August 11, 2018 Saturday

“24  when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26  Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27  “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28 ¶  Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30  Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31  “Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32  Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33  “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34  Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35  And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:24-35 NKJV)

            Food is such an integral part of our lives and for Christians the highest form is the bread and wine (or juice if you prefer) as part of Holy Communion.  Wine was commonly used for Communion but some changed to grape juice because it was hard for alcoholics. 

            Jesus had fed the crowd and as they follow Him you can almost see their hands or bowls out.  But Jesus did not want to just feed their physical hunger but their emotional and spiritual hunger also.  It is too easy to come to God for physical needs alone.

Whoever you look to for sustenance is your God

            How do you know you are seeking God for the right reasons?  Hopefully these three questions will help.

Why do you seek Jesus?  Some might ask what if you are not seeking Jesus.  Then you are just seeking to get way from Jesus!  The three choices are: seeking to get away from Jesus, wanting Jesus to meet my physical or emotional needs or seeking Jesus to meet my needs so I can get to know God better.  Why you seek Jesus is as important as if you will seek Jesus.

What are you laboring for? The simple answer could either be I am laboring to have more of the things of the world than the people I know or it could be I seek Jesus so I can know God and receive the fullness in this world and in heaven.  The first is you orientated and the second is God orientated.

What does it mean when Jesus says “I am the bread of life”? By feeding so many people miraculously Jesus made a connection with Moses and the manna.  In the simplicity of a loaf of bread God connects us to the totality of the constant provision we receive!  Jesus was born is Bethlehem Ephrath.  Bethlehem means house of bread and Ephrath means place of fruitfulness!

            Jesus being born in Bethlehem represents the elements of Holy Communion of the bread (the Body of Jesus) and fruit which is the wine (the blood of Jesus).

            So we go back to the questions.  Why do you seek Jesus?  What are you laboring for?  What does it mean when Jesus says “I am the bread of life”?

Melanie, Phil and mom Perkins came to celebrate Bonnie and Jonathan’s birthday. We ate at the Steak and Trout and the food was very good. We came back to the house for cake and presents. It was a wonderful day but incredibly tiring.