(Note: thanks Daryl Anderson for the thought!)

I attend a group zoom prayer group every Wednesday morning. This morning before we ended our leader Daryl asked us if we had been to the bakery today, and to make sure we went. Just like that, I got an idea for a post.

I love a lovely loaf of bread. My favorite type is sourdough. There is something about the flavor and the texture that has me enjoying it, especially when it is warm. It satisfies me to the point that I have to fight with myself not to have another slice (and usually I lose the fight). But think of going to a bakery. It is chock full of many scrumptious baked goods, and if you get there early enough, the items are still warm. That lets you know the quality of its freshness. The ingredients were just mixed to form a dough of tasty goodness that warms your day with your favorite cup of coffee or tea; what a lovely combination! But you have to go to the bakery to get your delectable delights, hence the question: have you been to the bakery today?

Now the bakery I am talking about is not literal, but spiritual. The bakery I am talking about has bread that you can eat, a bread that the inner parts of you need, and you need to go on a daily basis. In fact, you may need to go to this bakery several times a day, many times a week. Now this bakery contains something that will not make you physically fat, but with cause your spiritual self to be pleasantly plump. Here are some products you can have:

• Deuteronomy 8:3 – He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
• Isaiah 55:2 – Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good and you will delight in the richest of fare.
• John 8: 32-35 – Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

The bread I got from the grocery store is tasty, but it will not assist me when I need to make life decisions. It will not comfort me when I need encouragement, and that bread is not in my cupboard to give me hope.

God’s bread is different.

It is manna that is from heaven, specifically made for the human soul. Israel needed food for nourishment as they travelled through the wilderness. It not only aided them physically, but provided hope that God is a provider for anything they needed. When Jesus hit the planet, he informed the disciples that it was not Moses who provided manna, but God who gave the true bread, and that bread gives life to the world. Jesus describes himself as the bread of life, and whoever partakes of that bread will no longer be hungry. This bakery is Jesus, who provides sustenance for inner hunger, answers for everyday life, a bread that will not mold or get hard. This bread sustains.

So, while I love sourdough bread, I will daily go to God’s bakery and partake in the bread that provides life for me. How about you? Be encouraged to do so…