The Knowledge of God

We, in our desire to understand and “Materialize” God, approach the scriptures with the reason and analytical thinking of a researcher, pulling out and assembling facts and evidence until God makes sense by becoming tangible.

In our attempts to make a provable faith we construct a man made god as small as the facts we cherish and as weak as our minds. We lose the mysterious, invisible, confounding miracle worker that should leave us perplex and breathless.

Genesis 1

“1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

There are institutes and organizations dedicated to providing us evidence to prove this one verse, but if we don’t believe it on faith the rest of scripture breaks down. God made it all, He has the right to do with it as He pleases.

Genesis 2:

“7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

When I feel like a big shot this verse is what I should remember. I am made from the dust and it is God’s breath that gives me life. I’m proud of myself when I nail a few boards together, God made me and the tree.

Genesis 3

“4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

That is how the serpent tricked Eve, the desire for God-like knowledge. From day one we have been out smarting ourselves trying to find wisdom apart from God. It can’t happen.

Genesis 4

“1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.”

In today’s world we think because we know how to reproduce we create life. What fools we are. We usurp the power to take life but only God can make it. All the molecular biologists put together can’t explain how matter becomes life.

Genesis 5

“27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.”

All the science in the world can’t stop life from leaving the body. It’s inevitable. We are not endowed by our creator with eternal life. It cannot be found in knowledge either; it can only be claimed in faith.

Genesis 6

“ 13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth….22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.”

Four thousand years in the search for Noah’s boat. A lot of clues but still we must believe this story by faith. Isn’t that what the story is supposed to teach us, to live by faith as Noah did? Knowledge is great but faith is greater!

Genesis 7

“…the LORD closed it behind him. 17 Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days…”

If you don’t believe God made the earth you won’t believe He has the right to condemn it to death. God is all powerful. In spite of all our wisdom we have no idea what He is capable of. Scoffers who spent their lives waiting for evidence will fall on their face and worship Him… one day to late.

Be in complete awe. The stories of the Bible are allegories and analogies, but they are also literal and evidence of the creators power over His creation. Romans chapter one tells us God is made evident in His creation. It is not in understanding creation that we really know God, it is in seeing it with wonder.

God’s Goodness

Christianity is awesome. It is filled with hope and joy and purpose…and pain and doubt and fear and anger and…it can be a mess sometimes. Take a look at it this way. Christians are a group of people trying to understand a God who could do anything and chooses not to. How do you wrap yourself and your faith around a God who killed off the entire planed except for eight people and later came to earth Himself to die for the unruly, hateful, ungrateful lot of us? He makes absolutely no sense until you begin to realize His confusion makes more sense than mans reason.

Here is a God who sent Jonah to give a message to his enemies that they are going to die unless they serve God. Jonah says “These are my enemies and I don’t like them”. God says, “Go anyway”. Moses was told to go save His people after being in the desert and separated from them for years and under a death order from his people’s captives. He says “What, I can’t go there; if they don’t kill me I still only stutter and stammer and…” and God says “Go anyway”.

God makes no sense sometimes. Face it, God isn’t even nice a lot of the time. He calls us names and puts us down and demonstrates constantly that we are not worthy; if it wasn’t true, every word, I wouldn’t follow someone who spoke to me like that.

Maybe the problem is semantic, after all, what is love, and what is good?

Mark 10: “18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”

In Matthew 7 Jesus says the Father gives good things to His children, so why doesn’t He always answer my prayers? Why does He let me do without things that make people smile? Maybe His sense of “Good” is different than ours. After all, do we really know what is good? God is Good but we don’t understand Him how can we claim to know what good is? We know our children and give them good things by what we know as good. But are the things we give always good for them?

