Tag Archive for Bread of Life

from Prepare Yourself for Worship

2017-10-06 Devotional with Hymn, Prepare Yourself for Worship No comments

Feed Me, Lord

Father, as You feed my body so generously and faithfully,
You long to feed my soul.
In Jesus Christ You spread a rich banquet
for my true, eternal self.

You offer me
His Spirit,
His love,
His peace and joy,
His unbroken relationship with You.
You offer me everything that my being craves,
everything I will ever need,
everything You are.

Father, as I come to Your table today,
may I come hungry,
ready to be fed with
every song
every prayer,
every word.
Feed me with
the Spirit of Christ.
Feed me with
His body and
His blood. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: We Taste Your Life and Long for More
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Feast on Jesus

2017-09-11 Devotional with Hymn No comments

God feeds His people –
lavishly,
abundantly.
We see it throughout the Bible and
throughout history.
As our Creator and Provider,
He gives us all the nourishment our bodies need.
Our original home was a garden,
rich with food.
He spread a banquet for His people
in the barren wilderness.
He fed the five thousand with more than they could eat,
all from a child’s lunch.

He cares about our physical well-being…
but, O, so much more!
He is eager to feed our complete selves,
our bodies, minds, and spirits,
not just to satisfy us for a few hours, but forever.

What is the banquet the Father spreads for His people?
The banquet He spreads is Jesus.
All God’s blessings flow to us through Him.
In Jesus He offers us all we could ever need:
His peace and joy,
His innocence before God,
His holy, unending life,
His sufficiency in every situation,
His beautiful, unbroken relationship with the Father.

Gather with God’s people and feast on Jesus.
Come feast on His Word,
His wisdom,
His Spirit,
His body broken and His blood poured out.

The feast is spread.
Come…feast on Jesus. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Come and Feast
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Better Bread

2016-09-15 Devotional with Hymn, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Read John 6:26-34

The crowd that Jesus had fed from the loaves and fishes followed Him to other side of the Sea of Galilee. When they caught up with Him, their opening question was, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” (John 6:25, NASB). Jesus knew what they really wanted, so He ignored their question and cut straight to the point:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” (John 6:26, NASB)

A “sign” is a miracle intended to verify the truth of a teaching. Jesus intended the feeding of the five thousand to be a sign pointing to Himself as the Bread of Life, the satisfaction for all their deepest hungers. The crowd didn’t see the sign, only the free food. For people who worked hard for daily bread, free food was a powerful motivator. But Jesus continued to press them to understand the real purpose of the sign: 

“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” (John 6:27, NASB)

He urged them to look beyond physical bread, shallow and temporary. He tried to redirect them toward Himself as the satisfaction for all their deeper needs. But their hearts were focused on themselves, not on Him, and on their physical desires, not their spiritual needs.

They pointed out that Moses had provided manna in the wilderness and suggested that Jesus should do the same for them. But they were missing the point. Manna had been intended to teach the people to depend on God, not on physical bread:

He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna…that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3, NASB)

Their self-centered, materialistic hearts were causing them to overlook God’s greater provision, just as the Jews in the wilderness had done.

What needs are you feeling in your life right now? God is using them to draw you to Himself.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: We Taste Your Life and Long for More
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

True Bread

2014-07-20 Devotional with Hymn No comments

I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. (John 6:48-51, NIV)

Father, how often have You offered us life that is deep, rich, satisfying, and unending, and in our hearts and desires we looked right past You. We continued to crave physical comfort, human approval, and security we could hold in our hand.

You offer us Bread that satisfies our beings completely and forever. We spend ourselves reaching for bread that only satisfies the body, and only for a few hours.

Father, You offer us Jesus Christ. We can know Him and live in Him by simply trusting You.

Come, all you who are thirsty,
come…
you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live. (Isaiah 55:1-3a, NIV)

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: We Taste Your Life and Long for More
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics