breathing room for my soul

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Five Loaves of Impossible - Lent 2016

Living Bread ~ Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

During this season of reflections and renewal, join me in exploring the Bread of Life. When we encounter Jesus Christ, this Living Bread feeds, satisfies, and transforms us. Come on this journey and remember this True Bread “is broken for you”. ~ Donna Oswalt

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” John 6:9 NKJV

When Jesus asks Philip where they could buy bread, he replies that 200 days’ wages of bread would be necessary to feed such a crowd; it’s not realistic. Andrew finds the young boy with the barley loaves and fish. Barley, not wheat, is the type grain the poor use to make bread. These loaves are more like small flat wafers and the fish more like sardines, a modest meal for the boy. What a contrast between Philip’s estimation of the bread’s cost and the food in hand! The problem seems impossible.

Throughout the Bible, God does the impossible with less, the miraculous with little. Most of us seldom give sacrificially; seldom do we even give generously. Like feeding 20,000 people with a poor boy’s small lunch, Jesus takes our sparse offerings and multiplies them for the blessings of others. Consumerism stands on every corner luring us to spend money. What a contrast between how much we spend on a TV to watch the world’s news and what we give to share the Good News of Christ! With God, the impossible becomes possible!

Miracle Worker, do a miracle within my heart! Show me true poverty that I might understand need. Multiply my time and talents and money for Your Glory! “Lord, always give us this bread.” Help me see Your possibilities! – dho

Focus Point: With God, the impossible becomes possible!

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Friday, February 19, 2016

What About the Disciples? - Lent 2016

Living Bread ~ Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

That evening His disciples went down to the shore to wait for [Jesus]. John 6:16

Jesus feeds nearly 20,000 people with five barley loaves and two pieces of fish. Afterwards, the disciples collect 12 baskets of leftovers! Scripture does not give insight into their thoughts or questions. Perhaps the lack of recorded information suggests amazement or bewilderment, or maybe they are just overwhelmed by the miracles. What we do know is that at the end of the day, the crowd clamors for Jesus to save them from Rome, Jesus retreats higher into the hills to be alone, and the disciples head to the shore to wait on Jesus. What are the disciples thinking?

In meeting the physical needs of the crowd, Jesus performs many miracles of healing and the supernatural multiplication of food for the masses, but He also teaches spiritual truths about the Kingdom of God. For us, sometimes circumstances happen, and, when in the middle of them, we simply go through the motions. Later, we struggle to understand all the implications. Do the disciples even discern a difference between physical and spiritual hunger? Do they, like the crowd, believe only in a “bread messiah”? (Holman Concise Bible Dictionary) Aren’t we like them, waiting for someone to fix other people or give us the answers? Jesus offers spiritual food – even to those who do not know they are hungry! Do the disciples understand the spiritual famine of the crowd? Do they recognize their own spiritual hunger? Do we?

Jesus – You are the spiritual food that sustains me though all the circumstances of my life. I am hungry for more of You! “Lord, always give us this bread.” – dho

Focus Point: Jesus offers spiritual food – even to those who do not know they are hungry!

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Thursday, February 18, 2016

The Expected Prophet - Lent 2016

Living Bread ~ Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

When the people saw this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” Jesus saw that they were ready to…make Him king, so He went higher into the hills alone. John 6:14-15 NLT

Scripture tells us Passover, the feast of the Jews, is near (John 6:4). With the Feast of Unleavened Bread possibly on their minds, the people might be remembering God’s provision when He rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. (Exodus 12) In this annual celebration, bread becomes a focus point; the bread, having been made without yeast as Israel flees Egypt with haste, serves as a reminder that God has a plan and provides for His people. Perhaps conversations evolve and passions multiply, until the people begin to believe this Prophet, like Moses before, will be the one to rescue them from the Romans.

For centuries before, through abundance and famine, Israel has looked for the Messiah but frequently thinks this would mean a political ruler. When this great crowd of people recognizes the miracles of Jesus - the compassion, the healings, the feeding – they believe Jesus to be the expected Prophet! They desperately desire a king who can save them from Roman oppression. They misunderstand. How frequently does our human perspective try to limit God’s provision? God’s plan is older than time, and He knows the greatest need. Jesus becomes God’s provision of everlasting hope!

Prophet and Priest and King, forgive my shortsightedness, my urge to rush ahead, my failure to simply be thankful for Your generous provision. “Lord, always give us this bread.” – dho

Focus Point: Jesus becomes God’s provision of everlasting hope!