I got mad at God this week. I just knew He had found the perfect job for me so when I didn’t get it I questioned “How could He be good if He can’t even give me a job?” In searching out my heart and subsequently searching out the heart of God, I came to the conclusion that God looks at what is good different than I do. How could God, being Good, give me what wasn’t good. Like Jesus telling us, “.20 … truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

But mountains do much good collecting snow for summer water and altering weather patterns; would a good God just arbitrarily move a mountain because some punk wanted to prove something? Many people have lost faith over such things. Maybe the thing we are missing is God IS Good, so faith is incorporated in or with goodness. God will answer every prayer with Goodness. Faith is so firmly imbedded in Godly Goodness that to ask in ignorance of goodness is not asking in knowledge of faith.

Ask for that mountain in your life to be moved and have faith that God will give you goodness. Turns out Jonah knew that and He didn’t want God to spare his enemy

“Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity”

. So Jonah didn’t want to tell them of the threat of punishment because he knew God would forgive them. Christians today are often accused of not being good because we tell people of the punishment that awaits without repentance. People don’t know that the entire word of God is shrouded in God’s Goodness. From prophecy to promises, it all works together because of the goodness of God that binds it.

Next time you think God promised you something, give Him credit for Goodness, HIS Goodness.



Of Actors and Christians

I saw and internet video ad for some kind of room deodorizer and they were doing the “blindfold test”. While the people were standing in an odoriferous environment with blindfolds commenting on how nice it smelled (because of the air freshener of course) these words flashed across the screen, “PEOPLE, NOT ACTORS”. I had to laugh that they would designate the difference. A day later I watched a video of a four year old “preacher” who is taking the internet by storm. As he paced about and used the microphone quite effectively he would pick up his hanky (carefully placed on the pint sized pulpit) and supposedly wipe sweat from his brow and neck. This boy was obviously not moved by the Spirit, he was moved by the attention. I know of no place in scripture where God raised up a young person to lead who was not first put through a time of testing; purified by fire. This four year old has not, he just likes wearing daddy’s shoes. It is the father, a Pentecostal Preacher himself, who is encouraging this mockery and who bears the shame for it.

We need people, not actors in the pulpit! We need Christians who are people, not actors. We don’t need children playing games we need mature, people; people old enough to know what sin is and to have made a decision to repent from it. No four year old child should fear God so how can he teach others to seek out their salvation as they ought? (Philippians 2:12)

My 78 year old mother was making her way through a store when she turned onto a new isle and saw a poor old woman who looked like she needed a smile. As my mother who walks with great pain and carries the burdens of life tried to put on her best “Christian” smile she realized that tired old woman was her reflection in a mirror. She laughs when she tells the story and I see a genuineness that can only come from a sincere person, not an actor. Smiling through your pain will convert more people than a four year old with a good delivery. A smile portrays hope and the value of life; even in suffering.

I read this in today’s Adrian Rogers devotional:

“There’s a story about a lady who went to a photographer to have her picture made. When she saw it, she didn’t like it. She took it back and told the photographer, “You’ll have to take this over.” He asked, “What’s wrong with it?” She said, “It doesn’t do me justice.” He looked at it and looked at her and said, “Lady, you don’t need justice, what you need is mercy.”

Are you acting or are you sharing a picture of who you are? If God took a picture of your soul would it be what YOU think it is; would you recognize yourself or would you demand a retake? Would you get justice or mercy?

God knows the number of the hairs on your head and He knows an honest and humble person. You can’t act and expect to fool God, and there will be no retakes on judgment day. Would you recognize yourself in a mirror and see that person as someone who needed a smile and not be ashamed to admit you had seen your self?

If the eyes are the window to the soul the scriptures are the mirror. Look at yourself in the reflection of the Word of God. Do you recognize who you see? Are you a person, or an actor?



Hell fire preaching

Paul Washer

I love the edifying benefits of studying prophecy and apologetics. The reasons and evidence for faith; the signs and wonders of history foretold; the scriptures are alive and manifested in the world today.

