Give Bread to the LORD

There is some literal as well as figurative meaning in the giving of bread to the LORD. This morning I am still in the book of Exodus as I study the word “bread”. In this morning’s passage I am looking at the Israelite “Contributions for the Tabernacle” as it is titled in my bible. Moses brought God’s command to provide for the building of the tabernacle. Everything was to be given from the metal (gold, silver, bronze…), fabric, jewels, craftsman skill, to the bread on the table.

Moses outlined all that was to be brought freely for the building of the tabernacle to the LORD. This is the givings of the figurative bread to the LORD. The people were to share of their blessings back to the LORD who provided those blessings to them. They were blessed with gold, and silver and bronze, jewels, and skills and Moses commanded them from the LORD to give back to the LORD. Aren’t we to do the same with our offerings to the LORD. I have been blessed from the LORD to have what I have and it is only right that I give a portion of that back to Him as an offering to the LORD for Him to do with and provide for others.

And now to speak of the literal bread given back. The people were to provide the bread for the table in the tabernacle. They were to ensure that the table of the LORD was properly provisioned with the bread. Fresh bread daily for the LORD as provided by the people of the LORD.

“¹³the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence;” — Exodus 35:13 (ESV)

Now for me in today’s world, there may not be a need to provide the bread for the LORD, but the need for bread is still there. I can and should not just be providing the monetary blessings that God has given, but I should also be providing the blessings of nourishment. It is “easy” to give money to a cause or project. There is little work in writing a check. But providing with food creates more ownership in the work being done for the LORD. It is one thing to provide a gift card for the homeless, but to make them a meal and serve it to them is more involved in the provision. Even buying and bringing is more meaningful.

I can remember many times I have seen someone begging for money on the side of the road. One time in particular, I had just come from a fast food joint where for some reason I bought an extra item that I really did not need (but was going to eat anyway). I came across the person begging for money and I gave them my extra item instead. The look of shear amazement on their face for providing for their immediate need and giving something of myself was fantastic. I was blessed more so and it is so much more memorable that if I would have simply given them $2-3.00.

I have been called to make contributions of bread to the LORD. Some of those contributions are monetary in nature and some are more personal for the giver and the receiver. I can and should be giving of all the blessings from the LORD. Whether those blessings are of metal, jewels, skills, or even of the sustenance value attributed to the actual bread.

What have you been giving to the LORD? Are you simply writing the checks? What if you were to give of the physical and more literally fulfilling to others?

The LORD Hears and Provides

I believe it is pretty well known and accepted that the LORD provides for our needs. He knows what it is and then provides to satisfy those needs according to His plan. He will not allow us to go without provision. And yet, He will listen to us even in our time of complaint.

“⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, “Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.”’” – Exodus 16:9 (ESV)

This is certainly demonstrating that the LORD is truly listening to our everything. He hears all that we are presenting. Whether positive or negative, know the LORD is hearing. I have to remember that all of my communication with the LORD is just what He wants from me. He want to hear from me and He wants to have the relationship with me. I have to bring all to Him and He will hear and how it fits into His plan will provide.

In the above scenario, the LORD was providing for the people of Israel, yet they were still not satisfied and He could hear their “grumbling” and complaints. And so what does the LORD do, he provides in the way that only He could do so.

“⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.’” – Exodus 16:4 (ESV)

The LORD was literally providing daily bread for the people of Israel. Each morning there would be, on the ground the bread they would need for the day and then, as in the passage, it would expire and new would be provided the following day. The LORD had heard the people’s cries and provided for the need they had, daily.

Too often, there is a sense of despair in the minds of man. We tend to be dependent on ourselves for our needs when we should be lifting our needs to the LORD knowing that He will provide for them in His way. I have to remember not to tell the LORD how to, only ask Him to do so, knowing that He will provide in the way that is in line with His plan for me.

It is fully okay to speak with the LORD and let Him know of our petition. He will provide in His way for the needs we have. I have to remember not to put up guardrails for God to work within. I have to allow Him to work in His way and not mine. I have to know that the LORD will provide for my needs even when I seem to complain about the perceived lack coming from Him.

