Can I have some breakfast?

My daughter walks into the kitchen almost every morning and asks, “Can I have some breakfast?”  This is her home.  It’s breakfast time.  She is old enough and capable enough to fix food on her own.  There is even food in the kitchen.  And yet, she asks this question almost daily.

After she asked it this morning, I thought about the words Jesus told us to pray to our Father in heaven, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Jesus told us to look to the Father as our faithful Provider.  He will supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  (Per Phil. 4:19)

We don’t have to worry or fret about our physical needs.  In fact, Jesus specifically told us not to.  We are God’s image-bearers.  He will care for our physical needs so that we can pursue needs higher than those.

We just have to ask Him to provide for those physical needs, be grateful for and content with what He gives us, and be willing to move on and pursue the higher calling ahead of us.  Our lives are about more than food and clothing.  There is a much higher calling placed upon each of us.

After breakfast, it’s time to get to work.

Eat up!

jamie

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Any love on this menu?

Pr. 15:17:  “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred.”

I have been to dinners/breakfasts where there was some level of tension, although perhaps not pure hatred.  It is always an uncomfortable experience.  No matter what magnificent meal has been prepared, no matter what other company is present, or how pretty the table setting may be, the tension is so heavy that it makes the fork hard to lift.

Our accommodations during our family vacation last week were a nice 8-person tent.  Packing our car as lightly as possible meant that all meals were planned in advanced, dehydrated, and bagged for each day to ensure that they took up less space and were camp stove ready.  We didn’t have anything that would be considered gourmet, but those meals were some of the best of my life.  🙂

Because there were no distractions, we spent our meals playing games, enjoying beautiful views, laughing, and talking about our day and our plans.  Each meal, no matter what we ate, was wonderful.  (Even beyond the fact that everything tastes even better to me when eaten while camping)

I am thankful for a family full of love.  I am also thankful for the reminder that perfection is over-rated.  The most important thing in our lives, outside of God, is relationship.  When we focus on building and growing our relationships first, the menu just no longer matters.  It’s the experience that counts.

Planning some delectable relationship time for dinner tonight,

jamie

Hungry?

Pr. 10:3:  “The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but He casts away the desire of the wicked.” 

This same verse in the English Standard Version:  “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.”

These 2 translations work well together to sum up this verse.  The Lord will not allow the soul of the righteous to starve to death or to suffer extreme hunger; likewise, the cravings and desires of the wicked will be frustrated and prevented from accomplishing a purpose.

We were created for a purpose.  Our purpose is higher than any earthly goal.  When we get distracted and begin trying to accomplish the purposes of our own sinful desires, our plans will be thwarted.

When we diligently work to accomplish our heavenly purpose, God works all things for our good.  He did that for Joseph.  He will do it for us.

The best part of this promise is that when our souls are hungry for God we will be filled.  When we hunger for more of Him, He is faithful to give us all we need and more.  The Bread of Life will satisfy our craving for Him.  When we long for eternal life and for doing the will of the One who sent us, then our desires will satiated.

I do know that when I have had seasons where I was intentionally living in sin that I usually felt very unfulfilled and ravenously greedy for something more.  In sin, in our own desires and cravings there is never enough.  We do not experience true fulfillment and satisfaction.  That is why it is hard for us to step out in faith, believing that there is truly something that can fill the empty holes.

When we become hungry for the Lord, He satisfies completely.  No longer do we have that longing desire for something more.  When we have given ourselves fully to God, He fills every need and leaves us feeling full and complete.  With Him we have no hunger pains for more.  He is the Bread of Life.  He has Living Waters.  Nothing can ever satisfy us more.

What do we do when the hunger pains hit?  Feed on the Lord.  His food endures to everlasting life.  We can step out, faithfully believing that the One who gave His life for us will also give us food for life.

Stuffing myself,

jamie