I like commentary on the Bible and challenges to strongly held but short or narrow sighted belief. Tell me something I don’t know and back it up in scripture and I’m hooked. The nature of God revealed in Christ, it gets no better than that….But once in a while I need Paul Washer….

Paul Washer is like the Brillo pad of Christian teaching. He cuts through the hard baked fat and caked on grease of doctrine and “Christianese” and philosophical twists on the true Gospel. When Paul is done the fire has been turned up and the metal is purified; you’ve gone steel on steel and if you are around at the end you have a passion you had forgotten about.

THIS is what the Word should do, ignite a fire that removes all the soft teaching and inflammable pollutants of false gospels. The Word given straight and unashamedly, without compromise, leaves little room for doubt if taken at it’s word. God said it, we believed it; “why” is not a question that needs answered at that moment. You will never accept the why until you accept the “what”.

God doesn’t stutter. He said “Thou shall” and you do it. He says “Thou shall not” and you repent, because most likely you’ve all ready done it. What makes a Paul Washer sermon so intense is that he is just as in love with God’s righteousness as he is in love with God’s love. He reminds us that a God without justice is no God at all. And he reminds us that a God of Mercy and Grace is one that shouldn’t be ignored, and a Righteous and Just and Holy God had better not be ignored, and an angry God cannot be ignored. He reminds us that God is worthy of worship, even if you are on your way to hell God is worthy of worship.

Paul Washer reminds me that this is not a game, or a call for apologies because God got His feelings hurt. This is life and death eternity; this is “Hand to the plow and no looking back”; this is a God with no patience for patronizing parishioners or people who claim His name and live for themselves; this is light in darkness and narrow paths and teaching so hard most cannot take it; this is war.

God uses a man like Paul Washer to uncomplicated the scripture. Read it, follow it, used it, and no excuses. God loves you and if you choose to follow Him THE PATH IS HARD AND PAINFUL! After all Christ did for you; after the agony the Father felt crucifying His only Son for your sin, your best life now is not His priority. If you are not suffering for the Gospel you better recheck what you are preaching.

People like Paul Washer scare me because they are right and they remind me that our salvation is to be worked out in fear and trembling, warm fuzzies aren’t going to get you there. So here is the warning, right between the eyes: If you are not Holy and set apart for God you are in danger of the fires of Hell. And if Paul Washer doesn’t stir your passion for righteousness you better hit your knees because something is lacking.

when you realize you have not achieved it yet. When your pie turns to soup, just grab a spoon and laugh.



Of injured birds

I have seen two injured birds in as many days and it makes me wonder what God thinks of an injured bird; of and injured human; of and injured soul?



At the pool of Bethesda (John 5) people laid around in their pain and suffering for an angel of God to stir the waters and the first one to get into the water following the heavenly visit would be cured. This only happened in “certain seasons”… Was this some cruel and sadistic joke God was playing?



There is only one answer, God does not love, at least not in the way we think of love. God does not see “feeling good” as part of the current plan, if He did He wouldn’t put up with us. Jesus did not die so that you could have “Your Best Life Now”. We read in scripture of the Miracles of Jesus, how he fed thousands and raised the dead and healed the sick. Yet there at Bethesda He left some people in their ailing condition. People did die while Jesus walked the earth, and they went hungry. I think it may be reasonable to conclude that healings and such were a show of compassion (as they are today), but more than that I think they were simply to show His power over His creation. To make a blind man see, even the Pharisees knew, was an accomplishment of deity. But Jesus did not put an end to blindness any more than He ended hunger or death. The miracles of Jesus were largely symbolic; He came to heal spiritual blindness and cure crippled souls and raise those who were dead to Himself.



Many would point to the compassion He showed to Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus and the fact that He wept. While it’s true their pain touched Him His purpose in raising Lazarus from the dead was not their suffering, but to bring glory to the Father.



John 11: “1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.”



