"Your right hand upholds me...."

  Psalm 63:6-8  "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.  Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."  (NIV)

The psalms are filled with comforting words.  David was a remarkable song writer.  he wrote down words from his heart that have helped generation after generation of people who read them for their comfort and wisdom.  His words remind us of the comfort and safety we feel in the presence of our God.

He upholds us.  I just looked up the meaning and synonyms for the world "uphold"-----confirm, support, maintain, continue, sustain, preserve, protect, keep, hold to, keep alive, keep going, strengthen, nurture.  That's quite a comforting list!

 This is what God does for us.  He does this with his "right hand"---Jesus!  We can rest and think about our God safely at night and sing in his shadow by day because Jesus is upholding us every minute, every hour. 

Thank you God for your ever-present presence!  Thank you for your sustaining and upholding grace in Christ Jesus.  amen

Clothed in Christ...

  Romans 13:14  "Rather clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."  (NIV)

We worry about the clothes we wear each day---do they fit?  Are they appropriate?  Do we feel comfortable and like how we look in them?  How will others think we look?

The Bible tells us to "clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ."  What we "wear" on the inside is more important then our outward appearance.  Maybe we need to apply these questions to our Christ clothing---Does it fit our role as a child of God?  Are our actions appropriate as a follower of Christ?  Do we feel comfortable with how we appear to others in Christ's name?  Will Christ show through us, rather than the world by our actions , words and thoughts?  To defeat the world and the sinful nature we have to "wear" Christ at all times.

Thank you, Lord, for giving us your nature to clothe ourselves in when we face the world.  Help us to always show your nature to others and not our own sinful nature.  Teach us to wear Christ clothes at all times.  amen

"I am the Bread of Life"...

 John 6:51  "I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats this bread he will live forever.  This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."  (NIV)

John 6: 35  "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."  (NIV)

"Bread, in the Scriptures, is a symbol of spiritual life.  Man has an inborn hunger for God.  He cannot be satisfied with anything less then God."------Billy Graham

Each of Jesus' "I am..." statements tells us something important about him.  He is our bread---Living Bread, Bread of Life.  He is the answer to our spiritual hunger for God.  He is the food that will continue to satisfy our longing for God and that will nourish us. 

Not all food nourishes.  Some foods are "empty calories" and cannot really sustain life.  Jesus can.  Jesus has all that is necessary to give us life----eternal life.  He gives us the Father.  All we need of God is found in him.  Jesus tells us that we are "blessed" when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, because we will be "filled".  All of him, all of God, given to us through our Bread of Life.  Filled with righteousness, through him. His sacrifice for the world is ours if we choose to "eat it". 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, Bread of Life, for feeding us with your body and blood.  Thank you, Father for the grace you bestowed upon us in Jesus Christ. amen