Spiritual Diabetes. . .

John 3:14-16

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

By far, I'm sure this is the most often quoted passage of Scripture in the New Testament. People who know nothing about the Word of God can quote verses 15 and 16 by heart. They take comfort that their passive belief has given them salvation, but what does it mean to believe? Is belief only to recognize Jesus as the son of God? If so, then the devils believe.

Matthew 8:28-29 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. (29) And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

The devils recognized Him. The knew who He was. They knew what He had come for. They knew what the time appointed for Him was all about. They had belief and recognition of Jesus, but surely no one is going to say that that knowledge was salvation for them. The devils had no love for Jesus. They quite apparently had fear of Him, but they had no relationship with Him and no love for Him.

Can you have belief that will save you without also having love for Him? Jesus said:

John 14:15

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Turn the verse around. . . if you do not love me, do not keep my commandments. . .

Jesus said:

John 6:47-51

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (48) I am that bread of life. (49) Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. (50) This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. (51) I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Jesus is the bread of life. . .for bread to do you any benefit, it must be taken inside you. You can have all the bread in the world sitting in your cupboard and yet still starve to death. It does nothing unless taken and eaten.

John 1:14

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. . .Jesus is the Word of God, the commandments of God walking among us. . .He is the bread of life. . .What is bread? What is its purpose? Bread is carbohydrate. The primary use of carbohydrates in the body is to provide energy to the muscles, so that they may do work. A diabetic cannot process carbohydrates. . . A spiritual diabetic eats of the bread of life and rather than it providing nourishment to his body, it builds up in his blood and becomes a poison to him. If you eat of the bread of life and yet for your disease you are incapable of processing it and do nothing with it. . .It becomes not nourishment, but poison to you. . . and you will die rather than be nourished. . .

I cry for you. . .

I weep. . .

My heart breaks. . .

I am overcome. . .

Eat of the bread. . .

I pray to God. . .be nourished by the bread of life. . .

I love you my God. . .

I love you my Lord. . .

I thank you for the bread. . .

Dave