The Bread of Life

Jesus... oh sweet and beautiful Savior! I have been watching "The Gospel of John" and pondering the truth of God's Word. It is quite intense. Jesus fed the five thousand and all the people got so excited! The became obsessed with Jesus! They loved Him! What could be better than a king that could make food appear basically out of thin air! They followed him and asked Him time and time again about food and He obliged them and said, "I am the Bread of life!" Then He told them that to be saved, they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Then what happened??? They got angry! What!?!? We saw You make real bread, we can't possibly eat You! Then many quickly lost interest in Him. Jesus was of course talking spiritually, but they had not the faith to accept His words. He could have laid it out and explained it away in the most clear and persuasive ways possible, but He purposely did not. Jesus was interested in their hearts! He wanted their faith! If He had spoken straightforwardly, He certainly would have been followed by larger crowds and who knows what else might have happened, BUT HE DID NOT WANT IT THAT WAY!!! As the Old Testament prophets warned the Israelites, GOD DOES NOT WANT YOU TO LOOK RIGHT, HE WANTS YOUR HEARTS TO BE RIGHT! Time and time again the Israelites heard the law and vowed to uphold it and then regularly visited the temple and did the things of the law to the best of their ability. But they were not doing it in faith! They were just following a list of rules! If their hearts had been rights, their allegiances would not have blown back and forth and over and over and time and time again! Jesus did not care if He only had a handful with Him, because he wanted those whose hearts were right (of course making an exception for Judas, but Jesus knew this and allowed Him to continue anyway).

THE HEART, THE HEART, THE HEART!!! In the Old Testament, God wanted hearts. In the New Testament, God wanted hearts. Today, Jesus wants hearts. Don't focus on the bread, on the earthly things. Look in faith on Jesus, our glorious Lord and Savior! All praise be to Him!

Psalm 128:1-4 (ESV)

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;

Your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.

Memorization on the Cross

I am currently working through these.

Romans 6:6-7
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

1 Corinthians 1:18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Philippians 2:8
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Colossians 1:20
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Matthew 16:24-25
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.