| "O Precious Bread of Life, You are the One that our souls are hungry for, and You give Yourself freely to us. You are so good, for when I ask for daily bread You don’t give me stones, but You give Your very self. Day by day, You satisfy my hungry soul with the Bread of Life. I worship You!" ~Asheritah Ciuciu |
I am praying these "Bread of Life" prayer parts each day this week and the "S" is the reason I am here sharing another blog post. I am meditating on the Bread of Life, as I receive daily the gift that Jesus offers and continue reading & praying, focusing on JESUS, as my daily Bread.
As JESUS taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13, that we call "the Lord's Prayer" or "the Our Father"; He says, "Give us this day, our daily Bread ..." (verse 11) We really do need our daily "Bread", our daily sustenance, found in His Word ... manna for our souls. In the church of my childhood upbringing, it is customary to participate in the Lord's Supper, in Communion - sharing the elements that represent the body(bread) and blood(wine) of Jesus Christ, every time that they gather. As I think on this practice, I begin to better understand the rationale of this and the great opportunity that this is to partake in the Bread of Life, through this act of receiving a wafer (a host) and a sip of grape juice (wine for some)... Communion - in remembrance of Jesus Christ; "an act or instance" of 'common' sharing with symbols for the realization of our spiritual union with Christ; the forgiveness we experience because of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection; an intimacy that we become part of when we receive, with a common faith through our participation.
This Bread of Life satisfies beyond a meal - more than a 'crumb', more than a slice, more than a loaf or tortilla. This Bread is Life for eternity, not just our earthly lifetime or immediate hunger need; JESUS' words in John 6:35 is a declaration of the Great I AM as "I AM the Bread of Life" but read on in full to understand better how significant. JESUS gives us something we crave physically on a daily basis to illustrate that He is absolutely all we need. He delights in us needing Him but even more our wanting Him. JESUS is the source of Life through His provision ... not only our breath, but experiencing fullness of JESUS Himself as He is in our everyday life, beginning to end.
I think now I understand that in that foundational church of my upbringing, when I finally left; it was because I was denied communion, which I consider essential - and each time of Communion, I cried because I ached; now I know why. That denial is their man-made law, in my opinion, and I had and have such a hunger & thirst for JESUS, and needed to be able to experience fully my oneness with Him - that to me, is represented in receiving & partaking in the remembrance of communion. I read the Word daily, morning & night (and sometimes, in-between), but my firm belief is that JESUS is part of my everyday life and breath. So this is how and why I know JESUS as the Answer - He completes me. He sustains me. This is why the BREAD of Life is "Bread for my journey" and the only Bread that satisfies daily.
This is much more than the "52 Weeks with JESUS" shared in this last portion of this week. In the last post, I shared the story from World War II in the box at the end (that was part of this "Bread that Satisfies") and then I added an interesting side note - which at the time I did not realize it was as important as it was. As I began reading this last part by James Merritt in "52 Weeks...", it starts with:
| "Think about how bread is made."... |
| "... The process begins when grain is planted in a field." ... |
| "... Upon ripening, it must be cut down, ground into flour, and made into dough. Then, before it can become bread, it has to pass through the fire of an oven." ... |
| "... JESUS was planted as a seed in the womb of a virgin. He was born into this world and grew up completely sinless. And when He was ripe, at the height of His ministry, He was cut down, put through the fire of the oven of God's wrath in the shape of the cross. But He came out of an empty tomb as the finished Bread of Life." |
WOW
| "... our souls can be satisfied only by the Bread of Life" ~ James Merritt , "52 Weeks with Jesus" |