What complaints do you have for the LORD? Are you letting Him know and having that conversation with Him about those complaints? What if you did so and allowed Him to provide for your needs in the way that He does even to satisfy your complaints and “grumbling”?

That Which is Given

This morning I am reading in Genesis on the blessings given to Abram by Melchizedek, and I have begun a study on the word “bread”. As I read, I see, in the passage that Abram was given the bread and wine by Melchizedek and he was given blessing by Melchizedek and he would only take that which was given by the king of Sodom.

“¹⁸And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) ¹⁹And he blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;…²³that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich.” ²⁴I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.’” – Genesis 14:18-19, 23-24 (ESV)

Abram did not “take” anything that was not given to him. Here we see that the bread and wine, blessings, and the food and men were given to Abram. Abram lived with the blessings that were bestowed on him from the LORD. All else was left to those to which the belonged.

This passage got me to thinking: God gives to me and that is where I gain all that I have. Mind you, I am not rich in the sense of monetary value. I am what is considered middle class and make do with that which I have, so to say that I am rich, is that I am rich in the glory that God has bestowed on me. I have been given all that I have by the LORD as He has made me rich.

There are a lot of things that I could be done to make me rich. I fight with what I could have at all times. So much would it be nice to just go and do at all times without concern for cost or financial ramifications. But as I sit here this morning, I have to remember that it is not about being rich, but being content and knowing that all that I have or will have are the result of the blessings from God. He provide the bread and wine and all of those things that I “need” to do His will here in this world. God GIVES me all that I need and for that I am to be grateful.

What do you have and where did it come from? Did you get all of it on your own? What if you recognized and accepted that God gave you what you need and frankly gives you everything?

God Promises Fruitfulness, Now Act Accordingly

I have come to the last entry in my concordance with regard to fruitfulness, which means I will be moving to another word to study in God’s Word. Today I have the honor of learning to act accordingly. God made the promises that He would make me fruitful thanks to my reverence, obedience, and fear of Him. Now it is up to me to follow through and live out my end of the promise and He will certainly live out His end.

“¹¹And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” – Ezekiel 36:11 (ESV)

The above is from Ezekiel’s prophesy to the Mountain of Israel. Ezekiel foretold the fruitfulness that will befall us. I am grateful for having God’s Word to read and review and learn from. I know what is to be going on with me and my life and relationship with God. I will fear, be reverent, and be obedient to Him and in turn, He will make me fruitful and multiply.

The thing I have to remember is that God’s promise of fruitfulness is contingent on my acting accordingly. I will not receive the blessings and then have the opportunity to worship Him. I worship Him and then He provides. I have to do the work, knowing that God will do His part according to His promise. This all starts with my giving of my life to the LORD by accepting His gift of salvation. And once I have accepted salvation, I am driven to continue in awe of the LORD.

The LORD has promised to provide for me. He will make me fruitful and will bless me as I wander this world. It is up to me to act according to those ways in demonstration of my love and reliance on Him.

What are you doing to act accordingly? Are you expecting God to do His part and then you do yours? What if you were to do your part and be in fear, be reverent, and be obedient of/to the LORD and KNOW the He will fulfill His promise of fruitfulness?

God Changes Us Then Makes Us Fruitful

I recently wrote about God making us fruitful. Now that is correct, there is a bit more to it. God does not just make us fruitful, before that He changes us. When I look at the three men God made fruitful in my previous writing, He first changed them. Adam was created, Noah had his life and world turned upside down, and Abram had his name changed by God. All of these where significant changes to the men and then, after the change, God made them fruitful. This continues this morning with Jacob as God changed his name to Israel and then made him fruitful.

‘¹⁰And God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.’ So he called his name Israel. ¹¹And God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.’” – Genesis 35:10-11 (ESV)

Now, I want to be careful that changing your name does not get it done in the eyes of God. It is not about the name you have. It is your heart that is where the change takes place and you are then made fruitful. These men all were changed in their lives and at that point they demonstrated to God that they indeed were different. It was not a momentary thing, but something that came about over time. They were truly changed.

Doesn’t that happen with us as well. I know that I have changed a number of times over my years. I was saved, I got married, I had children, I have been studying God’s Word more intently, I have grown content. All of these have certainly made me different over the years. And that is the thing, it has taken years for these changes in me to be realized. It all did not happen in an instant. And neither did the changes for the men discussed above.