Jesus actually stayed away for two extra days, is this a man who is concerned with physical suffering? Yes, but He is more, He is a Savior concerned with bringing glory to the Father and bringing men to faith in Himself. If He will not interfere in the overall suffering of man, will He then interfere with the suffering of birds? Why?



There is a bigger question here than the purpose of physical pain and death, there is the healing of Spirits and the saving of Souls from the Pit. Once you have received the healing of the Soul the question of suffering does not go away, but the question of God’s faithfulness should. And once we know God is faithful, we should not question too vigorously that which we do not understand. Your best life is yet to come, and it is eternal, and painless and tearless. Our Savior has suffered and died. Won’t we follow Him to the cross if we must, to glorify Him and the Father? I don’t wish it, but I will…



Sin? Deal with it!

Ephesians 2:1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),



We all have a story of past trespasses and missing the mark and yielding to temptation, and the saving Grace of Christ Jesus. But what of our sin today? Paul said HE was chief among sinners, so how was it he was so certain of his salvation? The difference is not that we stopped sinning but that Christ died for it; the difference is that, as changed men, we no longer “Live IN” our sin.

“…we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh…”

We live, now, In Christ. We may desire, seek out, and indulge in sin, but our conviction of sin brings, not just avoidance, but repentance. We may occasionally lose the battle to sin, but we WILL win the war. When we detest sin we need no longer detest ourselves but only to cleanse ourselves in Christ, in the Word, in repentance – turning away from the weakness of our flesh and finding strength in the person of God.



We had a little rodent pest running around our house so we took steps to eliminate the septic intruder. As I was emptying the trap it came over me that this was a creation of God and yet we had no choice but to protect our home from it. It was yet another sign of creation gone wrong. Like mice and flies in our homes, sin in our lives is an invasion that should not be. This is not how God intended things when He created us. But we must not let down our defenses lest the enemy over take us. We cannot have mice running our homes and we cannot have sin running our lives. Our aversion to such things is like our conscience in that we are made aware by some internal voice or knowledge that this is wrong.



Sometimes, I see a mouse or find his “leavings” and I’m in a hurry and I don’t deal with it right away. By the time I am reminded of it three or four have moved in and are becoming bolder getting into food and making my house unclean. Sin can do the same as it creeps in silently and uncontrolled it begins to get bold and take up residence. If not careful and prepared to deal with it we have a takeover of our lives, we are living with and “IN” it. Be vigilant, don’t let them take over. Let mice and sin be a reminder that this world is not right and one day God will set it right and dwell with us.



Someday, rodents will be cute and fuzzy, and sin will be no more. When the battle is over we can let down our guard but until then, stay strong “IN” Christ Jesus.



I found out tonight that Paul Washer and I have something in common, we were drunks at the time of our surrender.

The conversion of man is not easy to put into words but listening to Paul Washer makes it easier. I used some of Paul Washers lines but I don’t think he would mind if God is glorified.

Blessings,

Tim

I have a confession. I have secrets I don’t want you to know. I have sin that you would not believe. I am wicked! If you could take my thoughts from just one day and make images of my thoughts and put them on a video you would find things there that would repulse you and you would declare me only worthy of Hell. I AM only worthy of hell. On my OWN, I am worthy of nothing but hell! It is only by the Blood of Jesus that I am worthy of more.

From day one I have done battle with God. I have only wanted to satisfy myself. But by God’s grace I surrendered my weapons and I am now a soldier for the cause of Christ. The one I fought is now my leader. Not a day goes by I don’t see the rewards of my old way; the treasure that I went to battle against my Savior to obtain. And every day those things lure my thoughts and tantalize my flesh. And at the end of every day when I thank God I am still in His camp, that is HIS victory; that is to HIS glory, for without HIM I would still be living for those things.

