HE IS MORE WE ARE LESS
BREAD
27 To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less. John 3:27-30 (NIV)
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. Hebrews 1:1-4 (NIV)
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:23-26 (NIV)
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NIV)
6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 (NIV)
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36 (NIV)
BUTTER
“I have but one passion: it is He, He only.” Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf
“And if you don’t lie prostrate on the ground before that cross, you have never seen it: if you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus, you don’t know Him. You were so lost that nothing could save you but the sacrifice of God’s only begotten. Think of that, and as Jesus lowered Himself for you, bow yourself in lowliness at His feet. A sense of Christ’s amazing love to us has a greater tendency to humble us than even the conscious awareness of our own guilt……Pride cannot live beneath the cross.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“When we think of the apostles, we think of holy men of God. And though they were gifted and dedicated, they also were ordinary. Jesus did not call these men because they were great; their greatness was the result of the call of Jesus. A great writer can take an ordinary piece of paper, and with the addition of his or her words, it suddenly becomes extremely valuable. It wasn’t the paper that was valuable; it was what the writer put down on that paper. A great artist can take a canvas and paint, and suddenly it becomes a costly work of art because of what the artist did. It wasn’t the canvas that was valuable; it is what the artist painted on the canvas. As believers, we recognize in ourselves that we are sinners separated from God. But let’s also recognize that when Christ came into our lives, He gave us value. He put His treasure in earthen vessels, or in jars of clay, which are our lives…With a new confidence and boldness, we have something to offer. It is not self-confidence; it is God-confidence. It is not self-esteem; it’s God-esteem.” Greg Laurie
“Our great honor lies in being just what Jesus was and is.” A. W. Tozer
“Our souls are not wired for celebrity or for ego-inflating self-advancement. We were not created to stand on top of pedestals. Rather, our best life is the one in which we decrease, become less, and leave the pedestals and the awesome to Jesus alone.” Scott Sauls
“Scripture permits us to broaden the definition of idolatry so that includes anything on which we set our affections and indulge as an excessive and sinful attachment. Therefore, the idols that we can see are certainly not the whole problem. Idolatry includes anything we worship: the lust for pleasure, respect, love, power, control, or freedom from pain. Futhermore, the problem is not outside of us….the problem is in us….the heart’s instinctive plotting in this idol construction is amazing. We know we are called to imitate God. This means we are to live for His glory, not our own. We are to make Him famous, not ourselves….the purpose of all idolatry is to manipulate the idol for our own benefit…..but (we) need the power of God, the message of Christ crucified and risen. Other therapies can offer sobriety, but only this good news is powerful enough to liberate the soul.” Ed Welch
“Humility is the mark of true greatness, especially in the heart of a leader. Humility makes the great greater.” Dr. John Dickson
“The love of God, when taken hold of, frees us from any need to be noticed, to make a name for ourselves, to find significance through achievement and advancement or from having access to fame and fortune. We already have these gifts and these blessings in abundance—in infinite supply—from the Father who is not blind to our value but who sees us and loves us dearly.” Scott Sauls
“It is the Spirit’s way first to strip us of our own righteousness and strength, to show us our nakedness and nothingness, to fill us with godly sorrow for sin, and then lead us to Jesus for pardon, sanctification, and justification. Christ being the Vine, we must first be planted in Him, and draw nourishment and strength from Him by faith. Then it is fulfilled, ‘They shall feed and lie down’ on His pasture, ‘and none shall make them afraid,’ Zephaniah 3:13. Then we shall be able to bring forth good fruits, and obtain victories; for it is God Himself that thus makes us perfect in every good work, and prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.” K. H. Von Bogatzky
“The loss of God’s centrality in the life of today’s church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.” The Cambridge Declaration
“I am not my own today. I belong to another. I have been bought with a price. And I will live every moment of this day so that the Great Purchaser of my soul will receive the full reward of His suffering.” Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf
HEART SAVOR
• When I walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit I leave the aroma of Christ and not the stench of death.
• I am to reflect Him not flesh.
• Embracing God’s love for us keeps us from clamoring for the mere accolades of man. Christ is more than sufficient and desirous to meet our every need – be it physical or emotional. All we need do is ask. Those who are filled and overflowing with Him are ever so winsome to be around. No longer needy, they have something to give.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 