'Our Bread'

forgiveness.

One line in the Lord’s Prayer is ‘give us this day our daily bread.’ Jesus is referring to how God provided daily bread to the Israelites in the dessert in the form of manna. God taught them that He cares about their physical needs and will give us what we need to care for our bodies. We can trust God for that. One twist is that the prayer is communal, ‘us’. In other words, God gives us collectively what we need individually. In the wilderness, the Israelites were able to ‘harvest’ enough manna for their families and the elderly. The provision that God gives each of us is meant for the whole of us. There are many people in the world – refuges, countries in civil war, countries struck by famine – who need the provision of the whole to meet their needs as individuals.

Mary Kay and I have supported Compassion children since we were married 30 yrs ago. We have supported other ministries that provide daily bread for those who cannot provide for themselves. I encourage you to consider the same. Some ministries that feed and house people in need are The Methodist Children’s Home, the Salvation Army, the New Orleans Mission, Compassion International, and World Vision. You and I can be the answer to the Lord’s prayer that many of our brothers and sisters pray every day: ‘Our Father, …give us this day our daily bread…’ That is love in action.

Blessed to be a blessing,

Jonathan