Bread of Life

As we continue Jesus’ explanation to Jewish leadership of who He was, we see Him reiterate the analogy of being the bread of life. He states that whoever believes He is who He says is will have eternal life. Eternal life is not earned but freely given to those who believe.

Jesus goes on to say that whoever eats the bread that comes down from heaven will live forever. Again, He points to eternal life. Yet, He does not mean we will literally eat bread nor are we to be cannibals who eat human flesh. He is speaking figuratively of eating.

What does He mean, then? He means that we are to take in what He says and apply it to our lives. We are to take on His teachings and follow them. We are to continually seek Him. The word disciple means follower. A follower seeks to be just like the person they are following. Just as we absorb physical food into our bodies to nourish us, we are to absorb the teachings of Christ to nourish us.

What does this look like? A person who is joyous in every situation, which is not the same as being happy. They have the joy of Christ in them. It is a person who remains calm in the storm because they know God is in control. It is a person who does not have knee jerk reactions but prays before reacting to a situation, even if just a quick prayer that God guide them. They also continually seek to build their relationship with God so they know they can always count on him and know how he would have them act in any given situation.

I pray we all seek to build our relationship with God. I pray we absorb the teachings of Christ to nourish us. I pray each one of us see Jesus as the bread of life and know He gives us eternal life. Build your relationship with God. Absorb Christ’s teachings. Know Jesus is the bread of life. Know that He gives you eternal life.

John 6:47, 51 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life…. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Red Letters

Yesterday, we saw that the Jewish leadership were incredulous that Jesus made the claim He came from heaven. They knew His parents, Jospeh and Mary. Jesus responds to their grumblings and mutterings, doing so by quoting the prophets and making an even bolder claim.

The leadership was upset that Jesus had claimed to be the bread of life and that He had come down from heaven. Jesus then makes a bolder claim that He is God. He also lets them know in no uncertain terms that they can only come to Him if the Father sends them to Him.

We find a portion of today’s passage a bit disturbing. Specifically, the statement that only those the Father sends will come to Jesus. We want to believe everyone has the choice to come to Jesus. The truth is, they do. Don’t misunderstand Jesus’ statement. The Father puts in everyone’s heart the desire to find something more than themselves. We must remember Jesus’ parable of the seeds. Some of those seeds are stolen away by Satan.

Those who accept the seed and allow it to grow will come to Jesus. When Jesus quotes the prophets, He claims to be God in the same way He claimed to come from heaven when He stated He was the bread of life. When He says that those who hear will come to Him, He is talking about those who grasp the message, understanding what He has said.

We would do well to read Jesus’ words carefully and think about them. An interesting exercise to do is read only Jesus’ words in the New Testament. If you have a red letter edition, it will be a little easier to find and read them. Doing so provides a different view of Jesus’ teaching, especially if you put yourself in the frame of mind that Jesus is speaking directly to you. Give it a try. It will take less than two hours. Perhaps read His words in one book at a time.

I pray we all seek to understand Jesus’ words. I pray we take time to think about what Jesus says. I pray each one of us will accept God’s invitation, come to Jesus, and learn from Him. Seek to understand Jesus’ words. Accept God’s invitation. Come to Jesus. Learn from Jesus.

John 6:43-45 Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.”

False Rationalization

Do you struggle to give credit for a major accomplishment to someone you knew as a child? Do you remember when they were running around on the playground and find it hard to believe they have risen to the top? Are you willing to listen to them? Will you follow their lead?

Seeing someone grow up from a small child into an adult is wonderful. Especially when it is our children. Yet, we sometimes we find it hard to believe a person we knew as a child has achieved national recognition. We remember their youthful foibles. We still see them as a child.

The Jewish leadership in Capernaum felt the same way about Jesus. He claimed to have come down from heaven, yet they knew Him as a child in Nazareth. They knew His mother and father. They are incredulous that He claimed to have come down from heaven and to be the bread of life. He had compared Himself to the manna God had provided in the desert.

