August 8 True Bread

Luke 4:3-4 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
 
BREAD – or food in general – is necessary for life, isn’t it? But we know there is more than physical life. Spiritual life is the essence of our relationship with God. Spiritual life is about our forever life. What do we consume to gain spiritual life? Certainly it is Jesus, who declared in John 6:35 “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
    Yes, we can see this from a New Testament perspective. Jesus is our Savior. By grace, we can consume his teachings for eternal spiritual life. But do you know that Jesus was quoting God’s law? Moses preaches this to the Jews in the desert, just prior to his death and the Jews’ entrance into the Promised Land. Moses reminded God’s people of their Lord’s provision for them in their 40 years of desert wanderings. Deuteronomy 8:3-4 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 
    Yes, bread came from God to feed his people. Imagine getting free bread every day for 40 years. Think of not needing new shoes or clothes in 40 years of wanderings! This is Gods provision. But then think of how this happened. It was the power of God to speak it and make it happen. Moses’ words and Jesus’ words affirm the need for physical bread. And they also affirm who provides the bread, clothes and shoes. The Lord was supernaturally at work for the Jews’ physical life as evidence he is also at work for your spiritual life. This is one reason Jesus healed. His power to heal was evidence of his power to forgive sins. (Matthew 9)
    Everything comes from God. When Satan tempted Jesus to turn the stones to bread, Jesu essentially responded with, “I trust the Father to provide all my needs. Just as he did for his people in 40 years of desert wanderings, he will provide for my needs from the 40 days of desert heat and thirst.” Jesus affirms that faith in God is the source of all life.
    Are you in need of God’s provision? Follow Jesus away from temptation. Consume the Bread of Life with all he life power he has to feed you.  
 
Prayer: Open my mind, Father, to know the power and provision of your Word. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.