Basic Building Blocks
Forward	I love food, and I'll bet you do. The interesting thing about food is this: if you don't eat, you'll die. The Sprite soda commercials had an interesting slogun: "Obey your thirst." So what do we do about spiritual eating? Jesus said that His words were food and life, and that He - The Word - was the bread of life. If you're a young Christian - born-again not too long ago - then this is the perfect place for you to start! Also covered are some secrets to grow in the Lord fast!
Index	What is Daily Bread? Prayer Point Five: Bread Alive Bread from Heaven: A Background Why Daily? Hearing from God Growing Fast: Training of a Champion What is Meditating on God's Word? Scalpels and Swords: Sharpening Your Skill
What is Daily Bread?	Nothing beats the aroma of steaming-hot fresh bread, straight from the fires of the brick oven. There can be remarkable flavor from freshness! Consider how you would frown if you were in a restaurant and you were served cold, stale bread. It has no warmth, no life - nothing that sparkles the senses and tickles the taste buds! It's rock hard, and cold, and good for nothing other than throwing it back at the waiter! There is a a spiritual bread that we should be consuming daily in order to grow. Deut. 8:3 says, "Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the of the Lord...." Thus, daily bread speaks of the Word of God. Our daily Bible reading can be vibrant and enjoyable if we have a heart to hear what God will speak. Psalms 85:8 says, "I will hear what the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly." The Word read daily can bring change into our lives and do a "maintenance cleansing" and lead us and guide is in every contingency in our lives!
Prayer Point Five: Bread Alive	In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus taught His disciples the manner in which they should pray: The Lord's Prayer Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. We can see here on the fifth point on the Lord's Prayer that God wants to provide for us daily. Isn't it good to know that God wants to speak to us through His Word and reveal His wisdom and counsel to us on a daily basis? And His words are so wonderous that they affect a powerful and continual change in our lives, making us more like Jesus. Just as natural bread (or food) helps our bodies grow, the Word of God - our spiritual bread - helps our spirits grow! John 6:32 - Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 - For the bread of God is He [that's Jesus!] which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.... John 6:35 - And 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. Here, the Jews traditionally thought that Moses fed the Children of Israel, but Jesus corrected their thinking, showing them that it was really God who fed them. God will also feed us too, naturally and spiritually.
Bread from Heaven: A Background	Let's go back in time to the generation in the times of the Book of Exodus. Here's the background: God delivered the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt from a life of slavery. They passed miraculously through the parting of the Red Sea, and their enemies pursuing them drowned to death as God closed up the waters! Then God began to feed them on a daily basis some bread from heaven! This almost perfectly parallels our own lives in these modern times. We were at one point slaves to sin. God washed us of our sins with the Blood of His own Son. Through our obedience in water baptism, the power of those sins that held us was broken as we identified with Jesus' death, and then His resurrection. Our Enemy, Satan, no longer has power over us! Then God feeds us on a daily basis in His word! Exodus 16:14 - And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15 - And when the children of Israel saw it, they said on to another, It is manna: for they wist [or "knew"] not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. Here, every morning, God sent bread from heaven. It was probably light and fluffy like a puff - who knows? But the Children of Israel were fully nourished - for 40 years in the wilderness! Do read the whole of Exodus 16 and catch all the little details and how it perfectly parallels our relationship with God in our time.
Why Daily?	We need a daily infusion of the Word of God because we need to know what God is saying to us today and have His power and pertinence in our lives. Many Christians go around telling the younger generation, "I remember how God moved back in 1906." Yes, but what about now? If our faith fails to be current, not only will it become a historical faith, but we will become history too! How will we grow into men and women of God if we don't "eat" on a daily basis? Do you want to stay a spiritual baby for the rest of your life? Or worse yet: a midget? Can you imagine how rediculous you'd look in the natural: a very old baby - an adult in diapers - cradled by your mother. I shudder at the thought! Now, some cults and churches teach that if you do not read your Bible daily, you will lose your salvation and go to hell. Beloved, if you attend a church that must use fear to mobilize its members, then it is probably best to find another church. 2 Tim. 1:7 says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and of a sound mind. Incidentally, these cults and churches tell you to "fear the Lord" but the word "fear" in its original language does not translate to being "afraid" of God (which is a bondage in itself) but rather being incredibly "reverent" to a God who has done so much for us! Exodus 16:19 - And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20 - Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 21 - And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating.... Here, the Children of Israel gathered their bread on a daily basis. If they tried to eat old bread, it stank and became worm fodder. God uses this as an illustration to teach us that we cannot live on yesterday's manna. We cannot live on a substitute of the real fresh thing! In other words, daily devotionals or what a preacher said can only serve as a dietary suppliment and not a food replacement in your life. You simply can't live your life based on someone else's Bible reading. We all have to hear from God ourselves and read the Word ourselves!