I am tempted, drawn, and seduced, but I am not living for those things. My flesh is weak but my Jesus is strong. In those days I asked God why He gave me such a difficult life, now I ask Jesus why He gave me life at all! I used to complain that life wasn’t fair, now I thank God that it is not, because I don’t want what I deserve. I was a sweaty, hung over, drunk when I surrendered and Jesus received me. I was not a victor over my old self I was defeated. I did not step from death into life I was dragged, kicking and screaming. I fear God, I tremble at His voice, in fact if not for His power I would run from Him again and hide in the darkness. I am not what I was but without HIS Spirit I would most definitely be, all that and worse. Truth is, not a one of us could have any righteousness in us if not for His power and influence on this world. All that is good in me is Him.

Surrender; defeat is definite, swift, and ugly; only Jesus Christ can make you worthy and able to change sides. It’s the hardest thing you will ever do, in fact, it is impossible to do without Him. Fear disobedience to God or you will fear God forever! He is worthy. Even if you were lost forever already HE would still be worthy. If He offered no hope of salvation, HE would still be worthy. “Every knee shall bow…” because HE is worthy.



Time

There is a clock in my study area just above my right shoulder. For those who like to get visual…It’s a clock with hands and a face and a sketch of an eagle and it says “Snap-On”, because I was a mechanic long ago and I spent a lot of money on tools at one time (before I had teenagers). You had to spend money to get a clock! Anyway, the clock is battery operated and quiet and accurate and I change the battery every time I re-set it for that annoying foolishness of springing forward and falling back; the ritual of mass control that creates confusion twice a year.

One more thing about that clock, it is set five minutes fast. It is one of those little mind games I play with myself, I know it’s fast but when I need to be somewhere it gets me moving because part of me always believes the clock to be truthful. But, in my humble opinion, time is never truthful. Time is a deceiver that threatens us and steals our joy…yes “My name is Tim Lamb and I am Chronophobic”. I quit wearing a watch years ago because every time it mattered I was in trouble. I don’t even really like calendars. Years, I’m fine with. After peaking at thirty I’m ok with counting solar revolutions. But any time the position of the earth on its axis matters I start to stress. OK, I’ll admit it, I’m slow. I stress because to everyone watching that insidious motion measurer I am inadequate. If you start tracing my shadow I’ll likely move before you’re done but if you are waiting for me you will not be a happy puppy when I arrive. What is it about bosses and wives (or is that bossy wives) that make a few minutes into an issue of devotion and dependability. It isn’t that I don’t care, I’m just speed challenged. The faster I think I’m going the farther behind I get.

Much to my relief time is a dimension of this world. In the world that awaits us there is no reason to measure change or calculate progress. No revolving around the sun or rotating night and day:

Revelation 21: 22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;

Sun and moon, day and night; all the things we measure time by, gone! And when there is no such thing as time, I can’t be late, can I? No aging, no planning, no calendars or alarm clocks or time clocks; no yesterdays to remember or tomorrows to prepare for…Won’t it be heavenly?



THE VOICE

Leaves and limbs tossed high and low, winds of change, always blow

How does my creator know just what I need?

Mountains high, sunny peaks, clouds the distant sunset streaks

Jesus light the path I seek, and lead

Mountains cannot interfere, rivers crest and darkness near

I will go to where I hear the lovely voice of God

Midnight lightning splits the seam, through city streets the sirens scream

Softly my redeeming Savior speaks my name

Gutters filthy, people staring, stony faces, no one caring

A lone voice cries in passion sharing, no one is the same

Buildings rise and sunbeams sew their silent path to folks below

It follows me, to where I go, the lovely voice of God



The Name

A new friend has been telling me how much he loves to hear about Jesus. Whatever the sermon topic or story keep Jesus in there and you have his attention. The same Jesus that angered the Pharisees and cause sufferers to reach for just a touch of his robe; the same one who makes little men climb trees and big soldiers to bow down is with us today and His name never fails to stir the hearts of all men. Some, like my friend, want to hear more, and others flee or respond angrily.

