So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:30-35REFLECTION
The people who had all witnessed the multiplication of the bread and fishes were so impressed by this miracle that they wanted to make Jesus their king. But Jesus withdrew to the mountain to pray.
In the evening his disciples got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. Jesus didn’t need a boat, he decided to walk to Capernaum - and He didn’t make a detour!
The crowd couldn’t get enough of Jesus. Not that they really wanted to follow him; they only wanted to pursue their own agendas. Their way of following looked more like intruding, hindering and harassing! And just like obsessive stalkers they didn’t give up so easily. When they couldn’t find Jesus, they decided to go to Capernaum too. When they found him the next day, Jesus rebuked them for caring only about free meals.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, I love you. You are the only One I really need. I thank you for all your blessings and miracles in my life, but most of all I thank you for being the true bread from heaven. You came down like holy manna and we all need to bow down first before we can enjoy your blessings. You give us strength for every new day!
Yes, all your words are true! Because of your great love we are not consumed; your compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! *
Please Lord, help us to be completely focussed on you and on what you are asking from us. I trust that you will bless us again and again, but help us to realize why you came and teach us to be your true followers.
* Lamentations 3:22-24
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4 comments:
You have a great blog and I am glad I have found it. Thanks for posting such inspirational reflections.
Very good devotional, Paul. Thank you!
My focus gets blurred too many times. I sometimes forget what really matters. Our lifetime is such a short span of time; we need to keep our minds and hearts focussed on what is eternally good.
Some times I can keep my eyes on the Lord, and other times... it's hard.
I can’t shake off my sense of despair this week. I struggle to understand why we have to endure so many school shootings, and this one is particularly horrific. It’s taken me more than a day to get the courage to look at the news, and even now I wish I hadn’t.
The Enemy understands where we are most vulnerable—our children—and attacks them again and again. How could this young shooter have been that deranged? (That’s a question I ask every time a kid does something like this.) What is wrong with our culture that this kind of evil crops up over and over again?
@ David
Thanks for the encouragement!
@ Vicki
Yes, I guess all followers of Jesus regonize this. There are many distractions and because we can't see Jesus with our human eyes (like his first followers could) we need to surrender to Christ's lordship daily. And that's not easy at all!
Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.
Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27
Please also read Romans 12!
Blessings!
@ Carol
I am also shocked by this senseless act of violence and my prayers are with the families and friends of the teachers and students who lost their lives because of the acts of a demon possessed maniac. We do want to believe in the goodness of humanity, but evil is all around us and sometimes the enemy shows his true face and we realize that we are living in a war zone. What has happened to a young man if he is capabale of doing such horrific things?
Stay strong and courageous and remember these words:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:6-9
Blessings
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