I am not saying that God has revealed to me the change and has said I would be fruitful, at least that I am aware (with me it take a sledge hammer to the head). What I am saying is that before we can be fruitful, we have to be changed. We have to do away with the old self and take on the new self and allow God to do the work in our lives to bring us around to the change manifestation. Once we are changed, we will then be made fruitful by God.

What change have you realized in your life? Were you expecting to be fruitful without making or experiencing change? What if you leaned on God, allow Him to change you and then accepted the idea that He will make you fruitful?

God Makes us Fruitful

It is not something that we do for ourselves, although it may be something that we believe we are in control of. I have a job and I earn money and that makes me fruitful. I have the common sense to be nice to people and multiply goodness to them and that makes me fruitful. I am the one who provides for my family and ensures that they have what they need to be successful and that makes me fruitful.

“⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” – Genesis 17:6 (ESV)

God did not say to Abraham that he, Abraham, would make great nations. What He said was that He, God, would make Abraham into nations. God would make Abraham fruitful. God controls it all for me as well. My success. My fruitfulness. My growth. My provisions. All of it is granted by God. He makes/made me what I am.

Don’t get me wrong, I have work to do in order to realize all that God has made and promised for me. I have to follow His commands. I have to do His will. I have to ensure that I am always moving toward Him. And when I am, I will be blessed with fruitfulness all around me. God will ensure that He keeps His part of the covenant He made with me.

God makes us. From the beginning in day six to eternity He makes us. Not just our form, but our entire selves. He makes us even to be fruitful in the growing of His kingdom from here on earth to there in heaven. I am made fruitful by God and not of my own.

Where does your fruitfulness come from? Are really believe that you are in control of you being? What if you allowed God to continue as He did on the sixth day of creation, to make you all that you are and will become?

Be Fruitful to the World

“¹And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.’” – Genesis 9:1 (ESV)

Upon Noah and his family exiting the ark following the flood, God gave him a task to “fill the earth”. And that is what was done. We know this by our simple existence here in this world as God’s flood of the earth removed all others from it and left it to Noah and his family.

Now, Noah and his family filled the earth that they knew, the one that was where they were. He did not send His sons to the “Americas” to fill here, but he and his family filled the world they were in obedience to God and knew that God would do the rest.

I have to remember that it is my duty to “fill the earth” beginning with the world I am in. I believe that is one reason that I identify with the church vision of where we as a family attend. We long to see “A gospel movement that reaches every person in the hill country and is carried to the ends of the earth.” We are not being fruitful in all the earth, just our little corner of it and then it is carried further, allowing for our filling of the earth. It all starts with doing the work where we are.

I do believe that too often we do not recognize and realize the impact we make or can make due to our want to do the big thing. I have to remember to be fruitful where I am and do the work of the LORD here. I have to allow for God to work through me where I am and not ignore the need right in my backyard because I see a “bigger” more “visible” need in the yard over there.

God calls on me to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”. Even when calling on Noah, He called on him to start right where he was and do the work there. I am called to do the same, do the work in the world I am in.

What are you maybe not doing because you are looking to far away? Are you focused on making the big splash? What if you did the work where you are and filled the earth by starting in the world you are in?

Fruitful with and Multiply Good

This morning I have moved to the study of the word “fruitful” and what better place to start my study than where I was lead in Genesis chapter 1. With every step in God’s creation of the world, He recognized that it was good. He saw that light was good, land was good, vegetation was good, fish and animals and even man was good, very good. In all of His creation, God saw good.

This being the case, that all is good, I see also in God’s Word, that he wanted fruitfulness and multiplication. Although as I read, I can only think that there may be more being fruitful and multiplying than just extension of the species. I can think, as I mention in the title of my writing this morning of being fruitful and multiplying good.

Let’s dig in a bit. It is not in the nature of animals to be evil toward one another. Violence in the animal kingdom is meant for food and for dominion in the area (defense of that area). So the animal kingdom is made up of good and that good is spread throughout the species. With man, we hold the same as we are of the animal kingdom, only we are gifted free will from the Father.

