Bread of Life

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Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.  Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me.  However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.  For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.  And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.  For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.  

John 6:35-40^(NLT)

This morning let’s look at what Jesus said about the Father’s will, a few statements that Jesus made to those who rejected Him…statements about those who accept Him.

He Won’t Reject You

…those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.

Many people have made a wreck of their lives, and, believing that God could never accept a person as sinful as they are, refuse to make the one step of repentance that will lead to forgiveness.  God has promised that all who come with a repentant heart, the broken heart, the surrendered will, may come into the family. 

He will not reject you – He died for you!

He Won’t Neglect You

And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me

I have known so many people who imagine that God’s forgiveness is so fragile that it can break and fade.  People walk around praising God today for the fact that salvation is free, and grace is sufficient.  The next day they are wondering if it has run out of warranty.  The problem with people in this group is they are operating on feelings, and not the assurance of the Word of God.  He promised, I will never leave you, or forsake you.[2] If He will not reject you, He will also not neglect to hold onto you. 

Dr. F. B. Meyer once told about a Sunday school superintendent who asked his class, who can tell me what a yoke is?  Something they put on the necks of animals, answered a ten-year- old girl.   Then, asked the leader, what is God's yoke?  There was silence until a four-year-old raised his hand and said, God, putting His arms around our neck.

He will not reject, will not neglect, but...

He Will Resurrect You

…raise them up at the last day

Resurrection is not only the theme of Christianity, it is the center.  Without the resurrection of Jesus, we have no reason to celebrate, or hope.  When it comes down to it you either believe in the resurrection or you do not.

All these questions have the same answer; find the common thread:

·      What is it that gives a widow courage as she stands beside a fresh grave?

·      What is the ultimate hope of the cripple, the amputee, the abused?

·      How can the parents of brain-damaged or physically handicapped children keep from living their entire lives totally and completely depressed?

·      Why would anyone who is blind or deaf or paralyzed be encouraged when they think of the life beyond?

·      How can we see past the martyrdom of some helpless hostage?

·      When a family receives the tragic news that a little daughter was found dead or their dad was killed in a plane crash or a son overdosed on drugs, what single truth becomes their whole focus?

·      What is the final answer to pain, mourning, senility, insanity, terminal diseases, sudden calamities, and fatal accidents?

By now you have guessed correctly; it’s the hope of bodily resurrection.  That is the Father’s will.  And Jesus came to make that possible.

For You Today

When you place your faith (all your hope, trust and entire existence) in Jesus Christ, that hope extends into the endless eternity beyond time and space; you are part of a family God will build and bless forever. 

This world will pass away, replaced by the New Jerusalem, New Heavens, and New Earth.  Like the Apostle Paul wrote[3], our faith is in the resurrection of Christ as our sure hope; He died, but He rose again…and said we would too!  He is the bread of LIFE!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Hebrews 13:5

[3] 1 Corinthians 15:19

Leaving OZ

[1]   

Monday, April 20, 2015

Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away.  Mark 14:50 (NLT)

A New York Times article[2] last week carried a story about Dr. Mehmet Oz, the popular TV surgeon who came to fame under the tutelage of Oprah Winfrey.  It seems Dr. Oz’ colleagues reported him to Columbia University, where he is still vice-president of the school’s surgery department.  The 10 doctors who signed the letter complained that Dr. Oz has an egregious lack of integrity for promoting what they call quack treatments.[3] 

The story also mentioned that a handful of angry doctors weren’t the only ones demanding accountability from Dr. Oz:

Last year, Oz appeared before a U.S. Senate panel that accused him of endorsing products that were medically unsound. At the time, Oz acknowledged that some of the products he advised his viewers to use "don't have the scientific muster to present as fact."[4]

In a few conversations I’ve had with friends the name of Dr. Oz has surfaced, and the comments have not been kind.  The thoughts range from selling-out for personal profit, to being under the thumb of his guru, Oprah Winfrey, and her surefire mass marketing techniques. 

Congress, Colleagues and falling ratings; are we leaving Oz, Dorothy?

Dr. Mehmet Oz may or may not come out of this with his public reputation intact.  But no matter how that may shake out, there is little chance he’ll be nailed to a tree, naked on the town garbage dump. 

Jesus did have to face public controversy that hasn’t yet settled down for two thousand years.  He also faced public execution with all its humiliation and pain.  Some would crucify him all over again.

 Jesus knows how the TV doctor to millions must feel.  When it came to crunch time all the disciples fled and left him squarely under the bus. 

And the fact that Jesus faced the loss of his most intimate supporters, trials in the court of public opinion, the religious and legal courts of Jerusalem and Rome, and took the worst they all had to hand out, tells me that he also knows what you and I go through in the worst of our times.

The writer of Hebrews put it this way:

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)

For You Today

Are you facing some kind of trial today? 

If you’ve got great support (or no support at all) from friends, family or public opinion, your High Priest, Jesus has already been there.  And he’s promised to never leave or forsake you.

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[1] Title Image: By World Economic Forum, via Wikimedia Commons Scarecrow via Wikimedia Commons

[2] ^©NY Times, 4-16-15Physicians Want Dr. Oz Gone From Columbia Medical Faculty

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.