BREAD - Daily Feasting on the Fresh Bread of God’s WordSample

Daily Feasting on the Fresh Bread of God’s Word

Exhausted after more than a day’s worth of international travel to Croatia for a mission trip, we hauled our family’s luggage up three flights of stairs. I lugged myself into our quaint hotel room and crawled onto the bed. Just before I fell asleep, I glanced over at the two sets of open shutters that were bringing in the moonlight. Too tired to close them, I drifted off to sleep.

I will never forget the moment when I awoke out of a deep sleep to an undeniable smell. The aroma of freshly baked bread came wafting up through the open shutters. It seemed to hypnotize me as I followed the scent trail down the hotel stairs, walked through the lobby, and made my way across the street. I entered the corner bakery to buy the next hot loaf as it was pulled out of the oven.

When was the last time you enjoyed a slice of bread hot out of the oven? Remember the aroma? There is something about the smell, taste, and texture of freshly baked bread. Who would prefer eating or serving stale bread when a fresh loaf is cooling on the cutting board waiting to be sliced?

God’s desire and delight is that we feast on the fresh bread of His Word every day. The psalmist in Psalm 34:8 NLT invites us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” In the Gospels, Jesus exclaims, invites, and promises, “I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to Me and you will never be hungry” (John 6:35, TPT).

BREAD Overview

Day 1: Behold

Day 2: Rewrite

Day 3: Examine

Day 4: Align

Day 5: Declare

This plan will help you to focus on one passage of Scripture for five days. Four distinct methods of studying Scripture will be employed to gain an understanding of real-life application and to share with others.

Read the Scripture, pray for understanding, and answer the questions. Use the notes app on your phone or a notebook to record your answers. Better yet, invite someone to do this plan with you and answer the questions in the Talk it Over section each day.

Behold

Read the verses slowly several times.

Journal your reflections. Begin to memorize.

Read the verses in context (verses before and after, the surrounding paragraph, or the complete chapter) to glean a fuller meaning.

Write how your impression/interpretation of the verses changed after seeing it in context.