Hearing from God	Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Interestingly, the word "Word" used here is not the Greek word, "logos" which speaks of the written Word, but "rhema" which speaks of the spoken Word of God. In order to hear the spoken Word or voice of God, you must know the written Word of God, so you have a means of proofing, validating and identifying the trueness of the rhema. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word of God is quick [or "living"], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Pretty powerful, huh? The Word of God can determine if something is merely a product of your soul (mind, will and emotions) or if it is really God. It's like the ultraviolet scanner bank tellers use to scan large bills, allowing you to see see watermarks and previously invisible lines, etc. The light reveals if it is true or false. In the same way, the Light or revelation of the Word of God allows us to "test/prove all things" and "hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Sometimes the Lord speaks to you straight from the Word! As you are reading, suddenly a verse leaps up at you, and gives you a sense of "YES!". It may either be a really cool verse, or it may be exactly the answer you've been looking for! This happens when the Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding of a particular area of scripture. This is also known as revelation. I personally love reading a whole chapter on Proverbs before entering into a work situation, as I need God's wisdom to guide me. Some of those verses that seem to grab my attention actually prepare me for incidents that I will encounter and give me solid solutions for each scenario! Don't fret if you find or feel that a single verse hasn't leaped up at you at all. Just have a hearing heart. The Word of God nevertheless conditions and sensitizes your spirit so you can hear God throughout the day. Then as you're walking, thinking about something, God quickens to your memory a scripture you had read! And now you know its meaning! Or when you're sharing the Gospel with someone and you are asked questions that are beyond you. The Holy Spririt brings out of you those scriptures you didn't even know you knew! It's exciting when that happens, especially when they say, "Man, you nailed it right on!" So let's dust off that Bible and start reading!
Growing Fast: Training of a Champion	Weight-trainers often take protein powders and amino "fuel" to give them an extra boost of performance, development and growth. What I've found, spiritually, that helps me grow fast is memorizing scripture! Ps. 119:11 says, "Thy Word I have hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." Psalms 1:1 - Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 - But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. 3 - And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Here, we see that meditating on God's Word helps us to grow like a tree, in verse 3. We bring forth the fruit of the Spirit - the character of Christ (Galatians 5:22)! When I was a baby Christian, I was taught to memorize all the scriptures I could find on salvation, and so I did. No sooner had I done that, the Lord put me in a situation to witness to thirteen N.S.A. Buddhists (the ones that chant something like "Nam Myoho Renkai Kyo" which a missionary formerly in India, told me that these were names of Hindu deity. In other words, these are names of demons). They tried to tell me not to belive in God because of the failings of this television evangelist and that telivision evangelist, but God gave me the simplicity and love to talk to them, and I managed to hit home with a few, including one girl who was a backslidden Christian! Not bad for a baby in the Lord, huh?
What is Meditating on God's Word?	"Meditating" on God's Word is not the same as "meditating" in Eastern religions or in the New Age movement in which one tries to approach a calm trance-like low-stress state thinking about absolutely nothing (studies have shown that subjects that meditated in this manner and those who didn't but played with pets had the same low level of stress). Rather, meditating on God's Word is taking a moment and pondering the meaning - to "bug out" as it were on the "awesomeness" of the scripture you've just read, and especially, how it applies.
Scalpels and Swords: Sharpening Your Skill	The more of the Word we have in our lives - the more we actually live out and walk out - means that God can use us in greater ways, to show forth (not show off) His love and mercy and goodness. Romans 2:4 says that it's the goodness of the Lord that leads men to repentance. Anyone, really, can stand on a street corner and yell at passers-by, and shout hellfire and brimstone scriptures and condemn the world to hell. Occasionally, God uses that, but a person does not have to be a yielded vessel to do that. God uses vessels, but in this case, it is like placing a square peg into a circular hole - it doesn't quite fit! A person that has been truly worked on by God to bring out the fruit of the Spirit can convey God's goodness; Godly character conveys God. Thus, anyone can be a "sword". Anyone can just quote the Word and be insensitive to the damage it will cause, or the needs of the person you are ministering to. Not only must we be Spirit-filled but Spirit-skilled. A sword is a weapon of death, but a scalpel is a surgeon's weapon of life. An untrained Christian weilding the Word wildly is like a warrior brandishing his sword, wounding friends at random! A surgeon, on the other hand, knows how to take control of his strength and apply it towards his skill, and use such a deadly instrument to bring life and healing! Memorize scripture, but allow also God to change you with it. Christianity is about caring, and not always correcting nor correctness! There is a saying: "They don't care how much you know; they want to know how much you care." A family that has lost, say, a loved one to cancer is usually the target of many insensitive Christians who just want to give authoritative opinions. We must always show love, not share opinions in these situations. Let us make sure that our motivation is to bring life into a situation and to bring glory to God, and that we correctly convey Christ's character!