I AM: Discovering the Nature of Jesus!
Thursday, February 26, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, as I start another day of life, a gift from You, I offer praise to You! Thank You for ever good and perfect gift, which You shower upon my life. Fill me this day with Your Holy Spirit that all that I am, and all that I do will serve to share the Good News of Jesus with others. I pray for those this day who have special needs for healing or comfort. Meet each person’s need, and use me to meet others’ needs as well. All this I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word Today
John 6:35
35Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst.
Reflecting on God's Word
What would it be like if you were never physically hungry or thirsty again?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
What promise does Jesus make in today’s Scripture? (6:35)
Understanding God's Purpose for Us
Why do you suppose that Jesus used the image of bread and water to describe who He is?
What would you think if someone promised you that you would never be hungry or thirsty again?
Applying God's Word to Our Lives
What needs do you have that only Jesus can supply right now?
Thoughts... The New Life
For the final three days of this week, we are going to take a closer look at Jesus’ statement, “I Am the Bread of Life.” First, let’s remind ourselves that in saying “I Am…” Jesus was letting folks know that He IS God. That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? In each of Jesus’ seven “I Am..” statements, Jesus offers us another glimpse of what it means that He IS God. Today, He makes us aware that He is the source of all that we need both spiritually and physically. While, there is no physical food that we could eat, which would make us never hunger or thirst again, Jesus DOES supply for our “daily bread,” as He put it in the prayer He taught His disciples. Every material blessing we have, have ever received, or ever will receive comes to us from Him! That’s so important for us to remember, since so often we get caught up in striving to gain more and more by way of material blessings. At a deeper level, though, Jesus offers us something that is even more important than “daily bread,” as important as that is. Jesus offers us the bread of life—eternal life. As we have seen this week, Jesus made it clear that what He offered was different than the manna God provided in the wilderness, since it would last forever. Obviously, then, Jesus was offering spiritual food and nourishment. We all have so many longings in our lives—some are physical, some are emotional, and some are physical. While we tend to separate those various aspects of our lives, in reality they are inseparably bound together in our lives. When we are physically ill, it impacts our spirit and vice versa. But, when Jesus told the folks that He was the bread of life, they couldn’t get beyond the physical realm. They were so caught up in the here and now, that they couldn’t see beyond the material world.
We don’t want to make the same mistake. Jesus made it clear in John 6, which we have been reading this week, that He was speaking figuratively, when He said that those who wanted to live eternally must eat his flesh and drink his blood. We must move to the spiritual level—which is where our deepest longings lie anyway! We all want to have a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives. Try as we might, though, that sense of meaning doesn’t come through hard work, or the “perfect” family . It comes from a relationship with Jesus that transforms us from the inside out. Just as physical bread is broken down in our bodies so that it may be used as energy for our bodies and to build them up, in the same way Jesus—the bread of life—brings spiritual energy and well-being to us that lasts for ever. Each time we respond to Jesus’ call in our lives to faithfulness and obedience, it is because we have “eaten” the bread of life and are experiencing the “nourishment” that it brings. As we go about this day, how important for us to remember that Jesus seeks to offer us that spiritual nourishment at every moment. We don’t just need “3 square meals a day” when it comes to the bread of life—we need that bread moment by moment. As we go about this day, may we glorify God, by believing in His Son, and by following His invitation to receive the bread of life. Only then will we be able to live a lifetime—and beyond!
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