BREAD Devotional
Week 23- Hearing the Call
A voice reaching out to from outside of our experience, our moment, our focus. A voice that calls us to not remain static but one that requires us to follow. We can celebrate what the this following of the voice of God saves us from: isolation and loneliness is now never our reality, decay of our eternal selves, a life lacking purpose and meaning.
But we musn’t be naive of what the pursuit of this call costs us. Samuel having to bring the message of judgment to the nation, Matthew had his legitimacy as a disciple questioned due to his history of taxing, Paul has to confront his friend of years in Cephas. The life we are called into following after Jesus, seeking his kingdom to come on Earth as it is in heaven, for his glory is one that causes us difficulty, uncomfortable moments and suffering.
The grace of God of using his voice to call us on is that it never stops calling. Not like asking directions of a local in a foreign land, not like a map that needs to be followed. But a guide who is ahead of us, alongside us, behind us, calling us onwards. At times the path is dim and uncertain, others it is bright and clear. But the certainty we can rest on is the voice of God calling us home.
Week 22- Ministry of Jesus
Jesus taught the crowds that came, often using stories to reveal the truth of the Kingdom of God…
Jesus is described in scriptures as the ‘exact representation of God’. Throughout His life, He demonstrated the divine love, power, and grace of His Father; the passages this week show us His character and heart through His time of ministry.
We will learn how Jesus meets the needs of the people he interacts with. He gives food to the hungry, sight to the blind and rest to the weary. He defends the oppressed and sets prisoners free. He preaches and teaches. He drives out demons. He invites followers and offers forgiveness. He shares in meals and miracles alike - feeding the 5,000, walking on water, and healing the sick.
Jesus was constantly questioned. People of power and religious authorities were watching Him, waiting for an opportunity to oppose Him, and yet he persevered. He remained focused on His heaven-sent mission to minister to mankind.
Not only can we learn from the actions of Jesus Himself this week, but also from the actions of those around Him. They were hungry, open, and eager to learn. They were desperate and expectant, wanting nothing more than to be near Jesus. Crowds gathered and waited, hungry and without food, to listen to what He had to say. The sick were carried to wherever He was, begging even to get a touch of his clothing. They knew that all they needed was to be in His presence to experience His power, and it was contagious.
Jesus taught the crowds that came, often using parables. He reminds us of the need to keep a soft heart and open spirit, ‘good soil’ that receives His teaching, ensuring that what is heard bears fruit in our life.
With that said, this week may you ‘consider carefully what you hear’. May you be reminded of the power of a heart that hopes only in Him. And may you soak up the goodness and wisdom of your loving Saviour.
Week 21- Filled with the Spirit
An invitation to a radical life following Jesus requires us to recognise the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit…
Pentecost is the festival in the Church calendar where we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples after Jesus left to return to the Father. This is a moment to remember that as followers of Jesus, we do not follow a set of doctrines but a living, attentive, close God. The Holy Spirit is God at work in our atoms and molecules; the reality of God in physical form.
Being filled with the Spirit is recognition of the need for God to be at work in us, that due to our brokenness we are not capable of perfection in our own strength and wisdom. This week we explore the many facets and areas that God’s indwelling presence in us will bring to us. Some immediately are recognisable as things we long for, others are more of a refinement of our beings that require us to expose our brokenness before God.
Asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit is a dangerous, radical prayer. An invitation to a radical life with the Almighty God to use you for his purposes, to be led into darkness for Him to overcome it, to face your fears with His courage, and to bring restoration to His creation.
Week 20- God Transforms Us
Resting in the presence leads us to being transformed…
In the lead up to Pentecost, it can be tempting to focus on the signs of the Holy Spirit working in the Church today- tongues, prophecy and all types of miracles. These things are wonderful, but the readings this week kick off with something vital - rest.
