The Bread of Life
Spend a few moments in silence before God preparing your heart to hear from Him.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from the east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”
- Psalm 107:1-9, NIV
How has God been good to you? In what ways has He provided for you when you needed Him most?
Pray: Psalm 107 begins by saying, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Take some time to thank God for His goodness to you.
Read: John 6:25-40
Jesus had this discussion with the crowd after He had just performed the miracle of feeding 5,000 people with only five small loaves of bread and two fish. The people were amazed by how Jesus fed them and were ready to make him king by force, but Jesus withdrew to be by himself. The next day, the crowd looked for him, wondering why he had gone away. Jesus called them out stating that they were only looking for him because he fed their bellies. They were also looking for him to establish an earthly kingdom, one that would rule by power and might, conquering the other kingdoms of the world. However, Jesus wanted to offer them something better than a full stomach, something more permanent than an earthly kingdom. He declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” The type of hunger and thirst Jesus came to satisfy was spiritual. To anyone who would trust in His sacrifice on the cross as payment for sin and the only way to eternal life, He promised to fill with His life-giving, nourishing presence.
What does this passage teach you about Jesus? Have you received His life-giving presence? Are you searching for Jesus, so you can have your earthly needs met, or do you long to experience what it means to be filled with His life and love?
Listen: Check out the following video for further study.
What needs to change in your life as a result of hearing this message about Jesus?
Pray: Use the following passage of Scripture as a guide for a closing prayer to your time spent with God today…
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” – Ephesians 3:14-19
