Comfort in any Season
How does God use us to comfort other? Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God(2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Did you hear what Paul was saying in those two short verses? I hope so, because you are going to need to hang on to it. Life drags us through different seasons – some of them good, and some of them bad; and we are all going to need help or to be ready to help in the darker times. One of my hardest seasons came on a Sunday night many years ago. I was speaking when one of our Shepherds hurriedly started up the church aisle, obviously bringing some kind of urgent message. The closer he came to the front of the sanctuary, the more his face showed great agony. About six rows from the front, he could hold his words no longer. In a spray of grief from a deep well of sorrow, he told the church that one of our family’s 11-year-old boy had been hit by a car as he rode his bicycle to church. The little boy died before we could get to the hospital. The loss was gut-wrenching, hard to accept, and devastating to all of us … especially this boy’s parents. Words cannot describe the pain parents have in such seasons. And while many of us could offer these parents comfort because of our own recent grief, those whose words and presence blessed this grief-stricken family most were those who had been there – folks who had survived the deep wounds of losing a child and had somehow found a way to go on with their lives. Remember how Paul described this principle: Our God is “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” The truth of this is as undeniable in real life as it sounds in Scripture. Those who have “been there,” and that God has carried through the dark night of the soul, bring something to us when we find ourselves in our own “time to mourn.” Because God’s strength has carried them, their wounds validate … The anguish of our hurt:Not with platitudes, pity looks, or simplistic explanation, but the assurance that here is someone who knows and cares about our hurt. The uniqueness of our pain:We know their wound is like our own, but they recognize that our wound is as unique as the person we have lost. The strength within our spirits:They show us that they are making it through this horror with the help of God and His Spirit, so we can believe we will make it, too, and we do not have to do it alone. The incredible blessing of being in God’s community, His family of grace in the midst of our grief, is that we do not have to walk our loneliest trails of despair alone. When we walk through “the valley of the shadow of death” we will not have to do it alone. Not only is God with us, but God makes Himself available through a fellow traveler who has real skin and a wounded heart of grace. These brothers and sisters in Christ walk with us, support us, and remind us that we are not alone. They are there for every season so that during our time of mourning we are not alone and when we finally reach that time to dance, we have soul-level friends who will share our joy. My prayer for you is this: If God has brought you through when you faced a season of grief and pain, may you find another to help through their season of grief… If you find yourself in the deep well of sorrow and grief… May God bring the right folks to walk alongside you and share your journey till you are where you can help other wounded travelers on their journey. May this be so by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter Jesus sent to comfort, sustain, and equip us. In the name of Jesus, who suffered so we know we never have to suffer alone. Amen. Questions to consider: How have you experienced this principle, “we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” in your life? Were you on the receiving or sharing end of this comfort-giving? How did this bless your life? In the book of Job, when Job’s life crashes in, several “comforters” join him in the dust and sit in silence to share his grief (Job 2:11-13). Then, after 7 days of mourning with him in silence, they open their mouths, and their comfort turns into an attack on Job because they feel like they have to explain why all this happened to Job and defend God for it happening. Why do you think so many people say simplistic and unintended hurtful things to those in grief? Why do we feel that we must defend God with people who have suffered great loss? How is sitting and sharing people’s grief in silence often better than opening our mouths and trying to say something? What should we say to comfort people in their grief? Why do we wait to DO something to help – like buy them groceries, wash their car, mow their lawn, babysit their children – those in grief, rather than just asking them what we can do to help? If you have suffered deep loss, how did God comfort you and how did He use other people to bless you? About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition
Icebergs
