" The God Who Feeds My Soul "

              " The God Who Feeds My Soul "

" I am the bread that gives life.” John 6:35

Bread is eaten daily.
Some fruits are available only in season.
Some drinks are made only at holidays.
Not so with bread.
And not so with Jesus.

He should be brought to our table every day.
We let him nourish our hearts, not just in certain months or on special events, but daily.

Bread can meet many needs.

So can Jesus.

He has a word for the lonely as well as for the popular.

He has help for the physically ill and the emotionally ill.

If your vision is clear, he can help you.

If your vision is cloudy, he can help you.

Jesus can meet each need.

Can you see why Jesus called himself the Bread of Life?

I can think of one other similarity.

Consider how bread is made.

Think about the process.

Wheat grows in the field, then it is cut down, winnowed, and ground into flour.

It passes through the fire of the oven and is then distributed around the world.

Only by this process does bread become bread.

Each step is essential.

Jesus grew up as a “small plant before the Lord” (Isaiah 53:2).

One of thousands in Israel.

Indistinguishable from the person down the street or the child in the next chair.

Had you seen him as a youngster, you wouldn’t have thought he was the Son of God.

He was just a boy. One of hundreds.

Like a staff of wheat in the wheat field.

But like wheat, he was cut down.

Like chaff he was pounded and beaten.

“He was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did” (Isaiah 53:5).

And like bread he passed through the fire.

On the cross he passed though the fire of God’s anger, not because of his sin, but because of ours.

“The Lord has put on him the punishment for all the evil we have done” (Isaiah 53:6).

Jesus experienced each part of the process of making bread: the growing, the pounding, the firing.

And just as each is necessary for bread, each was also necessary for Christ to become the bread of life.

“The Christ must suffer these things before he enters his glory” (Luke 24:26).

The next part of the process, the distribution, Christ leaves with us.

We are the distributors.

We can’t force people to eat the bread, but we can make sure they have it.

=================================================================

" God Helps The Helpless "

Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. Psalm 63:7.

I have had people tell me, “Pastor Prince, please pray for me.

I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in.

I know that this whole thing is my fault.

Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.”

If you think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are of our own making.

But it is when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing that we can receive grace —

the undeserved favor and unmerited help of God!

When we stop trying to be deserving of God’s help,

we find God more than willing to be our Savior.

But when we continue to try to work things out, we are trying to be our own saviors.

God will say, “Save yourself because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.”

If you say, “My problem is that I am weak.”

God says, “That is not a problem. I am your strength.”

If you say, “Lord, my face is the problem. I am ugly.”

God says, “My face will shine on yours. I am your glory.”

If you say, “Lord, I am the problem.

I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”

Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves,
thinking that for certain matters, we don’t really need God.

But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Do we really believe that?

Or do we believe that without Him, we can still do some things to help ourselves?

Only when we realize that we can do nothing,
and are nothing in and of ourselves,
can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13)

Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favor of God deliver us from every evil !

====================================================================================

 

"Who has given first to God, that God should pay him back?"  

Heavenly Father, El- Shaddai, You are God Almighty. You are All Sufficient One. Everything comes from You.

Everything happens through You. Everything ends up in You. You sustain all.

You give to all. You have filled me and satisfied me with good things of every kind hitherto.

Your thoughts toward me are rooted in Your mercy and loving-kindnes. What can I give You back in return?

I can only humble myself and place my life in your hands.

Help me to be a faithful steward of all the blessings You have showered upon me.

Everything I have belongs to You alone.

Abba, Reach out to show me Your favor continually.

Lay Your hand upon me and espouse my cause. Make me an instrument to bring You glory.

Continue to be my trusted ally in all the battles I face.

Hold me with Your right hand and lead me to my possession You have ordained for me.

Make all the dried up areas in my life to blossom as a rose and bring forth abundant fruit.

Let Your voice shake every wilderness place in my life.

Open heavens for me and let Your dew drop upon my wilderness places.

Revive me, and repair every desolation in my life through the power of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

Redeem my lost years, wasted resources and wasted emotions & passions.

Rebuke the devourer for me. Quest the thirst of my soul by revealing more of You to me.

In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.