Bread of Life



Grains are one of the main food groups. In the past, it was always located on the bottom of the Food Pyramid. This was because you needed to eat more grains than the other foods. Many of our basic everyday foods come from the grains group. According to the dictionary, the staff of life is “a staple of diet; especially: bread”. Just as bread is important today, it was a vital food source in Jesus’ day. For most people of Jesus’ day grains were the main food that they ate on a daily basis. “Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35). This was a major thing to say.

When the Israelites where traveling in the wilderness they ate manna from heaven. Manna was a type of bread that was given to them by God. They collected it 6 days a week. On the 6th day they collected enough for the Sabbath, because they were not allowed to work on the Sabbath day. Jesus said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:41).

Later Jesus says, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Here Jesus is referring to spiritual bread. One way of eating this spiritual bread is by reading the bible. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). In the book of Mark, “Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake [it], and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body” (Mark 14:22). Since Jesus is the word, we can “eat” his body by studying his word and developing a closer relationship with him. It is wonderful to know that Jesus is our daily bread. He will provide physical bread and spiritual bread for each of us, because he is “the same yesterday, to day, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

General Bible Study

The Lions

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“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). Look at the loins in the wild. They never go after the big strong animals or even the baby animals that are in the middle of the large herd. They try to separate the weak sickly animals from the herd or get a baby off by itself. It does not even have to be very far from the group. It only has to get a few feet from safety then the loin is able to sneak in when no one is looking and take the baby or sick animal.
Many times, we think that the devil is out to tempt us with big things. However, that is not what he does. Just like with the animals in the wild, he tries to make you think that going just a couple of feet away from safety is ok. Remember Jesus says that it is the little foxes that spoil a whole vineyard. The big things you can normally see and recognize from a mile away. The little things are not so easy to see or recognize.
However, this is why God says “… be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (I Peter 4:7). This means that you are supposed to stay alert, be mindful, watch out, and pray. Someone who is not sober has problems walking, talking, and thinking. Jesus wants us to be able to think. He gave us a brain so as we can read and think about his word. He wants us to pray for many reasons. One reason is because he can know things that we do not know. He knows where the loin is hiding and what we need to do in order to stay safe. Jesus knows what little thing will pull us away from safety, therefore he wants us to pay attention to the warning signs that he gives us.

General Bible Study 

Beating Out the Fire

In the winter of 1963, my grandparents moved from Winston, MS to Starkville, MS. My Grandpa Marcus Paul, who had never been a pastor of a church before, was now the assistant pastor to a new church. The lead pastor Carol and my grandpa were building a new church. They had cleared the land and built one room of the church house. Now they were working to increase the membership of the new church and finish building the rest of the church. My grandparents lived in a 2 bedroom and one bath small 10ft x 32ft trailer behind the church.  They had two young children and one on the way.

Grandpa Marcus Paul was tongue-tied. This caused him many problems with public speaking. However, he was able to compensate for this. He had an interesting way of making a point. Many times people had to wait until he finished speaking before they understood what he was trying to say because he would start with the most interesting statement. Normally it was also the most unusually statement. This useful strategy caused many people to stop and listen to him.

My grandpa Marcus Paul and Pastor Carol would take turns giving the sermons. Pastor Carol never knew what my grandpa would preach on, but he trusted him. One very memorable Sunday, my grandpa was to give the sermon. After the praise and worship was over, Grandpa Marcus Paul quietly walked to the pulpit and calmly asked the congregation a very disturbing question. Without any major emotion in his voice he asked, “Is it wrong to beat the fire out of your wife?” Everyone in the congregation gasped at such a ridiculous question. Everybody knew that beating their wife was wrong and you most certainly did not ask that question at a small church in a small town. Remember this is the 60’s and you simply did not speak of things like this. Lead Pastor Carol looked at Grandpa Marcus Paul with a questioning look in his eye. Then my grandpa further shocked everyone in that small church house. Grandpa Marcus Paul said, “The other night I beat the fire out of my wife and I did right.” Now everyone was looking around wondering why he had been selected to be assistant pastor. Not only was he tongue-tied, he was a wife beater. They also wondered how he could even think it was a good idea to beat his pregnant wife. Pastor Carol started to get up and take the pulpit away from Grandpa Marcus Paul, but grandpa said, “Let me finish explaining.”  Pastor Carol requested that the congregation let Grandpa finish. After a few minutes, everyone got quiet and sat back down. Grandpa Marcus  Paul started to explain. The only reason Pastor Carol allowed Grandpa Marcus Paul to continue is he personally knew that Marcus Paul had an unusual way of making a very good point. Unfortunately, he was baffled as to how anyone could stand there, confess to beating their wife, and firmly believe that he was doing what God wanted him to do.