What do you do about those iceberg dates on your calendar that seem to sink you? One minute we are cruising along enjoying life. The next we feel the bump and shudder of the collision as our heart is ripped apart by one of those iceberg dates on our calendar. Before we know it, our life is taking on water and we find ourselves quickly sinking in emotions we cannot manage and were not expecting. What do we do with being completely overwhelmed? Nearly all of us have these iceberg dates. They can be holidays that have been eclipsed by something bad that happened on that holiday in the past. They can be special days celebrated by many, yet are days when we are left out of the celebration and reminded that we are alone… or rejected… or forgotten. They can be the unwanted anniversary of a day that ripped our heart to pieces in the past – the death of a loved one, the abandonment by someone close to us, a time when we were betrayed by someone we love, or the time of our own epic sin and failure. Unfortunately, iceberg dates dot our calendars in a fallen world. Over time, we can sometimes sweep aside the emotions of these days and go on with life with them nothing more than a blip on our emotional calendar. Some years, we don’t even notice their occurrence and we sail smoothly on to other things. Then, without warning, one year we bump up against an iceberg date and everything crashes in on us. We feel the dull thud impact like the Titanic hitting her infamous iceberg. We notice the shuddering of our emotions as we absorb the blow and our heart is ripped apart afresh. Suddenly, all those deeply buried and hidden emotions flood our hearts with the frigid and paralyzing pain that we had hoped was buried or gone. The agony, grief, pain, loneliness, isolation, and panic of being forsaken are just as fresh as when they first occurred. When icebergs happen, what do we do? Where do we turn? While we have hit one of those icebergs, we still have lives to live, jobs to do, and responsibilities to fulfill. How do we do them? How do we get our emotions back under control? How do we stop the hurt in our heart? How do we do more than stay busy and trudge on? First, we share our pain and get help from Jesus. Remember what Jesus told his closest disciples before his death: They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch” (Mark 14:32-34). We can turn honestly to him and tell him how we feel, just as Jesus told the Father how he felt (Mark 14:34-35; Mark 15:33-34). During a time of difficulty for many disciples, the Holy Spirit gave them this reminder about turning to Jesus in their time of need: For we do not have a high priest [a holy intercessor] who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one [Jesus] who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16). Are we hurt? Do our guts feel ripped out? Do we grieve? Has our iceberg date ripped open our heart and sunk our emotions? Let’s talk to Jesus about this! We don’t have to dress it up in fancy language or holy dress. We can be real and be honest. We are not abandoned in our feelings of being overwhelmed. So let’s ask for Jesus’ help to heal our heart and help us carry our burdens. Second, because Jesus knows the emotions of feeling abandoned and feeling forsaken by those close to him, he has promised to never abandon us (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:37-39). As disciples, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us to be his abiding presence in our hearts and to bring us his presence and his peace (John 14:18-25). The Holy Spirit can minister to places in us that words can’t reach, giving us power we didn’t have (Ephesians 3:16) and the comfort and joy we desperately need (Romans 15:13; John 16:33). The Holy Spirit can stir our hearts to live and love again when we think our hearts have lost the capacity to love (Romans 5:5; 2 Timothy 2:7). The Holy Spirit even assures us that whatever we say and whatever we feel will be communicated to the Father in ways that are holy and acceptable to him – even if we don’t have the right words or even any words to say (Romans 8:26-27). Iceberg dates happen to all of us. They float on the seas of our future calendars. So when one of those iceberg collisions occur, let’s not forget to call out to Jesus for help. He knows our pain. He’s felt that pain first hand. He is our assurance we are not abandoned. He sends the Holy Spirit to those of us who ask for the Spirit (Luke 11:13). The Spirit comes as Jesus’ presence within us to comfort us, to bring us peace, to use his power to strengthen us, and to re-awaken our power to live and love again. Iceberg dates happen to all of us, but they don’t have to sink us! About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of
Trust
