Verse of the Day - John 6:33

God's bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
~ John 6:33 (NCV)

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I recently saw a rather weird video commercial on-line. Did you know that Oroweat is now the "official bread" of the Pac 10 Conference? Gee, I didn't know there was such a thing as an official bread of the Pac 10 Conference. I wonder how much money they paid to get that "prestigious honor" over, say, Wonder Bread or Sara Lee...

Bread is vital to life, but I just find it comical to have an "official bread" of anything. Do the players feel guilty if they eat Panera bread or dig into a Thomas' English muffin? Is there video surveillance in the Pac 10 cafeterias, monitoring the bread consumption for any violations to the "official bread"? I mean, how far does the influence go, huh? Does this border on organized crime?!?

Sorry. :-) Of course, I'm just kidding. But did the Pac 10 decide that Oroweat was really the best bread that money could buy for their athletes, or did Oroweat just lay down big bucks as a top sponsor and buy their prestigious honor as the "official bread"?

There was One who is the best Bread for us and laid down all the semolians on the table to be our "official bread". The Bread of heaven came down from God and laid everything on the table, emptying His pockets, and said, Here I Am. The Official Bread ... not just for the Pac 10 Conference, or even the whole NFL. I Am the Bread of Life. The Bread for the whole world. I have what you need to live eternally. Your only food for salvation.

The people in John Chapter 6 wanted to see a miracle, like when Moses gave the Hebrews manna in the desert. Jesus told them that it was God who gave them the manna, not Moses, and pointed them to what was happening before their very eyes...the Bread of Heaven was among them, to give life to the whole world. The miracle was there, living and breathing in front of them...and would soon be broken for them.

It's a funny thing about bread. It doesn't do you much good unless you actually eat it. You can't consume it's nutrition by just reading the nutritional label. You have to eat it. And what happens to bread if you let it sit in the bread basket for too long, huh? I know I've grown my share of penicillin in my bread basket...

Jesus got very serious in this dialogue with the people, to make sure they knew that eternal life comes through partaking of Him, and Him alone. He got metaphorically cannibalistic on them, and some just couldn't get it, and they left. Too hard a teaching, they said.

Is it too hard a teaching for you? Can you swallow the fact that without Jesus in your life, without your faith in Him, you are dead in sin? He offers Himself -- eternal life-giving Bread from Heaven -- as your "official bread". Will you take it and eat it, or let it go moldy while you go spiritually hungry?

Jesus is my number one sponsor and my official bread. I pray that is true for you, also.

Love,
Joelene