Fresh Bread

When we first arrived in Brazil, we did what Americans do. We bought groceries in bulk in an effort to cut down on our trips to the store. That is NOT what Brazilians do. They buy things in small quantities and go to the store often. They buy fresh bread every morning (and sometimes in the afternoon, too). We scoffed at this practice when we first arrived. But now, well, now, things are different. We still buy some of our groceries in bulk, but not our bread. We know the difference between fresh bread and old bread. There is something truly amazing about eating the bread while it is still warm. Not only does it taste better, but there is the added benefit of the pleasing aroma filling the apartment. It's absolutely irresistable. We thought buying bread to last the week was a good idea, until we tasted the difference. Now we are hooked, and I dare say, even snobby about it. It's fresh bread or no bread for us, thank you very much.

Small wonder, then, that the Lord commanded the Israelites to gather the manna in the morning. Every morning. They couldn't live off the old stuff. It would go bad and even disappear. Imagine trying to live off the same loaf of bread for two weeks. For two months. For two years. For twenty years. The bread would become stale and moldy and eventually just turn into dust, with nothing left that even resembled the bread you started with. Sounds awful, right? And yet this is how so many Christians live their lives. "Well, I had an experience with the Lord 20 (or even 2) years ago...," they say. We can't live off these old blessings. We need the fresh bread every day. The Bible says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good..." (Psalm 34:8). Just a taste of the Lord leaves us wanting more. And the more we have, the more we want. Once we get a taste of His fresh revelation, we can't abide a stale walk with the Lord. This is a challenge for me. I have many excuses why the old bread is o.k. But the longer I go without a new experience with the Lord, the hungrier I get. And once I've had just a taste of the Lord's goodness, only that will do.

Lord, give me Your fresh bread from Heaven today. I can't live without it, and I don't even want to. I have tasted Your blessings, and they are good. I am thankful for all the ways You've blessed my life, but I don't want to try to live off old blessings. I need to hear Your voice today, and I need a new experience with You. Let my life be filled with the pleasing aroma of the bread that comes from You.