QPR owner Fernandes to stand by Redknapp

London - Loyalty and football are two words that do not often go together, but after watching his side climb off the bottom of the Premier League table with victory over Aston Villa, Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes is standing by manager Harry Redknapp.

Redknapp has come under pressure after his side won just once in their opening eight games but Charlie Austin's double against Villa on Monday helped lift the spirits at 19th-placed QPR.

Fernandes believes stability is key in QPR's battle against the drop and cited the example of West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce, who looked set to lose his job last season but has now guided a new-look team to fourth in the Premier League table.

"I believe stability is the best way," Fernandes told Sky Sports on Tuesday. "If you look at the clubs who have succeeded, they have had consistency in managers.

"This time last season, everyone wanted Sam Allardyce's head. Now, I think they will put a statue of him at the Olympic Park.

"Harry is my man. It is not in vogue to say that, but I stand by my manager."

According to media reports, talks over a new contract with Redknapp have been shelved but Fernandes hopes the 67-year-old remains at Loftus Road, after guiding them back to the Premier League last season.

"It's up to Harry whether he wants to continue as well," he said. "I hope, if he decides management is not for him next year, or the year after, or whenever, then he still has a role.

"Harry is a man who was tipped to be England manager, and he got us promoted.

"You look at how many clubs have gone down and not come (straight) back up. I think QPR are one of the few clubs to have come up."