The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “2nd Sunday of Lent" for Sunday, 1 March 2015 Scripture: John 6:25-34

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “2nd Sunday of Lent" for Sunday, 1 March 2015 Scripture: John 6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Yeshua answered, “Yes, indeed! I tell you, you’re not looking for me because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the bread and had all you wanted! 27 Don’t work for the food which passes away but for the food that stays on into eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For this is the one on whom God the Father has put his seal.”
28 So they said to him, “What should we do in order to perform the works of God?” 29 Yeshua answered, “Here’s what the work of God is: to trust in the one he sent!”
30 They said to him, “Nu, what miracle will you do for us, so that we may see it and trust you? What work can you perform? 31 Our fathers ate man in the desert — as it says in the Tanakh, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[a] 32 Yeshua said to them, “Yes, indeed! I tell you it wasn’t Moshe who gave you the bread from heaven. But my Father is giving you the genuine bread from heaven; 33 for God’s bread is the one who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread from now on.” 35 Yeshua answered, “I am the bread which is life! Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever trusts in me will never be thirsty.[Footnotes:
John 6:31 Psalm 78:24; Nehemiah 9:15]
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”[John 6:35 (NRSV)]
“Are you hungry? Are you thirsty?” Our mother always asked us these questions the moment we came in the back door after playing in the hot summer sun. If we said no, then her next question was, “Are you sure?”
No matter our position in the world, these questions face us all. For all humans and creatures, paying attention to physical hunger and thirst is essential. But hunger and thirst can also apply to spiritual realities. There are deserts where people find themselves emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually bankrupt. In those places pain, longing, and danger lurk. Temptations abound which offer temporary relief from hunger and thirst realities. There are many ‘things’ that could feed us or quench our thirst.
Yet in the midst of these places of temptation, Jesus’ words resound, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
We are assured throughout scripture that there are no places where we find ourselves that Jesus is not present. In the midst of the worst hungers of our lives, we are not alone. God is there saying, “I am with you.” We are assured that no matter where we find ourselves God is there — offering water to our thirsty spirits and food for our desperately hungry hearts.
The Author: Karen Greenwaldt (North Carolina, USA)
Thought for the Day: Thought for the Day: God meets us in every situation of our lives and offers living bread and water.
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for offering bread and water to our hungry and thirsting souls and bodies. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those Who Are Hungry
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