Thursday October 4, 2012

Write down 5 things that you are striving for? Are these godly things or are they of the world?

 

Read John 6:22-59

 

They came for food. They came for a miracle. They came to see the show. They didn’t come to be challenged and be confronted by a talk on spiritual bread!

 

All the Israelites gathered around Jesus that day they knew about the manna but none of them had ever tasted it.  I can’t imagine what it would have been like to eat manna in the desert - coriander-like manna that glistened like resin and tasted like something made with olive oil. It truly was an amazing thing. Each man gathered a set amount and had just enough. Exodus 16:18 tells us that he who gathered much did not have too much and he who gathered little did not have too little. It truly was a fascinating substance, but even so it pointed to something far greater.

 

As Jesus called the crowd to strive for food that endures to eternal life rather than for food that spoils, the crowd asked Him for a miracle, citing the manna in the desert as a miracle of the past. Jesus uses this to speak of Himself as the True Bread of Heaven, the bread that gives eternal life.  Jesus claimed to be the fulfilment of that amazing substance that the ancient Israelites fed on in their desert wanderings. Jesus was the one who they should believe in and feed upon. His flesh was to be their food and they should feed upon that. Indeed it was the Father’s will that everyone who eats of the true bread will be raised up to eternal life. It was His will that none of those that come to Christ should be lost.

 

The crowd, of course, were confused and many of the disciples left Jesus that day. But others heard the Word that this was a spiritual lesson and they cottoned on that Jesus alone had the words of eternal life. These few continued on and pressed on with their striving for food that endures for eternal life.

 

What are you striving for? A better house? A faster car? A pay rise? A university degree? A good job? A wife or husband? None of these are sinful in and of themselves, but they can never bring eternal life. It’s ok to have these things but they should never become our ‘god’. Strive for the food that endures to eternal life and let God look after these other things.

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Christians in the Western world are not persecuted physically but we are persecuted by wealth and lusts and covetousness. Our hearts are continually led astray by the desire for more things. Pray that God would be drawing the hearts of believers to Himself and that we would willingly use our physical ‘things’ for the sake of kingdom work and growth. Pray that a spirit of generosity takes over the churches of the western world.

¥ Pray that the believers in Vietnam would be protected from physical persecution. House meetings are banned and churches face heavy restrictions and much harassment. Pray that they would be strong through the storms and that the light of Christ would shine brightly.

¥ Pray the same for the believers in Nigeria.

¥ Pray the same for the believers in India.