Will we open up and really trust him to change our story into a grace story? I mean that you are saved by grace. And you got that grace by believing. You did not save yourselves. It was a gift from God. No! You are not saved by the things you have done. So no person can boast that he saved himself. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would do good things. God had already planned those good things for us. God had planned for us to live our lives doing those good things. (Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV) Hear the Story One of the most influential people in Pastor Rick’s life was a woman named Diane – a walking miracle. In Jesus in the Margins, Rick shares her story. The summarized version is something like this. Diane’s Father was physically and emotionally abusive. His anger would flare up constantly and he would beat her and treat her worse than trash. The only thing that held Diane’s life together was her mother. Diane was five years old when her mom died. Soon after, Diane’s grandmother became ill and died, leaving her in the care of a father who beat her and a grandfather who began sexually abusing her. Just when it seemed like her world couldn’t get any worse, her father remarried. Her new step-mother was just as cruel and abusive as her father. Diane learned not to trust anyone or anything because bad things were going to happen and the good people would be taken away. Diane survived in spite of it all. She grew up, got married, and had two beautiful daughters. At first glance, she seemed to be the perfect mother. On the outside she was giving, loving, and bubbly. However, on the inside, she protected a tightly wrapped heart that refused to receive love. She refused to let anyone under the surface; she simply would not trust. It seemed safer that way – she didn’t want to be hurt again. So, she stayed away from any one or any thing that wanted to invade her protected past. And she hid her past well. Her numbness and callousness was keeping her from receiving God’s grace. Without God’s grace love seems impossible – not just for Diane, but for all of us. If love is impossible, then we can’t know his healing. So, we hide. Jesus refused to leave Diane’s life that way. He slowly invaded her heart. His grace story gently and progressively peeled away her layers of protection. With his strength she faced her past and learned to forgive. Over the years, Diane talked of Jesus as though she had just had coffee with him. The truth is, she did. She spent each morning with her journal and her Bible. Each morning renewed his presence. During those encounters with God she could hear Jesus whispering, “Will you dare to trust me today? Will you dare to believe you are loved?” Her growing faith produced a new image of herself. She was a child of God, loved and treasured. Now she could walk a path of life that was beyond her sight, and she walked it well. God created a new Diane out of the chaos of her childhood. She became his walking miracle – a grace story. Find the Story You may have a friend who, like Diane, is a grace story. Ask around and see. Share Diane’s story with a friend and let God have a chance to operate. You may find there is a miracle sitting right in front of you. It could be that God uses this moment to begin invading a broken world. Either way, God will use the moment to ignite new grace stories. Just do it. Be the story What is it that keeps you from walking a path beyond yourself? What roadblocks or barriers keep you locked inside yourself? Let God in – let Jesus invade your heart. Trust him with your past. He is still asking, “Will you dare to trust me today?” We get so distracted and the interference is so loud that we too get numb and calloused. Maybe the break-through you seek is waiting for you in mornings with your journal and the Bible. The next chapter of your story could begin there. What do you think? A Final Word from Ron I read a challenging analogy this week. It comes from a pastor named Kerbyjon Caldwell. The analogy goes something like this: The football game of life is being played and non- believers, seekers, searchers, wonderers, and cynics are watching. The play-clock has started. The church people gather in a huddle. They huddle on Sunday mornings, they huddle on Sunday nights, they huddle for mid-week prayer and study, and they huddle for bible study and prayer. They huddle to plan and they huddle to meet. They are really good at huddling. But, those on the outside wonder, “When are they ever going to break the huddle and play the game?” God is still in the healing business. He is breaking into lives all around us, pealing back those ugly protective layers hiding our pain, doubt, and distrust. He is ready to shape and love and invade our past and present. So when are we going to act like it. When are we going to play the game? People are watching. Do you see them? About the author: Ron Rose was a beloved minister, noted author, and leader of several ministries. Ron made himself available as a listener and friend, spending time with people on the go and in coffee shops, sharing grace and a listening ear, and connecting them with God who is always in the room. Ron went to be with the Lord in November 2024, but his legacy of grace and encouragement lives on.
