The Friday Update--March 13

Good morning,

This week our Bible reading will take us into John 6, the Bread of Life discourse. We have seen Jesus as ‘The Vine’ and we have seen Him as ‘The Good Shepherd.’ This week we will look at Him as ‘The Bread of Life.’ 

John starts off the chapter with the miracle of Jesus feeding five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. This miracle sets the stage for Christ to declare His ability to feed our souls Living Bread. 

Jesus tells the Jews, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not be hungry, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

The ESV commentary on this verse says, ‘Jesus is the “bread of life” in the sense that he nourishes people spiritually and satisfies the deep longings of their souls. In that sense, those who trust in Him shall not hunger; that is, their spiritual longing to know God will be satisfied.’ 

We live in a world whereby the only things people think of are the corporeal needs of their body. Yet the Bible tells us life is much more than meeting these temporal and physical needs. There is a spiritual aspect to it and it must be fed also.   

How does the Lord Jesus Christ feed our soul? First He gives meaning to who we are by telling us that we are made in His image. We were uniquely created by God to know Him and be in fellowship with Him.  

He also tells us why we are here. We were created to know God and love Him. Saint Augustine once said, ‘Our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.’ In other words, we can only find true meaning in life through Jesus Christ.

Finally, Christ is the Savior of the world; He alone saves people from their sins. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes (in Me) has eternal life. I am the bread of life.” (V47-48) Our faith in His salvation gives us everlasting life. 

We must not only feed our bodies to stay alive, we must also feed our souls. The only food that will satisfy us is ‘Bread from heaven.’ 

So let me ask, ‘Are you feeding your spirit or just your body?’  

May Christ bless your reading of His Word this week.

Steve 

Bible Reading Plan—Week 26

DAY 1—John 6:1-15 

DAY 2—John 6:16-24

DAY 3—John 6:25-40

DAY 4—John 6:41-59

DAY 5—John 6:60-71 

Good morning,

Last week we talked about Jesus Christ as our Life—He is the Vine, we are His branches. This week I would like to talk about Jesus Christ as our Leader—He is the Good Shepherd, we are His sheep. We will be looking at John 10 and Psalm 23. 

Our Lord tells us plainly, “I am the Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11) He alone is the One who is to guide our Christian lives. So, let me ask, ‘Is He truly your shepherd? Does Jesus guide your moral decisions? Does He impact how you spend your time?’

The world has its own opinions on how you should live. These views are made clear every day you are on your phone ‘scrolling.’ They are declared through the music you listen to, the TV shows you watch, and the friends you hang out with.

Our Lord Jesus tells us that He leads us visibly and audibly, as a shepherd does His sheep. “… He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. A stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him …” (V4-5)

How does He do this? The answer is quite obvious. It is by His Written Word handed down to us in the Bible. There are other ways but this is the main one.

We must spend time with Him each day reading His Word. We will never know what He teaches, or what His voice sounds like, if we seldom spend time with Him. More importantly, “the stranger” (the world) is talking to us constantly, everywhere.  

The analogy of God as the Shepherd, and we are His sheep, is used throughout the Bible. In Psalm 23 we see the comparison once again. Here the Psalmist tells us that he has made the conscious decision to make the LORD his Shepherd.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” (Psalm 23:1-2) Throughout this Psalm we read of the many benefits of having God as our Shepherd.

He provides for us abundantly so that we have no needs. He leads us in paths of righteousness so we can live godly lives. He is always with us, especially when enemies are near … and most importantly in death. (V4-5)

David (the Psalmist) knows the outcome of following closely behind the Shepherd, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life …”. (V6) 

Do you know the voice of the Shepherd? Do you trust Him when the path is hard?

May the Resurrected Christ bless your reading of His Word this week.

Steve 

Bible Reading Plan—Week 25

DAY 1—John 10:1-10

DAY 2—John 10:11-18

DAY 3—John 10:19-30

DAY 4—John 10:31-42

DAY 5—Psalm 23:1-6