Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life[.]

 John 6:22-40

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life[.] John 6:27a

I continue my study of John and today I focus on John 6:22-40 - where shares that He is the Bread of Life. Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: The crowds fed during the Feeding of the Five Thousand (vv1-15), seek Jesus and when they find Him (v25), Jesus does not directly answer the question they ask.  Instead, once again acting with intention, Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter by sharing in v26 - starting with "truly, truly" to emphasize His authority - that He knows why they seek Him; they seek Him because He provides for their physical needs (food). He wants the people to see that He provides spiritual nourishment (v27).  He wants them to believe in Him for this spiritual nourishment, and they want to know how to believe (vv29-30). They seek a sign to believe Him (v30), and Jesus admonishes them for believing that Moses provided manna to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness (v32) - He wants them to see how it was the Father who provided the manna. Jesus then wants them to see how the Father is now sending the Son to be the Bread of Life (vv33,35). In v35, Jesus builds on what He shared with the Samaritan woman at the well where He encourages the woman to drink from the Living Water and never thirst again. V36 furthers Jesus' admonishment of the crowd that they have "seen [Him] yet do not believe." Jesus then promises that if we believe in Him, we will never be cast out (v37).  In vv38-40 we Jesus describing how He came to do the Father's will, that He will not lose anything given from the Father to Him, that those who believe in Him will have eternal life, and the Father will raise the Son up on the last day. 
• What do we learn from the text about people?: People often seek help with physical needs from Jesus, when instead we should KNOW that He provides for our physical needs and that it is more important that we have our spiritual needs met. We also see people that seek signs and evidence before they believe in Him.     
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid seeking signs or testing of God.  See Romans 1:20 where creation alone provides enough evidence to at least seek Him. Claim the promise of eternal life and that Jesus is the Living Water and Bread of Life who meets our most important needs - spiritual needs.  Follow the example of Jesus who does the will of God. Believe and trust in Him. 

Comment and discuss this post

My Prayer: Father God You are an awesome God that meets my most important needs - You save and deliver mercies every morning that never cease...and so much more!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her caner cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

Mark 10:46-52

And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” Mark 10:49-51

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 10:46-52.  Excerpts from the commentary's second (of three) division (vv49-51):

• The title of the first division per the commentary is "We Should Never Be So Busy We Cannot Stop and Help."
• "Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem—on the way to die. He is determined to fulfill His destiny. His mind must be racing; His heart is filled to overflowing with sorrow for what awaits Him. We could certainly understand if He just moved on this one time without stopping to help a poor blind man."  
• Regardless of all that was likely to be on Jesus' mind, He stopped and helped Bartimaeus. 
• "Jesus has heard his cry, and He will stop and meet this man at his point of need, his greatest need!"  
• "It is one thing to hear. It is another thing to listen. Some of us are good at neither! Some of us are good at hearing but not listening. Our Lord Jesus is great at both! Jesus then asked Bartimaeus a straightforward question, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' (10:51). This is the same question He has just asked James and John in verse 36. They asked for the best seats in the kingdom. Bartimaeus, in radical and stark contrast, has a much more humble request: 'I want to see!'"  
• The commentary refers to another scholar on Mark (James Edwards), who shares that "[t]he Sons of Thunder asked for extraordinary glory, Bartimaeus asked only for ordinary health.”  
• We are referred to additional text where the Word shares how Jesus hears and responds to our cries and prayers: Psalm 17:6, 54:2, 71:2, James 5:16.

Life feels crazy and hectic but we must rest from the daily hustle and bustle of life to most importantly make time for God but also to make time for the needs we see - they are everywhere!  Also, God seeks from us the same humble and desperate faith as Bartimaeus.  We all sin and need a savior.  We all have physical, emotional, and spiritual needs - as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus meets them all and He saves!  We must go to Jesus daily and cry out have mercy on me and help my unbelief!  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that holds the entire universe in Your Hands and despite Your lofty position sitting at the right hand of God, You reached down to the pit while I was still sinning, hostile and an enemy to You, You saved me and made me part of Your family and kingdom.  Thank You Jesus for having mercy on me and for pouring out these mercies daily in an inexhaustible supply!  I am not deserving...my sin continues and it is great.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.....Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours....Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things....Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

1 Chronicles 26:12-29:22

The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.....Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours....Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things....Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 29:9,11,12, and 14 

Day 106 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on additional division of responsibilities (gatekeepers, guards, treasurers, officials/tribe officers, judges, military commanders, overseers of possessions/herds/flocks, and the naming of David's closest advisors), David's address to Israel proclaiming Solomon as king and admonition to Solomon to be faithful in obeying/serving the Lord and building the temple, David's delivery of the temple plans, and finally a call to contribute funding to the effort to build the temple.

The people's response (1 Chronicles 29:6-9) was both willing and generous, and praised by David.

