The Best Bread

In my early years, I lived in a town with a major bakery distributor. On certain days, the sweet smell of freshly-baked bread was strong. To a bread lover like me, the aroma was a pleasure.

Bread has been called “the staff of life” for good reason. Just think of how many ways bread is prepared and eaten around the world. It’s such a life-sustaining basic that some even use the word as slang for “money.”

When I pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), I’m thankful for my daily food, but today God impressed me to value it differently.

Let’s consider a couple of Jesus’ dealings with bread.

During His forty days of temptation and fasting in the wilderness, Satan tried to tempt Jesus to prove He was the Son of God by turning stones into bread (Matthew 4:1-4). Jesus replied, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

He was concerned with people both spiritually and physically. Take Luke 9:10-17, for example. He was trying to get away with His disciples, but crowds followed them.

Jesus taught spiritual principles for hours and healed many people. As the day was ending, the disciples said, “Send them away so they can go find lodging and provisions.” But, Jesus said, “You feed them.”

"With what?” they asked. "What do you have?" They found five loaves and two fish. After Jesus blessed their meager findings, all the people were fed.

You might eliminate bread and live on a low-carb diet physically. But spiritually, the same principle does not apply. We are to live a balanced life in both areas. 

Healthy spiritual values require taking time to read God’s word.

Some do it in the morning and others in the evening. The issue is not the time of day; the important thing is commitment.

Find time to get deeper into God's word than just a daily devotional. That's more of a snack to keep you going until you can sit down for a meal.

Make it your goal to say like the psalmist, “With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments” (Psalm 119:10).

Pixabay: Bread, Candy, Pies; aureliofoxrj.

Honorable Equality

We hear a lot about equity and equality these days. But perfection in these two areas is not possible, for various reasons.

First of all, physical differences create male/female identity. People also differ in their thought processes and emotional makeup.

Another difference appears in gifts and abilities. For example, we have statesmen, nurses, doctors, entrepreneurs, and skilled laborers. They can be either male or female. But while education and training vary from one skill to another, no one person is more important than another.

Consider this question:  Can two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place? (The MSG, Amos 3:3). Whether you are a couple or a business or sports team, there must be agreement on goals.

A good leader listens to others, considers what to do, and then shares his plan. With people in agreement, each does his best to help the plan succeed.   

There is also more to walking in agreement? While using our gifts to help one another, we are also to love and honor each other (Romans 12:6-8, and 10).

Every team needs a leader. In marriage, the husband is to be head of the wife, but he is not to be a tyrant. He is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and was willing to give His life for her (Ephesians 5:23-28).

My husband and I worked through a rough patch after I stopped telling him what I thought and he stopped asking. We were looking for housing in a new ministry when I started to cry. He asked, “What’s wrong?”

I said, “The Lord gave me a warning to share with you but I didn’t do it because I thought you wouldn’t listen anyway.” He was shocked, and said, “Well, share it with me now,” so I did.

He said, “Promise me you will always tell me what you think, and I promise to listen before I make a decision.”

It was a fresh start. This honoring of one another became mutual submission out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21). That set us on a renewed path for a happy marriage of fifty-two years. Praise the Lord!

Let’s aim for honorable equality, doing it as unto the Lord, not just unto man (Colossians 3:23-24).

  

A Useless Spin Cycle

A USELESS SPIN CYCLE

We have a lovely new washer with a glass lid. Sometimes I get satisfaction out of seeing the spin cycle throw off water. It makes the clothes easier to dry. But there's another spin cycle that only makes me laugh.

We were traveling to Idaho to visit friends. Some other friends said, "We're going north, too. Can we follow you to the Oregon border?" We said, "Sure. That sounds like fun."

Now and then we would stop so they could walk their cute little dog. It was fun to eat together, and sometimes we shared the map while planning the next break.

My husband was in the lead with our little Toyota Echo when we arrived in Boise, ID. The city was unfamiliar to us and we were trying to stay alert to one-way street signs. My husband kept going around and around the same blocks. He finally pulled into a parking lot.

Our friends pulled in behind us. When they got out they were laughing. "We wondered when you would ever pull out of that spin cycle."

We had to laugh too, because spinning around the same blocks was not getting us anywhere. The action was totally useless.

A Real Life Spin
As humans, we deal with another useless spin cycle. I doubt there's anyone who has managed to avoid it forever. Some people pass it off as a joke. They say, "I don't worry about anything. I'm just overly concerned about everything."

There are plenty of things beyond our control and lots of opportunities to feel anxious or worried. Sometimes it's about our current situation. Other times it's about the future. We worry because we don't see any forthcoming answers or changes for the better.

A spin can start off slow, but once in motion it creates its own energy. The result affects people in different ways. Some get uptight physically. Some lose sleep. Others find it hard to concentrate. And, of course, worry never brings a sense of joy, only frustration.

Have you ever had your washer get off balance during the spin cycle? It makes a disturbing sound that says, "Get in here. Change things around!" Mental spin cycles require some help to change, too.

What to Do
Ask yourself, "Is there anything I can do to change the situation?" If there is, do it. If not, begin to redirect your thoughts to positive things. Do not allow worry to continue its mental spins.

I've heard people say, "I do what I can and trust God to do the rest." There's some balance in that. Instead of being lazy or presumptuous, they are wise. While using foresight to plan for the future, they recognize their limitations and turn to God for help.

My mind was in a useless spin cycle this week. When I realized what my worry was, I took my own advice. Changing the cycle from negative to positive was worth the effort, but it took more than one adjustment to balance my load.