Grandpa Marcus Paul continued by saying, “It is not what you do but why you do it. I had a very good reason for beating my wife the other night. By beating her, I saved her life.” Now everyone in the church was scratching their heads and asking each other how beating someone can save their life. Grandpa Marcus Paul continued, “It has been cold lately. We put a space heater in the bathroom. My wife went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. While in the bathroom, her gown caught on fire. She screamed for help. I ran in and grabbed a towel. I then grabbed her arm and commenced to beating her with the towel. After putting out the fire that had engulfed her nightgown, I made sure she was not injured.  Then I calmed her down and helped her finish getting ready for bed. After getting her to bed, I reassured the children that all was alright. I then reminded the children to be extra careful around the space heater.”

She is here today because I beat the fire out of her literally. Therefore, it is not what you do, but why you do it.” After church, many people asked my grandma, if this was true. She answered that it was and explained how scared she had been. Many members of the congregation later expressed regret for their first reaction. If Pastor Carol had not requested that Grandpa Marcus Paul be allowed to explain, the congregation would have thrown, my grandpa out of the church.

My grandpa has told this story at many other churches. Those congregations likewise had the same first impression. They also later expressed regret for jumping to conclusions.  Since my grandpa told me the story, he has past away; however, he lives on through his words and actions. I am sure that no one who was there that day and is still living has forgotten my grandpa’s words. When I am baffled by what someone has done, I remember the words of my grandpa. I also remember an old Proverb that says a wise man listens to the end of the matter, but a foolish man speaks quickly. My grandpa took that proverb to heart. Because of the lessons that my grandpa taught me, I try to listen completely before I judge anyone. It is possible that their actions were based on love or good intentions.  I wonder how many times people hear part of a story and jump to the wrong conclusion. I hope that more people could learn to listen to the whole matter before jumping to conclusions. My grandpa Marcus Paul spent his life trying to teach people to listen to the whole story instead of simple jumping to a conclusion.

Car Trouble

When I was about 7 years old, I lived about five miles outside of a small town with my mom. It had one post office, one gas station, an elementary school, and a small meat market. There were no sidewalks, traffic lights, or streetlights. We did not even have a police station or cell phone towers. There were several churches. In addition, a train track went beside the town. My dad was a long haul truck driver; therefore, he was always gone. Therefore, it was normally just my mom and me. Every Sunday my mom and I would go to church. In own community, all of the churches had two different services on Sunday. There was one in the morning and one at night. Most people, including us, went to both services.

There is one Sunday night that I will remember for the rest of my life. However, it is not the sermon or the singing that I remember about it. I cannot even remember the songs that we sung that night, but we normally sung “Victory in Jesus”. This particular Sunday night stands out in my mind for a different reason. It is the night I first really started comprehending the power of short prayers. I knew that Jesus heard long thought-out prayers, but I did not really know that he heard and answered short, disorganized prayers that are screamed at him. Until this time, I believed that it was wrong to scream at Jesus and expect him to help. Thankfully, I was wrong. I have since learn, that sometimes it really does not matter how you ask Jesus for help as long as you are sincere with your request. I also started comprehending that Jesus controls many things other than wind and rain. I learned all of this after we left to go home on that Sunday night.

Our drive home started out as it had many other times. All of the other people lived a different direction from our home so we said good-by and was on our way. We had to cross the train tracks to go home. We always tried to get across the tracks before the nightly train came through especially in the fall because it was dark outside and everyone knew that it was only a mother and her child in the car. We came to the tracks and started across. The train had not yet come, but it would be coming soon. The car died on the tracks. It would not start. We are the only ones on that road and it is dark outside. The car refuses to start. My mom gets out and tries to push the car. She is not strong enough and I am no help. This is our only car and we live 5 miles further on a dark lonely country road. There are no pay phones around. If we leave the car, there will be a train wreck. If we stay with the car, the train will kill us. I had heard my mom pray many times before, but never like she did that night. She screams for Jesus’ help with fear in her voice. She tells him that we have just come from church, not a bar. She tells him that the train will be here within the next few minutes. She explains what will happen if the train hit the car. All while trying to calm me down. By this time, I have comprehended that we are in trouble. My idea is to leave the car and walk back to church. My mom knows that this will not work because no one is at the church. My mom then calmly tries again to start the car. The car starts. We quickly got off the tracks. After we get off the tracks, we see the headlight of the train. We then thank Jesus for starting the car and ask him to keep the car going until we get home.

When we finally pull into the driveway, the car dies. We are simple thankful to be home. The people that tried to fix the car could not understand how it started back up and then went all the way to our house before dieing again. I knew that it was the answer to a very simple yet very different kind of prayer. The car never started again. It cost more to repair the car than it was worth. It was about a month later before we got another car. At the time, I wondered why my mom just did not ask Jesus to fix the car since the car apparently obeyed him.

