April 28, 2024

This Week…I AM The Bread of Life (John 6:25-35)

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Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door

I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine

I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

This week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we have had the joy of being reminded of our Lord’s words in John chapter 6.

When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life,which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One he has sent.”
So they asked Him, “What sign then will You give that we may see it and believe You?  What will You do?
Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from Heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the True Bread from Heaven.
For the Bread of God is the bread that comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I AM the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.

Verses 25-35

What promises!!!  To know that if we follow Him—The Bread of Life—for eternity we will never spiritually hunger or thirst!  Our devotional writers—Tina, Laura, Cynda, Ann, and Ahmee—have shared some great truths with us this week.  Here are a few highlights….

In The Bread That Quenches Thirst and Hunger, Ahmee reminded us that Jesus is the provision of all that we need:

“Jesus says that He is our Light and that He will lead us in this life we live.  Jesus also says that He is the Bread of Life.  Not only does He light our paths, but He sustains us spiritually.

Everyone is searching for something.  We all are missing something in our lives. We all have a hunger/thirst that only the Lord can fill.  That is how we were made to be. God being the total Provider that He is, made provision for us to have all that we need.  In Jesus, God gave us so much.”

…this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches,
which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

In Eternal or Temporary, Cynda drew our attention to a few points from this passage:

“As I was reading this passage, three key points struck me:

  1. The Bread of Life never perishes (John 6:27) whereas material things perish and earthly food spoils.
  2. The Bread of Life is given by God and comes down from Heaven (John 6:32-33). It is a gift freely given whereas we must work to provide food for ourselves. Our food comes from farms and companies that don’t always have our health or best interests at heart. The Divine Bread always gives us the very best.
  3. The Bread of Life gives life to the world. It is spiritual sustenance for our souls. Physical food supports our earthly bodies temporarily. The Bread of Life provides for us eternally.”

In Hunger for the Word of God, Tina reminded us of the great importance of a devotional or quiet time set apart each day to seek God through His Word.

“By asking for God to enter into our devotional/quiet time, you are inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart.  By allowing the Holy Spirit to be with you, God has the opportunity to speak life into the areas of your life which are closed or where truth and healing can begin.  Trust in God and have faith so He can bring new life.  Let the bread of His Word feed your soul and renew you. ”

In Slice of Life, Laura shared some of the words of Jesus to the  apostles during the Last Supper.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.”
Luke 22:19-20

“When Jesus attended the last supper, He gave the twelve disciples a piece of Himself through communion with Him.  He would give the rest of Himself to everybody through His death on the Cross.  He would become the Bread needed to have eternal life.”

In The Word Is Life, Ann reminded us that Jesus is the Living Word.

Jesus is the Living Word and the Bible is the written Word.  Jesus call Himself the Bread of Life and elsewhere He relates this bread to the Word of God:

Man does not live by bread alone
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Matthew 4:4

Therefore we eat His flesh by remaining in Him and by receiving and obeying the Word of God.

 

Have you had the opportunity to read through each of these blogposts this week?  If not, I would encourage you to do so!  Our bloggers have made these as well as some other wonderful points to direct us towards Jesus, Who IS The Bread of Life.