Food that sticks to you

Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend. If you wish to be removed from this e-mail list, simply hit reply and write REMOVE in the subject line.

Scripture: John 6:27 (The Message) “Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by “God the Father to last.”

In my freshman Boys Health class, we are studying habits that determine our lifestyle. In the past few weeks, we have studied nutrition and fitness. Each week, we write down the positives and negatives of our habits. Some kids realize that by missing breakfast in the morning, they are sluggish until noon. Some kids see that they do not have any energy because they don’t exercise regularly or get enough sleep. The one habit I tried diligently to get them to stop was the drinking of energy drinks. Bad stuff.

Jesus has just spent all day teaching in a spacious meadow near Galilee . At the end of the day, his disciples count 5,000 men (so maybe as many as 15,000 including women and children), and they report back that the people have no food to eat. Jesus realizes he and his men have to feed everyone. Philip tells Jesus that the money they have in their treasury wouldn’t feed very many people. Peter finds a young boy who has five barley loaves and two fish. Jesus then performs a miracle by feeding everyone, with plenty of leftovers.

The next day, the crowd follows him by boats across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum . Jesus scolds them because they are just looking for another free meal. Instead, he warns them to feed their bodies with nourishment that will be longlasting. This kind of food, he reminds them, comes only from that which Jesus can provide. We spend far too much time looking for easy snacks that will get us through our day. We think too much short-term and not enough long-term.

How do we find food that sticks to you? It takes work, and it is not easy. It takes commitment to keep seeking the right kind of spiritual nourishment we need for our bodies to grow strong and healthy. Seeking Jesus is an every day thing, and there is no rote routine in place for us, such as what the Jews had with their daily rituals. What Jesus wants is for us to turn to him every day, from morning to night. And not just when we are needy or when God answers our prayers, but to wake up and praise him for another day, to appreciate the job you have that pays the bills, to sit down at a meal with your family and be thankful that we have food on the table, to open our Bibles and study who Jesus is, and to serve our neighbors who are in need. That is what God guarantees will last.

How does this apply to my life?

Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to seek you out today. Help me to thank you for the spiritual nourishment you give me daily. Amen

Doug Mead
Parenting Solo

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Vol. 3, No. 160

This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/november.asp?version=51