Jesus welcomed the people, taught them about the Kingdom of God and healed those in need. Luke 9:11

Seeds of the Kingdom

Act of Mercy

by Patricia Lake

Jesus said “I am the Bread of Life”.
John 6:48, NKJV

In their hour of need towards the end of World War 11, when the people of Holland were starving, Operations Manna and Chowhound were launched. The British and other Allied Nations sent planes, under the radar, dropping food from the skies for the beleaguered population. The Dutch people looked on in joy and amazement when they realised that someone had come to their aid. God had not forgotten them. He sent help via the British, American and other nations. Many long-lasting friendships were formed that day.

The film footage of this was reminiscent of the Old Testament story of the Israelites, as they journeyed through the wilderness, having escaped their captors. They were hungry and God sent manna from heaven when the people cried to Moses. God said “I will rain down bread from heaven for you”. The needs of each person were met, no-one had too little or too much, and the manna only ceased on the day they entered the Promised Land.

Yet, this wonderful miracle was only a type or shadow of the true Living Bread that was yet to come. God sent manna for a nation, and the manna met their physical needs and sustained them for a time. But in the fullness of time God sent His Son, Jesus, for the life of the world that was starving spiritually. Jesus went on to expound this to His listeners in John Chapter 6, revealing to them who He was, and encouraging them not to set their hearts on bread which perishes, but on that which endures to everlasting life.

In every instance it was God who was the provider, whether He touched the hearts of the allies with compassion to help the starving Dutch people, or whether He provided miraculously for the Israelites, as befitting the situation and time.

Today, Christ the Living Bread, who came down from Heaven and gave His life for the world, is still available to all who need Him.

This wonderful act of mercy was in the heart of God when He provided for man ‘before the foundation of the world’. God had already put in place the remedy for man’s rescue and restoration long before any of us was born. The Living Bread is still feeding the world, and will continue to do so until the end of time, for God loves us with an everlasting love.

Prayer: Dear Lord, As You instructed us, help us to continually feed on the True and Living Bread that is eternal, and not to set our hearts on the temporal. Thank You for the wonder of Your eternal provision for mankind. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Patricia Lake is now Ellel’s Representative in Curacao, in the Dutch West Indies, where she is now living, having served with Ellel Ministries as Peter Horrobin’s Secretary for almost 20 years. Prior to that she was in ministry in her local Pentecostal church in Birmingham, before feeling the call of God to serve in the healing and deliverance ministry at Ellel Grange in the northwest of England.

 

Sign Up Now

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.