Bread of Life

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “I assure you that you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27 Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Human One will give you. God the Father has confirmed him as his agent to give life.” 28 They asked, “What must we do in order to accomplish what God requires?” 29 Jesus replied, “This is what God requires, that you believe in him whom God sent.” 30 They asked, “What miraculous sign will you do, that we can see and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” 32 Jesus told them, “I assure you, it wasn’t Moses who gave the bread from heaven to you, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said, “Sir, give us this bread all the time!” 35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:25-35, CEB)

What God wants us to do is believe in the one whom God has sent.

So do you?

Do you believe that Jesus was sent by God?

Do you believe that God gave the Israelites bread from heaven?

Do you believe Jesus is the bread of life?

Do you believe you can never go hungry and will never be thirsty?

How are you living that shows this?

Or are you like the disciples and the people that searched out Jesus and need a sign or a miracle to show that all of this is true?

Live your life, so that all the above shows in everything you do…

Stand Firm

13 Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. 14 The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus. 15 So all of us who are spiritually mature should think this way, and if anyone thinks differently, God will reveal it to him or her. 16 Only let’s live in a way that is consistent with whatever level we have reached. 17 Brothers and sisters, become imitators of me and watch those who live this way—you can use us as models. 18 As I have told you many times and now say with deep sadness, many people live as enemies of the cross. 19 Their lives end with destruction. Their god is their stomach, and they take pride in their disgrace because their thoughts focus on earthly things.20 Our citizenship is in heaven. We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform our humble bodies so that they are like his glorious body, by the power that also makes him able to subject all things to himself. 4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and miss, who are my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord. (Philippians 3:13–4:1, CEB)

Paul says to the Philippians that he has not obtained the goal yet, but he is pressing onward, forward towards the goal every day.

We need to leave the old self behind and continue to press forward towards Christ daily. This is how we allow Christ to change us and continue to mold us into the person God created us to be.

We can not let our pasts or those around us pull us to a place we do not want or need to be. We must stand firm in our faith and press on towards the goal of being who God created us to be.

strategy

17 But you, dear friends, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the end time scoffers will come living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions. Since they don’t have the Spirit, they are worldly. 20 But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. 22 Have mercy on those who doubt. 23 Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges. 24 To the one who is able to protect you from falling, and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence, 25 to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, belong glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, now and forever. Amen. (Jude 17-25, CEB)

We have the sure foundation and we need to make sure we are building on that foundation. Then when scoffers and those who are not really in the Spirit come to shake us, we will stand firm.

Now that doesn’t mean that things have to always stay the same, it means the foundation doesn’t change. It means we are firmly planted on Christ and that God is doing the building. We are secure in the basis of our lives on God, and that makes everything true and right.

So keep the firm foundation and allow God to build you up.

Wedding Party

Jesus responded by speaking again in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding party for his son. 3 He sent his servants to call those invited to the wedding party. But they didn’t want to come. 4 Again he sent other servants and said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, the meal is all prepared. I’ve butchered the oxen and the fattened cattle. Now everything’s ready. Come to the wedding party!”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went away—some to their fields, others to their businesses. 6 The rest of them grabbed his servants, abused them, and killed them. 7 “The king was angry. He sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and set their city on fire.8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding party is prepared, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. 9 Therefore, go to the roads on the edge of town and invite everyone you find to the wedding party.’ 10 “Then those servants went to the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding party was full of guests. 11 Now when the king came in and saw the guests, he spotted a man who wasn’t wearing wedding clothes. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet and throw him out into the farthest darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.’ 14 “Many people are invited, but few people are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14, CEB)

Why was this man without a wedding garment? There are texts that say that the king provided wedding garments for the guests, so this person would have been given the proper clothing to wear when they arrived at the feast, so then why were they not wearing them? Maybe they didn’t think they needed to wear the clothing. Maybe they didn’t like the way it looked. Maybe they just believed they didn’t need it.

Is there anytime that we don’t wear the clothing God has given us?

God supplies us with garments to wear and yet we want to wear our own things. We want to do it our own way, and while God is a loving God, sometimes there is a need to wear the garment. Because God has so richly dressed us, we dishonor God by not wearing what God has provided. And while wearing it can not earn us a place in the banquet, we are already invited and accepted there, by not wearing it we can upset God.

And maybe these garments are not outward garments, but clothing of our hearts. Meaning we are here in the gathering but our hearts hold animosity and hatred for others and that is seen by God who knows that is not what we should be thinking and feeling.

How can we cloth our lives in the beautiful things God has given us and know that God loves us?

Surrender yourself and your life to God and allow God to cloth you and lead you. And love everyone and pray for them. So that all may know they are welcome at the banquet and have the beautiful garments waiting for them.

fasting

18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees had a habit of fasting. Some people asked Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but yours don’t?” 19 Jesus said, “The wedding guests can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. 20 But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 21 “No one sews a piece of new, unshrunk cloth on old clothes; otherwise, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and makes a worse tear. 22 No one pours new wine into old leather wineskins; otherwise, the wine would burst the wineskins and the wine would be lost and the wineskins destroyed. But new wine is for new wineskins.” (Mark 2:18-22, CEB)

Have you ever fasted?

It is an interesting experience to go for several days without food. It focuses your mind on hunger, and yet you can channel that energy to other things. You can focus on God and how the love of the divine is ever present even in your need.

