Matthew 4:4 “But Jesus answered, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 

All leaders, including you and me, must have a source of food to sustain us and to provide for our physical and spiritual growth and maintenance.  After Jesus’ baptism and just before He began his earthly ministry, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  He fasted for 40 days when Satan came to tempt him to turn stones into bread. Matthew 4:4 is Jesus’ response to Satan and was taken from the same words found in Deuteronomy 8:3 which describe Israel’s desert experience and dependence on God to provide both food and spiritual direction.  Manna was the daily food and provision from God that showed them that God was the provider and that their survival did not depend on God’s manna alone, but every word that came from the mouth of God as He spoke to them through Moses.  They found their food through obedience to God’s Word to them and His provision.

This account from both the Old and New Testaments should remind us that God alone is the real source of life, leadership and everything for his people.  God’s Word is both life-giving and life-sustaining.  In John 6:64, Jesus said, “It is the spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”  How does this apply to each of us as we lead our lives and families?  A Christian will become hungry if he does not eat or does not eat the right food.  If he tries to rely on his own self-provision to turn stones into bread, he will still be hungry and face malnutrition and starvation.  Jesus did not yield to Satan’s temptation to turn stones into bread.  He went directly to God’s Word as referenced in Deuteronomy 8:3 and quoted to Satan.  Our food as leaders must be a daily supply of manna/bread from God’s Word which is his provision to us.  We don’t need to go to the supermarket for this food.  We just need to depend on God to meet our daily needs and to obey him.  God’s Word is more than just information; it is for our transformation and real life.  I recently read this, “If we don’t read the newspaper, we are uninformed.  If we do read the newspaper, we are misinformed.” Question: “What do you read first, God’s Word or the newspaper?”  Just asking!