Tag: Daily Bread

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Be Grafted Into His Vine

20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. ~ Leviticus 23:20

In the Law of Moses, the LORD gave seven feasts for Israel to keep year after year. During the Feast of Weeks, the is directing the Israelites to wave all the other required offerings along with the two loaves of bread of the firstfruits. Why does this matter to us today? The Law of Moses foreshadowed the coming of the good things fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

The loaf, or the bread, waved as a wave offering is always a representation of the body, or the spiritual body. To take it a step further, the wheat represents the Church. Therefore, the two loaves that were waved by the priest were made from the wheat harvest and are representative of the Church as firstfruits of the wheat harvest.

Jew and Gentile together form the Church as a firstfruits of His creatures. Even though Israel is the LORD’s chosen people, He made a way for all people to be grafted into the vine. He made a way for all people to be saved. Why? Because we are all His creation and He loves each and every one of us. How do we know this? Because Jesus died for all, Jews and Gentiles alike, in Him there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but one Church in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Grafted Into His Vine.

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Join His Plan

Leviticus 23:15-21

15 You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. 16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD. 17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD. 18 And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 19 And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

This passage describes a special festival that God instructed His people, the Israelites, to celebrate called the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot. It was a time to thank God for the wheat harvest and worship Him with offerings.

But there’s something even bigger going on here. These feasts weren’t just about crops or sacrifices—they were like a map pointing to Jesus and God’s plan to build His Church (Hebrews 10:1).

God’s feasts and rules in the Old Testament, like Shavuot (The Feast of Weeks), were shadows pointing to the real thing—Jesus Christ. They showed God’s people what He would do through His Son.

The Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, happened 50 days after Passover. In the New Testament, this is called the Day of Pentecost.

On Pentecost, after Jesus rose from the dead, God poured out His Holy Spirit on His followers. That was the birth of the Church!

For hundreds of years, God’s people, the Israelites, celebrated Shavuot, not realizing it was a shadow of the Holy Spirit coming to live in us and unite us as God’s family.

The two loaves in Leviticus, offered during Shavuot, can remind us of how Jesus brings all people—Jews and non-Jews, or what is called gentiles—together through His love and the gift of the Holy Spirit. God’s plan was always to make us one family, forgiven and filled with His Spirit.

Sometimes, God’s plans aren’t always clear to us. Sometimes, it isn’t even fulfilled in our lifetimes. Even though we may not always know God’s plans, we can know one thing, His plans are for our good and not to harm us, but to give us a hope and a future. So, follow the plan of the LORD, even if you’re not quite sure where He’s leading you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Join His Plan.

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Seek True Friendship

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

[9] Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. [10] For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! [11] Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? [12] And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Trusting other people is one of the hardest things for me. Why? Because people will always let you down. It’s in our human nature. We’re not perfect so we often fail ourselves and others. This causes me to not want to let others in. I’ve tried to have close friends I can depend on but things always end negatively. It’s exhausting. The Devil knows this, so he whispers “You’re better off alone.”

If the enemy can isolate you from the rest of the Church, then he can better keep you from reaching your full potential. So, he uses people around you in order to hurt you. To convince you that you are meant to be alone, but don’t believe it. Don’t give in.

Even though people will let you down and they will hurt you, you can’t separate yourself from the Church or the world. We are the light of the world and the salt of the world. We are called to be in the world but not of it and one with the Church, as we are one body in Christ. Therefore, guard your heart, strengthen your discernment, and pray for relationships.

Pray the LORD will send good, loving, loyal people into your lives that can grow with you. People that will build you up and that you build up. People who will rejoice in your victories and you can rejoice in theirs. People who don’t want to cause you stress or anxiety but want to be a shoulder you can lean on and a hand you can hold in, and vice versa.

The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy but God sends people into your life that can help you and you can help.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek True Friendship.

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Don’t Miss Lessons

2 Timothy 3:16-17

[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

I’ve noticed a recurring argument from the world. If Jesus didn’t address a sin, then it doesn’t actually count as a sin. This is an argument of desperation in order to ease the conscience of those living in sin. When our conscience screams the Truth at us, it’s difficult to continue until you silence the Truth in you with lies. Here’s the problem with that, not every teaching of Jesus was recorded (John 21:25), and not every teaching was necessary for the Jews of Jesus’ day, as it wasn’t a part of their culture.

This is why Paul had to detail each letter to the specific city he was writing to. This is why the Bible is really just several different writers writing to several different people facing several different sins and circumstances. So, when we isolate the Bible down to simply what Jesus verbally said during His 3 ½ year earthly ministry, we miss a lot.

Jesus never spoke about, or at the very least it’s never recorded addressing rape, incest, pedophilia, etc. Shall we overlook all of these sins as well? Of course not. When we try to limit the Bible down to one writer, speaker, or book, we miss out on so much. We miss out on the entire heart of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Miss Lessons.

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Turning A Cheek

38 You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. ~ Matthew 5:38-42

Turning the other cheek is one of the hardest teachings in the commands of Jesus. It forces you to completely deny and crucify your flesh. Your flesh wants to defend itself. It wants to get revenge. We can see this from the very beginning. Repaying evil for evil, with no restraint. This was the purpose of the Law of Moses.

God began reigning in the flesh by confining revenge to “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth,” so that no one would take a life for an eye without facing punishment again. God was preparing us for His final Law “turn the other cheek.”

See, we are called to be the Light of the World. The World hates us, because it hates Christ whom we represent. Therefore, in order to reach the world, we must not act like the world. The world doesn’t fight fair. It’s manipulative, deceptive, and wicked. If we give into our natural urges to slap back and get revenge the world will respond. It will call us out. It will hold us to a standard it dare not hold itself to.

