Grocery Store Jesus

"But Jesus told him, 'No! The Scriptures say, People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.' " -Matthew 4:4

We get on our knees, and pray "Lord, I need you to come through for me. Father, I don't have money to pay my bills, my kids going crazy, and I need a way out. You promised that when I pray, believe that I will receive it and will have it. Father, I'm your child and the Bible says that the righteous has never been forsaken nor their seed begging for bread. Thank you for granting my request. Amen." You say "There's nothing wrong with this prayer" but there is and i'll explain why because this is the EXACT same prayer I pray whenever I get in a jam or a "God needed situation".

What was Jesus saying in Matthew 4:4? Who was He talking to? If you're not familiar with the story, Jesus was in the wild after 40 days of fasting (going without food), being tempted by Satan and Satan asked him to turn stones into bread. I could go on about how hungry Jesus was and temptation but that is another blog in itself. Matthew 4:4 actually shows us something we miss when we read this scripture: Our need for Jesus everyday.

Society and even religion has taught us that we only need Jesus when its "urgent". For example, everyone and their mother is a prayer warrior when someone is on their death bed. Why does it take dramatic circumstances for us to need Jesus? Think about this way: You're at home, and a family member calls and says, "Hey, I need $500 to help pay with the rent. Please help me, if you don't I'll get evicted." You feel compassion toward them, so you pay them. They say thank you but you don't hear from them until the next year and they need $500 for another emergency. The point is that you probably would call that family member a "user" or a "parasite" because all they do is take and never give. So if we as God's finest creation do not tolerate people who only use us when they need us, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK GOD DOES? You're probably saying, "Henry, that's you're personal opinion but everyone uses Jesus when they need him. I don't need Jesus everyday. I'm saved so I'm good." You're right because even sinners pray when they are in a situation they can't get out of. However, God then becomes an "accessory" and not a "neccessity"

I wanna direct your attention to the most quoted prayer in history, also known as "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-13) but let's take a look at verse 11 (NLT), which states, "Give us our food for TODAY." This is the prayer of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior teaching US....just in case you missed it, let me repeat it....Jesus Christ is teaching US how to pray. If Christ told us that we should pray to God for our "daily bread", who or what has told us that we only need to pray in "special circumstances"? God isn't interested in your "special circumstances", He's interested in your daily bread (everyday life) God doesn't want to hear from you only on Sundays when you trying to pray righteous enough to convince people, God wants to hear from you everyday because He is our Supplier, Our Refuge, Our Rock, Our Father, Our Creator.

If you haven't gotten the picture, I'm sorry because maybe I'm using a little bit to much "theology" (just a fancy word for religion). I'm gonna explain to you how the Lord explained it to me. We go to the grocery store only when we need food, we call that normal. However, what we have done is fooled ourselves into thinking that whatever we need will always be on the shelves. Now in some countries they only shop for what they need for that day. What is the point I'm trying to make? We have made God into OUR IMAGE when the Bible clearly states we were created in HIS IMAGE (Genesis 1:27). What does this mean? It means that we have a daily need for God because we're created for Him, not ourselves. We become lukewarm, hypocritical, self-righteous Followers of Christ when we only go to God when we want something. We do not appreciate Jesus for WHO he is because we don't even know him. We seek His hand, not His Face and then we get mad when God doesn't answer our prayers, when we put our faith in Him and it didn't happen. When you go to the grocery store OFTEN, they begin to recognize who you are and call you by name....PLEASE DO NOT MISS THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION I AM ABOUT TO MAKE....When we spend more time with Jesus through prayer, fasting, worship, etc, we call Him by name. We don't just call Him Jesus, we'll call Him "Jesus The Healer". Everything becomes personal, our worship becomes deeper, our prayers wider, and our life shines brighter. Why? Because we have spent time in His Presence not only when we want something. There's a story in the Bible, where the apostles were casting out demons, so these other dudes decided that the name Jesus must be so powerful, that they could use it too so they did...but the demons didnt know who they were because they had NO POWER, and the demons attacked them. This is why so many Christians are falling away, giving up the faith because we think God is a light switch, we turn Him on on Sunday but keep Him off the other 6 days.

When we go to God daily, our lives become changed. I used to cuss, listen to worldly music, watch porn (im srry im a Christian right?) drink, etc. and then I'd go to church to get my "Christian energy drink" from the pastor and feel good because I did something that Jesus would actually approve of. However, it wasn't until I seriously accepted Christ that everything changed. I do not cuss, drink, or listen to worldly music. Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect but I'm different because I have spent time with Christ. I know him differently now because I have a relationship with Him. Jesus should not be put on a shelf only to be taken down on Sunday or special occasions when we really need Him. We need Him everyday because life happens everyday. Everyday, someone is waiting for us to tell them about Christ, but how can we tell them when we only know Him as a 911 Operator and not as Our Father? I'm not accusing anyone because I'm guilty of the same things. If we do not like being used, why do we use God? Is it because He loves us unconditionally? Is it because He's God and doesn't have feelings? Whatever our reason, God's heart breaks when one of his children comes to Him only for something they need. Have a relationship with Christ, it brings benefits that emergency prayer doesn't. God has promised so much to us but we do not even read His Word. Please do not use God, He can become so much more than just "Grocery Store Jesus". Religion won't get you into Heaven, only a relationship with Jesus Christ can. Be blessed.

P.S. If anyone knows the scripture for that story about the demons attacking the dudes, please let me know because I tried finding it but couldn't and PLEASE double check every scripture, I take the Word of God very seriously and let me know if I have misquoted anything. If so, forgive me it was not intentional.