Jesus had been fasting
for forty days. When tempted to miraculously supply for Himself bread to
sustain His physical life, His scriptural response to the tempter was taken
from Deuteronomy. There we are reminded not to think that our survival depends
upon bread alone, for that is at best only sufficient for the physical being,
but that true life in a man, is produced by adherence to “every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. It is a common mistake among humans to
judge and measure our sufficiency and success by physical, temporal and fiscal
factors alone. We usually consider a person to be successful, when they have
money, own property and are generally ‘well-off’ in physical, financial terms.
God measures by a different yardstick, and clearly being economically well
placed, does not amount to being spiritually successful or wealthy in God. Many
are financially rich and socially well positioned, but are yet destitute in
their soul, empty of godliness, impoverished in spirit and untouched by the
grace of God! Having all that satisfies the physical needs and wants, does not
preclude the necessity to seek that, which is essential for the health and
wealth of our mind, heart, soul and spirit. ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’,
as a divine principle, reaches into the deepest recesses of our human intuition,
and tears out all our pre-conceived ideas and ideologies! It destroys the
endless human pursuit of the tangible, material and temporal world only, and
lifts our gaze to a higher plane. It is there we see the bigger picture. God
made man to be more than just a physical being! His mind, soul and spirit
require life giving sustenance also, and that ‘food’ can only come from the
word of God! No other source will do, no spiritual life can result from the
philosophies and thoughts of man. The human replacements of man’s wisdom to
feed the mind, human experience to feed the emotions and pseudo spiritualism to
reach the soul, cannot bring to man the spiritual and eternal life God had
intended for him. Without the spiritual plane of life given by Yahwah, we have
only a temporal physical existence and are brought face to face with the futility of our struggles and briefness of our earthly survival! We need divine, heavenly
food, for true life on earth, for worship and service unto God, and for life
eternal. That is what we were designed and created for, and nothing short of
fulfilling our created purpose will satisfy. Man shall not live by bread alone,
for that life will soon pass and an eternity of death will follow - unless
during this brief passage on earth, we realise, accept and make ours the
eternal life which comes from hearing and obeying every word that proceeds out
of the mouth of God!
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
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