John 6:35  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."

Jesus has fed 5,000 men and probably many others who were with them in the area of Tiberias. When He departs for Capernaum, the crowd follows. After all, this is some bargain! We can sense the pounding of their hearts as they feel the beginning of a new time when their meager existence would be enriched with daily bread provided by their new king!

Most of us aren't asking for the world and don't expect to win the Reader's Digest sweepstakes. But our life experience is confined to limits imposed by life and death. So we are weary of throwing our lot in with someone who claims to be "the bread of life." We can taste the food on our table, even if it is only peanut butter. How can we let go and trust Jesus to provide for all our needs, spiritual and material?

Jesus tells us that if we let go of our lunch pail we will have a much greater banquiet in store. Still, we take along our sandwiches in case the great wedding feast fizzles. Finally He meets us at the door with the wedding garnent of salvation, and we know that we have to drop everything to put it on. And, miraculously, we do! And we discover the Bread of Life is more than adequate to all our needs.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Occasionally, we see someone in the bleachers at a baseball or football game holding up a sign bearing the Bible reference John 3:16. What is the significance of this verse? Why do we remember it and proclaim it to the world?

It is one of the best remembered and loved verses in the Bible, frequently referred to as the Gospel in a nutshell, because in it we learn of God's entire plan of salvation: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,...." We were helpless to save ourselves and doomed to perish in eternal damnation. But out of God's great love for us, He sent "His one and only Son" to suffer our punishment on the cruel cross. Now, "whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Redemption was completed at Calvary. By God's grace we are saved, through faith (Ephesians 2:8). In Baptism we are received into fellowship with God.

John 3:16 sums up God's plan for our salvation, and we in turn can use it to witness to a dying world.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 5:24  I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

Billy Graham tells a powerful story of something that happened as he addressed a large college assembly in California. Throughout the first part of his speech there were catcalls and derogatory remarks from some of the students; however, there was silence when he started to tell the story of a college student who had been in a car accident.

The girl's mother was informed that the injuries were such that the girl would more than likely die within a few days. The mother rushed to her daughter's bedside. As she held her daughter's hand, the young woman said, "Mother, you taught me how to hold a cocktail glass. You taught me how to have safe sex, but you never taught me how to die. Teach me quickly because I'm dying."

The ultimate question is, "What happens to me when I die?" The answer is found only in God's Word: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned." The moment one is brought to faith through the Spirit of God, he or she "has crossed over from death to life" - eternal life.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Luke 24:32  They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?

The men on the road to Emmaus were in a quandary. They thought that Jesus of Nazareth was a great prophet who was going to redeem Israel; however, their Jewish rulers handed Him over to the Romans to be crucified. Now, they were hearing stories that Jesus was no longer in the grave, that He was alive. They weren't certain what to believe.

Then the stranger walking with them (who was actually Jesus Himself) opened the Scriptures to them and explained how the Old Testament prophets had foretold the very events that had just taken place. Later, when Jesus shared a meal with them, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. After finally comprehending the truth, they marveled, "Were not our hearts burning within us?"

Salvation comes to us as the Holy Spirit works faith in us through the Word and through the gift of Baptism. We may not necessarily feel a "burning in our hearts," but we may be assured that we are saved by faith, not by feeling.

Just as Jesus appeared and spoke to the men at a time when they were seeking the truth, so also will He "appear: to us as we seek Him through His Holy Word.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 20:17  Go to My brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God."

It's the most utterly vile and cruel death ever invented - crucifixion. Jesus felt the Roman whip on His back, the blazing sun while He carried His crosspiece, the thorns on His head, and the nails in His hands and feet. For six hours, Jesus hung on a Roman instrument of shame and death. They all mocked Hi. Soldiers. Scribes. Chief priests. Elders. Pharisees. Sadducees.

Three days later, the angels ask the women, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" Then this cry rocked the world: "He is not here, but has risen." John outruns Peter to the tomb, looks in, and believes. Jesus says, "Mary," and Mary Magdalene cries out, "Rabboni!" The Emmaus disciples recognize the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread. Sin is forgiven. The grave is defeated. Death is dead. "I know that my Redeemer lives!"

People saw Jesus - literally. They didn't see a phantom or experience a sentiment. Funeral eulogies often include phrases such as "She'll always live on in my heart." "I'll remember him forever." The disciples never said that. That's because they saw Jesus, and He had a body - a body marked with scars.

Jesus didn't rise from the dead and then leave in secret. He appeared to more than five hundred people on ten different occasions! Jesus was physically and factually risen from the dead. That's why, like Mary Magdalene, we announce Christ's victory to the world!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Luke 23:43  Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.

Blink your eyes. That went quickly, didn't it. Did the darkness during the blink bother you? I doubt it. "What darkness?" you might ask.

As children of God, His very own, redeemed by Christ Jesus, we are never away from Him. He is always with us. In Him there is no darkness at all. We can be in one of two places: earth or heaven. There is no "in between" with God. There is no waiting period at death to enter heaven. The transfer is immediate.

Jesus' assuring words to the thief on the cross are His words to every Christian staring death in the face: truth, today, paradise. The psalmist writes, "When I awake I am still with You" (Psalm 139:18). So it will be with us.

When Jesus ascended into heaven He said, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Each day He assures us, "Today I am with you," until finally one day He will tell us, "Today you are with Me in paradise." As Christians, we live a blink away from eternity. May He make us ever ready for that great day when we are translated from here to eternity.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 17:17  Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

God's Word of truth gets people safely through life's storms. Isn't that the message of the Bible? God's Word of truth getting His people safely through life's unpredictable, ferocious, and sometimes hellish storms? For Abraham and Sarah, it was a storm called infertility. For Moses, it was a storm called slavery and then another storm called forty years in the desert. For David, it was Mr. Storm himself - Goliath. Jesus prayed the prayer recorded in John 17, because His disciples were about to suffer a Category 5 storm on Good Friday - the Savior's mock trials, suffering, crucifixion, and death.

God's Word guides us in chaos, calms us in suffering, assures us in life's darkest hours. That's really good news! Why? Because we're all in some kind of storm. What's yours? Are you raising teenagers? Did you lose the love of your life? Are finances tight? What about your health? Is old age getting the best of you?

Are you hurting? Christ hurt. Are you bleeding? Christ bled. Do you feel like you're gasping for air? Christ gasped for air. Are you crying? Christ cried. Is your heart breaking? Christ's heart was absolutely broken. You are never alone in your storm!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,