As man, I am to spread (multiply) goodness throughout just as the other animals. The difference is that I have free will to do or not do the spreading. God has given me the option of doing so and it is up to me to be the example of Him and spread goodness. I was created good and am filled with good and it is my duty to spread that good throughout this world. God did it with His creation of the world and I am to continue His work as I live in this world.

“²⁸And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:28 (ESV)

It is easy for me to sit here and believe that all of this was meant for me. Even reading God’s Word where He says that I, as man, am to have dominion over all living creatures. Yet it is not specifically mentioned to “fill the earth” with men and women. I feel as I am to “fill the earth” with good and multiply that good over all living creatures on this earth.

God created good with His creation of the world. It is my duty to be that good and spread it far and wide.

When you think of fruitful and multiply, what comes to your mind? Are you thinking of your being and you? What if you took the chance to take that which God created, goodness, and spread that far and wide?

God Awaits Our Prayer

Oh how much it seems as though I am waiting on God to act on my behalf. But, what if I am waiting for something that I have not given to Him and therefore there really is nothing I should be waiting for. Although, doesn’t God already know that which is in my heart without me even speaking?

“¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

— 1 Peter 3:12 (ESV)

God is waiting on me. He is paying attention to me like I did/do with my boys. I watch them and watch them as they move through this world and am always at the ready when they call. I am here to help them when they are in need. I am waiting for them to cry out for my help. God is doing the same with me. He is watching me and guarding over me and will step in when the time is right for Him to do so. Otherwise, He will simply wait for me to cry out that I need His help and then He will be right there.

Just because we are struggling a bit does not mean that we need help. Sometimes we will just have to work through it and learn from the struggle and the resolution to move forward to the next thing. God wants us to succeed, yet He is only going to step in when it is something that we are not able to complete or we need the extra boost that only He can provide. If God were to do all things for us, what would be learn from that.

And yes, God knows what we are in need of, even without us saying it. The thing is, He still wants us to reach out to Him in prayer. I mentioned earlier that I am/was always watching my boys. I know them (as well as I can of course). I know when something is not right. And yet, I am not able to jump in and help without be asked. God wants to hear from me. He wants me to ask. Even if I do not know what to ask, I have to pray to Him and let Him know that I need His help. When I open to Him in prayer, my needs are understood and He is there to provide for those needs in only the way He can.

Maybe, just maybe, it is not that I am waiting on God to jump in and help. Maybe I have missed the step of reaching out for help through prayer and He is waiting on my petition. I have to ask for help in order to receive it. And yes, God knows what I am in need of, but I have to come to Him and open my heart to Him. When I do, I may not know what to ask for, but He knows now that I am seeking His help and He then jumps right. God is awaiting my prayer.

What are you in need of? Are you just expecting God to jump in and help and cannot understand why He has not as of yet? What if you went to Him in prayer to let Him know that you are in need of His help and allowing Him the opportunity to jump in?

Pray for One Another

There is definitely more to it than just what I have in the title this morning. It is our duty and frankly the right thing to do, praying for others that is. We are to bring our petitions to the LORD and He will grant them. So, even if we do not know of a need in the world, we are to come to the LORD and ask Him to do His will. But, there is another element that I believe to be of great importance. We are to pray for one another with the needs that they have brought to us.

“¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” – James 5:16 (ESV)

James writes here of praying for one another related not to the unknown, but for the known. I am to bring my needs to my brothers and sisters and ask/allow them to take those needs and lay them at the feet of the LORD. I am to take their needs to the LORD. We are to petition the LORD on behalf of one another.

“¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” – Matthew 18:19 (ESV)

I come with another in petition for them and the LORD will take action. I have to be willing to bring the exact needs of another and do so with them. The LORD will know that we are together on the petition and will fulfill His promise as He made in the verse above. Yes, the words above are those of Jesus and when He speaks, He promises.

So, when I pray, I pray for the unknown that the LORD will do His will in this world. I must also pray for the known that is shared from others. We should pray together and bring it to the feet of the LORD and He will take action as He promises.

What needs do you have that you have not shared with another? Are you out there trying to go it alone? How much more would you give with sharing with another and bringing your petition to the LORD together and allowing the LORD to take action as He promises?