We must remember where wealth comes from and that it belongs to the Lord - whatever we may possess is first and foremost to be used to further the work of the Kingdom.  We must hold what we have loosely and give generously.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and provides for all my needs - physical, spiritual, etc. - thank You Jesus!  You have never failed to provide - even in the darkest hours.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving for how You provide.  I love You Jesus!  Please forgive me for my sin - gossip, etc. Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You wiht all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

1 Timothy 6

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. v6-8

Paul writes to Timothy warning him of the evil of money (v10).  Paul knows how God alone gives us what we need and we should be content with His provision.   Money is important but it can easily distract us from our need for Jesus and How He provides and provides contentment.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, I have seen You provide in all circumstances - I am grateful.  Thank You Jesus for never failing to provide - for all things.  I am undeserving of such blessings.  I sin...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep....If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.

Matthew 10

Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep....If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. v9,14

At the end of Matthew 9, Jesus requests that His disciples "[a]sk the Lord of the harvest...to send out workers into his harvest field".  John Piper implies that the sending of the twelve is a response to prayer for more workers for the harvest.  Piper goes on to implore us to pray, and he provides many words on why and how we should pray - a good starter is here.  With regards to the sending out of the twelve disciples, Jesus wants the disciples to trust in Him as the provider and to focus on the message, not the outcome.  Pray for the outcome but remember that God is in charge of the outcome. 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who has answered many prayers of my own and also those of others who have prayed for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not worthy of Your love and grace.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.

Deuteronomy 14

Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. v22

God requires us to tithe - it is a reminder that all of our blessings come from God and that we are to trust God to provide for us.

We must also care for our church leadership - who is referred to by Moses in v27.

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17

Lord Jesus help me tithe so I have a reminder of how You are the source of all blessings and only You provide, that I must trust in You.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has blessed me beyond what I deserve.  Thank You Jesus.  Yet my sin continues - I am harsh with my words. Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Psalm 23

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. v5

Indeed, I am blessed beyond what I deserve.  Family, friends, provision, health, etc. Most importantly, I have a God that loves me more than anyone on earth ever can...and my God died for me so that I would not be slave to my sin but instead would have eternal life.  God has been so full of grace, compassion, patience, mercy, etc. for me...again...even though I am not deserving of such blessings.  The Lord provides. 

Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. Deuteronomy 9:6

See also here.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it [abundantly (ESV)] to the full. John 10:10

 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, without a doubt You are God that blesses His children abundantly...even when we think we are not being blessed we are...the blessings overflow as David writes.  Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not worth such blessings...I am too easily distracted by the world and I too often "conform to the patterns of this world".  Forgive me Jesus and help me overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength. Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer and the side effects from chemo and radiation.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Freedom
Philippians 4

 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. v13

While the devotion explicitly focuses on physical needs and material desires.  Yet for me there is a broader implication.  Every person will experience up and downs in life, times of plenty and times of want - whether this be financial provision, health, relationships, etc.  Paul reminds us that God is what carries us through these peaks and valleys.

In the last days, God writes to the church in Smyrna and sums it up this way:

I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! Revelations 2:9

Even when we have success, it is not through our own hands.  See post here and the reference to Deuteronomy 8:

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."  But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. v17-18

Earlier in Philippians Paul refers to his worldly gains as garbage in comparison to Christ:

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. Philippians 3:7-9

Additional references on material focus here and via John 10:10.

My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, what an awesome God.  You provide everything that I need and in an abundance that is indescribable.  Thank You Jesus for providing abundantly and to the full.  I am not worth such blessing.  I am easily distracted and consumed by the world - please forgive me.  Help me overcome and turn from such sin and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Heal her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo and radiation.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
  

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Satan Hates to be Seen
Hebrews 1

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. v3

Today's devotion encourages us to feed ourselves not just by food, water but also by the Word of God which as the above scripture states "sustains all things".  Part of the sustenance that God provides is protection from Satan for Just as Jesus was evil to repel Satan in the wilderness by quoting scripture (see Matthew 4), we too will defeat sin in our lives by being rooted in God and His word (John 15).

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God and You are the ultimate sustainer and protector...I need no other provider, no other God except You.  Yet too often I worry - please forgive me Jesus.  Thank You for how You have been so gracious and patient with me but I continue to worry and be impatient.  Forgive me and help me turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith. Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the remaining side effects from chemo and radiation.   Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, Dustin, and You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

Hebrews 7

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. v26

We often may think about our earthly pastors or those within our church and whether our needs are met for sermons that inspire or brothers and sisters in Christ who are able to encourage and support us - yet our focus should be on Jesus - He is the one who truly meets our needs!

See also:
John 4
Matthew 6

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You provide for all of my needs - spiritual, physical, etc.  All I need is You - yet I often seek other sources of provision.  I am weak.  I know You love me knowing everything about me including my sin.  I am deeply grateful for this but undeserving of such love.  Please forgive me for being distracted.  I do want to love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me turn from my sin and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Help me seek only You.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa, comfort, strength and freedom from pain.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Please help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.