Our Daily Bread

Smack in the middle of the Our Father the Lord Jesus placed the Fourth Petition: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

What did the Lord Jesus mean by this? We usually hear from this the wonderful explanation that Dr. Luther supplies in the Small Catechism.

However, considering the context of the entire prayer, could it be that the Lord was teaching much more to us as His disciples?

Consider His declaration to the Jews in John 6:26-35.

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? What dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

With this declaration from the lips of the Lord, does the Fourth Petition sound richer and fuller? Is there a reason that this sits in the middle of the prayer that He gave, saying, “When you pray, pray this”? Could it be that the Lord means for us to receive this petition as more than the center of the prayer but also the very foundation of our life of faith?

Since Jesus declares that faith in Jesus is the work of God, does it not seem fitting that He would teach us to pray that our Father in heaven would daily give us this bread of faith for our life in Him?

Wouldn’t you agree that this is “food” for thought?

Battle at Kruger

My brother made me aware of this very interesting video from You Tube.



Certainly this incident has some valuable lessons to teach for those who are perceptive.

New Life

With spring comes new life to the world. Three days ago I found this baby robin in our flower bed. Upon my first discovery of this little baby it showed no fear. Now it hides in the bushes while Daddy and Momma do their best to draw my attention to them.

New Sermon Archive Format

I have redesigned the 2007-2008 sermons archive page in the hope of making access to the year’s sermons easier. Now all the sermons for the year are available for selection from one page rather than selecting by seasons of the Church Year.

What Will I Find Today?

Yesterday, as I was trimming bushes for a customer, I encountered what is pictured below.



Before finding this litter of five kittens I heard a very disconcerting sound. Momma kitty growled with such a low pitch and fierce growl that a shiver ran up my spine. Such sounds are not what I generally encounter coming from a bush! She ran half way across the yard, stopped to stare at me, and then disappeared. I told her that she scared me, but also acknowledged that I probably scared her even more. She turned and disappeared.

I wondered why she would act as she did and began to look for an answer, very cautiously, not knowing what to expect. Then I saw the five little balls of fur wriggling and trying to look up. Their eyes were not yet fully opened, mere slits staring up at me. Their little legs were too weak and frail for them to stand and run away. I was glad to discover them, for I could easily have stepped on them unaware of their presence, as Momma had carefully hidden them under the branches of the bushes. One step from within my big boot would surely have injured all five.

As I began speaking to the little ones, they became comfortable with my presence, even attempting to crawl to me by the end of our encounter.

This makes me ponder how it is with the Lord and us. We are unable to find Him, but He comes to us and comforts us with His voice through the preaching office. We hear His Fatherly attitude toward us and we learn that the fear that we are to have of Him is not one of terror, but a holy fear that engenders trust. Sadly, however, because we often have such poor discernment, other voices can be mistaken as His. Thus we need to be cautious, working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Always alert, we will search the Scriptures concerning every voice, to be certain that we are being led always and only to the pure administration of the Gospel and Sacraments. Then we may rest peacefully in God’s tender care.

Chuck Baldwin Interview

Finally, an intelligent, articulate, constitutional, and credible candidate!



This video and other discussions are also available at Chuck Baldwin For President Forum and Freedom Money Bomb.

Public Educational Institutions versus Faith in God

In an article at WorldNetDaily entitled:

BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS
Prof to student: Keep the faith, lose the grade
Teacher thinks it's his job to get class to change personal beliefs

it is reported that a student at Suffolk County Community College, Gina DeLuca, is being punished by her professor for her consistent expression of her belief in God.

The American Center for Law and Justice, ACLJ, is calling for concerned citizens to sign an online petition of protest.


The ACLJ has added this update.

Dean Martin & John Wayne Tribute

Today, while visiting the Kansans for Life PAC website, I saw this little nostalgic tribute by Dean Martin and John Wayne.

A Candidate for President

The Constitution Party had its nomination convention at the end of April and now has its nominee for the upcoming presidential election for the United States of America.

Chuck Baldwin was nominated for President and his Vice Presidential running mate is Darrell Castle, an attorney and Vietnam War Marine Corps veteran from Memphis, Tennessee.

Chuck has published a column in which he states what he will do if elected as the President of the United States. You can read his column at “If I Were President”.

Also of interest is the Constitution Party’s platform.

I have mentioned this platform in a previous post entitled, Constitution Party Platform. At that time I knew considerably less about the Constitution Party, but I have since learned more about it and I believe that I now have a party with which I agree in most areas. It certainly represents what I know of the Constitution far better than either the Democrat or Republican parties and their candidates do.

I offer this post and the accompanying links for any who would like to investigate Candidate Baldwin’s and the Constitution Party’s positions.

Pro-Choice

The so-called Pro-Choice movement leaves a person who ponders this objectively wondering how on earth such an atrocious lie could be blindly accepted by so many.

If at any stage the baby’s choice is considered, what would that choice be?

Those seeking to eliminate the baby’s choice had MANY opportunities to choose prior to the baby’s conception. But what choice is afforded the baby in this matter?

When you ponder this matter, at what point in your conception would you judge that your mother should have been granted the authority to terminate your development?

I have seen bumper stickers that say,

I’m PRO-CHOICE and I VOTE!

Bewildering!