Though Jesus was right in making the statements He made, the Jewish leaders cast doubt among the people. They reminded them that Jesus had worked beside Joseph as a builder. He was a common laborer like so many of them. How could He have come down from heaven? They knew both Mary and Jospeh’s heritage. They were not of a priestly class. They were not from a leadership family.

There are many people today who make the same assumptions. They do not believe in angels nor the immaculate inception. They view Jesus as just another person. Maybe He was a great teacher, but nothing more. They lump Him in with other teachers and state that His teachings are outdated. There have been new scientific discoveries and people cling to them. They use our limited human rationalization to cast doubt on Jesus’ claims.

Tomorrow, we take a closer look at Jesus claim.

I pray we all recognize foolish rhetoric. I pray we see through the false rationalization. I pray each one of us will take Jesus at His word and believe He is who He claims to be. Give credit where credit is due. See through false assumptions. Believe Jesus. Believe in Jesus.

John 6:41-42 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

God’s Path

How well do you stand up to scrutiny? Are you above reproach? Or do you have many faults? Are you somewhere in between? Are you your own worst critic? Or do others point out your weaknesses? How well do you believe you could withstand God’s scrutiny?

We may hear others point out our weaknesses and faults. We may already know them, or we may take action to correct. On the other hand, we may take offense to someone else pointing out our faults. Being criticized can be hard to take, but constructive criticism in a loving manner can be easier.

Yet, none of us can stand up to God’s scrutiny and his perfection. If we know we cannot withstand God’s scrutiny, why should we try? First, God desires us to strive to be perfect as Jesus is perfect. Second, in our striving we will recognize, or God will reveal to us our faults. Why is that important?

By recognizing our faults, we are both motivated to do better and humbled by our lack of being perfect. Being humbled before God keeps us grounded. We realize we need God’s help to continue our striving. We know that it is only by God’s grace that we are saved and blessed. It is by God’s love and grace that we can continue to grow closer to him.

It is by God’s grace we are forgiven. It because we are forgiven that we can continue to strive for the perfection God desires. Being forgiven sets us free—free from the guilt of sin. We are no longer weighed down. We can pursue the pathway God has set before us with confidence.

I pray we all recognize we cannot stand before God’s scrutiny. I pray we know that God forgives us. I pray each one of us know we have been set free so we can pursue the path God has set before us. Be humble before God. Be grounded in your forgiveness. Know you have been set free. Pursue the path God has set before you.

Psalm 130:3-4

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, 

Lord, who could stand? 

But there is forgiveness with you,

so that you may be revered.

Hunger and Thirst

Do you take Jesus’ words literally? Or do you recognize some of His teachings as being metaphors? Do you apply His parables and metaphors to your life? How do you use them to identify a truth of God you can use each day?

There are times Jesus speaks very plainly. He means what His words literally mean. At other times, He speaks in parables or metaphors. He uses something we know to teach us God’s truth. We are to recognize them for what they are and seek to understand the truth of His words.

Today’s passage is a metaphor. Jesus does not literally mean that He will feed us and give us something to drink. Will He provide? Yes! He provides in more ways than we can count. He even provides us with food and drink. Just not in a literal sense, since He is not standing beside us and handing it over.

More importantly, today’s passage is speaking to spiritual truth. If we hunger to know God’s truth, He will fill us. If we thirst to know the meaning of God’s Word, He will satisfy us. It is not a question of whether Jesus can provide, but a question of whether we are truly seeking.

Far too often, we seek to find passages in Scripture to support our viewpoint rather than seeking to know God’s truth. Jesus is speaking to us and telling He will provide the truth and the meaning of God’s Word, if we hunger and thirst for it.

I pray we all seek to know the truth of God’s Word. I pray we ask God to reveal his truth to us. I pray each one of us will hunger and thirst to understand God’s truth and the meaning of his Word. Know the truth. Ask God to reveal it to you. Hunger for God’s truth. Thirst for God’s truth.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Food That Endures Eternity

What are you working for? We ask ourselves that sometimes. We wonder, “What are we working for?” It seems as though we work and work and work, and there is nothing to show for it. We are not appreciated. We are underpaid. We barely get by from week to week.