The sound of that name, Jesus, means different things to different people. Some never got past the “Servant Jesus”, and they will comment on how we all should be more like Him, helping the poor and loving the disenfranchised. But when you point to the complete Jesus, the one who called for us to be perfect just as His Father is perfect; the one who told those He healed and helped to stop sinning; the one who calls us to pick up our cross and suffer; mention that Jesus and followers will drift away like they did two thousand years ago. The Jesus who fed the multitudes attracts the hungry, but the Jesus who sends His followers out without food or money to share the Gospel message isn’t so appealing.

I have a small library filled with books on Jesus. Each one tries to describe the total God/man for our understanding but each adds some and takes out other; it seems no one can paint the whole Jesus. His undeniable Holiness, his passion for Righteousness, His love and compassion for all mankind; these are a blanket statement of His character but don’t begin to cover all that He is. Creator, judge, healer, Savior; He is merciful and compassionate, yet He will bring out the whip if you defile the house of His Father. Jesus is the “All in All”, the “Way, the Truth and the Light”, yet in a seeming contradiction to all that He came as a human baby; born into poverty to teach, preach and die. If you can define this man Jesus I’d love to hear it.

Worthy of our worship and adoration He is incredibly fascinating and anywhere you mention His name people will react.

Philippians 2:8-11(NASB)8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Facing the Fire

Chelan Country, and really all of the area, lost a veteran firefighter recently. Aside from the obvious tragic loss to family and friends there is a strength, confidence, and humility that was lost that cannot be replace by any newcomers. There is something in a journeyman that comes out of the fire that cannot be taught. You can tell a journeyman of any profession, not by the boldness and brashness, but by the calm certainty with which they approach their duties.

This is true of Christians also. We like to take the “Newbie’s” out and parade them around and they stand tall and brave, but ask them about the fire and they become confused and uncertain. Jesus guaranteed His followers a time of trial and tribulation and pain and possibly even death. A new Christian brought to faith by hopes of love and security is suddenly shaken at best, and foolishly over confident at worst, by the prospects of facing the flames of testing.

New firefighters are first trained and tested on equipment and knowledge. They are not put through the heat until they know how to find their way out and how to depend on others and use their equipment. Christians should have the same luxury. Older leaders often drag new recruits into battle before they get all their equipment on, something firemen would not do.

The young are often thrust before us so that we may envy their enthusiasm but in relating their testimony they can tell you where they came from but usually have no idea where they are or what to expect ahead. A mature Christian understands better what they have come through to know Jesus. They know the value of lessons learned and are no longer proud of the “New Man” they have become, but are so humbly grateful for the strength to overcome. They are prepared, not just with success in faith but the powerful lessons of failure; not just with the incredible love of God, but with the satisfaction and calm assurance that come from understanding the refiners fire and the quest for righteousness.

Journeyman Christians, tell new recruits about the fire. Tell them what it means to be loved by God’s firm, holy, and righteous hand. You wouldn’t send the rookie into a burning building to save a lost child, that’s a job for the journeyman. Love the enthusiasm of newness but equip them well before the fire. All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give...” a line from a beautiful old hymn. vIn the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus had many disciples and He taught them about the bread of life: “Just as the Living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven.” John 6:57, 58 Jesus told them that they had to consume the living word which was Himself, and because of this many left. So when only a few remained Jesus turned to His original twelve and said, “You do not want to leave me too, do you?” And Simon Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68, 69 These days people are searching for fulfillment in so many ways, we need to tell them we know the one who has the food that fills, the water that quenches, and the words of eternal life. Where do we find these? We must surrender that emptiness to the Lord; to Jesus we must give all our needs. We must take to Him all our hunger, and receive from Him the bread of life sent from Heaven. Our bodies need nourishment to survive, and we eat what was made for our bodies. When our souls are empty and hungry they need nourishment: “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:53 “On hearing it, many of His disciples said, ‘This is hard teaching, who can accept it?’” John 6:60 It IS hard teaching, but where will we go? HE has the words of LIFE.