Today’s Verse – 1 John 3:11
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. —1 John 3:11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… The original message? Love one another. The enduring message? Love one another. The most convincing message? Love one another. The most difficult message? Love one another. The clearest message? Love one another.This call to love one another reminds me of the convicting verse I once heard a preacher use about loving our brothers and sisters: To dwell above with saints we love, O that will be glory. But to dwell below with saints we know, Now that’s another story. But it’s the story we’re called to write with our lives. Love one another. It’s Jesus’ enduring message to us is clear: Love one another! My Prayer… Loving Father, I commit to you that I will intentionally show my love for your children in what I do and say. I do this trusting in your grace and the Holy Spirit to empower me to do more loving things and be more loving than I could be on my own. I want to obey my Lord’s command to love others as he did. Through Jesus, my Savior, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
16 Feb 2026
The Lord we worship is mighty. He deserves our adoration. We have read and seen what He has done and can do. We are privileged to have access to Him, but let us never forget how majestic He is. Revelation 4:1-11.
Empty!
What are you filling your tank with? This past week, a friend of mine – whose name I will not mention – had some car trouble more than 500 miles from his home. If you’ve ever been in that situation, it is certainly disconcerting to say the least. What do you do? Who do you call? How much will it cost? All these questions rush through your mind. In my friend’s case, it was just a matter of putting gas in the gas tank. Unfortunately he had already had to pay a tow truck – now do you see why he will remain nameless? In his defense, he ran out of gas while his gas gauge was showing that he still had a quarter of a tank of fuel remaining. Of course, I couldn’t help but see a spiritual application in this event. How many people do you suppose are trusting in a “fallible gauge”? How many people do you think are being told they’re alright, but their “spiritual tank” is actually empty? I do know that on the day of judgment that there will be some who stand before Christ who will be surprised that they are not saved. (Matthew 7:21-23) To avoid such a fate, we must trust in the only “gauge” that will never fail and never mislead us … the word of God. Friends, spend time in God’s word so that you can make your calling and election sure. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Doing this, you will never stumble or fall away. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (2 Peter 1:10; 1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT) About the author: Steve Higginbotham is a native of West Virginia. His father also preached. Steve serves the Karns Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN and is an instructor in the Southeast Institute of Biblical Studies and an editor for Think Magazine. Steve & Kim have four children, Kelli, Michael, Matthew, and Anne Marie.
Hope Does Not Disappoint Us
Can we keep from being disappointed by broken hopes? For good or bad, I’m going to share something of myself with you. I have to tell you right up front that I am not that deep when it comes to studious intellectual things. Not that I can’t study things out when it’s called for, but I’m more of an easy going guy who enjoys being laid back. Any day of the week, I would much rather read Lord of the Rings or Star Wars than some book on religious philosophy. Though obviously from my chosen vocation you can figure out that religion, philosophy, and the such-like are important to me. However, I do enjoy other less deep things, too. Having said that, one of my readers sent me a quote from Victor Hugo that got me to thinkin’ and studyin’ on something. Hugo wrote, “Hope is the word which God has written on the brow of every man.” Man, doesn’t that have the feel of deep religious philosophy to it? Not only does it sound deep, it also has the ring of truth to it because it is based upon the teachings we find in God’s word. Can’t you hear the words ring out in a deep vibrating baritone voice, “HOPE IS THE WORD WHICH GOD HAS WRITTEN ON THE BROW OF EVERY MAN!” It’s true isn’t it? I mean, which of us can go on for another day without some kind of hope? It is in our very nature to have hope – perhaps our genetic make up given to us by the Creator to “live in hope.” We hope for a better tomorrow.We hope for a better life.We hope for a raise at work.We hope for that special person to notice us.We hope for world peace and the end to all wars and killing. Hoping means that we think (maybe somewhere deep down inside of us) that these things will happen. That’s what gives us the motivation to go on day after day. Even at times when things look less hopeful, we still have that small spark of belief on which to hang our hopes. The apostle Paul shares these wonderful words of hope with us in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 for times when we feel beaten down. He says, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” Paul also wrote in Romans 5:1-5, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” I know that sometimes life gets tough for us. It is sometimes very difficult to see how we can possibly go on – that we almost reach the end of our hope. But if our hope is in God, the work of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, this hope will never disappoint us. About the author: Russ Lawson is a former missionary to Africa and minister in Ohio. He now works with World Christian Literature Outreach and writes a weekly email devotional, Messages from the Heart. For more information about Russ, click here.
