Bible verses for reflection and prayer.
Since thinking about and writing on John 6: 35, 48 and 57 previously, I have reflected on doing as Jesus advises – to feed upon His flesh, which means that we need to be very close to what we are feeding upon. But more than that, there has to be an opening and shutting to allow the food to go in the body and not spill out again. For the physical body, that is the mouth, which we intentionally open, to place food and liquid into, and intentionally close again, so that food does not spill out. The food then goes through the digestive tract for mechanical processing and chemical digestion; so the nutrients can be transported to the very places they are needed, all over the body. That process is only interfered with in the cases of illness.
To draw the analogy with physical food and the process of eating this food, with assimilating spiritual food, how far can we go? Firstly, the spiritual food has to get into the body, so it can be processed and used beneficially for and by the receiver. Revelation 3: 20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” Jesus Himself tells us the author of the teaching, Revelation 1: 1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.” It is Jesus who wants to come into my life and interact with me, but He does not force Himself, therefore He needs to be invited in, which because He is God and can read minds, I can do prayerfully in my mind, or by using my voice audibly. Jesus through His Spirit can then give me His thoughts right into my mind. The ‘door’ to my heart, which is really my mind, are my eyes and my ears; which is a solemn thing, because apparently we always have buried in the mind, things we have seen and heard, so it is important to make them such as do not counteract the input from God.
Further teachings from Jesus whilst walking this earth, from the book of John 6: 40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” V 44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The bread that Jesus is imparts full spiritual nourishment and will give eternal life, whereas temporal bread nourishes the body and does not give eternal life. V 58 “This is the bread which came down from heaven – not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
John 14: 6 and 7”Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
V 26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
I praise the wonderful name, of my Saviour for His freely offered Spiritual nourishment, and for ‘the Helper, the Holy Spirit’ who comes to us, at our invitation and in all ways teaches me and leads me to you.