Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 February 2024 John 6:35a.

16 Feb 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 6:35a.       I AM the BREAD of LIFE:

Welcome to a white, chilly and somewhat cloudy Friday! But those negatives are not stronger than the lure of the weekend, therefore, the worldwide shout of  ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ nonetheless rises to high heaven. That’s how powerful the weekend is in our dull, mundane working lives. (smile)  But as I keep saying, our lives don’t have to be ordinary and dull, for we have the wonderful option of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, Guide and Leader, Pilot in the storm and Giver of Eternal life…amongst the many other roles that He plays in a true believer’s life! 

And today, as we settle into the Lenten season, let’s look at some of the great and wonderful things that Jesus is and Jesus does, let’s look at the ‘I AM’s’ that He proclaimed while here on earth. It’s reminiscent of the early times, when the Lord called Moses to go to Pharaoh and desire the release of the enslaved Hebrew people. But, understandably, Moses balked at the very idea of going back into Egypt, much less back to a Pharaoh who would no doubt know his history of killing an Egyptian and then running to the backside of the wilderness.  

Now, one of the ploys Moses used to try and extricate himself from the unwanted situation was to tell God, ‘Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.’ (Ex. 3:13-14) 

Well friends, when Jesus came many moons later, He also said the same thing, I AM! And He didn’t just say that He was one I AM, but several I AM’s. So let’s take a look at some of them nuh, and see the many different I AM’s that Jesus is. (smile) Oh my fellow believers, in the gospel of John, Jesus declares (steups!!!) the ‘I AM’ dictum some seven times. 

The first one states: ‘I AM the BREAD of LIFE: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35) He said that to a group of Jews who had been searching for Him after He fed the five thousand men with five barley loaves and two small fishes, then sent the disciples across the lake in a boat, and went by Himself into the mountains to pray. And as the morning came He went walking on the water to His disciples, who were astonished and afraid to see Him. It’s also where Peter walked on water. (John 6:1-24) 

But eventually the people found Him on the other side of the lake, and wondered when He had come there. ‘Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles (signs), but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat (food) that endureth unto everlasting life, which the son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.’ (John 6:26-27) 

Yes friends, like so many of us, the Jews weren’t seeking Jesus for His spiritual side, but for actual food to fill their physical selves. But remember what Jesus said earlier on: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added on to you.’ (Matt. 6:33) It’s the very same thing He’s saying to us today. If you put God first place in your lives, then He will provide all your necessary wants. Meanwhile Bruh Paul said it thus to the church at Philippi: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19) 

And so, we are continually reminded throughout the scriptures, that physical food and garments are important, but the most important thing is spiritual enlightenment, and acknowledging the sovereignty of Almighty God, who possesses all things, because the earth and all therein is His, and He will generously share it if you make Him Number ONE in your life. 

And I’m chuckling here my people, because it’s obvious with my trying to tie up all the angles of Christ’s ‘I AM’s’ we won’t be able to complete them all today. Don’t know what I really expected nuh. As if it were possible to just list the ‘I AM’s’ without any explanations of the circumstances that surrounded them. And since getting into any more today, would make the Bit way too long, let’s go to the throne of grace right now, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help to handle our many earthly problems. 

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…   because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. 

And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’  

And if we seriously expect divine help, then we need to begin showing that we are indeed faithful believers in Almighty God! Much LOVE!

…the only words to truly describe God’s omnipotence, omniscience and omni-presence are…I AM…for He’s EVERYTHING…

P.S. Wow! The Bit’s so early today only because my eye surgery forced me to rest a lot last night, and thus get up earlier than normal. Please don’t expect it to become habitual. (smile) 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 June 2014 John 6:29

29 Jun 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 6:29.   Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Oh mih people, how we doing this bright and bountiful Sunday morning eh? I do hope that the Lord is in our thoughts, and that all those who celebrate the Sabbath on Sundays are getting ready to go and fellowship with others of like intentions.
 
