Daily Bread

The Sweetest Name

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While the song says, “Jesus is the Sweetest Name I know” in everyday life people respond most when you call their name. This was never more evident than the day Jesus rose from the grave.

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if  You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!”  John 20:16

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Mary never recognized who Jesus was until he used her name. In the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” one of the turning points in the relationship between Toula (played by Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett)  is when he suddenly realizes that he has met her before. “I remember you!” Ian exclaims. She is both flattered and embarrassed. On one hand she hoped he wouldn’t remember because she had tried to leave that part of her life behind. But on the other hand she discovers that she is loved not for who she is trying to be but for who she really is.

 

We need to remember names in a world that increasingly denies people’s eternal worth all the while demanding that they produce results that satisfy temporary needs. While Jesus always remembers our names it is a lot harder for many of us to do that sometimes even for our children or grandkids.

 

Ask the Holy Spirit today to help you and begin to greet by name, your neighbor, your cashier at the store or the nurse at your medical clinic. The moment their name leaves your lips watch how they turn to look at you and smile. With their name you’ve opened a door; next ask God how to go through it

Resting By the Well

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When we think of the story of the woman at the well most of us picture a bucolic scene by some quiet spot among the lovely hills of Samaria. But more likely the scene at the well was busy with people coming and going because water is something that everyone needs. Often the case is made that the well was deserted at noontime and the woman was alone but it could have been a scene more like the pool of Bethesda with people crowding around on every side. Yet in that busy place Jesus chose to rest and wait for a single woman to come.

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Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” John 4:6-7

 

In our own life our day may seem cluttered and overcrowded. There may appear to be no place to rest. Jesus reminds us that our outward circumstances need have nothing to do with our ability to pause, rest and wait. It is not only possible but desperately necessary for us to rest at a well at what may seem to be the most inopportune times. While we push forward in our activities with another cup of coffee or another shot of our favorite energy drink, Jesus is calling us to come to rest both physically and spiritually. You will need to rest and to wait by the well because someone is passing by who needs a drink of water that only He can give but only you are holding the cup.

The Aroma of Fresh Baked Bread

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Some years ago when we visited Brazil I was overwhelmed with our first breakfast. Neither eggs and bacon, nor cereal and toast was set out. Instead our hosts put fresh fruit, hot coffee, Brazilian cheese and best of all,delicious smelling fresh bread on the table! I was reminded of my mother’s bread baking, with its aroma wafting out our back kitchen door. It didn’t take long for me and all my buddies to show up in the kitchen angfxcd0002-2elically begging for a small piece. In my imagination I remembered warm bread with butter melting down into its cracks and crevices!

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35

When Jesus was here on earth it was in some way as if God had left open the window and anyone near enough could sense the fragrance of heaven. Fresh bread means not only that its aroma draws people to come but that it is not ‘day old’ bread. When Jesus said “I am the bread of heaven”, He also meant, He had come to meet our needs today. He knows exactly what we are facing right at this moment and if we will receive His words then they will speak to our struggles. Those words caused Mary to sit at his feet and for soldiers to return to their officers empty-handed saying “No man ever spoke like this man!” His hands cleansed a leper whom no one would touch and His voice calmed waves lapping into the boat. His prayer raised a dead child and His death caused a hardened centurion to believe. Whatever need, whatever injury, whatever struggle we are facing right at this moment, Jesus whispers in the depth of our souls, “I am the Bread of Life!”