Monday, August 30, 2010

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”


And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.(John 6:35-40)

Jesus had just worked a mighty miracle of feeding over 5000 people (John 6: 10-14) as a setting for a plain talk on His true mission in the world. While He had spent much time ministering to men's bodily needs, the real purpose of His coming into the world was to save men's Souls. In the synagogue at Capernaum (John 6:59) Jesus takes the bread as His starting-point for a deeper lesson. And this lesson was that He came to provide "bread" that will satisfy more than physical hunger. Jesus is the bread God gives, the one who comes to give life to the world (John 6:33). Those who believe in Him will never hunger (John 6:35). When Jesus told them that, they all began to lose interest.

The crowd was all in favor of a Messiah who can provide free meals for the asking (John 6: 26, 34). No one can live without food. As long as Jesus fed their bodies they thought He was great. They wanted Him to be their king. It seems that the people generally were expecting the Messiah to bring in a social order in which men could get their bread without working. It would have been just wonderful if they could have had a king who would every day feed them miraculously, as He had done the day before, as Moses had given the daily manna.

People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder Jesus called Himself the bread of life. But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life (John 4:13, 14).

When Jesus uses the words "seen - not believe" in John 6:36, He is saying that seeing does not necessarily mean believing (John 6:30; 11:46–57), although sometimes it does (John 11:45). On the other hand, Christ blesses those who believe without having seen (John 20:29).

Jesus did not work independently of God the Father, but in union with Him. This should give us even more assurance of being welcomed into God's presence and being protected by Him. Christ will not cast out any who come to Him because He came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38). The will of the Father is twofold: 1) that all who come to the Son will be received and not lost; 2) that all who see and believe on the Son will have everlasting life (John 6: 39-40). Jesus' purpose was to do the will of God, not to satisfy His human desires. When we follow Jesus, we should have the same purpose.

Jesus said He would not lose even one person whom the Father had given Him. Thus anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secure in God's promise of eternal life. Christ will not let His people be overcome by Satan and lose their salvation (see also John 17:12; Philippians 1:6). Those who put their faith in Christ will be resurrected from physical death to eternal life with God when Christ comes again (see 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16).

Father God, it is my prayer today that all who hears the message of your free gift of salvation, which comes only through Jesus, will fall down on their knees, reach out to you and repent of their sins and accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Lord, I continue to pray for those lost souls who deny You and worship false gods in an attempt to find peace and joy in this wicked and lost world. I continue to pray for our government and for the safe return of our young men and women serving in the military. I pray this all in Jesus’ name. Amen

References: NKJV Holy Bible, Life Application Bible (NIV), the Nelson Study Bible, Halley's Bible Handbook and the Archaeological Study Bible (NIV).

32 comments:

Barbara said...

Amen indeed, I so love your messages, lots of prayer and hugs for your day, Barbara

Gorges Smythe said...

Excellent post, Lloyd, and "Amen."

Sheila Deeth said...

No good just sitting looking at that bread. Very nice lesson and prayer. Thanks.

Donald Fishgrab said...

Jesus commanded us to feed his sheep. Good job.

SeneminYemekleri said...

Thank you very much.My english very bad,sorry.I'm very glad I knew you

MTJ said...

Hi Lloyd,

I was blessed in reading this post. Your analogy of physical hunger and spiritual hunger illustrate your point: "We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ...Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life "

Blessings and peace.

MTJ

Lynda said...

And if we go back to the manna in the wilderness - - - HE gave what was needed daily, then, too - - - - always. HIS mercies are new every morning. Praise God for the BREAD of LIFE!

Amarildo Rocha said...

Dear Lloyd, thank you for visiting, I really enjoyed your blog I am always here.
In Christ:
Amarildo.

Denise said...

Bless you brother.

justyns35@hotmail.com said...

Hey thanks for commenting on my "letter to an LDS friend" blog. Thanks for following my blog too! I'll be following yours as well.

Anonymous said...

Meu irmão Lloyd, obrigado por suas palavras, que possamos ser verdadeiros luzeiros nas trevas e que a palavra do Senhor seja conhecida. Seu blos é maravilho, sempre traduzo, pois não leio em inglês, mas é uma benção em minha vida.
Um grande abraço,
Sidney
(papodedesenhista.blogspot.com)

Lou said...

Another great post, Lloyd. Thank you so much for your encouraging comment today on my blog. :)

Lou

Polly said...

Thank you for following my little blog and thank you also for this wonderful post It is so encouraging to know that God is there by our side each morning as we begin our day, always beside us ready to catch us in open loving arms should we fall.

Carl Shelton said...

Lloyd, thanks for your comment on my blog and for inviting me to yours. It's great to meet others who are in love with God!

Nabil Sami said...

thanks for ur visit to my blog
i visit ur blog

but i advice u to read more about Islam
if u really like jesus u will like islame
jesus is not the god ....
jesus is a profet like mohamed
the god send jesus to his people but jewish kill him and tried to kill
mohamed


plz think will
and read alot

regards

Luciana said...

Protected only by Christ we will overcome this dark world.
Wonderful post, God bless!

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Thank you Barbara, Gorges, Sheila, and dfish for your visits and encouraging comments. I always look forward to reading your blogs and cherish your visits. God bless.

