This our eternal bread (2)...

“… and this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying.” - Dead Poets Society

If life is limited to this earth, then yes tomorrow we die. Caught up in a series of haphazard events; quandary doldrums of listless breaths; running about with illusion abreast…for tomorrow we die. For if tomorrow we die, then let us continue to be concerned with the worries of the day; continuing in the manner in which we each play. Where every good intention remains as dust, and the very air we breathe subsides into an empty glory. Yet only if there were a hope, a way to be set free…a release from this tomorrow’s death.

And yet once again, we pronounce Jesus as the bread of life; our provision and our sustenance for all of eternity. Death to the one who has no bread, but life to the one who eats…and to him life all the more abundantly.

Therefore where do we place our concerns, and where do we devote our time? Is it in the dying moments of the day and the passing glory of tomorrow? How is it that we can sometimes forget so great a glory? For as Peter replies, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” - John 6:68 What else do we have to do, and where else do we have to go? What is it that is placed in our agendas that is of such dire importance? Shall we not seize this our food, capture it and hold on to it with all that we are, and by all that we have. Let us eat of it Today with all gladness! Giving of what we have been given. So that tomorrow (and even today) we (and all those who eat) may live!

“Do not labor for food which perishes, but for food which endures to everlasting life.” And furthermore, “how do you benefit if you gain the whole world, but lose your own soul in the process?”

Much love, much labor, and many prayers. g-

This our eternal bread…

“I am the bread of life…He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.” - John 6

In Ernest Hemingway’s short story The Gambler, the Nun and the Radio, he writes, “as it is…bread is the opium of the people.” We the people are bound by our need for bread; we are subject to this our need for sustenance…in the temporary, as well as in the eternal.

God provided “temporal bread” (manna) to sustain the people during their wandering through the wilderness (Ex. 16), God provided enough “temporal bread” to feed 5000 men during Jesus’ time here on earth; but now, that is today God provides the “eternal bread” which sustains the world unto eternal life. Concerning temporal bread we eat to the filling of our stomachs and are sustained for a while; but with eternal bread we eat (accept, believe) to the filling of our hearts and are sustained throughout all of eternity. And again what is it in which we eat, that is believe? Is it not in God’s provision, in which He speaks of in saying, “My flesh.” And what is His flesh? But the sacrifice, replacement and punishment for our sins. Therefore the one who eats His flesh (eternal bread), accepts everlasting provision; and will never again be hungry. Hallelujah!!! Praise be the name of Jesus, our provision!!! He truly is YHWH yira, that is the “LORD our provision!” - Gen. 22:14

Much love and tender mercies. g-

Reality?

reality. what a trip. i move about, i wander astray, yet it seems that it is never as real as it could be. i go for a walk, i sit for a drive, and the clouds continue to roll on by; for where is this place i claim to rest my head, where is this place i claim to live instead?

it often feels like a dream, or a blink of an eye; what is this awakening, this call in my brain - is it a stutter of reality or am i just insane? i attempt to lift my head on a rainy day, but it does not differ from cloudless rays; what is this twisting in my bones, this aching in my heart?

all this may seem strange or absurd at least, but it is an unknowing from which i need relief. how much longer will this stay, how much longer shall we play in this facade stricken land; can it remain a fact of thought or will i ever see You face to face?

it’s hope that keeps me alive, keeps me running the race; for You know that it is not i, but You, that i should relate. i call upon Your name, i ask to see Your face, but i remain wandering in this land of shame. who’s to see or who’s to know the mystery for which You have called us to be. a wander am i without a home, reality torn into this body in which i was born, cannot wait for the love which i must find.

Forever....

As far as the east is from the west, that's how far….

The other day I was thinking about this verse and had to ask myself, 'really how far is it? …the east from the west?' … and somewhere in the middle of my contemplation I began to think of running, and running races. I thought of the painful difficulties of endurance and the pounding trials of fatigue that every runner faces, and how alwaysduring this grueling competition, at some point every runner is will ask themselves the inevitable question, 'When is this going to end?'

…and again …as far as the east is from the west. 'When will this ever end?' …or 'will this ever be finished?' And yet is not God's grace like this? For will we ever be able to exhaust the Grace of God? …or will His forgiving Mercies ever end?

Abundant and everlasting is God's forgiving! For His Mercies excelhigher then the imagination and His Grace engulfs the span of eternity. How great is our God, full of Mercy and Grace! And so let us rejoice and be glad in His Greatness!

Please pray that we would be found in this Grace, a Grace which produces a gratitude overflowing and a thankfulness which pours itself completely into all that is done. Even as it is stated in the letter to the Romans, where for 11 chapters Paul speaks of the Grace of God,and then in the 12th Chapter he opens it up by saying, 'therefore because of ALL this grace, let us offer our bodies as living sacrifices… which is our joyous act of worship and overflowing heart of thanks.'