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Spiritual Famine - Lent 2016

Living Bread ~ Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. John 6:13

Old Testament examples of God providing food for the hungry include provisions for famines affecting Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, famines in Egypt, famines in Canaan, famines in Jerusalem, famines of David, Elijah, and Zedekiah. God is the Great Provider. The prophet Amos warns about another famine, “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11-13) As this mid-eighth century B.C. prophecy comes, God’s people are choosing to worship idols, practice dishonesty in the marketplace, and allow pride to erase their memory of a faithful God. God provides; they forget!

Today, as then, spiritual famine happens when we fail to recognize the presence of God in our daily moments, when we no longer find joy in serving God, when we forget God’s promises. Self-reliance and self-satisfaction take the place of depending on God. We choose the demons of boredom and anger and disappointment; they consume us, not feed us. Only the Bread of Life can provide the spiritual nourishment that renews hope, strengthens resolve, and conquers evil. People all around us are starving, sometimes even you and me. Remember – God provides!

Living Bread, My soul is starving for peace and joy and contentment, but I confess that I choose the junk-food of the world too often. Feed me real bread; “Lord, always give us this bread.” – dho

Focus Point: God provides; we forget!

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Tuesday, February 16, 2016

More Like 20,000 - Lent 2016

Living Bread ~ Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

“Now gather the leftovers,” Jesus told His disciples, “so that nothing is wasted.” There were only five barley loaves to start with, but twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of bread the people did not eat! John 6:12-13 NLT

The “Feeding of the 5,000”, the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four Gospels, portrays Jesus as being able to not only provide what is needed, but give in abundance. Scripture identifies the 5,000 as men only, and scholars suggest that in counting the women and children, too, the number Jesus feeds in likely near 20,000. After eating until they are satisfied, twelve baskets of leftovers remain. God’s extravagance always exceeds our needs.

Blessings fall around us daily as God’s beauty and power in creation stuns our imaginations. Wonders of a simple sunset delight the senses, countless stars in another galaxy intrigue the mind, the vastness of the ocean celebrates the unknown. At the same time, homelessness and abuse and disease mock justice, alter perceptions, and shatter certainty deep within us. We question God. Sifting through our doubts and accusations, God gathers the leftovers, and His extravagant love exceeds our best hope!

Jesus, Holy One, the world paints pictures on my soul, some beautiful and some repulsive. To encounter Your goodness teaches me soul-satisfaction even in the middle of uncertainty. Collect my leftovers so that nothing is wasted. Hope of Glory, “Lord, always give us this bread.” – dho

*”Feeding of the 5,000”: John 6:1-15; Luke 9:1-17; Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44

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Monday, February 15, 2016

Where Can We Buy Bread? - Lent 2016

Living Bread ~ Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

Jesus saw a great crowd of people climbing the hill, looking for Him. Turning to Philip, He asked, “Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for [Jesus] already knew what He was going to do. John 6:5-6 NLT

From cities and towns, from Capernaum and Nain, from Gentile territory of Decapolis, from shore to shore of the Sea of Galilee, stories of healing miracles precede Jesus. Arriving at Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and going up into the hills with the disciples, Jesus sees a great crowd of people following them. Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of God and heals the broken. As the afternoon passes, Jesus asks Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” Without much thought, the disciples reason there is no way to feed so many people. Only a small boy with 5 pieces of bread and 2 small fish can be found. Jesus gets the disciples to tell everyone to sit down; then, Jesus takes the bread and gives thanks and again with the fish. This food is distributed to the 5,000 men and women and children who eat until they are full. What is humanly impossible becomes miraculously possible with God!

In verse 11, the Greek word for gave thanks , eucharisteo, means to ‘be thankful, to express gratitude’ and almost always expresses thanksgiving to God. This word appears nearly 40 times in the New Testament, and by the second century, the word Eucharist becomes a common word to refer to the Lord’s Supper. In the blessing of the bread, Jesus feeds these hungry people. Today, the Bread of Life feeds our spiritual hunger. Again, that which is humanly impossible becomes divinely possible with God!

Lord, open my eyes; show me where I am spiritually malnourished. The need cries, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Feed me until I am full. Eucharisteo! – dho

Focus Point: What is humanly impossible becomes miraculously possible with God!

*”Feeding of the 5,000”: John 6:1-15; Luke 9:1-17; Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44

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A New Beginning

"This is my [new] life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details . . . God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.

And so here I am . . . writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along."
Ephesians 3:7-10, The Message

Pages

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Five Loaves of Impossible - Lent 2016

Friday, February 19, 2016

What About the Disciples? - Lent 2016

Thursday, February 18, 2016

The Expected Prophet - Lent 2016

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Spiritual Famine - Lent 2016

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

More Like 20,000 - Lent 2016

Monday, February 15, 2016

Where Can We Buy Bread? - Lent 2016