Gospel of John

“Then Jesus declared, ‘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.’”

John 6:35

Last week we learned that through serving others, God allows us to be filled up by Jesus himself. The verse above talks about hunger and thirst but not in the physical sense. Instead Jesus is addressing our desires.

I heard a quote a few weeks ago that really got me thinking. It roughly said, “Love, and do what you want.” It got me thinking about the freedom that God gives to believers as long as we love him. If we put God first in our lives and love him more than anything else than the decisions that we make will reflect what God truly desires. If I could choose just one rule to live by my entire life, I think it would be just that, love God first and foremost. As long as I continue to put Him first in my life I can be fully confident in the decisions that I make.

I read a book called “Just do Something” when I graduated from school and the main theme from the book was discovering the vast freedom that Jesus gives us as long as we put him first in our lives. Jesus promises to be the only one that will fulfill our needs no matter what profession we have, whether we are married, or how much money we make. What we do is less important than why we are doing it and to who’s glory we are doing it.

Our challenge this week is to focus on why we do anything and how we can start loving God first always. Thanks once again for reading this week and enjoy this challenge as we seek to grow together.

-Matt

Gospel of John

“But he said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’”

John 6:20

In the story of Jesus walking on water, we find the disciples completely terrified by a storm. Much like the 5,000 that were fed earlier, there was a need and Jesus is once again the provider. Below is a paragraph from another blog written by David Mathis from John Piper’s Desiring God website which gives God centered resources for ministry. David makes a fascinating connection.

“When Jesus climbs into the boat and stills the storm, he is showing the disciples (and us) the point that underlies his feeding of the 5,000: When we serve Jesus by giving of ourselves to others, he will always be enough for us. If we pour out our life to provide bread for others, he will be our bread. The more we satisfy others, the more he will satisfy us.”

What an amazing lesson and how contradictory it is to what we are told everywhere else. We must poor out ourselves, and he will satisfy our needs. Our challenge this week is to do something for others expecting nothing in return and enjoying the blessings that God has already and continually blessed us with. Thanks for reading once again and have a great week.

- Matt