Weekend Words

 From Beside the Still Waters...

Jesus Said, "I Am the Bread of Life" - Read: John 6:30-58

"And Jesus said unto them, 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

Jesus stated in today's Bible reading that "the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world."  Jesus is the one who came down, so He is our bread.  How can Jesus be bread for us?  Consider what bread does for our natural bodies.  It nourishes us and sustains our life when we take it in.  It strengthens us and becomes part of our body.  Jesus does the same in a spiritual sense.

The life that Jesus gives to the world is not the breath of natural life, but rather the new spiritual life that He breathes into our souls when we believe in Him as our Saviour.  The Holy Spirit also comes in to do His work in our life when we put our faith in Jesus.

Eating natural bread satisfies our natural hunger.  Jesus satisfies the hunger of our soul.  The devil tempts us to eat the bread of the world by indulging in the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21.  However, that does not bring satisfaction to our soul as Jesus does.  We feel empty without Christ.  We feel guilty, condemned, and fearful.  But when we ingest the bread of life, Jesus, we feel loved and accepted by Him.

To eat the bread of Jesus, we need to take in His teachings in such a way that they become part of us and how we live.  This is done by studying the Word of God, memorizing it, and obeying it.  If we take the bread of Jesus into our soul as we take natural bread into our body, over and over again, we will have eternal life.

Joseph Sharp - Adams, NY

The sins of the flesh leave an unfulfilled hole;

The bread of Jesus gives peace to our soul.  

Jesus Said, "I am ... the Truth" - Read: John 8:12-18, 31-47

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32

Jesus Himself is the truth.  Therefore, Jesus is always faithful to His promises and does not change.  Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever."  We can be assured that what Jesus taught is true.  He is the only One who perfectly represents the heavenly Father.  If we become followers of Jesus, we will experience the blessings of obeying Him.  We can have our sins forgiven if we confess them (1 John 1:9).  We can live in victory when we are tempted (key verse).  We can trust His promises for eternal life (Revelation 2:7).  Jesus saves!  Jesus loves!  Jesus cares!

In today's Bible reading, Jesus clearly said that He came from His Father.  He also stated who He is and who the devil is.  The devil is a liar, which is the direct opposite of being the truth.  The devil cannot speak the truth; there is no truth in him.  He cannot save us, for he wants only to destroy.  He does not love us, for if he did, he would not try to deceive us and would not want us to be cast forever into hell.  In fact, the devil has no capacity for love, because that comes only from the Father.  He does not care if we have pain and misery, for he is a hard taskmaster.  His wages are death and destruction.

Romans 1:25 says that some people have actually changed the truth of God into a lie.  The succeeding verses describe the downward course of sin and debauchery followed by these people.  Let us rather follow truth, for it sets us free from sin and destruction.  Jesus is "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Joseph Sharp - Adams, NY

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. - John 1:17

From In Green Pastures...

The Peacemaker's Beatitude.

It is very easy, if you are talking to one who has a little distrust of another or a little bitterness against another, to say a word which will increase the distrust or add to the bitterness.  We like to approve and justify the one with whom we are speaking, and in doing so we are apt to confirm him in his bitterness or sense of wrong.  Let us be on our guard that we do not unintentionally widen little rifts into great breaches.  Let us seek ever to be peacemakers.  there is no other beatitude whose blessing is more radiant than that of the peacemaker - "they shall be called sons of God."