With Psalm 92, written for the Sabbath, we understand that true rest comes from relinquishing any ideas of control we have over our own lives, handing it over in thanks and praise to our Father. When we are planted in Him, we flourish (Psalm 92:13). It is He that gives us the inspiration and ability to do what is right (Ezekiel 36:27) as we are transformed into His image by beholding His glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). He’s done it before with Zaccheus and Paul, and He can do it again.
God has a plan He is preparing us for, however far away from His holiness we may feel.
As we reflect on this, be encouraged to behold Him in a place of prayer, taking confidence in His presence to explore deeper who God is and what he says over us.
Week 19- From Death to Life
If that was the end then that version of life is pretty bleak. The good news is that it doesn’t end there for us. One of the core messages of the bible is that our life here is merely the beginning…
Have you recently discussed death over the dinner table or in a small group of friends or family? If it’s something you’re walking through right now maybe it was recent. For lot’s of us the answer is probably a no.
Death is something we don’t commonly talk about and yet we all have it in common. At some point we all would have experienced death. In a more figurative way we might have experienced the death of a dream or a relationship. We’ll also all experience the death of a loved one and eventually we’ll all participate in our own death. So…. shall we end it there and you can just enjoy this week's bread readings?
If that was the end then that version of life is pretty bleak. The good news is that it doesn’t end there for us. One of the core messages of the bible is that our life here is merely the beginning, it’s temporary and it’s not where we find home. This means we don’t have to be afraid of death. I’ve been surrounded by this message as long as I’ve been in church. We sing about it, hear it from our preachers and read it in the bible but sometimes they just feel like words and not truth. This week as you’re engaging with the passages I encourage you to really allow that message to deeply root itself as truth.
In the word’s of KXC’s song Fighting Back: “deaths not the end, it's you calling us home”
Week 18- The Now and Not Yet
In the now, we face affliction, just as Jesus did when he was on earth. But in the not yet, we will see the fullness of God, we will see all things made new…
One of the great tensions we face as believers is the ‘Now and the Not Yet’ of God’s Kingdom.
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are adopted, redeemed, saved, and sanctified. This is good news! But Jesus was not unaware of the reality of living out our faith in the here and now. He tells us that just as he experienced, since we are not of this world, the world will not understand or love us. But he invites us to remain in him, the True Vine. When we remain in him and trust the Spirit to do work in us, we will produce fruit that glorifies God and points towards the coming of the not yet.
In the now, we face affliction, just as Jesus did when he was on earth. But in the not yet, we will see the fullness of God, we will see all things made new, and we will experience the full measure of what it means to be in Christ. In the now, the Lord is with us but we can only see in part.In the not yet, the completeness of his word and promises will be revealed, and how beautiful it will be.
The invitation this week is to simply remain, to trust the work of the Spirit in us, and to not lose hope but to fix our eyes on the eternal glory of the not yet."
Week 17- Jesus is the Way
There is no one like You, not anywhere, not anywhen…
There is no one like You, not anywhere, not anywhen
Fully man
Human
Encounters temptation and experiences death
He walked the Earth as you or I as we walk the Earth
But He was without sin
Defeated death
Fully God
Teaching us
Loving in spite of our faults
Forgiving of each and every failure
Fully Truth
Take up your own cross and follow me
Let he who has ears hear
Lose your life to save it
God is love
Fully Light
Miracle worker, healer, resurrected one
Diner with tax collectors, with disciples
Both are friend, both are loved
Overturner of tables in the temple
Rode in on a donkey, bore a crown of thorns
We are loved
He declared the Holy Spirit alive in us
He is the way
In the wake of the death and resurrection, we reflect on the teachings that Jesus left us with, the basis of how He has instructed us to live. These verses point to simple, but substantial model God asks us to follow. Giving up ourselves for His sake, to recognize the people who need to the love of Jesus the most. As you read these verses, step into the awe of His majesty and sacrifice, but also at the road he has laid before us that might become more like Him every day.