Senemcabuk - I want to thank you for your visit and do not worry about your English... If you want to, just write in your own language because this blog has a translator. God bless you.

MTJ - I like using this analogy to show people how to feed their hunger for our Lord. If you are hungry or thirsty all we need to do is open up the Bible and be satisfied. Thank you so much for your visit and kind words. God bless.

Thank you misslynda, Amarildo, Denise, and Justyns35 for your visits and gracious comments. Blessings too all of you.

Sidney - It is always good to hear from you. I just love reading the posts on your blog. God bless.

Thank you Lou, Polly, Carl and Luli for your visits and encouraging comments. Blessings too all of you.

My friend from Yemen - I really enjoyed visiting your blog and it is interesting to see the different pictures of your country there. However, I must tell you that I am a follower of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have studied other cultures and religions of the world and find that Christianity is the one that I will continue to believe in. To me Jesus was not only a prophet, but also the Son of God that died on the cross for me. Thank you so much for your visit and comments. God's blessings too you.

Francisco Neto said...

Brother Lloyd Cannaday, peace... and, parabéns pelo teu blog. Realmente é uma verdade o que escreveste.
Que Deus te ilumine e continue a te usar em seus propósitos.

Já estou te seguindo e peço que me ajude e divulgar meu blog.
http://wwwteologiavivaeeficaz.blogspot.com/

Profº Netto, F. A

Amrita said...

Praise Jesus is the one who satisfies the deepest hunger of man

Geoff Maritz said...

Hang in there Lloyd. You have discovered the truth about the bread that Jesus so often speaks of. Our souls need feeding in just the same way our bodies do and the word of life is indeed that feeding we need.
Jesus says he is the way, the truth and the life, He also speaks of the sign of Jonah. The name Jonah means "The dove" the symbol of peace. The book of Jonah starts with the words " The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai" Amittai means truth therefore the sign of Jonah can be read " the peace that comes from truth." Go figure. Jesus is the son of God and he speaks the truth and in so doing he shows the way to the Father, through truth. God bless you my friend.

Kitty said...

Don Carson came to Melbourne and preached on the bread of life. It was really inspiring!

Love your post Lloyd. I pray in agreement with you that today many will receive God's grace and wonderful gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus!

God Bless, Kitty

INSIDE THE SHRINK said...

Lloyd, I always come away from your posts knowing that the Lord has ministered to me. Without bread for our bodies, we will eventually die. Without Bread for our souls, we will die spiritually.All other bread that is not Jesus Christ is merely empty calories. Give me the true Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. God bless you Lloyd. Bobbi

Unknown said...

I am secure in God's promise of eternal life! Very powerful and insightful post!

Sandro said...

Hi bro, grace and peace.
Thanks for leaving a blog comment nomeu
Come back often.
Congratulations for your blog

Regards,

Sandro
http://oreinoemnos.blogspot.com/

Carlos said...

Great post Lloyd. I will be stopping by often to see what you are posting :)

Dee said...

Keep preaching Loyd...God is sending unbelievers your way. :)

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Francisco and Amrita – Thank you so much for your visits and encouraging comments. Amrita, you are right that Jesus is the only one that can satisfy our deepest hunger. God bless.

Geoff maritz – Thank you so much for your visit and comments. I also want to thank you for the word study on “Jonah”. It is truly “The peace that comes from truth.” When we feed our souls daily with the Truth of God’s Word it gives us also the peace, joy and comfort that only God can give. Blessings too you my friend in Christ.

Kitty – Thank you for your gracious comments an d visit. My prayer daily is that this blog will be the source of some lost souls salvation in Christ. I give God the glory and thank Him daily for all the blessings He has given to me. Bless you.

Bobbi - It is always a privilege to have you visit and comment on my blog. My heart goes out to all of those lost souls out there searching for the truth but never accepting the true Bread of Life and the Living Water that feeds and quenches the thirsty and hungry soul that is only in Christ Jesus. May our Lord continue to bless you and your blogs.

Faith Imagined – Thank you so much for your visit and kind comments. Praise be it to God that you are secure in His promise to you for eternal life. God bless.

O Reino and Carlos – I want to thank both of you for your visits and encouraging comments. God bless.

Dee – It is always a pleasure to see your smiling face. I have never really considered myself a preacher but I do love to spread the Gospel of my Lord and Savior. God’s blessings too you.

Gil said...

Obrigado por sua visita ao meu blog. Que Deus continue abençoando vc e usando sua vida pra atrair pessoas a Cristo!

Sr Crystal Mary Lindsey said...

Hello Lloyd, What I like about the way you write is that it is gentle and humble...you are not puffed up with pride.. and your teaching is excellent.This is the kind of teaching that brings others to Christ. it doesn't send them running in the other direction. God Bless you brother.

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Thank you Gil and Crystal Mary for your visit and kind comments. Crystal Mary, I appreciate the encouraging words, but must say that all the glory goes to the Lord. Blessings too both of you.

Kim B said...

Thanks for sharing so many important messages. Hope you have a great day :)

Melanie said...

Wow! I am so blessed to find your blog today! It is such an encouragement to meet a fellow believer, and your post just spoke to my heart. What truth you shared!!

Blessings!
Melanie