Daily Devotions
(Jesus said) “I am the Bread of Life, whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35b
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
One thing most of us like to do is go out to eat.
It doesn’t make much difference if our destination is a party, a wedding or a restaurant. We like to go out. Part of the reason for that is because going out gives us a change of a menu. By that I mean, going out gives us the opportunity to eat different kinds of foods and sample different kinds of drinks.
Of course, we wouldn’t want to eat that kind of food every day. Such a diet would probably kill us in no time. That’s why, after we’re done with the parties or visiting the restaurants or celebrating at the wedding, we return to a better and healthier life.
We know if we are going to stay healthy and give ourselves a chance to live a long life, we have to be selective about what we consume. Now if that’s true when it comes to physical food, how much more should it be right about the spiritual food we consume? If we’re going to live forever, then we need to have the right soul food.
This takes us to the words of Jesus. He said, “I am the Bread of Life. If you eat of Me, you will never be hungry. If you believe in Me, you will never be thirsty.” It was an extraordinary statement.
It is an even more extraordinary invitation.
Sadly, many people, including some Christians, decline Jesus’ offer. They don’t want a steady diet of Jesus, do they?
Think about some of the folks you know. How would they reply if you asked them, “How often do you go to church? Are you the kind of individual who only attends worship once in a blue moon? Are you a regular attender?” All too often we hear that people go to church once a month — or not even that often.
Eating once a month is not going to sustain our physical bodies. If you tried it, your body would rebel. Your stomach would rumble, grumble and complain. You would get light-headed, faint and short-tempered. In a myriad of ways our bodies would say, “I’m hungry! Eat something and make me happy.”
Our souls aren’t usually that loud. Certainly, the Holy Spirit speaks to us and tells us to visit our Redeemer, but other things often speak to us with a greater volume. The end result is we go everywhere other than to church; we visit with everybody other than the Savior. Then we wonder why we’re overwhelmed by sadness, sorrow and depression.
If that sounds at all familiar, then I have good news. Now, even now, Jesus is inviting you to visit Him, when He says, “Come to Me all ye weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He is inviting us to be blessed by His offer: “I am the bread of life, eat of Me and you will live and will never go hungry again.”
Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the one thing every sinner needs.
Compared to Jesus everything else in life is secondary. That’s because Jesus is the only Person we cannot live without; He is the only Individual who can give us peace; He is the only Savior who can forgive our sins and expedite our adoption into the Heavenly Father’s family of faith. He is the only Friend who can grant us a good life here and a perfect life in eternity.
THE PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, feed me with Jesus, the Bread of Life. Grant this, so I might be spiritually nourished and strengthened for the journey, which will eventually bring me to heaven. This I ask in the Name of Jesus Christ who lived, suffered, died and rose so that I might follow Him forever. Amen!
Biography of Author: Rev. Elisha Osman, the author of today’s devotion, “Jesus Is the Bread of Life,” graduated from Lutheran Theological Ghana in 2007. He is a pastor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana and has worked faithfully and well with the Lutheran Hour Ministries office in that country. We thank him for his contribution and insight. Known locally as Lutheran Media Ministry, LHM-Ghana has its headquarters in Accra and was established in 1993. In this West African country of nearly 24 million people, LHM-Ghana uses music, dance and storytelling to share the love of Jesus. A musical group, The Harps, ministers regularly in public through song. Other mission efforts vital to this 20-year-old ministry center are Equipping the Saints (ETS), children’s ministry activities and prison outreach, where the incarcerated are supplied with food, Christian literature and clothing.
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.