Seated at HIS Table to Enjoy HIS Feast
“Jesus then said to them,
(The Gospel According to John 6: 32-33 NASB)
“Truly, truly,
I say to you,”
[Spoken TWICE, so that we will understand the TRUTH of the words JESUS speaks]
“it is not Moses who has given you
the bread out of heaven,
but it is My Father
who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
For the bread of God is [HE]
that which comes down out of heaven,
and gives life to the world.”
- I remember some of my first decade of life, not all but some.
- I remember my favorite food—BREAD.
Hi. My name is Nancy & I am closer to the end of my fifth decade of life than to the start & just as I was when I was a child, my favorite food group is BREAD.
A few nights ago, my sister, brother-in-law, my mom & Clementine joined us for dinner. We set at the table with all the dishes of food. Truthfully the tabletop was full. Tonight’s dinner was special because in a day or two, Clementine would be going home. So, I hoped to share time with her before she did, and dinner seemed like the best way to begin our evening together.
Earlier in the day, I called my sister, asking her to ask Clementine what she would like me to make, asking her—“What vegetable do you like best with fried chicken?”
“Corn on the cob,” was the text received.
So, after work, my main priority was to purchase corn on the cob from the grocery. At this particular grocery store, just down the aisle from the corn on the cob was the shelves of
BREAD—My Favorite Food.
At that time, I did not realize how much Clementine loved this food group too, not until later in the evening, when we were seated at the table & Clementine stuffed the entire BREAD into her mouth.
“Clementine. Don’t do that,” her gran admonished. “That’s not how a lady eats.”
I sat at the table, near my sister, listening to her scolding, and smiling as my mind traveled back forty-eight years to when I was a little girl of ten. Back then, when my brother and I played, we always made passes through the kitchen (when mom was not present), and I would always pull the table chair over to the front of the refrigerator and climb up on the seat of the chair. When I did, then I was tall enough to reach the top of refrigerator, where mom kept the BREAD.
Quickly, I would untwist the tie that held the BREAD closed, pull out two slices & just as quickly re-tie the end of the loaf. Then, I would climb down, push the chair back to the table, before racing out the back door—WITH MY FAVORITE FOOD CLUTCHED IN MY HAND.
Mere steps outside, I would pause to ‘un-crust’ the two slices of BREAD, roll them into a ball, and stuffed the entire BREAD into my mouth—JUST AS CLEMENTINE DID!
Sitting at the table, watching the actions of six-year-old Clementine, I found myself reminiscing about my actions back when I was ten.
- Still today, my favorite food remains the same—BREAD.
- Still today, I would rather eat BREAD than any other food.
- Still today, I continue to stuff the entire BREAD into my mouth, savoring every morsel.
Truly, my heart sang because across from me sat a precious little girl who seemed to desire BREAD, even more than the corn on the cob she requested.
Today, my mind returns to our dinner the other night, as I read God’s Word & as I read the words of JESUS describing how HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE, GOD’S AMAZING GRACE!
“Truly, truly,
(The Gospel According to John 6: 47-51 NASB)
I say to you,
[Spoken TWICE, so that we will understand]
he who believes
has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.”
[The TRUTH spoken by JESUS who is GOD in the flesh]
“Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,
and they died.
This is the bread which comes down out of heaven,
so that one may eat of it and not die.”
[GOD provided sustaining food raining down from heaven for His children]
[The LORD supplied just enough daily manna (BREAD) sustaining them]
“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven;”
[Jesus makes it very clear that He came to us on earth from heaven]
[Jesus also makes it 100% clear that He is God]
“if anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever;
and the bread also which I will give
for the life of the world
is My flesh.”
We eat at the Good Shepherd’s table.
We who believe in Jesus Christ the Messiah do.
In fact—
- We are already Seated at HIS Table! &
- We are Enjoying HIS Feast!
The enemy (Satan) wants God’s children to push back from the FATHER’S Table, to step away from the intimacy we share with Jesus, the Son of God. The enemy has a nick-name: the deceiver, and his goal is for us to live unsatisfied, hungry, and weak.
The devil would have us run around, consuming only the crumbs falling from the LORD’s Table.
“You“
(The Psalms 23: 5-6 NASB)
[The psalmist David speaks of the LORD, FATHER GOD, the SHEPHERD]
“prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness
will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
BUT THAT’S NOT THE GOAL OF OUR FATHER!
God desires that we remain seated at His Table. &
That we sustain ourselves with His Word, the BREAD of life.
God desires that we become strong, spiritually mature.
WE CAN SIT & WE CAN ENJOY THE LORD’S FEAST!
“But God,
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 2: 4-7 NASB)
being rich in mercy,
because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up with Him,
and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the ages to come
He might show the surpassing riches of His grace
in kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus.”