So, what are you working for? There is something you should be working for. All of us should be working for the same thing, the food that endures for eternal life. Sound odd? It might. It is not of this world. We normally think of the food we eat to sustain our physical bodies.

What is the food that endures for eternal life? It is the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. Jesus tells us He will give us this food. If He will give it to us, what is the work? The work is to believe Him and believe in Him. It is to see all of Scripture as being about Him. The Bible is the story of God working in this world. It is a book from which we can gain insights into how we should live our lives.

But how do we understand the Bible? Jesus says He will give us the understanding we need when He says He will give us the food that endures for eternal life. We do not need to know and understand every tiny detail. We need to trust that Jesus will reveal what we need to know. Rather than bringing all our baggage and the worlds view, we need to allow Jesus to renew our minds and reveal His truth.

I pray we all work for the food that endures eternal life. I pray we seek to fill ourselves with Jesus. I pray each one of us asks Jesus to reveal to us the truth of His Word He wants us to know. Work for the true food. Trust Jesus will give it to you. Fill yourself with Him.

John 6:25-27 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

Speak Truth In Love

Do you like to speak the truth? Do you like to rub it in peoples’ faces? Do you speak the truth abrasively? Or do you speak the truth with hesitation? Do you speak it as if you are almost ashamed of it? Are you willing to speak the truth in love while loving the person you are speaking to?

Speaking the truth can be a challenge. Sometimes, we just want to rub peoples’ noses in it. We want to say, “I told you so.” Other times we aren’t sure we want to speak the truth. We are afraid of how people will react. Or maybe we simply want people to find out on their own.

Paul encouraged the church in Ephesus, and us, to speak the truth in love. We are to confidently, yet in a caring way, tell people the truth of the gospel. If we speak the truth harshly, we will turn people away. If we do not speak it confidently, people won’t believe us. It is a balancing act. We can only do it as we lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance.

Paul continues his encouragement by stating the purpose for speaking the truth. We are to speak it for growth in Jesus and uniting as one body. We are to remember we are one body of Christ. No body, or organization, or nation can be at war with itself without destroying itself. But when we speak truth to grow in Christ in a loving way, the body is healthy and grows.

As the body of Christ, we are to be about building up one another in love. Anything else is not from God. Building one another up makes the body of Christ attractive to others and grows the kingdom of God. That should be the goal for each one of us.

I pray we all speak the truth in love. I pray we are encouraged to speak the gospel to others. I pray each one of us seek build up one another and by doing so build the body of Christ. Speak the truth. Love one another. Tell others the gospel. Build one another up. Strengthen the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:15-16 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Begging A Worthy Life

What kind of life are you leading? Are you leading a humble life? Are you gentle? Are you being patient? Do you bear with others in love? Do you seek peace? Are you unified with others in the Spirit? Do you lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called?

When observe the lives many in our society are leading, we may shake our heads in wonder. Sometimes it seems as though they are wandering aimlessly. They may appear successful, having all the “toys,” but they seem to have no direction. That is not the life we are called to.

We are called to follow Jesus. That means following His commands, His teachings, and His example. Paul writes to the church in Ephesus what this means. We are to live a life worthy of our calling. Notice the list of traits Paul uses to describe that life. His list includes being humble and gentle. Not a doormat but someone who is kind and caring.

When he speaks of bearing with one another, Paul states it is to be done in love. The term to bear with means to put up with or to endure. In other words, when our fellow Christians make mistakes or have errors in judgment, we are to lovingly correct them rather than be angry and abusive. Otherwise, we fall to the temptations of Satan.

Paul states we are to make every effort to maintain unity. Remember, Jesus prayed for unity in John 17. That unity is to be in the Holy Spirit and the bond of peace. Peace is not only the absence of violence or hatefulness but includes a calmness in our spirit. That only comes when we allow the Holy Spirit to be our guide.

