Chapter 8: verse 3... used by Jesus to counter Satan's temptations in the desert (see Matthew 4:1-4)... also this concept was used by Jesus when He began teaching the people that He was the 'bread of life' (see John 6:25-59)... also this verse reminds me that sometimes God allows difficulties in our lives to refine us and to draw us into a deeper relationship with and reliance on Him.
verse 4... yet, during those hard times, God still lovingly cares for us and meets all our needs.... maybe this is so we know we can fully trust in Him, and maybe it is also so we can devote our full concentration on learning all that He has to teach us, instead of getting caught up in the insignificant things in life... do we take God's gift of time and blessing to really learn what He is saying, or do we look too far ahead and allow our minds to wander to unneccessary worry instead
verse 5... we are God's children... and He disciplines us out of love (see Hebrews 12:5-13)
verse 7-9... remember that all the hard times are building our character to prepare us for the good God has in store for us (see Romans 5:3-5)
verse 10... 'taste and see the Lord is good' (Psalm 34:8)... praise His goodness!... interesting to see that it appears that prayer for the meal was given after enjoying God's blessing? Is that so we can truly be thankful for all He has done? What about praying before hand as a way of offering a prayer of faith in knowing all the good God is going to do? Why not both... before to show that we know God is faithful in His goodness... and after to thank Him in acknowledging that yes, in fact, He HAS provided and blessed us yet again? I do not think we can pray/praise too much and I believe that we do not even come close to praying/praising enough (see 1 Thesselonians 5:16-18)
verse 12-18... we must remember that all God does for us is from Him, not from ourselves... God brought us out of the slavery of our sin, so we should praise Him and thank Him regardless of our material blessings (James 2:5; Revelation 3:17-21)... He is our Savior and Creator, so to Him be all glory and honor forever! (Revelation 5:12-14)
verse 16... 'so that in the end'...we must remain focused on our end being eternal, not what we see here (2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-18)
verse 19... you will have NO other gods before ME (says the Lord)
In His Love,
sandJ
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