Daily Bread – April 28, 2022 (The Fifth Day – Genesis 1:20-23) John 5:44 – How are you able to believe when you seek glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that only comes from God. Truth and reality has never been popular in the social and political structures of man. When Jesus came proclaiming the message of salvation and actually demonstrating the glory of God, many of those who held important positions were threatened by Him. They were so caught away in their own rules and regulations that they had become furious over Jesus working a miracle on the Sabbath (John 5:16). Jesus attempted to explain to them exactly why He did the miracle on the Sabbath. He was only doing what the Father showed Him to do. Because His heart was fixed on doing the will of the Father, He did not even consider what they thought (John 5:17, 19-20, 30). Jesus explained to these angry men why the glory of the Father was revealed in His life. The primary focus of the message is He lived only to honor the Father and to do His will. Therefore, at the heart of everything Jesus was doing was the relationship He had with the Father as His Son (John 5:19-23,25). Because of this relationship He had with the Father, it was the Father Who gave Him glory and honor by testifying on His behalf through these miracles (John 5:32,36-37). The concluding statement of Jesus to these leaders is key to our understanding how to function in the faith of God. Above all else, we must realize the essential need to be totally committed to the will of God. With this commitment, we must also understand we can do nothing of ourselves; and to attempt to do anything, even out of a desire to please the Father, will result in failure. Above everything else, our relationship with the Father must be first. Jesus makes it imperative we seek the glory (Greek – “doxa”) which only comes from God (Exodus 34:29; Romans 2:7, 8:18; 1 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Corinthians 3:18; and 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 1 Peter 1:11, 5:10; 2 Peter 1:3-4). We must be cautious of the fact that if we seek the glory that comes from men, it will run direct interference with the glory that comes from the Father. Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen