Some of you may have heard of Ray Comfort, a New Zealand-born Christian minister who lives in the U.S. His ministry often focuses on meeting people (mostly young) on the street corners of America and asking them pointed questions that reveal their spiritual IQ, and which are designed to eventually lead to their admission that they need Jesus.

As God puts unbelievers in our pathway, we need to be ready to boldly, lovingly, and unashamedly tell them what Jesus has done to rescue them and reconcile them to the Father. Besides explaining his suffering and death on the cross to forgive us our sins, perhaps the most important question to follow is: “Do you believe that Jesus Christ arose from the dead?” If Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, this changes everything. When the New Testament writers speak of God’s love, they point to the cross. When they speak of God’s power, they point to the resurrection. In Matt. 28:18, Jesus says, “All authority (power) has been given to me in Heaven and on earth.” And in vs 20 He says that He is with us always. The result of His resurrection is not only His power and His presence but also His provision.

Living in today’s upside-down world where good is evil and evil is good, there is a tendency to worry about the future…. morality, health, employment, family, etc. Corrie ten Boom said, ‘Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength - carrying two days at once.’ We all need to put our total trust in God’s provision and live one day at a time.

A great example of this trust in God expressed in worship is found in Exodus 15 where Moses and Miriam sang songs of praise to the Lord. The songs focused on their remembrance of how God had used Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and had miraculously parted the Red Sea to complete their escape. However, after a short time in the Wilderness, they became disenchanted because of their hunger. God responded by promising to rain down ‘bread from heaven’ (Ex 16:4) called manna to meet their daily needs. Each one gathered as much as they needed but were told not to store up any for the future (v. 19).

We are often tempted to store up material things as security for the future rather than trusting God to provide what we need when we need it.  More importantly, this applies to our spiritual needs. Jesus tells us that He is the ultimate provision of God. In John 6:51 He says, ‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.’ It is only because of the resurrection of Jesus that gives an eternal quality to this provision. Because Jesus has been raised to life, those who eat this bread will live forever.