"our Daily Bread" Series

Our Daily Bread

In the fourth appeal of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray; “Give us this day our daily bread..” Today, we are going to take a close look at this particular appeal and see if we can gain a somewhat better understanding of just what we should be meaning when we are saying; give us this day our daily bread.

How many of you know what it is like to lose your job? It is probably one of the most traumatic experiences that people have to face. The loss of a job has even caused many to commit the most desperate act there is; suicide. What is about a job that when we lose it, we feel such a loss that some may even resort to something so drastic?

Well, to answer that we need to look and see just why a job is so important--what does it mean to us? For one thing, it affords us some sort of “security” in life. A good job reduces the need for us to worry about having enough money to eat and pay the bills. It also provides the money that we need to spend on the things that bring us pleasure. And it’s not just the money either--for many, a job also provides them with the feeling that they are needed-- that they are accomplishing something worthwhile. There is no doubt that those who have a good-paying regular job have something that most people desperately want. In fact, the only thing that separates us from some of the homeless people walking the streets today, is a “good job.”

Now to go along with a good job, we would love to have something called “job security” wouldn’t we? How secure is your job or career?....Probably not as secure as you might think. I’ve seen people that have been employed with the same company for many years lose their jobs almost overnight. And all of a sudden, they are not drawing that nice salary that they’re used to, they’re not living in that luxurious home, and driving that expensive car. In this life, we never know what might happen that can change everything in the blink of an eye.

The big thing now is the Y2K or the year Two Thousand. People are storing up all kinds of supplies and enough food to last for years because they think that there will be some great disaster beginning at 12 midnight on December 31. Well, the truth be known, some of those same people are not going to live to even see the year 2000 roll around. Imagine the chaos

they would feel if they knew that.

Brothers and sisters, what I am trying to say is that we live in a world full of uncertainties. We have no clue what might happen to us in the next year, month or even minute. It’s not too hard to understand why some people walk around scared to death wondering if perhaps this day will be their last. But you know what, that fear that so many people have is minimal

to non-existent in the lives of the followers of Jesus Christ.

With the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to depend on our Heavenly Father for our every need. We pray; “give us this day our daily bread..” In other words, we are looking to God for all that we will need to sustain us for how long? One day. There was a hit song that I know all of you are familiar with entitled “One Day at a Time.”

Beautiful song that had a great message--one that I believe has helped a lot of people through some very tough times. This song reminded so many that they were not alone in this world and that, no matter how bad things seemed, that their Lord was going to provide them with what they need to make it through one day at a time.

I used to watch that show Rescue 911, and on almost every episode someone was saved from certain death. And it seemed that they would always interview the people at the end of the segment and asked them how has it affected their lives to have come so close to death? An overwhelming percentage of them said that they looked at life a whole new way. They

said that they now thought of each new day as a gift from God. Many said that they now realized that life was too short to be worrying about different things that used to lay heavy on their minds--they, in effect, said that they were now living “for the day.” Is that how God wants us to live?

Well, if we go back to Exodus when God rained down manna on the children of Israel we will find that He didn’t do what perhaps most of us would have done--He didn’t drop down a whole month’s supply at once--no He gave them what was needed to sustain them for.. how long?-- one day. In fact, some tried to save a portion of the manna for the next day but the