Spiritual Bread

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread." But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took Him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, 'He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.'" Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the LORD your God.'" Next the devil took Him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. "I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will kneel down and worship me." "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the LORD your God and serve only Him.'" Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. Matthew 4:1-11

Camel Crossing at the Judean Desert - Israel.

From this hillside we looked into the Judean desert where Jesus spent His 40 days in the wilderness. A pure environment is empty of sin.  Pure people meet with God. Now there were no trees to provide shade or relief from the heat of the day. Were there trees in the Judean desert during Jesus time? Elijah found a small tree—a broom tree under which to rest in that same desert.  

Jesus journey to the Cross included a journey into the wilderness—a time alone with God. A time of temptation. This is the same desert that Elijah had gone to when he was discouraged. God provided bread for him and rest.

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died." Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. 1 Kings 19:3-6.

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 when Satan tempted Him to turn the stones into bread. People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4. Spiritual bread—feed on God’s Word. Imagine how hungry Jesus was. He was in the desert for 40 days without food. I find it difficult to go even a day without food. Fast and pray. That is what Jesus was doing. Spending that time alone with God—but Satan intervened. He wanted to get Jesus to change His mind about being in total obedience to God the Father. Have you ever fasted—spending time praying and focusing on what God has to say to you in His word? If not, maybe try it for one meal, one day…or 40 hours. During that time listen to God through His Word…listen and pray. We don’t live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God. Don’t let Satan interfere with your time with the Lord—with your focus on Him.  

Prayer ~ Lord God, may I hear Your voice. May You fill the desert of my heart with Your life giving Bread. Your very words that give life, strength and spiritual health.

Daily Bible Reading: March 24 – Joshua 5-8

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

There are so many forms of bread. Yeast breads, sweet breads, unleavened breads, pancakes, waffles and muffins. So often we choose regular white or whole wheat bread, rye bread or sourdough bread at the store, but consider the unleavened breads. Pita, matza, lefse, or naan.

I’m continuing on my Indian food epicurean adventure and always thought naan was a non-yeast bread, but many recipes I discovered had yeast. Here’s one I tried that was good and didn’t have yeast.

Naan without yeast

2 cups flour (can be 1 cup whole wheat & 1 cup regular)

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup plain yogurt

Mix dry ingredients. Add yogurt until dough is too stiff to stir, then transfer to a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is elastic and smooth. Put it in an oiled bowl, cover and let rest for at 30-60 minutes. Take the dough out and cut into six equal portions.  Press into round discs and then roll to ¼ inch thick—about 8 inches across.

Heat your broiler to 500 degrees F.

Heat a cast iron frying pan or griddle on medium heat and fry each disc of dough for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Then transfer to the broiler for 1-2 minutes to finish browning the bread. Watch it closely so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter, if you like. Continue to fry and broil all the breads. Serve them hot. If you have leftovers reheat later at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, wrapped in foil.

© 2017 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

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