Notice Paul begs them (and us) to lead a life worthy of the calling. Most pastors continue begging the church they are leading to lead a life worthy of the calling. They continue to attempt to lead their churches to the traits Paul speaks of. The more our churches lead a life worthy our calling, the more we will see our churches grow.

I pray we all seek to live a life worthy of our calling. I pray are humble, gentle, and patient. I pray each one of us will bear with one another in love, maintaining unity of the Holy Spirit. Lead worthy life. Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Bear with one another. Love one another. Be unified in the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

A Clean Heart

Do you pray daily? Do you pray more than once per day? What do you pray for? What is your most consistent request from God? Are you regularly praying that God works in your life? Are you praying he changes your heart? Are you praying for spiritual renewal?

Many of us have been taught that we should pray daily. Some of us pray every morning. Some of us pray over every meal. Some of us pray every evening before going to bed. Some of us may pray once we are in bed. Praying regularly is a good habit to have.

After David’s severe acts of sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, he repented with a contrite heart. His eyes had been opened by Nathan’s words, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 11:27). David realized he had been disobedient to God’s commands, acted unkinglike, and had lost his integrity. David realized he needed God to clean his heart and renew him.

We need to ask God to clean our hearts as well. We may not have committed adultery or murder, but our sin is no less egregious. We often discount our sin as being minor. Yet even the smallest sin required Jesus to go to the cross. In Romans 6:1, Paul asks a rhetorical question, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” The obvious answer is no. Paul is implying that we should eliminate sin from our lives.

We cannot eliminate sin on our own. We need God to come into our hearts and remove the filth of sin from us; not merely forgive us but clean it out. This requires us to ask God to do just that. David does that succinctly in Psalm 51. He recognizes the abhorrent sin in his life and asks that God remove it and fill him with God’s Spirit. We would do well to do the same.

I pray we all recognize the severity of our sin. I pray we ask God to remove the sin from our hearts. I pray each one of us will ask God to fill us with his Spirit and renew us in Jesus Christ. Know your sin is abhorrent. Seek God with a contrite heart. Ask God to remove your sin. Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

and put a new and right spirit within me.

Be Cleansed By God

Have you ever done something so egregious that you fell to your knees and begged forgiveness? Was your heart broken because of what you had done? Did you wrestle with it for several days? Did God relieve you of your sorrow? Were you able to move on from it?

Some of us, and maybe many of us, have done something we immediately regretted. In some cases, it may have hurt someone badly. It may have been a physical action, or it may have been something we said. Regardless, it was something we could not take back.

We know sin is sin. Yet, some sins are more egregious than others. Those severe sins can be very difficult to live with. There are often severe consequences as a result of them. One of those consequences is our heart breaking when we reflect on what we have done. That can be the hardest thing to live with. Our guilt is worn on our face and in our heart.

David felt that way when he wrote the fifty-first Psalm. He knew he had sinned egregiously when he slept with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, purposely killed in battle. He fell to his knees and begged forgiveness from God. He knew he had allowed the power of being king to go to his head. He realized he had forgotten it was God who had given him his power. He turned back to God.

When we sin, we, too, can turn back to God. We can fall to our knees and ask God to forgive us. Repenting includes having the attitude and desire to turn away from the sin and commit it no more. God will heal our broken heart. He will cleanse us of our sin. If we are willing to follow him wholeheartedly, he will eliminate the sin from our lives.

I pray we all recognize our sin. I pray we fall to our knees before God and ask for forgiveness. I pray each one of us will choose to follow God’s guidance and allow him to remove our sin from us. Recognize your sin. Fall to your knees before God. Ask for forgiveness. Follow God’s guidance. Allow God to cleanse you of your sin.

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, 

according to your steadfast love; 

according to your abundant mercy 

blot out my transgressions. 

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 

and cleanse me from my sin.