Daily Bread

One of the lessons that Jesus teaches in the Lord’s Prayer is a request that God will “give us this day our daily bread.”(Matthew 6:11) Thank God for daily bread weather its food, or any other basic need like shelter, or clothing.

We serve a God who is a great provider and he specializes in meeting the needs of today. So I have come to realize that in the midst of making plans and setting goals, and throughout the course of having dreams and desires for a brighter tomorrow, it is most important to trust God to meet your needs today.

I have also learned not to worry about tomorrow but to focus on what God can do for me right now. Feed me today; Meet my financial need today. Deliver me today; heal me today. Bless me today Lord. Give us this day our daily bread.

In these difficult economic times, there is a great deal of fear and stress among many over the future. Sometimes tomorrow’s prospects can appear bleak and depressing with financial despair, termination of employment, failed business, broken relationships, home foreclosures, and failing health looming in the forecast.

But we must resist the temptation to worry about tomorrow and instead focus on how we can get through today. So hang in there and survive today. Press on and be strong today. Give God the glory and have faith today.
Getting through the current day strengthens your chances to make it tomorrow.

When God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, he fed them every day with manna from heaven. But they were only supposed to gather enough manna to get them through the day (Exodus 16). If they took more than a day’s portion it would spoil (with the exception of the Sabbath day). Just as with the Israelites, God wants his people to learn to trust him to meet the needs of today.

So “give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matt 6:34 MSG Bible) And if he cares for the sparrow-I know he watches over me: Today.

All of You

God wants your all. He is not simply interesting in part of you, some of you, or a piece of you. God wants all of you. So time is out for half doing, half stepping, and half living for God. He wants your full 100% commitment.

To give your all to God does not mean that you must talk about the Bible 24/7, act super spiritual, and preach to everyone you see. However it does require that you make God the top priority in your life and first in all your decisions.

In his response to a religious leader in regards to the greatest commandment, Jesus provides a direct answer by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “that you love God with all of your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” It is interesting that Jesus actually ranks the scripture. Many would suggest that all of the Biblical commands are equally important without any scripture being higher than the others. Yet Jesus ranks this passage as number 1, above the Ten Commandments, above other principles shared in the Gospel or the Epistles.

This is the greatest commandment because it acts as an umbrella passage of scripture in that if you do this commandment- all of the other scriptural commands fall under it. The fact that this is listed as the greatest commandment also suggests that it is God’s greatest expectation and greatest area of judgment for our souls.

So we must give God our all in every aspect of our lives. God deserves all the glory and all the praise. He expects us to obey His Word and to live Godly. And yet even in our routine activities, God wants us to do our very best in our homes, on our jobs and in how we treat others.

Finally, as we give God our very best, remember that God has already done so for us knowing “that he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) God wants our worship and our praise because at the end of the day His requirement is simple; His expectation is a basic one. God’s ultimate desire can be summed up in these three words: All of You.