Blessed Redeemer, Wonderful Messiah, Gracious God we thank You for Holy are You Lord. Thank You for the miracle of sleeping and waking up, sound health of mind and body. Thank You Father, glory be unto You alone.
Beloved, let us come together in one mind, in one accord with same Spirit, and cry to our Father, Who knows the mind and the need of each of us. He is gracious and will answer us.
The topic before us is one that caused a great controversy when Jesus was around. So many left Him when He said that He is the bread of life. The Jews has much to do with bread. And for Jesus the son of a carpenter to declare Himself not just a bread but a bread of life, is unimaginable. He did not stop there, He went further in telling them that He will give them His flesh to eat. This is too much for the carnal man to understand and many left Him except His disciples.
So many are still offended by the teaching of the scriptures, they argue and get worked up as if they have a say in matter. If only the know what mysteries is all about, they will hold they peace and worry less since they worry will not add nor subtract anything from the written scripture. Praise God.
We discussed about “the Living Water” last week and today “the Spiritual Bread” is here before us. We have so much to boast about in Christ Jesus. What about the blood that faileth not. So many testimonies about the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
And I believe that as we part take of this spiritual bread today, the Lord will visit us and heal as many as that desires to receive healing and restoration from the Lord.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.”—John 6:35
We know how to use physical bread. Whenever we are hungry we simply go and eat. Do we do that spiritually? Jesus said if we believe in Him, we will never be spiritually hungry, or malnourished, for He is the “bread of life.” Every time we face a spiritual need, it is a simple matter of going to Christ and allowing Him to provide us with what we need.
Our problem is that sometimes we interpret Scripture based on our own experience. We say, “Yes, but I remember a time when I was spiritually hungry.” If that is true, then either God did not tell the truth, or we misinterpreted our experience. Could it be that we tried to satisfy our spiritual hunger with human resources? Could it be that we relied so heavily upon friends and the experiences of others that we have never learned how to go to Christ for our own spiritual food?
Could it be that we had a great spiritual feast several years ago, and we were so “full” of Christ that we thought we would never have to eat again? We grew lean and hungry because we were still operating on an encounter with God we had years ago. If you are lacking something spiritually, it is not because God does not have an abundance of resources prepared and available for you. It is that you have not come to Him in faith as He invites (John 10:10).
When God gave manna in the wilderness, the children of Israel had to go out each day to receive God’s daily provision. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Spiritual nourishment is something you must seek daily. Have you found spiritual food from Christ today?
Again Jesus said, He is the vine and we are His branches. Abiding in Him means more fruits but if any sever from Him means death. So many are still contending with this saying. But as many as believed gave Him power to become child of God. In Jn 6:63 Jesus said that the Word He has spoken are Spirit and are life, so it never be discern by carnal man whose thinking is depraved. (Rom 1: 28-32)
Do you want to bear much fruit, abide in the Vine:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”—John 15:5
There are those who feel that they must be constantly laboring for the Lord in order to meet God’s high standards. Jesus gave a clear picture of what our relationship to Him ought to be like. He is the vine, the source of our life. We are the branches, the place where fruit is produced. As we receive life from Christ, the natural, inevitable result is that fruit is produced in our lives.
In our zeal to produce “results” for our Lord, we sometimes become so intent on fruit production that we neglect abiding in Christ. We may feel that “abiding” is not as productive or that it takes too much time away from our fruit production. Yet Jesus said that it is not our activity that produces fruit, it is our relationship with Him.
Jesus gave an important warning to His disciples. He cautioned that if they ever attempted to live their Christian life apart from an intimate relationship with Him, they would discover that they ceased to produce any significant results. They might exert great effort for the kingdom of God, yet when they stopped to account for their lives, they would find only barrenness.
One of the most dramatic acts Jesus ever performed was cursing a fig tree that had failed to produce fruit (Mark 11:14). Are you comfortable in abiding, or are you impatient to be engaged in activity? If you will remain steadfastly in fellowship with Jesus, a great harvest will be the natural by-product.
As we today, ask God for the grace to abide in Him, to united in union with Christ, to have fellowship with trinity and you will truly be bless.
Food for thought:- is your abiding that you bear fruits not in your doing. Why? Sometimes the flesh plays up, you start feeling hurt or pain base on someone’s action towards you but when abide in Christ, you become more of Him and live like Him.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu
