DAILY BREAD OF LIFE

(KJV.)  ACTS 27:35

(35)  And when he had thus spoken,  he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all:  and when he had broken it,  he began to eat.

WE APPRECIATE YOU, OH FATHER!

Brethren, in midst of troubling, uncertainty world of darkness;  let us give thanks to our Father, the Almighty creator of heaven and earth, whose name is JEHOVAH, the great "I AM that I AM", the only righteous Father;  for his blessings, healings, victories, protections, goodness, mercies, faithfulness that endureth forever.

Apostle Paul was taken as a prisoner with certain other prisoners, to Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band.in Rome:, placed on a ship to Adramyttium, to sail the coast of Asia, (persecution);  therefore, if we are in any persecution for righteousness sake today, it is nothing new, let us pray and trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, he will make a way out!;  however, Paul found favor in the eyes of Julius, who entreated Paul, gave him liberty to go and associate with his friends and refresh himself. (grace); there is always free grace available for those who are in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; in this case Paul found favor in the eyes of our Father, though a prisoner, yet was set free to move around on the ship:  however, there arose a tempestuous wind against the ship, it was caught in the windy storm and could not bear up to the wind; they had to lighten up the ship to avoid wreckage; (deliverance); even amidst troubles waters, our Father works all things together for good, to those who are called according to his purpose:  in this case, amidst the turmoil, an angel of our spoke with Paul, encouraged him, saying fear not, told him what will happen to the ship, under whose authority he will face trails, strengthen his faith, that our Father has given him all the men on board the ship; what a mighty Father to serve;  for, he is faithful in all his ways, never leaves his servants alone in devastations but always provides ways out, orchestrates his plans and purposes regardless of evil works of men:  after being in devastation for 14 days without food, the ship men decided to flee out of the ship, so they let down the boat into the sea;  (exoneration);  Apostle Paul, the prisoner, now became the leader and counsellor; he advised them all to eat some meat, to avoid starvation and death and maintain good health; since no one ate nothing for fourteen days; for they have been on the ship fasting; Apostle Paul received spiritual elevation from a prisoner to leadership role: what a mighty works of our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

After Paul advised them to break their fast, he also encourage them not to be afraid, eat some meat to strengthen themselves and trust in our Father;  therefore,  (i)  he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all:  (thanksgiving);  this is faith in action, first of all Paul was a prisoner, he does not know his fate, whether he will make it to appointed destination because the shipwrecked, yet he was not worried about himself; but worried about the welfare of everyone on board the ship; this is what Jesus did!  (sacrifice);  with faith, when he took bread, he first of all gave thanks to our Father in their presence;  Paul exemplified his faith in Jesus Christ, for his providence, regardless of where they were and what to do get to where they were supposed to be; that did not matter to him, at that moment, he gave thanks for the bread, trusted in our Father to take absolute control of the rest of their predicaments; this is an example, that regardless of what is going on in our lives, to appreciate where we are in life, what we have, trust our Father that he will not forsake us, but will take care of our souls, and things will be alright again;  (ii)  and when he had broken it;  after Paul prayed, be broke the bread boldly before them all;  what happened here is, (Holy Communion); togetherness in minds and spirits;  after Paul prayed to our Father, he believed that he heard his prayers, strengthen their faiths that he is with them, and fear no foes, but were bold and brave, no longer afraid for their fates but partook of the meats and bread with appreciation to our Father's sustenance;  timidness is of the devil, boldness with faith, is of our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior;  (iii)  he began to eat.;  whenever, we pray on our food, whether we cook the food ourselves or not; when we thank our Father for his providence and ask him to sanctify what he has provided to eat, it is sanctified, and no food of demonic affliction can withstand the sacred blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior;  for example, Prophet Elisha was in Gilgal, and there was famine in the land, he asked his servant to cook pottage for the son of the prophets;  therefore, one went to the field to gather herbs, but wild vine was among wild gourds shredded into the pot of pottage unaware; and was boiled together, when they tasted it, the pottage was bitter and they cried out to Elisha, that there is death in the pot and could not eat it;  Elisha, took meal poured out into the pot, asked them to pour out for the people to eat, and there was no harm in the pot. (2 Kings 4)  (faith in action);  let us have faith in our Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, trust and believe in him, he is real and faithful foevermore.

Many times, there are hidden intended purposes of our Father in believers sufferings; in inference, he send great wind out against the ship on which Prophet Jonah was travelling to flee away from going to prophecy against Nineveh, when he was tossed into the sea, it was to teach him a lesson, get him to cooperate with purposes of our Father. (Jonah 1);  therefore, many times, what we view as sufferings from the enemy, may be used as tools to shape our souls for our Father's intended purposes; if we are in any trouble waters today; let us pray, stay humble, trust in our Father, he will speak into our hearts his intended purposes for our lives, when his purposes are accomplished, he will make all things well again by his grace.

CONCLUSION:

Dearly beloved, despite trespasses against our Father, when we take time to praise, worship and thank him; he overlooks our waywardness through the lenses of the blood, forgives and restores us unto himself; for he feels appreciated and would want to do more for us, so we may continue to be grateful children forever and evermore.  O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good, his mercies endures forever:  let us give thanks to our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior today and forevermore.  Amen and Amen!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

(KJV.)  Matthew 15:36:  And he took the seven loaves and the fishes,  and gave thanks,  and brake them,  and gave to his disciples,  and the disciples to the multitude.