GREENE STREET LETTERS: Bread For Thought

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Bread For Thought

Matthew 6:11
Give us our food for today (NLT)
Some versions of this verse read "Give us this day, our daily bread."
Growing up, I use to think this verse was a pretty stingy thing to say about God and to God.
I mean...come on....bread? You got to have something a little more substantive than bread.
I don't care if it's WONDER BREAD or the best that MERITA BAKERY produces.
A person has to have some peanut butter or jelly or even a slice of bologna to go with that bread.

I see now that it was not just about a daily ration of food given by God to His children.
It was the fundamental building block.
Bread!
You have to start somewhere in a food group. Why not Bread? The possibilities of what you can do with a loaf of bread will boggle the mind. Sandwiches. Toast. Bread pudding. You can put anything between two pieces of bread and have a mobile feast at your disposal.

To me, bread (in this particular verse) is a symbol of the foundation of our relationship with God.
Bread represents Jesus Christ.
He is the bread of life.
He was born in Bethlehem (the house of bread).
He was laid in a manger (a food trough)
So to approach God and ask for daily bread is to ask for the provision of heaven to be made evident in our lives.
He must want us to act in this manner when we pray because He included it in the model prayer we read in Matthew 6.

When Jesus was in the wilderness in Matthew 4, and the devil tempted Him with food, Christ returned fire by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 -- "People need more than bread for their life. They must feed on every word of God." or as we like to say....."Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God." That is why I need to digest the Bread of the Word of God. It provides spiritual nourishment and strength to my spirit. Psalm 119:130 reads: The unfolding of Your words give light so that even the simple can understand them.
Bread.
Bread of God.
Bread-Word of God.
Take some for yourself today.
Taste the Lord and see that He is good.....

God on you....
mb

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Looking At The World Through Cracked Lens

As ol' Paul wrote in his Corinthian letters.."We see in part and we know in part." Now what piece of this bit of wisdom do we not get? I wish to not run around acting and trying to be some sort of Biblical G00-Ru (I meant to spell it wrong). Or a sage of sages.

I simply want to be able to communicate some of what God has given to me. Why? Do I think what I get is better than what you may have received from Him? Nope. But I do think encouragement comes when we share our daily story of struggle and victory in an effort to encourage each other.

Thanks for letting me share.

Time to soldier on..

mbb

Our Statement of Faith

We believe that God is the eternal king. He is an infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love. From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit equal in power and glory. we believe that God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with Himself and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan, our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin, sickness and God's judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam's original sin. Human beings are born into sin, subject to God's judgment of death and captive to Satan's kingdom of darkness. We believe that Jesus, God's Son, was sent to this world, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary, fully God and fully man in one person. He is humanity as God intended us to be. Jesus was anointed as God's Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, ushering in God's kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. Jesus' atoning death on the cross took God's judgment for sin which we deserved as law-breakers. Jesus' resurrection and ascent back to heaven opened the door for those who received salvation to begin a relationship with God.

Little Nets Into Deep Waters

Fishing nets were designed for one purpose only. To catch fish. Nets are no good if they stay on the boat. Nets serve no purpose if they are never used. I think maybe God sees us this way. We are all created for a purpose (by the way, the creator gets to define what our purpose is). Any other use besides the one we were created for does us no good. But when the creator places His hands upon us, casting us out into those scary, dark places with deep waters, it is then we can see the reality of our purpose. He knew there would be a catch waiting for us. I think I will be the net God has called me to be.

The Twelve Steps

As a community of people in recovery, we affirm that our higher power is Jesus Christ. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Just as God told the children of Israel He was going to give them a promised land, He has revealed to us that He desires to give us a "Promised Life." When Israel got to the promised land, God instructed them to go and in a possess it, fight for it and claim it. In recovery, the 12 Steps are the directions given to us on how to fight, possess and claim this promised life.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Bread For Thought

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD