The Devotional Jhn - 19

The Devotional

Comment: Many times when we have a spare moment we may take hold of the Holy Bible and begin reading and later if someone said to you, “what did you do today?” in speaking truth, would you say? “I read the Bible, actually I had time to read three chapters!” The next question might be “what chapters and what was it about?” Our response to that question may shock both the asker and the responder; like! I have heard myself say – “Hmm! I remember it was the epistle of Paul to the Romans and he was recalling his desire for all of Israel to be saved. But other than that, I do not remember much more.” For most of us it takes 15 to 20 minutes to read three chapters out of the Bible. It would be better to use that time to study the context of a passage rather than chapter after chapter. For example; Romans 10:1-13 the apostle Paul speaks of his desire for Israel and how these folks need the gospel as do all the rest of the world. The time spent in the study of context is far more rewarding than volumes of reading that leave us empty since there is no retention. Notice here that quantity is overkill in Proverbs 27:7 – A satisfied soul loathes (literally, tramples on) the honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

Challenge: John 6:41-59 – In the Proverbs 27:7 passage we have a glimpse of the wisdom of the man Solomon in spiritual things. Was Solomon referring to the appetite of one’s stomach and the need of solid food, or was he referring to the soul of man that belongs to God, Ezekiel 18:4? So the question even before we began in John 6:41. What is the intent of the LORD Jesus when He begins this discourse that even today has the power to turn people away from Him if it is read from a human viewpoint, rather than from the soul that is hungry for honeycomb, or manna of God?

Most assuredly we are no different than the Jew, we would rather grumble, murmur and complain about spiritual things that we do not understand. One of the common things we say or hear others say is, “well I do not understand the Bible so I just go to church and let the pastor explain it to me”. Or even this; “I do not understand that section of the Bible so I do not read it”. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and have this attitude about the Holy Scriptures then spiritually speaking you are at the end of a dead end street. God does not want us to be ignorant of His grace. the rest is preparation for the remaining verses of Scripture in John 6.

Stating the above is simply because I can see that we will not move much further this morning than verse 42 since many of us need to repent, change direction and get off the dead ends. Some of us may even need to stop seeing Jesus as just a good man who had parents like ours. (His mother was flesh and blood, His Father is God). We need to see that Jesus Christ the Son of God is the pre-existing God, even the Creator. Totally God and equally human!

We need to see God our Savior as King David seen Him. 2 Samuel 22:1-4 (not literally to fill our belly, but spiritually to fill our soul. And he said: "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. Nine confirmations of trusting and believing God, how many do you have?

Also, the sweet psalmist of Israel had this to say just prior to his death. 2 Samuel 23:2-4 – "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after the rain…!’ Or you clear in your soul of the good things God has for you, or do you struggle with living by sight, rather than the call of God which is to believe Him by faith?