Fresh, Like Today's Bread!♡♡♡

 

"Then The Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven to you. The people are to go each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions" - Exodus 16: 4

Where are my bread lovers? Get in here. How do you like your bread? Fresh? A few days old? or stale? Mahn, have you had fresh bread from the bakery store or right out of the oven? For sure the difference is clear, when compared to bread that has been on the shelf for a bit. Please follow me here :)

God had just delivered the Israelites by a mighty strong hand out of Egypt. They are now at the desert on thier way to the promise land, when they start grumbling because things get tough. I mean, why didn't they just ask Moses, to help ask God for the provision they required? Why grumble? And how is it that they only remembered the times they sat down around pots of meat, and all choice food in Egypt? [Exodus 16:3]. Never really the oppression, the cries, the pain and the mighty miracles by which God had delivered them from the hands of thier oppressors. "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt" Really?! 

You and I can be very much like the Israelites at the Desert of Sin though. Selective memory raised to a power of 100. Remembering only the pleasures of  a time in our lives, but never really the pain or bullet that was dodged. "The people are to go each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions". A picture of what was to come!

"Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Sir, they said, always give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "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: 32-35

Err, so those last two lines. How? Is this really possible? That one would never thirst or never go hungry in life? I believe it is, but not unless we are gathering enough "heavenly bread" for each day. I always know when "bread" is becoming stale in my life. Those are the times when I have become too familiar with the word of God. When quiet times have become a ritual, as opposed to meeting with the person Jesus & getting to know and renew our love daily. It is when I am the most into my own thoughts, the most into the thoughts of others but not so much the most into the thoughts of God. My memories become selective, & consequently I become deeply consumed with what is right in front of me. Never really focusing ahead on what I know to remember about God. "the people are to go each day and gather enough for that day". 

Friends, we don't study the bible & pray [i.e quiet times] to tick off a list. We turn up each day to meet with the "bread of life". The magnificent ONE who is able to fill us up & satisfy us deeply with the very essence of LIFE. We turn up each day to gather just enough, because by nature we can be people with selective memory. Each day when we show up, let us ask - what is the bible teaching me about the person Jesus? Am I learning enough of Him everyday or none at all? Do I feel closer to him everyday or feel distant from Him?

                                      "Give us today our daily bread" - Matthew 6:11

As you step into a new week, may this be your earnest prayer each day. But first show up at Baker's address. There is plenty of "fresh bread' & certainly enough of it is available to go round. Anybody hungry for fresh bread?

Love,

SR