Through the Bible - Psalms 116-119:48, 1 Corinthians 4
Good morning,
Have you gone through long stretches where day by day you felt that you didn't have the strength to make it through?
There's an ad on TV for a particular medicine that advertises taking one pill and your good for the month. Often in these situations we'd like to offer a prayer and receive the strength for the month. Unfortuantely (fortunately?) with our prayers it doesn't seem to work that way. God gives us strength, spiritual food, one day at a time, our daily bread.
For today's verse we'll go to Luke chapter two and part of the Lord's prayer.
Luke 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread. NKJV
J.R. Miller wrote in "The Building of Character" in 1894:
One secret of sweet and happy Christian life--is in
learning to LIVE BY THE DAY. It is the long stretches
which tire us. We say that "we cannot carry this load
until we are eighty--or that we cannot fight this battle
continually for half a century." But really, there are no
long stretches. Life does not come to us in lifetimes; it
comes only a day at a time. Even tomorrow is never
ours--until it becomes today; and we have nothing
whatever to do with it--but to pass down to it a fair
and good inheritance in today's work well done and
today's life well lived.
It is a blessed secret--this of living by the day.
Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy--until
nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard--for
one day. Anyone can live sweetly, quietly, patiently,
lovingly, and purely--until the sun goes down. This
is all the life which we really ever have--just one
little day.
God gives us nights to shut down the curtain of
darkness on our little days. We cannot see beyond
--and we ought not to try to see beyond. Short
horizons make life easier, and give us one of the
blessed secrets of noble, happy, holy living.
We ought not to be content to live otherwise--than
beautifully. We can live our life only once. We cannot
go over life again--to correct its mistakes or amend
its faults. We ought therefore to live it well. And to
do this, we must make every day beautiful, as it
passes. Lost days must always remain blanks in the
records; and stained days must carry their stains.
Beautiful days make beautiful years, and beautiful
years make a beautiful life!
Think back to when Jesus fed the 5000 and they had 12 baskets (actually lunch box size) of bread left over. Jesus provided one day's supply for the disciples.
In having just enough for the day we learn to be dependent.
David wrote in Psalm 42
Ps 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? NKJV
It's the same principle, deer need water daily to survive. Spiritually we are like the deer, like the disciples who were being taught this prayer, we need spiritual food daily.
Are you drawing from His Word and prayer daily or are you trying to be a spiritual camel trying to get by on taking water once a week or once a month?
"As your days--so shall your strength be."
Deuteronomy 33:25
In Christ,
Mike
Luke 11:1-5
The Model Prayer
(Matt 6:9-15)
11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one."
NKJV
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