Bread of Life and Living Water

Habakkuk 3:17-18, New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.,  "Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls- Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." John 6:27-65,(NKJV)  27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” 41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life.49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” 61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said,“Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” John 3:3-18, (NKJV) 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[b] have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 4:10,13, 14 (NKJV) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” My Comments: The passage in John shows God's mercy and His purpose for us, it is what shows us the hope and the reason for singing and finding joy in all things. I grew up in the Russian Orthodox Church the same Church that my Great-Grandfather was Priest of. Though I knew God the Father as my Father and I knew Jesus came and died on the Cross for the sins of the whole world, I did not know Jesus as my personal Savior. I was taught that when I was Baptized at forty days of age, and was a good person, I was going to heaven when I died. I am so glad I did not die before learning the truth of God's word (I am not saying it is so for others who are of this faith. I am just stating how it was for me). Just before 9/11 happened here in the United States I was in a Catholic Cult called Soldiers of the Eucharist, that believed the teachings much the same as I had grown up with. Before going to work one day I was watching a television program and came to understand what "Accepting Jesus as my personal Savior" meant. Years before when raising my young children there was a movement here in the US called the "Jesus Movement" and they often talked about accepting Jesus as Savior and being "Born Again." No one ever explained what they meant and because I was Baptized as an infant I thought, "Well, I'm saved because I've been Baptized and I go to Church." Oh, Loved Ones, I was so very wrong. Baptism does not save. It is an outward sign of what has happened on the inside of those who believe in Jesus the Messiah as having gone to the Cross to save us from our sin and babies cannot profess Jesus as Messiah. Going to Church, even for ones whole life, does not save one from Hell. Being the "good" person does not save one from Hell. Only being Born Again, and accepting Jesus as our Savior, saves us. Jesus went to His people Israel to let them know their Savior and the worlds Savior had come to bring them out of the bondage of sin; to let them and the world know He was the awaited Messiah. In John 6 He tells them He is the bread of life (:35, 48) referring to His body which He was going to offer in sacrifice. And His blood was drink (:53, 54, 55) and the Living Water (John 4:10,13/14) and unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood then we do not abide in Him. In other words if we do not accept His sacrifice, accept Him as our Savior we do not abide in Him and He is not in us and we do not have the Living Water or the Living Bread of Life nor are we Born Again. When I finally understood what Being Born Again was, I accepted Jesus into my heart accepting His Sacrifice for my sin. I confessed my sin and gave my life to Him. Years later I realized how important (not to salvation but to show others I believed in Him) it was for me to be Baptized not as an infant (that is not a Biblical teaching), but as an adult who understood why I was being Baptized. My husband who had been raised in the Catholic Church, also saw the need to be Baptized as an understanding adult (though some young children do understand infants never do yet infants can be dedicated to God but never Baptized) and we were Baptized together with other believers. Jesus is the Bread and Water that sustains me and it is He who sustained my Husband and Friend, until he went home to be with our Lord. He will sustain me until I one day go home to my Lord and Savior. Loved One I pray you, too, will let Him take your burdens and sin upon Himself and accept His Sacrifice and become His. Ask Him to forgive your sin, ask Him to be your Savior and to come into you. Ask Jesus, for His Living Water and His Bread of Life. Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit and you will be an adopted child of God our Abba (Daddy). He waits for you and longs for you. He loves you no matter what you have done. Turn from sin and turn to Life Eternal in Jesus the Messiah. Spend the rest of your life praising Him and thanking Him for His Love. You will find Love welling up in you because He will be in you. Decide to follow Jesus and your life will be so much more than you could ever have imagined. The song I hear on the radio right now is saying..."The Cross before me the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back." This has been my life. He sustains me and builds me up. Though the world turns against me I will never turn back. He is my all in all and life would not be anything with out Him. May it be so for you my Beloved. Abba, touch each and everyone who reads these words that they may come to know and accept Your Son, Jesus, as Lord and Savior. I pray they will give themselves to You and turn their lives over to You who loves them so much. You are our Father and You desire the best for us and the best is to be with You. Help us to live our lives serving You, praising You, and bringing glory to You. Sweet Jesus, fill us with Your Holy Spirit to guide and teach us so we may live our lives in honor of You. Thank You for Your Sacrifice and for loving us so much You came to earth to die upon the Cross, be buried and rise on the third day conquering death so we may rise to Heaven and be with You and the Father eternally. Abba thank You for sending Your Son that we might be redeemed. Lord Jesus thank You for sending the Holy Spirit who teaches and comforts, guides and fills us with Your joy, In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Rebishka