So, what are we to do? Turn the other cheek. Fight your natural instinct. How? Remind yourself that no revenge can compare to the vengeance of the LORD God Almighty. So, be different. Be Christ to the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Turn A Cheek.

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Help Carry Their Burden

Romans 5:5b

“…because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

By the grace of God, we are now no longer weak or powerless, but rather, we have been empowered by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into our hearts.

We are to love others as Christ has loved us. We are to be Christ to the world. How? Christ stepped in at our moment of helplessness. In other words, when we were weak, when we were powerless, Christ stepped in to help us. Therefore, we are to help others when they are weak.

We are to bear each other’s burdens. How? Through prayer, fasting, and worship together. Through being the shoulder to lean or cry on. We all need someone to help us at some point, therefore, we should always be willing to be that help for someone else.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Help Carry Their Burden. 

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Don’t Write Off

John 3:16-17,

[16]  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

Have you noticed that in comics, movies, books, etc, that no villain was born evil? Each villain had just one really catastrophic, life-changing event that they couldn’t come back from. One tragedy that consumed them. The Joker, in The Batman (2004 animated series), famously said:

All it takes is one really rough day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one really rough day.

As Christians, it’s extremely difficult to write people off as just a nuisance, useless, or a villain. It’s easy to just look at them as a hopeless cause not even worth trying to help. But this isn’t the message of the Gospel, this is the lies of the enemy.

No one is born a monster. Monsters are created by consuming circumstances. In the world, it is hopeless, but with Christ nothing is impossible. He breaks every chain. He frees every jailed soul. The world may see a hopeless, useless, villain, but God sees a soul He has created for a purpose.

Therefore, don’t look at people without compassion. Don’t label them as the world does. Share with them the love of God in hope that a seed may be planted and grow into a tree of faith.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Write Off.

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Honoring Sacrifice, Finding Strength

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).

On this Memorial Day, we pause to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in service to others. Their courage reflects a profound truth Jesus spoke in John 15:13—there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others. This holiday invites us to reflect not only on the sacrifices of service members but also on the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who gave His life for our salvation. Both remind us that love, at its core, is selfless and sacrificial.

As we remember those who died for our freedom, we’re also called to consider how we live in response to such sacrifices. The freedoms we enjoy—whether to worship, to love, or to pursue our purpose—come at a cost that someone else paid. Similarly, the spiritual freedom we have through Christ’s sacrifice calls us to live with gratitude and purpose. Yet, living out this calling can be challenging. We may feel weary from daily struggles, uncertain about the future, or overwhelmed by division in our world. In these moments, we can draw strength from God’s presence, just as Isaiah 40:31 promises: those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, soaring like eagles, running without weariness, walking without fainting.

Memorial Day is a time to honor, but also to recommit. How can we honor the fallen and Christ’s sacrifice all at the same time? It might be through acts of service, praying for peace, or extending love to those around us. But either way, it commands us to do something, say something, and be the light. As we place our hope in God, He equips us to live lives that reflect gratitude for both earthly and eternal sacrifices. Today, let’s hold space for remembrance and ask God to renew our strength to love sacrificially, as He does.

Father, thank You for placing me exactly where I was born and where I am now. It is because of Your grace and Your mercy that I heard the Good News of Hope in Jesus Christ Your Son. Thank You for Your grace and Your mercy, for without it, where would we be? Thank You for the freedom that we have in Christ, in Jesus’ mighty name I pray, amen.

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Honoring The Price of Freedom

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us … (Romans 5:6-11).

As we approach Memorial Day, we pause to honor two profound sacrifices: the death of Jesus Christ for our spiritual freedom and the lives of brave soldiers for our national freedom. Romans 5 reminds us that Christ died for us when we were weak, helpless, and even enemies of God. His love didn’t wait for us to be worthy—it met us in our brokenness. Similarly, our fallen heroes laid down their lives not for a perfect nation, but for the hope of freedom, justice, and a better future for all.

These sacrifices come at a great cost. Jesus gave His life to reconcile us to God, securing our eternal freedom from sin and judgment. Soldiers gave their lives to protect our nation, leaving behind families who carry the weight of their loss daily. Freedom—spiritual and earthly—is never free. It demands gratitude, responsibility, and action.

Yet, we see challenges today that dishonor these sacrifices: injustice, misuse of resources, and neglect of veterans and the vulnerable. As believers, we’re called to honor Christ and our fallen heroes not just with words, but by living out their values—standing for truth, caring for the hurting, and uniting in love against division.

Father, thank You for Your great love, that while we were still sinners, You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die for us. Thank You that we can enjoy freedom in Him. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Bear

John 15:1-6

[1]  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. [2] Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. [3] Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. [4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. [5] I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Jesus isn’t talking about the world when He refers to the branches that will be cut off. Jesus is talking about the Church. Jesus is the True Vine and we are the branches. If we bear fruit, the Father will prune us, so that we might bear more fruit, but if we don’t bear fruit, then He will cut us off and throw us away.

What fruit is Jesus talking about?

Galatians 5:22-23

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

If we don’t bear these fruit then we cannot remain in Christ. We are called to bear all of these fruit, but at the very minimum, we are called to bear love. If we don’t bear love, then we do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Love is the foundation for every other fruit, and is the fruit absolutely required in order to remain in Christ. Therefore, don’t be deceived by man-made doctrines, we must work in Christ if we are to remain in Christ. The gift of salvation is free to everyone who believes but to continue in the faith means you must do more than believe. You must change. You must bear fruit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bear.

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