And in the passage here we hear Jesus talk about the timing of things. Sometimes we get so hung up in the way other people practice their religion that it tales away from ours. You need to use the tools that help you to focus on God. If fasting is one of those, use it, if not, then don’t .

Don’t judge others by how they do or do not practice religion. Focus yourself how you need to and let that be enough.

Humble yourself

4 You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy. 5 Or do you suppose that scripture is meaningless? Doesn’t God long for our faithfulness in the life he has given to us? 6 But he gives us more grace. This is why it says, God stands against the proud, but favors the humble. 7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Cry out in sorrow, mourn, and weep! Let your laughter become mourning and your joy become sadness. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:4-10, CEB)

This passage always reminds me of the song Humble thy self…

Humble thy self in the sight of the Lord,
Humble thy self in the sight of the Lord,
And God will lift you up, higher and higher,
And God shall lift you up.

if we are humble and not proud about what we have done, then God will lift us up. We will be noticed by God for the things we do, and God will be pleased. Not that we have to do works or things to get God’s favor, we already have that, but God created us to do good works here and now so that all will come to know God’s love.

So stand against the proud and be humble.

Tend the flock

Therefore, I have a request for the elders among you. (I ask this as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and as one who shares in the glory that is about to be revealed.) I urge the elders: 2 Like shepherds, tend the flock of God among you. Watch over it. Don’t shepherd because you must, but do it voluntarily for God. Don’t shepherd greedily, but do it eagerly. 3 Don’t shepherd by ruling over those entrusted to your care, but become examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory. 5 In the same way, I urge you who are younger: accept the authority of the elders. And everyone, clothe yourselves with humility toward each other. God stands against the proud, but he gives favor to the humble. (1 Peter 5:1-5, 12-14, CEB)

Have you ever been a leader in an organization?

Were you asked?

Did you run? And if you ran did you campaign?

And if you ran for a leadership position, why did you do this?

Was it for the power?

Here the author tells us to lead because we can and to look out for others as it is our duty. We don’t do it for honor or prestige. We do it because we have been gifted and have the ability to be a positive impact on the lives of others.

Be humble and allow God to lead through you.

One Man vs. the Nation

45 Therefore, many of the Jews who came with Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him.46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and Pharisees called together the council and said, “What are we going to do? This man is doing many miraculous signs! 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our people.” 49 One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, told them, “You don’t know anything!50 You don’t see that it is better for you that one man die for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed.” 51 He didn’t say this on his own. As high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would soon die for the nation— 52 and not only for the nation. Jesus would also die so that God’s children scattered everywhere would be gathered together as one. 53 From that day on they plotted to kill him. 54 Therefore, Jesus was no longer active in public ministry among the Jewish leaders. Instead, he left Jerusalem and went to a place near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. 55 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover, and many people went from the countryside up to Jerusalem to purify themselves through ritual washing before the Passover. 56 They were looking for Jesus. As they spoke to each other in the temple, they said, “What do you think? He won’t come to the festival, will he?” 57 The chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where he was should report it, so they could arrest him. (John 11:45-57, CEB)

The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one… Spock when he sacrifices himself to save the ship and the crew. Kind of the same theory here, only the chief priest was not sacrificing himself, but the one who was causing the religious leaders problems. And even in his saying this, he didn’t get it.

Jesus did need to die for the nation of Israel and for all of the lost children of God everywhere. But not for the reasons it seems the high council wanted Jesus dead.

How often do things go the way we want them to? Usually never, because we come up with the outcome in our minds and work towards that, but that is probably not God’s plan, even when what we want to happen happens, it is probably because it is something that God wanted to happen for a different reason.

So know that Jesus died for you, and all the children of God. And go into the world to share God’s love.

New

17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! 18 All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation. 20 So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, CEB)

Christ reconciled people to himself by not counting their sins against them, and here we are, most of us who proclaim to be ambassadors for Christ telling people all of the things they are doing wrong and all of the things that will keep them from God. Yet Jesus said go and sin no more and then let it go.

How can we be the ambassadors for Christ if we hold people’s sins against them? We need to let it go and know that we are not God and will not judge anyone, only God will do that. We need to love and allow God to work in and through everyone.

Allow God to love through you, and don’t try to sit in God’s judgement seat…

Living stone

4 Now you are coming to him as to a living stone. Even though this stone was rejected by humans, from God’s perspective it is chosen, valuable. 5 You yourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Thus it is written in scripture, Look! I am laying a cornerstone in Zion, chosen, valuable. The person who believes in him will never be shamed. 7 So God honors you who believe. For those who refuse to believe, though, the stone the builders tossed aside has become the capstone. 8 This is a stone that makes people stumble and a rock that makes them fall. Because they refuse to believe in the word, they stumble. Indeed, this is the end to which they were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession. You have become this people so that you may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light. 10 Once you weren’t a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you hadn’t received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:4-10, CEB)

You are a living temple and chosen by God.

Look! I am laying a cornerstone in Zion, chosen, valuable. The person who believes in him will never be shamed. Whoever believes in the cornerstone will never be shamed! If you believe in Jesus and know that Jesus has chosen you, you will never be shamed!

And I truly love the opening verses here, “Even though this stone was rejected by humans, from God’s perspective it is chosen, valuable.” Even when the world rejects you, you are from God’s perspective chosen and valuable. You are chosen and valuable.

Always know that God sees you and has chosen you as God’s own. You are valuable regardless of what anyone else says!