The Behinder I Get
How are you doing at keeping up with all your responsibilities? My mom grew up with a saying that she passed on to us. It goes something like this: “The harder I work, the behinder I get!” While it may not be correct grammar, it’s sure correct for many of our lives – or at least the way we feel about them. Many folks today find themselves behind, and the more they try to do to catch up, the “behinder” they find themselves. We can end up in this situation for many reasons. Some of us are procrastinators. Some of us over-schedule. Some of us are not disciplined with our time. Some of us waste a lot of time getting ready to do what we need to do. Some of us don’t work hard. Some of us have a lot of unexpected pressures and problems intruding into our lives. Some of us don’t prioritize the things we have to do. I’m sure we could list a bunch of other reasons why many of us find ourselves “behinder” even though we feel like we’re working hard on our “to do” lists. Unfortunately, one reason many of us are behind is very sad: we live like we’re too busy to pray. I’m afraid that many of us see prayer as something to work into our busy schedules if we have time. Others of us only see prayer as an emergency cry for help when we are in trouble and want God to bail us out. During the daily routine that burns most of our time and churns up most of our problems, we forget to take time to pray. In the process of neglecting prayer, we find ourselves getting “behinder.” Reuel Lemmons, a great Christian leader now gone to be with the Lord, used to say, “I only get done what I pray about.” He made prayer a top priority. Bill Hybels’ good little book on prayer has the convicting title, Too Busy Not to Pray. These leaders remind us what Jesus so powerfully demonstrated in his own life and ministry: prayer is the key to accomplishing the work God wants us to do through us. Early in the Lord’s ministry, he demonstrated the importance of prayer for those of us with busy lives. (Mark 1:35-45) After an incredibly hectic schedule on the previous day, Jesus rose early one morning and went off to a lonely place to pray. During his time of prayer, he re-centered his schedule in the mission God had called him to accomplish. Peter came looking for him and told him that many people were in need of his attention and were seeking to find him. Jesus replied that he needed to move on to other places – to the towns and villages – and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom there. Why would Jesus leave behind those wanting to be healed? Why move on to other places? Jesus’ answer was clear, “This is why I came.” Prayer re-centered Jesus on his mission. I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded occasionally of several humbling truths I believe we can learn from Jesus’ actions: I can’t do everything, so I must do the most important things – the things God wants me to do. I can’t help everyone, so I must help those whom God leads me to help as I fulfill my mission. I won’t be able to distinguish the most important things that God wants me to do without spending time in God’s presence in prayer. The busier I am, the more important it is that I spend time in prayer. Even when I’m busy doing the Lord’s work, when he places someone in my path that has needs, I need to be compassionate and serve them. If you keep finding yourself “behinder” in life, look closely to see if you have left out the most important element of a busy and effective life: prayer! About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
Daily Prayer for February 16
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:12, NIV Dear Father in heaven, open the door for us, we pray. Grant that we may come to you in spirit. Grant that in you we may find peace and courage for our whole lives. Lead us always by your Spirit. Help us to find your will on earth and grant us access to your heavenly powers, for alone we can do nothing. Strengthen our faith so that we can always serve you. Bless your Word in us. May our hearts be opened, for we are your children, O Lord our God, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Why God Doesn’t Need Psychedelics Joseph Murphy True communion with God doesn’t come with the popping of a pill. Read now A Revival of Courage Archbishop Angaelos The martyrdom of twenty-one Christians beheaded by ISIS militants on February 15, 2015 reverberated around the world. Read now Losing Faith, Finding Light Sharukh Bamboat After tragedy and grief shatter his childhood faith, a Zoroastrian finds his way back to God. Read now Raising Jewish Children in Northern England Atar Hadari An Orthodox rabbi sent his children to a Church of England school. Find out how it went. Read now Away from Compromise and Shadow Eberhard Arnold Following Jesus allows for no compromise with all that is loveless. Read now
Take Me Into Your Heart
