Give us this day our daily bread

DAILY READING

 James 1:9-16

Sermon Discussion Notes

DEVOTION / REFLECTION

One Day at a Time

by Elaine Pierce

What do you worry about? My guess is that you don't worry about having enough to eat every day. (In fact, most of us worry about having too much to eat!).  And yet, Jesus tells us to ask our father for our daily bread. And in these verses in James, we are encouraged to remember that 'every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.'  The food we eat is certainly one of the good and perfect gifts from God.  

And you will note that our wealth - whether we are rich or poor - is not tied to our status with the Lord. In verses 9-11, he turns upside down our usual perception of rich people having a higher place in society and those in 'humble circumstances' being considered lower. Oh, no - he tells us that the rich man will fade away.  

So what do we do with this information? We recognize that all we have comes from God.  We ask him daily for what we need. We recognize that we will face temptation, but we turn to God and remember that he chose us and he loves us. We put our trust in his good plan for us, not in storing up earthly treasures that will not last.  

I wake up every morning knowing that I will have plenty of food to eat. I need to be reminded that every meal I enjoy is a gift from God. When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, God gave them manna to eat, but just enough for each day's needs. When they tried to gather more than they needed, by the next morning the extra was full of maggots and began to smell (Exodus 16:20). They quickly learned their lesson. God is faithful - trust him.  

So, too, must we as we ask God for our daily bread. Again this week, I am sharing an old hymn with you that I pray gives you strength and encouragement to trust God every day.  Day by day.  

Day By Day and With Each Passing Moment