Tag: bread of life

Jehovah Jireh –  The Lord will provide – 2025 Day 44 (Genesis 24)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 12, Genesis 24

When I read the story of Abraham offering Isaac in Genesis 22, I noticed in verse 8 that Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the Lamb for a burnt offering” and then in verse 14 that Abraham called the place, “the Lord will provide.”

“The Lord will provide” is the Hebrew name of God, “Jehovah Jireh.”

It really clicked in my mind, though, when I was teaching an online English Beginners Bible class focusing on Matthew 6:26-33.

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Which then reminded me of Philippians 4:4-6

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Reading Genesis 24, I kept thinking about how Abraham trusted Jehoveh Jireh, the providing God. I’m Genesis 22, Abraham was willing to offer up his dearly loved son, Isaac, because he had full confidence that God would provide. And now again in Genesis 24, Abraham fully trusted that God would provide a wife for that very same son.

This, friends, is FAITH. Faith is trusting that God will provide whatever we need, whatever is best for us.

Yesterday, my husband and I spent the day together as our youngest son, our own dearly loved son, attended a scholarship competition for a Christian university not too far from home. We are praying for the Lord to provide for him. Meanwhile, our youngest granddaughter has a bad case of hand, foot, and mouth. She’s miserable, and Mommy is exhausted. Again, we are praying for the Lord to provide for them. 

What do you need the Lord to provide? I’d love to pray for you. Leave a comment below.

Heavenly Father,

You own the cattle on a thousand hills. You are all-powerful, and You are good. You see us. You hear us. You know our every need. You are a good Father who delights in giving Your children good gifts.

Again and again you force us to rely on You. Truly, Father, this is a severe mercy. We are thankful for our neediness, so that we can recognize our desperate need to rely on Your power.

We are such a weak and needy people. We need daily bread. We need breath and food and rest. We need strength. We need wisdom. We need forgiveness. We need peace and hope and comfort and joy.

But what we need most, Father, is Your presence. Please, stay close to us, Father. Walk with us. Hold our hand. Abide with us and guide us by Your Spirit.

Thank You, Father, for providing everything that we need according to Your riches of glory in Christ Jesus.

Will you please provide for the specific needs that we each find ourselves in? I’m asking You to provide the finances, healing, and strength that my family needs. I know that You are able. Be glorified in our lives.

In the Almighty name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.

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Do Not Worry by Rain for Roots

Jesus is the Bread of Life – 2025 Day 6 (John 6:1-71)

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Read Through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 6; John 6

I have always been one who wanted to achieve, to work hard and succeed. When I got to high school, I quit taking the classes that I enjoyed like choir and art and woodworking, and chose instead to take classes I could get an A in, classes that would look good on my resume. So, the words of John 6:28 resonated loud and clear with me.

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”

– John 6:28 ESV

Jesus had just finished telling them not to work for food that perishes, but instead to work for the food that endures to eternal life. So, this is a logical question, right? I can just hear them saying, "Ok, got it, Jesus. So, what should we do?"

And here is His answer, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent,” (John 6:29) which seems to mean that even believing in Jesus is a work of God, not of self-will (look back at John 1:12-13 for more on this) … which Jesus states even more explicitly in verse 44 later in John 6, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

In pondering this idea, I was reminded of one of my favorite Bible passages, Ephesians 2:1-10,

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. ”

Dead men can’t make themselves alive, and sinners will never turn to God by their own will. We need God to pour out His grace on us and draw us to believe and cause us to be born again to eternal life.

Which brings me to the next thing that Jesus said, “I am the bread of life…. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” (John 6:48, 51) The bread of LIFE. So much better than manna which spoiled day after day. The LIVING bread. Eternal life-giving bread. So much better than that manna which sustained the Israelites for their 40 years in the wilderness, but could never give them eternal life.

Jesus is the eternal one, the Alpha and Omega, who was and is and is to come, the living One – so He is the only one who can give eternity to us as children of God. So, we must come to Him and eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, abiding in Him by faith, that we, too, might have eternal life.

I’m sure we will learn more about this in the coming months, but what a gift it is to begin our new year remembering the bread of eternal life, Jesus.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to live among sinful dead men, to give up His own life, that we could receive eternal life by faith in Him. Help us to receive Him with humility and to offer this gift to others. Help us to remember that we are just beggars telling others where they, too, can find bread. Make us like the Samaritan woman who was eager to share this good news with others. Make us like Abraham who believed God and came to You by faith. Thank You for giving us our daily bread. Thank you for reminding us – and forcing us – to come to You day after day, not eating old, stale, molded bread, but new fresh, life-giving daily bread of Your Word which helps strengthen us to do those works which You have prepared in advance for us to do.

In the lifegiving Name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, I pray. Amen.

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