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, Don’t miss the heartbreak of the events described in the Scripture below. Despite all I had said and had done, people turned away from Me. As long as I would do miracles for them, they were quite happy to hang around with Me. But when I would not do their wish list miracles-on-demand and when I told them the truth about My divinity, they got testy with Me and My followers. In fact, many quit following Me. So here’s the challenge. You need to take Me — My truth, My power, and My words — into your heart. Some of the things I ask of you will be hard — some of them hard to do and some of them hard to understand. But here’s the point: to the best of your ability and empowered by the Holy Spirit within you, do what I ask, believe what I say, and live what I teach. My words are life-giving and life-preserving. The Holy Spirit is at work giving you guidance, using you in My service, and conforming you to My words. There will be times when you are confused. Some of that confusion will be because life is hard. Sometimes your confusion will come from your own selfishness and rebelliousness. Some of your confusion will be there because some of what I say can be hard to understand or you are not ready for it. But despite all the shortcomings you can find in Peter and My other apostles, please notice Peter’s words — spoken for all of the apostles. I asked if they would walk away from Me, too, and this is what Peter said: “Lord, if we were to go, whom would we follow? You speak the words that give everlasting life. We believe and recognize that You are the Holy One sent by God.” Verses to Live Notice all the back-and-forth below in John’s account. There is a lot of talk about faith. Bottom line: just TALK about faith really doesn’t mean much. What matters is what Peter and the apostles DO: they (except for Judas) risk all to follow Me because of their choice to believe in Me even when many are turning away from Me: Some of the Jews began to grumble quietly against Him [Jesus] because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” Crowd: Isn’t Jesus the son of Joseph? We know His parents! We know where He came from, so how can He claim to have “come down from heaven”? Jesus: Stop grumbling under your breaths. If the Father Who sent Me does not draw you, then there’s no way you can come to Me. But I will resurrect everyone who does come on the last day. Among the prophets, it’s written, “Everyone will be taught of God.” So everyone who has heard and learned from the Father finds Me. No one has seen the Father, except the One sent from God. He has seen the Father. I am telling you the truth: the one who accepts these things has eternal life. I am the bread that gives life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died as you know. But there is another bread that comes from heaven; if you eat this bread, you will not die. I am the living bread that has come down from heaven to rescue those who eat it. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give breathes life into the cosmos. This bread is My flesh. The low whispers of some of Jesus’ detractors turned into an out-and-out debate. Crowd: What is He talking about? How is He able to give us His flesh to eat? Jesus: I tell you the truth; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not know life. If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, then you will have eternal life and I will raise you up at the end of time. My flesh and blood provide true nourishment. If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you will abide in Me and I will abide in you. The Father of life Who sent Me has given life to Me; and as you eat My flesh, I will give life to you. This is bread that came down from heaven; I am not like the manna that your fathers ate and then died! If you eat this bread, your life will never end. He spoke these words in the synagogue as part of His teaching mission in Capernaum. Many disciples heard what He said, and they had questions of their own. Disciples: How are we supposed to understand all of this? It is a hard teaching. Jesus was aware that even His disciples were murmuring about this. Jesus: Has My teaching offended you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascend to return to where He came from? The Spirit brings life. The flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have been teaching you are spirit and life, but some of you do not believe. From the first day Jesus began to call disciples, He knew those who did not have genuine faith. He knew, too, who would betray Him. Jesus: This is why I have been telling you that no one comes to Me without the Father’s blessing and guidance. After hearing these teachings, many of His disciples walked away and no longer followed Jesus. Jesus (to the twelve): Do you want to walk away too? Simon Peter: Lord, if we were to go, whom would we follow? You speak the words that give everlasting life. We believe and recognize that You are the Holy One sent by God. Jesus: I chose each one of you, the twelve, Myself. But one of you is a devil. This cryptic comment referred to Judas, the son of Simon