Not Just the Same Old Same Old

Numbers 11:4-9

And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:

But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

Not Just the Same Old Same Old

We humans have an amazing capacity for creativity. Look at the world around us. So much of it was built by human hands. From the soaring skyscrapers to the internet, from sourdough bread to mp3 players, from Farragut to Picaso, to Gates to Nightengale, we are surrounded by the fruit of applied imagination.

Yet, we can become so bored so easily. We even become bored with things that are good for us if they become routine. Exercise for some (ok, for me) is a good example of this. Going to church every Sunday is a good example for others. There is an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. If we are not careful, the things and people closest to us can become objects disdain and discord.

This isn't new. The children of Isreal were given food every morning. Bread from Heaven covered the field with the morning dew. It tasted like 'fresh oil' according to the passage in Numbers. But, despite the provision, after years of eating mostly manna, they became discontent. They longed for the fish and the onions they had while in captivity.

Oh, we can scoff at their ingratitude, but aren't we guilty of the same thing? How many times have you turned to God in an hour of distress only to go back to your old habits shortly after the matter was resolved. We cry out in tradgedy, but when we are recovered and in a season of repose, we turn back to the same behaviors that ushered in our distress. Diets don't fail, our consistency does. Relationships don't stop working, we just stop working at the relationship. Friends don't disappear, we just stop reaching out to them.

Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The question is have you grown bored of this Bread of Heaven?

If your life in Christ doesn't seem to matter much, I suggest that you may be turning your back on Him. It's not that He is less satisfying or less sweet. We just loose sight of the magnitude of the Gift we have in Him.

Taste and see that He is sweet, good, like fresh oil at every encounter. I dare you to see Him with new eyes. To consider Him in the light of His sacrifice and majesty. Like the close relationships we can take for granted, you have to choose to yeild to Christ. You have to choose to appreciate Him in your life and you have to make that choice each day.

Otherwise, your mind will wax nostalgic for what you left behind when you turned toward Christ. You remember? The loneliness? The constant, insatiable hunger for purpose? The nagging ache of listlessness and lost? Boy, weren't those good times when you gave in to every impulse and came away from every experience hungry, broken and empty?

I thought not.

The new Manna, the True Bread of Heaven is ready for you to gather. You don't have to store Him, because He is fresh everyday. You can give Him away because He will meet your need in abudundance. Take Him in and you'll never hunger or thirst. Give Him out and you'll never lack.

Fellowship serves up fresh Bread regularly. If you're in the Atlanta area and you are not affiliated with a church body, I invite you to join us for our regular feasts at Fellowship. There is always room and plenty to share. Afterall, you can't grow if you don't eat a good diet.

Psalm 119:103-108

How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.

Peace and Bread of Heaven
Evg. Stephanie Robinson

Lifeline is the evangelistic ministry of Fellowship Church in Jonesboro, GA.

The church website is www.fcchosengeneration.com. Feel free to share this message. For questions or to subscribe, send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com. You can reach the church at chosen.gen@att.net.

Fellowship Church
Where Passions Become Reality
Because you are a CHOSEN GENERATION!
455 Hwy 138, Ste C
Jonesboro, GA 30238
Alton Watkins, Pastor