Meanwhile, for those who celebrate the Sabbath on other days, I hope that you have already successfully fellowshipped with your peers. For we need to remember that fellowshipping is extremely important in the lives of Christ’s people.
 
It’s where we encourage and exhort and uplift each other. So please make it a habit of getting together with others of your denomination at least once a week to celebrate Christ’s victory, and to offer up praise and worship in thanksgiving for all that He’s so selflessly done for us.
 
And before I forget, here is a most useful prayer that we can all use when we come to share private time with our Maker. I’ve shared it sometime ago, but in light of yesterday’s Bit, where we talked about reading the Word, it seemed rather apropos to share it again. I found it at the back of my mother’s Bible after she went to be with the Lord, and since then, I’ve used it all the time.
 
It’s plain and simple and to the point. ‘Dear heavenly Father, as I open my Bible, I pray that you will let my heart find peace. As my mind is filled with new understanding, Grant that I may learn the things you want me to know from the words I read. Bless me to find the courage, the comfort, the joy, these pages can bring, as I read about Jesus our greatest teacher. Amen.’
 
Oh Friends, I don’t think we can getter a better opening prayer than that, for it covers all the bases! But it’s your choice to use it or not, though you can certainly use it as a guide to develop your own individual approach. Whatever you’re comfortable with, that’s what you ought to use.
 
And today, my fellow believers, we’re going to look at an interesting and most important teaching of Jesus. This happens the day after He feeds the five thousand with the five barley loaves and two small fishes, then gathers up twelve baskets with the remnants of that meal. That certainly opened their eyes and made them believe that Jesus was indeed a prophet. (John 6:1-14)
 
But Jesus fearing that they would take Him by force and try to make Him king, went off by Himself into the mountains. Then that evening, without Jesus, the disciples got into a boat to cross over the Sea of Galilee, but part way over a wicked storm hit them.
 
And like the gracious Saviour He is, who comes to our rescue time and time again, the disciples, now in great despair for their lives, eventually see Him walking on the water towards them, saying; ‘It is I; be not afraid.’ (John 6:20)
 
Now obviously after hearing about Jesus great miracle of feeding, the next day throngs gathered in expectation of more of the same. But unfortunately they couldn’t find Jesus, although they knew that He hadn’t gone over in the boat with the disciples. But nonetheless, they rushed over by boat to the other side, to Capernaum, looking for Him.
 
‘And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles (signs), but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.’ (John 6:25-26)
 
Jesus knew that they weren’t looking for Him for spiritual purposes, for spiritual fodder, but for physical food. And He therefore warns them: ‘Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat (food) which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.’ (John 6:27)
 
Oh Friends, that warning is also of the utmost importance to us today, as we have sadly placed God in the background of our society with only sparse acknowledgment, and are daily lusting more and more after the unenduring things of the world.
 
And that is oh so wrong, so foolish my brethren, because it imperils our salvation, our eternal livelihood, setting us up for eternal separation from Almighty God, which is the very worst thing that could ever happen to a human being!
 
And the crowd back then, not fully understanding Jesus’ words, continued: ‘Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.’ (John 6:28-29)
 
Yes Friends, that is what God expects of us! Before we can do anything in His name, we must first believe in and on Jesus Christ; the One He sent to enlighten us, to selflessly sacrifice His sinless life on our behalf, and thus redeem and reconcile us to Himself! That, my people, ought to be our first order of business! Not the last, as some of us consider it.
 
And that is quite ably backed up by Jesus’ statement to doubting Thomas, when he declared: ‘Lord, we know not wither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:5-6)
 
Oh my brethren, no truer words have ever been spoken! So if you are truly concerned about your life in the hereafter, and you ought to be, then you’d better take those words to heart and put them into action in your life. For that my Friends, is indeed wisdom of the highest order possible. Much LOVE!
 
…to spend eternity on the inside with the Father looking out…one must first embrace the Son and all that He stands for…that’s the ONLY WAY to achieve that most worthwhile goal…