PJP2 PROLOG - 161120 - PROLOG Focus: Proverbs 3:3-8........BREAD - PJP2 PROLOG POST - 161120 - BREAD - Proverbs 3:3-8 (ESV/emphasis added)...."Let Not Steadfast LOVE And Faithfulness forsake you; Bind Them around your neck; Write Them On The Tablet of your Heart. So you Will Find Favor/GRACE And Good Success In The Sight Of God and man. TRUST/RELY In The Lord With ALL your Heart, And Do NOT LEAN/RELY on your own understanding. In ALL your Ways Acknowledge Him, And He Will Make Straight your Paths. Be NOT Wise in your own eyes; FEAR The Lord, And Turn Away From evil. It Will Be Healing to your flesh And Refreshment to your bones.".... BREAD.....how often I take BREAD for granted. I mean when you think about an average American meal, there always seems to be a BREAD (or derivative thereof) included. When we go to an eatery, frequently the first 'course' that is brought out is either rolls, or perhaps a small loaf of fresh-baked specialty bread, or maybe muffins. Go to one of the myriad of fast-food operations and almost every 'meal' has BREAD associated with it. Subway shops have a full-range of different BREAD. When we look at the Exodus Story, the Israelites, recently Delivered from bondage, began complaining to Moses in regards to their 'lack of meat and bread'. God The Father Heard their cries and Responded..... Exodus 16:4 (ESV/emphasis added)...."Then The Lord Said to Moses, 'BEHOLD, I AM About To Rain BREAD From Heaven For you, And the people Shall Go Out And Gather A Day's portion Every Day, That I May Test them, Whether they Will Walk In My Law or not."... Granted, The Lord Had an Expectation of His children - what I am Hearing The Holy Spirit Share is His Goal was That His children would Focus on The GIVER and not The Gift. (Something we'll ponder more during His First Advent Season next month). Then we come up to what our Lord Jesus Stated with Regards to BREAD..... Matthew 4:4 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."BUT Jesus Answered the evil one, 'It Is Written, “‘Man Shall NOT Live by BREAD Alone, BUT By Every WORD That Comes From The Mouth of God.’” So, this has got me to thinking, with regards to my own LIFE.....What BREAD am I most RELYING on? Am I most RELYING on the physical provision of daily bread? Am I focused more on The Gift rather than The GIVER? My Goal Is and Will Continue to Be to FOCUS on The GIVER, Appreciating The GIft, BUT Recognizing His Gift To us Is With His Intention that we Be A Blessing to others, as He Blesses us. Just as our Lord Jesus Shares with us in His Model Prayer for us...."Give us This Day our DAILY BREAD, And Forgive us our debts, As we Also Have Forgiven our debtors." As we Receive His Daily BREAD for us, Let us Also Be Open to His Application of Forgiveness within, around and through us, that we too May Share His BREAD to us with those in Need of His BREAD as well. Not to be repetitious....BUT my Prayer for us today is a Repeat of our Prayer of Thanks today...... "Our Father In Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name. Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done, on earth As It Is In Heaven. Give us This Day our DAILY BREAD, And Forgive us our debts, As we Also Have Forgiven our debtors. And Lead us Not into temptation, BUT Deliver us From evil." In Your Son's Holy Name we Lift Up our Prayer of Thanks....Amen and Amen....jaj