I learned quickly after moving to Colorado not to leave my bread uncovered on the counter. Within a few minutes it turned stale. I left humid Missouri where bread stayed fresh for days, requiring little vigilance on my part. Oreos are the opposite. Leave them out in Missouri and they go soft, but in Colorado they stay delicious for weeks.

Jesus spoke of bread to a crowd asking him questions. I am the bread of life. Whoever come to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Jesus never goes stale. I pursue different substitutes, but I find they eventually crumble. My hopes in things other than Jesus, like financial security, or greater recognition, or simply a comfortable life, harden like bread sitting in an arid kitchen.

Only Jesus speaks words of eternal life. All other philosophies and pursuits go dry, but Jesus remains as fresh as when he walked this earth.

John 6 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Stephanie Harvey

My wife and I pause and give thanks when we sit down to eat together, but I rarely do so when I pour a bowl of cereal or grab a sandwich between meetings. I take for granted the abundance of fresh food available in my world.

Long ago a writer penned a psalm lauding God for his magnificent acts. He praised the Lord for creating the heavens, the seas that cover the earth, the sun, moon and stars. The psalmist made much of dividing the Red Sea and delivering from Pharaoh. He applauded God for placing Israel in the promised land.

Then, at the end of the passage the writer included this final thought: He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven.

From the magnificent to the minute, the Lord is behind it all. Along with creating the universe and delivering his chosen, the Lord also ensures his creatures have food to eat. God is in the details, right down to the salt and pepper.

Lord, help me remember your goodness when I sit down to enjoy the food on my plate.

Psalm 136 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Debby Hudson

It’s yes or no when it comes to one eternal decision. What will we do with Jesus?

In the summary verse for his argument about people’s need for a savior, John wrote, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains in him.

Born into a sinful state, God’s judgement hangs over our heads until taken away by Christ. Not that we sense it on a day-to-day basis, but we live in the reality of a broken world. Spiritually problems exist which affect all of life, and they require spiritual solutions.

Rejecting Jesus carries the idea of a refusal to submit, to revolt against the message. This can take the form of active rebellion, of shaking my fist at the Lord. Or it could mean a life of passive indifference and ignoring God. I might get along pretty well in this state, but I’ll face a displeasure bending toward outrage when my physical life ends.

Believing in the Son involves mimicking his ways. I prefer the term Jesus follower to describe those who take their Christian faith seriously. Because we follow Jesus into an eternity far more fantastic than we imagine, while others reject him without comprehending the depth of their future despair.

John 3 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Hasnain Babar

Jesus traveled back through Cana, the city where he turned water into wine, and was approached by a royal official whose son laying dying miles away. In desperation, the man begged Jesus to heal his boy. Instead of following the man home, Jesus simply stated, Go, your son will live.

Then the man did what I would have had trouble doing—he took Jesus at this word and departed. No arguments or further questions or clarified instructions. While still on the way home, his servants met him with the good news of the boy’s recovery. He soon realized the turn from death took place at the exact time Jesus assured him, Your son will live. The official, his son, his servants and his entire household now believed in Jesus as Messiah.

Like the boy, they all turned from death to life.

Reading of this man’s simple decision to believe Jesus convicts me of the skepticism that challenges my faith. I should take Jesus at his word more often, because who knows what good things are waiting to happen?

John 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Louis Moncouyoux