Bread of Life

. . . wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart.  Psalm 104:15



"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God'".  Matthew 4:4


Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat, clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God."    Genesis 28:20,21


So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water.  And I will take away sickness from the midst of you.  Exodus 23:25


"At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread.  And you shall know that I am the LORD your God . . . So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?"  For they did not know what it was.  And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."  Exodus 16:12b,15


"And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD." Deuteronomy 8"2,3


You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought them water out of the rock for their thirst . . . Nehemiah 9:15

Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to Me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance.  Incline your ear, and come to Me, hear, and your soul shall live . . . For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,  so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55:2,10,11


Give us this day our daily bread.  Matthew 6:11

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat . . . this is My body which is given for you . . .  do this in remembrance of Me." Matthew 26:26, Luke 22:19


Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world . . . I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."  John 6:32-34



Foolishness of the Cross

And being found in appearance as a man . . .

. . . He humbled Himself . . .



. . . and became obedient . . . 



. . . to the point of death . . .

. . . even the death . . .

. . . of the cross.  Phillipians  2:8


And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him . . . now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross.  And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.   John 19:17-19

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.  Colossians 1:19,20

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.  Ephesians 2:14-16

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.  And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.  Colossians 2:13-15

But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Galatians 6:14


For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  1  Corinthians 1:17,18

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1,2

. . . He said, "It is finished!"  John 19:30

Photos
Surrey Central Cemetery, Surrey, BC; Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec; St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal, Quebec

Changing Seasons

To everything . . .

. . .  there is a season . . .



. . . a time . . .



. . . for every purpose . . .

. . .  under heaven.  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.  And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings;  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.  Daniel 2:20,21

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night, shall not cease.    Genesis 8:23

The day is Yours, the night also is Yours:  You have prepared the light and the sun.  You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter.   Psalm 74:16,17

For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.  The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. 
Song of Solomon 2:11,12

Photos taken March 2011, Listowel, Ontario

Even to Your Old Age

Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.  Proverbs 23:22

Grandma Blanche, age 95

I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.  Psalm 37:25

Great Uncle Mert
Praise the LORD from the earth . . . old men and children.  Psalm 148:7a,12b.

Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age.  Zechariah 8:4

The glory of young men is their strength and the splendor of old men is their gray head.  Proverbs 20:29

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strenght fails . . .  O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works.  Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.  Psalm 71:9,17,18

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.  They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that  the LORD is upright; HIs is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him.  Psalm 92:12-15

"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb:  Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. " Isaiah 46:3,4

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

your young men shall see visions; and also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.  Joel 2:28,29

Photos:

Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC

My sweet Grandma (given to me by Uncle Bruce)

Upper Canada Village, Morrisburg, Ontario

My McGhee Family Reunion, 2009

Dancing Feet

Let Israel rejoice in their Maker, let the children of Zion be joyful in their king. . .

Let them praise His name in the dance;
let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.  Psalm 149:2,3

They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.  Job 21:11

Then David danced before the LORD with all his might . . . "In God's presence I'll dance all I want . . . Oh yes, I'll dance to God's glory - more recklessly even than this . . . I'll gladly look like a fool.  2 Samuel 6:14(NKJV), 21-22(The Message Bible)

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven . . . a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.  Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying; "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.  Again I will rebuild you, and you shall be rebuilt O virgin of Israel!  You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice."  Jeremiah 31:3,4

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together; for I will turn their mourning to joy, will comfort them, and make them rejoice rather than sorrow.  I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.  Jeremiah 31:13,14

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent, O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.  Psalm 30:11

Photos

Flamenco dancers:  Canada Day 2006, White Rock, British Columia

 Little girl:   Seattle Zoo, August 2006