About 4 years later, my mom and I were coming home from buying groceries and we heard a loud sound from the car. I did not know what it was, but my mom had a really good idea because the steering wheel no longer worked. I noticed that she could turn the wheel all the way around, but it had no effect on the car. There are still no cell phone towers and whom would we call anyway. My dad was working. So, we prayed. I had already learned that Jesus could control cars and make them work. Jesus answered our prayer. He caused the car to go around all of the curves and make all of the turns between there and the house. Later, a mechanic was able to fix the steering column there in the yard because you could not steer the car.

Now I know that Jesus is there to help, and he answers our prayers. Sometimes he answers them immediately and sometimes it takes a little time. Jesus did not just simple fix the old car, he provided us with a newer better car. He also started teaching me to trust and wait for him and his timing. I saw that when there is no one else to turn to he is always just a prayer away regardless of how you prayed.


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Common Ground For a Better World

The population of this world is about 7,000,000,000 people. About 33% are Christians, about 21% are Islam, and about 14% are Hinduism. That covers over half of the people on earth. Most people would love to leave a better world for their children and grandchildren. This got me to thinking about what these three religions may have in common that could help everyone accomplish the goal of leaving a better world for the next generation. Therefore, I have done a little bit of research to see what some of the basic beliefs are of Islam and Hinduism. I already know the beliefs of Christians since I am a Christian.

I discovered that Islam is a branch off of Judaism. They share many of the same prophets. However, they believe that Jesus was only a prophet. They believe that the Bible has been corrupted, but they do have something that is similar to the Ten Commandments. Here are their commandments.
Say, come, I will recite what God has made a sacred duty for you: Ascribe nothing as equal with God;
Be good to your parents;
You shall not kill your children on a plea of want; we provide sustenance for you and for them;
You shall not approach lewd (obscene) behavior whether open or in secret,
You shall not take life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does God command you, that you may learn wisdom.
And you shall not approach the property of the orphan, except to improve it, until he attains the age of maturity.
Give full measure and weight, in justice; no burden should be placed on any soul but that which it can bear.
And if you give your word, do it justice, even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfill your obligations before God. Thus does God command you, that you may remember. Verily, this is my straight path: follow it, and do not follow other paths which will separate you from God's path. Thus does God command you, that you may be righteous. (6:151-153)

I took note that they have a commandment against killing and lying.

I also looked up to see what Hinduism beliefs are. I discovered that they belief in Karma and reincarnation. That means that if you do good and develop good Karma, you will be reincarnated into a better position. If you do evil and develop bad Karma, you will be reincarnated into a lower position. In there belief it is possible to come back as animals. They also teach that everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions and learn from past mistakes.

For those who may not know, Christians all believe in the Ten Commandments. Which are
'You shall have no other gods before Me.'
'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'
'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
'Honor your father and your mother.'
'You shall not murder.'
'You shall not commit adultery.'
'You shall not steal.'
'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'
'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.' From what I have learned, it would seem that about 68% of the population claims to believe that killing is wrong. When I listen to the news I hear about this shooting and that stabbing. In 2011 there was about 16,200 people killed in the United States of America alone. That is very disturbing considering the number of people who openly say they are Christian, Islam, or Hinduism. Maybe if everyone that claims to believe in one of these three religions would stand up and tell the other 32% of the world population to stop and think about what they are doing, the majority could create a better world for our children. I know that there are so many differences in these three beliefs that we could never agree on everything. However, is it not possible to set aside all of those differences for a few moments and come together on the common ground that killing is wrong? If we stop shooting at each other and stop bombing each other, it is possible that we could create a better world for the future generations.

I am sure that some of the other religions have a commandment against killing.












Common Ground
How to make the world better for our children

Is football becoming an idol?

The other day I was in Wal-Mart and saw something very disturbing. It was a cross with the NFL logo on it. They had used two different types of drink boxes to make the cross with the logo.

I often wonder if Football has not become and idol for many people. They talk about football more than Jesus. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (Matthew 12:35). Therefore, you are going to talk about that which you love. Anything that you place about God is an idol. Some people would rather stay home from church on Superbowl Sunday. That sounds an awful lot like they are placing football before God. 

I do not think it is wrong to play football or watch football. However, we need to be careful that football does not come between God and us. It would be a shame to miss out on the blessings of God because we are too busy watching football to go to church, witness, or read the Bible. 

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Where to see Love

Where to See Love
Someone said show me love; A babyA Baby appeared. Someone said show me work; A babybaby walked. Someone said show me heart ache; A baby cried. Someone said show me patience; A mother smiled.