Drowning...

“and they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation’ - 1 Peter 4:4

Day in and day out we are being faced with a persecution of the severest kind… everyday we are confronted by opposition on the left and on the right, we are being threatened in our work places and in our classrooms, we are consumed by it in our music and films, we are faced by it in our every circumstance and situation, for we can not escape this unrelenting persecution. And our battle is one of the most deceptive all kinds, it is an attack towards the possession of our minds (and even our faith). It is a battle of philosophy and belief, a war which attacks the Grace of God and seeks to destroy the Truth of His Son. Today there is no truth at all, but all things are relative; today there is no God, but god is in each one; today grace and peace are found in ourselves and there is no absolute moral standard. For man has become the standard, and in doing so has set himself up as God, calling all the shots. And so in much frustration and heartbreak I can not even begin to count the endless number of conversations which I have had, and every time I hear them say, ‘there is no truth to be found and there is no God which exists.’ Day in and day out we are being overwhelmed with this flood which denies the Truth, and even God… and “they became futile in their speculations, thoughts, imaginations and very purpose” - Ro.1:21.

The ‘flood of dissipation’… excess of rioting, overflowing of rebellion, the complete wasting away of… and in this flood which totally surrounds, engulfs and overwhelms us, there are those who are drowning and those who are being saved, but as it remains all are in the flood; including those who believe (‘those who are brought safely through the water’ - 1 Peter 3:20). But even though we are being preserved by being in the ark (seal of the Spirit), we are subject to the same waters which destroyed the earth, the pounding of waves, the torrents and the ‘suffering’ circumstances (in the gloomy, cold, dark days of the flood; and even for us on a crowded, damp and probably smelly ship). Yet it was through the ark that eight persons were saved from the flood; so what was judgment for the one was salvation for the other. And it is this same ark (Christ) which saves us now. So let us not jump ship, nor be frightened by the waves and crashing of many waters, but let us hold on to the hope of the promises which will appear in the day of their coming. …safety, rest and salvation.

Honestly it is so difficult here, in a place where morals do not exist and God is an imagined thought; now more than ever I am seeing the immense persecution (attacking of our faith) that is occurring here and overwhelming the people, even those who believe. Please keep us in your prayers that we may survive this, and there are some which have already seemed to fall away, and so we pray for them all the more. Pictured below are your brothers and sisters, as well as your sons and daughters, please remember us as we remember you and ask for your well being, that we all may be found firmly established in the absolute Grace and Truth of our God and Savior.

But even if we should suffer for righteousness' sake (belief in Christ), we are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” - 1 Peter 3:14

Naked...

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” - Genesis 3:7

As a result of one act of disobedience, Adam and Eve perceived themselves to be naked. Now this nakedness does not speak merely of the physical, but also of the spiritual; that is their souls had become bare, forsaking the covering and protection of their fellowship with God. Tarnished from innocence, branded because of disobedience, they had produced in themselves everlasting guilt and shame.

How true is this of us; that we too are found to be spiritually naked. For which of us has never sinned, nor done wrong? And this wrong producing in us the same guilt and shame, as if we were to be publicly found naked. In turn, our naked souls become weathered and chapped as they are exposed to the raw elements of this world. In prevention of this, we naturally seek “fig leaves,” shelters from shame. Denying reality, we hide behind items of “importance” and issues of the day, running about in a panic trying to build for ourselves a sure foundation in which we can “trust.” But like a 2 year old child, who inefficiently tries to clothe himself, do we likewise fumble about with our inability to truly clothe ourselves. For in the end, these “fig leaves” will not protect us from the harsh elements of reality. The reality is that we are naked, and in need of a parent; that is a loving Father who will clothe us, who will cover us from our shame. We need spiritual coverings and an eternal home, “to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked… so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.” - 2 Cor. 5:2-4

Thanks be to God, that Jesus is the life which swallows up our shame and mortality. For in Jesus, our guilt, our shame, and our death have been taken away… completely! For what was once my burden He bore on the cross, and what was to be my punishment He took; after dying, He was buried; and then after three days He rose from the dead, proving that He has victory over death… so that whoever shall believe in Him shall not die in their shame, but have everlasting and eternal life with God the Father. Praise be to God, and glory to the name of Jesus!!!

Is this not the Gospel (Good News) of God, that because of Jesus we are no longer found to be spiritually naked. Therefore let us proclaim this on the rooftops, with all rejoicing!! And for me, please pray that I too may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. With all the gentle mercies of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. g-