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24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” 30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:24-35 NIV)
HELLO! Some of you may have read the rough draft of today's devotional. I apologize! I set it up to finish later, but being super tired from preaching two sermons, the long drive back home, and in between fun with family, I confess I went to bed before I could complete this. But here it is, a bit late. Thank you for understanding!
A joyous and blessed Monday, dear ConCafe family, with God's awesome guidance be with you, dear Friend is my prayer. I thank God for your faithfulness and I thank you for the prayers that Nellie and I could feel in our trip to Corpus Christi and the two worship services and the baptism of our little guy. The comments were very nice and I pray that God was glorified with what I shared in the sermon. One woman at the traditional service was visiting only because her son was the guest pianist for the day and she was very affirming in her words about the sermon. I praise God for that opportuity to share, and I bother you again in asking for prayers for this coming Sunday where I will be preaching at both services at First UMC of Gonzales, TX. Pastor Matt has started a sermon series on the Psalms and he was gracious enough to let me preach on the 23rd Psalm. I ask prayers for the family of Rev. & Mrs. Michael Dobbs, as Mrs. Olga Dobbs' mom, Dolores Gatlin, died on Saturday in Alice, TX. Pray that God share His comfort and peace to them. Pray for one another; pray for yourselves.
The Rev. Kit Tomlinson is an awesome guy. He's been on my staff during my time in San Marcos and his testimony about his faith has blessed me and many. He sums it up by saying that "Donuts saved me life." As a student in Texas Tech, he was hungry as he walked by the United Methodist campus ministry center, and he read a sign that said Free Donuts. Not one to pass up free food, like a true United Methodist, he stopped in for the free donuts and left a born-again Christian! It was also through his participation at CM that he met the love of his life, The Rev. Leslie Tomlinson. There is nothing wrong with offering food as part of one's ministry, as the original UM had to be Jesus. Hunger was a real issue during His time, and any offer of free food would attract the hungry, thus crowds. Of course, Jesus knew some were only interested in the soup not the sermon. (This is a reference to most homeless ministries of old, where the hungry had to sit through a sermon and then receive the free soup). The caution of Jesus is that we should "not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life." And Jesus says He is the one who can provide this eternal food. And Jesus takes time to explain the real truth behind the manna in the desert; "It is not Moses who has give you bread from Heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from Heaven." And what is this "bread?" Jesus says, "For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world." Huh, they must have thought? And the smart ones said, "Sir, always give us this bread." Notice the not just now, but always! Then Jesus reveals Himself in saying, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
The gospel of John is not one of the synoptic gospels. I saw a cute meme the other day that had a teacher saying, "Matthew, Mark, and Luke; I'd like to see you all after class." I laughed for I got it. The three borrowed from each other; John did not. John's work is called the spiritual gospel for his deals more with the spiritual nature of Jesus and Jesus' ministry and it was selected to be the gospel that divided the once lengthy book of Luke-Acts; for Acts brings in the coming of the Holy Spirit and church patriarchs wanted a gospel that further explains the role and nature of the third person of the Godhead, so John's gospel goes there. It is interesting to note that John's gospel also has several "I am" declarations by Jesus, and this one is the first. Here is a list:
I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the door of the sheep. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the true vine. I will never forget when our choir in San Marcos for Christmas did a cantata with all of these declarations, and the service was set up so that I could do a mini-sermon after each of the I am's. And our choir director, Ms. Jody Bagley, who's a dedicated reader of ConCafe, set it up with each I am listed and I would preach a word or two about each. I prepared for all of them except the last and I didn't realize it until that morning as the choir was singing. I prayed and said, "Lord, You have to help me! I'm not ready, and I don't know what to say!" So, this is the end of the cantata and the choir, as always had done a marvelous job. The congregation is smiling, the choir is beaming, and I'm at the point of screaming! I stood up. I held the sides of the pulpit tight and said, "Friends, we have just heard the most marvelous declarations from Our Lord to us. I shared that which the Lord placed in my heart, the only thing I, and that we, can say in response to all of Jesus' declarations is, I am Yours. Would you say that with me? They were ready and said it beautifully. I think with a bit of shock. I said, "Let's say it again." We all said, "I am Yours." And one more time, "I am Yours." It was perfect as all of what God provides always is. We closed with the benediction and I truly believed God was glorified. I ask the same of you today. To hear Jesus say to you right now, that He is the bread of life, what can you say? Some of us may truly say, "I am hungry for You, dear Jesus, and expect that He, the bread of life, will give us that which satisfies for all eternity. Others may not yet know you are hungry, but the day will soon come, and you will, I pray, join the millions who have said to Our Lord, "Lord, I am hungry for the bread that only You can provide."
PRAYER: Bread of heaven, and Bread of Life, speak to me the words I long to hear and thus feed me with this bread that will fill me until I am in Your presence . Help me to share that bread, for I know there are many who are hungry and have gone begging for bread in all the wrong places. For the money hungry, for the power hungry, for the emotionally hungry, for the addict to the wrong things; grant to me the words and examples that will lead them to come to the table where we can feast with the bread of life, Jesus, Our Lord, in Whose name we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share the bread today!
Receive my blessings and thanks for your love and prayers,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
