Living Word

During that time the devil came and said to him,

“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 

Matt 4:3-4 (NLT)

A word study of Psalms and especially Psalm 119 reveals the many benefits produced in our lives from hearing and receiving God’s living word.  The creative voice of his word heals and revives.  It brings encouragement and hope.  It is a lamp to guide our feet and gives light to our understanding.  The psalmist rejoiced in the word like someone who has just discovered great unexpected treasure. 

The word certainly is like a great treasure.  It is a book that is more than a book. It is a fathomless depth of life and knowledge that offers something fresh every day even from passages we have read many times.  It is not just a book of knowledge, but a book of life.  Just as bread gives sustenance to our bodies, so God’s word feeds our souls and illuminates our minds.  As we read, it works deep in our hearts at the core of our being.  

Here again are some words from Anne Rice about reading the Gospels:

Also something else has happened to me in the study of these documents.  I find them inexhaustible in a rather mysterious way.

I’m at a loss to explain the manner in which every new examination of the text produces some fresh insight, some new case of connections, some astonishing link to another part of the canon, or to the Old Testament backdrop which enfolds the whole. 

The interplay of simplicity and complexity seems at times to be beyond human control.

Picking up the Gospel on any given morning is picking up a brand-new book.

In sum, there’s no visible bottom to this well of meaning.  It’s unlike my experience with any other written text.*

For the word of God is alive and powerful.
It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword,
cutting between soul and spirit,
between joint and marrow.
It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 

Heb 4:12-13 (NLT)

Open my eyes, that I may see

Glimpses of truth you have for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready, my God, your will to see;

Open my eyes - illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Clara H. Scott (1841-1897)

*Rice, Anne, Called Out of Darkness, a spiritual confession, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008), pp. 221-222.

Bread of Life

 I am the bread of life.

John 6:48 (NIV)

As bread nourishes our bodies and gives us energy to live, so feeding on Jesus, the bread of life, nourishes our souls and spirits giving us a God kind of life.  Physical life will end, but the life that Jesus gives will last forever.  

Feeding on Jesus was a hard teaching for the disciples to accept.  Some even left him because they did not understand what he was talking about (John 6:66).  These are words that we cannot grasp fully with our minds, but words of life none the less.  As we, in simple faith, accept him as our source of life and nourishment we will be filled.

Just as we like to plan our meals and think about what we are going to have for breakfast, lunch or dinner, we can think about ways we can enjoy feasting upon him.  Some simple things we can do through out the day are; simply turning our thoughts toward him, thanking him for the good things in our lives, enjoying his creation and talking with him as we walk along the way.  We can spend some time nourishing our minds with his truth by reading and meditating on his life giving words. All of these things feed us.

Lord, thank you for the bread that you daily put upon our plates.  Help us to feast on you until we are full.

 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, 

so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

John 6:57 (NIV)

Listen to Fill My Cup Lord at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4l2yY2r95g