Jesus Wants Us To Eat! [You Read It Right!]

I’ve been busy this week. Monday started with me going to our county court house to serve in jury duty. The judge excused me, for which I was thankful to the Lord as it would be difficult for me to serve at this time.

Then, my child joined the try-out session for their school’s tennis so we’re hoping and praying that he would be selected. But only if the Lord wills that for him. He told me the other morning that whether he would be selected or not, it would be okay for him. Because he knows that the Lord’s direction would prevail in everything that he does. Glory to God for His wisdom!

So, day to day, I would wait for him until the training is over late in the afternoon, while I’ve been running errands in a fast pace the entire morning. Yesterday, I checked the pantry and noted that our bread supply was running low. So, off to the grocery store I went and bought some.

As I was waking up early this morning [or maybe I should have said, “as the Lord was waking me up this morning…”], the Lord’s prayer was playing in my mind:

“Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven…” This part stuck out to my brain receptors the most:

“Give us our DAILY BREAD”…

As I did my devotion this early morning, I know most of you already know what it means to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. But He is inviting us everyday to eat the “DAILY BREAD”. Jesus did not come to introduce a new religion. He came to tell about God’s love for mankind. That is you and me! He wants us to eat.

Jesus said again, “I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them at the last day. For my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. All who eat my flesh and drink my blood remain in me, and I in them. I live by the power of the living Father who sent bread from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever and not die as your ancestors did, even though they ate the manna.” [John 6:53-58].

Yes, Jesus has been inviting us to eat the living bread. It means accepting Christ into our lives and to become united with him. We are united by believing in his death [the sacrifice of his flesh] and resurrection. And also by devoting ourselves to living as he requires. It depends on the teaching of the Holy Spirit and trusting Him for His power. How do we know what He wants? Get a daily dose by reading His Word [Bible]. "I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." -Job 23:12 [ASV]

Jesus’ life has to become our own. So stop eating the physical bread. “Give us our daily bread, O Lord”…And He did…He gave mankind the spiritual bread from heaven that satisfies completely and leads to eternal life.

Wow! And my eyebrows were perhaps arched high as I looked at the prices of the bread now in the bread aisle…Expensive! For a day’s worth of being sustained with energy for just a day or few days. Compared to the heavenly bread which is for FREE and its sustenance lasts eternally.

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst.” [John 6:35].

Jesus wants you [us] to eat!

On a personal note, I want to thank you all who come here and leave your footprints. I just want to let you know that I appreciate and read everything you had written down and I'm keeping them so sometimes, when I need encouragement, I go back and read them again. It's great to see you bro. Ike and Keystone who both have great godly wisdom to share! And so, most of you do, too. All my praise and thanks to the One Who makes this blogging possible! To God be the glory forever and ever. In all ages to come. I pray for the Lord to bless you all and continue to mold our hearts into His likeness. Daily. Please feel free to leave a comment. Because we become a blessing to each other. When I don't reply, just know, I do pay attention to each of the wisdom you all have to share. It's awesome! Love to you all in Christ.

No Drifting Away

“IUB”…Intrauterine bleeding…That was the diagnosis that came back with this 40 something female inmate sitting on the chair in front of me, as I read her chart and treatment records that came from ER. She had missed her monthly periods for many months and started having abdominal pain. From the ultrasound, the doctors saw a tiny cyst inside her uterus.

“Drink lots of water, Ma’am,” I advised. “So you won’t get dehydrated. You were bleeding a lot earlier.”

“When will I see the doctor again?”

“Soon. You just need to be patient,” I reassured.

“Well, when is that?” she queried with an impatient tone.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry. When I told you “soon”, you need to trust me. Because here, we are not supposed to give you a specific time or hour or date. But when I say “soon”, it does happen. The reason you are not told is because of security purposes. I hope you understand,” I answered patiently.

“Okay. I know it’s true. But I am still having pain.” [She pointed to her lower abdominal area].

“I’m so sorry that you are still uncomfortable. Just be patient. You will be seen and I will do my best that it’s the soonest available time,” I added.

That’s the truth in the jail. Most inmates know that when they are told that the medical doctors will see them for follow-ups, that will occur. Except, having so many inmates who have gone to ER’s and other bad medical conditions, the doctors are always busy. Day to day, a list is generated for only a certain amount of patients. And the severity of their condition is assessed prior to being seen. The sicker they are, the higher they go up that list. They know that truth but they are not willing to wait. Some of them become disrespectful to staff, saying many bad things that are not necessary. Some fake their medical emergencies just to be seen right away. To their dismay. Because the nursing staff and the doctors would still be able to recognize the severity of their illnesses because of the symptoms that are manifested.

We, believers, have received that TRUTH. But living in this world, there are so many false teachings that surround us. It is a hard work to be able to be patient and to be able to pay careful attention to His Truth. It means fully listening to what His Word says. But the most important thing to do is to follow what He wants.

We all know Jesus is the truth as so many eyewitnesses had handed down this truth to us. We might have not seen the Doctor in the flesh but we know that we will see Him because of all the eyewitness accounts recorded in the Bible.

Long time ago, Jesus said this to Thomas: “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.” [John 20:29]

Our faith must always point to Christ. Be patient. That is the truth. For those who believe will see the Doctor. We don’t know when. But it will occur.

“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” -Hebrews 2:1

“What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself? It was passed on to us by those who heard him speak, and God verified the message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose to do so.” -Hebrews 2:3

Be Alert

For other encouraging posts, please visit Spiritual Sundays. Thank you sisters Charlotte and Ginger.

Only The Lord Can Change Hearts and The Stats In Prison

This ad is funny…But not fun when the rise of number of women incarcerated continues to be on the rise since the 80’s. Most of them have drug convictions or violations. Look at these stats [source: Women's Prison Association]:

~ Over 200,00 women are in prison and jail in United States. More than 1 million women are under criminal justice supervision

There were 115,779 women incarcerated in either state or federal prisons at midyear 2008

• The average daily adult female jail population at midyear 2008 was 99,175

• At year end 2007, there were 987,427 women on probation, representing 23% of the total probation population.

• Women represented 12% of the parole population (98,923 women) in 2007

The number of women in prison has grown by over 800% in the past three decades
.
• The female prison population grew by 832% from 1977 to 2007. The male prison population grew 416% during the same time period

• Oklahoma has the highest female imprisonment rate at 134 per 100,000 women. Massachusetts has the lowest rate of female imprisonment at 13 per 100,000 women

Two thirds of women in prison are there for non-violent offenses, many for drug-related crimes.

• Twenty-eight percent of women in state prison at year end 2005 were sentenced for drug offenses. Property offenses accounted for another 28% of the female state prison population.

Together, property and drug crimes – non-violent offenses – make up nearly 2/3 of the population of women in prison. At yearend 2005, 35% of women in prison were convicted of violent offenses

• Over 2.5 million women were arrested in 2007, accounting for nearly a quarter of all arrests. The arrests of women increased nearly seven percent from 1998 to 2007

• In the five-year period from 2003 to 2007, arrests of women for drug violations increased 29%, compared to 15% for men




Remember them in your prayers and ask God to transform the lives of these inmates, both women and men.

Change in our hearts only comes from the Lord. Nothing or no one else can.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 - “26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” [NIV]


1 Peter 3:8-10 - “8Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.” [NIV]

Luke 6:35- “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” [NIV]