Our Daily Bread
In Matthew 6, Jesus’ disciples ask Him how they should pray. So Jesus teaches them a very simple prayer that covers the basic areas of life. Jesus’ model for prayer orients our hearts toward God and His kingdom work on earth. And in the middle of that prayer, Jesus prays, “Give us today our daily bread.”
What Jesus is showing us is this: God wants us to bring everything to Him in prayer—even the small things. God cares about us and our needs.
This prayer also points out that it is God who gives us good things and provides for us. While it may seem like we earn our own basic necessities, it is actually God who gives us our breath and our ability to work and earn a wage. God even created the very food that we eat.
Everything we have comes from God. That means we can spend time in prayer thanking Him for what He has given us, and talking to Him about our needs.
What’s significant is that Jesus doesn’t ask for God to provide His needs for tomorrow or next week —He only asks for His needs today. Our whole life can change in an instant, and things we’ve stored up for years can be taken away. But Jesus teaches us to depend on God to meet our needs day by day. Dependence on God takes trust—but when we trust in Him, we end up living by God’s power and provision rather than our own.
Take some time today and thank God for what He has given you. Thank Him for taking care of your basic needs each and every day, and ask God to continue to meet your needs each and every day. Consider how you can live with an increasing awareness of God as your provider. He loves you and cares for you.
Truth Changes Everything
Think about the best news you've ever received in your life. Maybe it was a doctor walking into a waiting room and saying, "The surgery went perfectly." Maybe it was a phone call that said, "You got the job." Maybe it was two lines on a pregnancy test you'd been praying for.
Good news changes everything.
But none of those moments, as incredible as they are, even come close to the truth delivered on the first Easter morning:
"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."
Matthew 28:6 (NIV)
Jesus had been crucified publicly, brutally, and officially. He was wrapped, sealed in a tomb. There was no question. Jesus was dead. It was true.
But when His followers Mary and Mary Magdalene arrived to grieve? The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. And an angel met them with the most stunning announcement in human history.
But the angel doesn’t just tell the women the truth. He invites them to look for themselves. To step inside. To experience the...