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“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'” (John 6:35, NIV)

Whether in the physical sphere — or in the spiritual sphere — hunger and thirst are normal. We feel the pangs of hunger and the dryness of thirst in reaction to need.

The challenge for all of humanity is to properly satisfy this need — whether physical or spiritual.

Only Jesus permanently satisfies the hunger of the human spirit. Only Jesus permanently satisfies the thirst of the human soul. The other things and people we rely on to meet our spiritual needs are only temporary and a diversion when time is critically short.

As disciples of Jesus, we must guard against the temptation to consider anything other than God’s provision to satisfy any spiritual need. God has given us His only begotten Son — Jesus. He is the bread of life. He is the living water. – Luther

Tagged bible, bread of life, God, hunger, jesus, living water, the book of John

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12, NIV)

In the tug and pull of daily living, we are apt to forget how God feels about His children; but Paul offers to us this reminder: We are “holy and dearly loved.”

To be holy is to be like our heavenly Father, because He is holy — which is to say, “separate,” or “uncommon.” Separate, because we follow only our God. Uncommon, because the world doesn’t see many who live as we live: “[Clothed] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

To accept that we are “dearly loved” is the fire of inspiration; it is the freedom to go beyond ourselves; it is the frame that informs and circumscribes all of our choices.

It is a rare and wonderful state to be holy and dearly loved by God; and that is us. Today. Live it! – Luther

Tagged faith, God, God's love, godliness, holiness, jesus, the book of Colossians

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“So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the Lord for him.’” (1Samuel 1:20, NIV)

It is helpful for the disciple of Jesus to remember that between a vision and its fulfillment; between a promise and the delivery of what was promised is “the course of time.” It is here — like nowhere else — that we are challenged because we often become tired of waiting; or we become frustrated with the pace of fulfillment or of delivery; or we allow something else less worthy to divert our attention, or to curb our enthusiasm.

Hannah’s story began much earlier than what we read in today’s verse: She had been childless for a very long time, and had been praying for a very long time for a son. God had heard Hannah’s prayer and, through Eli the priest, had promised to give her a son. It wasn’t an instantaneous realization of God’s promise; the promise was realized “in the course of time” through something as common as conception, pregnancy, and childbirth.

Be encouraged by the fact that God always desires to work for us, in us, and through us. Do not lose heart when the hours creep or when the days seem never to end. – Luther

Tagged 1-samuel, God, Hannah, patience, prayer, promises, Samuel, the book of 1 Samuel, vision