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A SONG AND A PRAYER |
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MORNING MANNA - MARCH 1-15, 2007
Enter subhead content here  MORNING MANNA - MARCH 15, 2007 - NOT AGAIN! Numbers 21:5 (New Living Translation) When was the last time you complained about something? (Philippians 2:14) I know that, for me, it wasn't that long ago! It's something I need to constantly guard
against (and I don't always do the greatest job!). We're not much different than the Israelites, are we?
We get impatient. We get bored with the same old, same old. We get discontented. Then we complain.
Of some people it is said that they are not happy unless they have something to complain about. Let it not be said of
you and me. We have everything to compliment and praise God about. Let's keep that thought. Here's
a humorous example of someone who just couldn't find a way to stop complaining: A lady who was an incurable grumbler complained about everything and everybody. But, finally, the minister thought
he had found something about which she could make no complaint: the old lady's crop of potatoes was certainly the finest
for miles around. "Ah, for once you must be pleased," he said with a beaming smile as he met her in the village
street. "Everyone is saying how splendid your potatoes are this year." The old lady glared at him as she answered,
"They are not so bad, but where are the rotten ones for the pigs?"—Bible Illustrations The worst thing, in my mind, about the complaining Israelites was that they said, "There
is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!" (Numbers 21:5) How scary. They had seen God give them water many times when it looked like they might die of
thirst. So, today, God gives us a plentiful supply of living water. (John 4:10) We only have to look to Jesus who will freely give us all the living water we need. Their
hunger had been satisfied for a very long time with the manna that God sent daily from Heaven, yet now they were calling
it wretched! The manna represented bread from Heaven. It represented God's Word. Jesus is that
Bread from Heaven. He encourages us to remember that when we take communion. (Luke 22:19) He allowed His body to be broken so that each of us might have the manna or Word we need to live
a victorious life. Yet, do we still complain? Do we sometimes even complain if the preacher has not met our expectations
with His sermon? Or, do we look for and listen for what God is saying no matter whose voice is doing the speaking?
Are we so familiar with His Word that we just read over it and say with pride, "I read my Bible today but I've read
that lots of times before."? Sometimes do we even get kind of irritated or discontent because we can't see
anything "new?" Has the Living Water and the Heavenly Manna become common place to us? Has He?
The Israelites had lost total respect for God and for what He had been giving them. He had given them life and
they disregarded it. So He offered them death. He sent poisonous snakes to bite them and they began dying.
(Numbers 21:6) Of course that's not the end of the story. God is not into destroying His people. But,
He does want their respect. He then made a way for them to be healed. (Numbers 21:9) Even in our awful state of complaining and disrespect, God has provided a way for us to be
saved and healed. We only need to look to Jesus in faith. If you, like me, find yourself sometimes complaining,
don't wait for God to send a snake to get your attention. Just look up in faith and praise to Jesus and say, I'm
not going to complain this time Lord, not again! MORNING MANNA - MARCH 14, 2007 - IN THE LIGHT OF HIS PRESENCE Psalms 56:13 (New Living Translation) David was so good at encouraging himself in the Lord even during the hardest
of times. Today, many say we should never admit we are having a hard time. Some say this would indicate a
lack of faith. While I know that God wants us to have faith in His ability to rescue us from anything destructive
that we might encounter, I also believe that we must walk in the truth and not in denial. We do have an enemy and we
will be threatened and attacked. (1 Peter 5:8) When we are having a hard time, we can smile at others and say, "I'm fine." They
may be convinced. God is not convinced because He knows our every thought and is acquainted with the depths of our heart.
(2 Chronicles 28:9) We need not deny that we are sometimes attacked and sometimes walk in some hard consequences due to
our wrong choices. We do need to remember that the answer to every attack is in our Lord and His Word. That's
exactly what David did. In this particular instance, the heading of this Psalm tells me that he wrote it regarding the
time he was captured by the Philistines. In Psalm 56, David goes back and forth between admitting his troubles (Psalm 56:1-2) and encouraging himself in the Lord. (Psalm 56:3-4) We can do that too, always remembering to keep the main focus on God's power. What may seem at first as a sort of "waffling" by David in his writing here
is nothing more than a truthful acknowledgement of the natural circumstances he is facing. Then follows an acknowledgement
that God is in control and all powerful. He sees the natural but reminds himself that he is totally covered by the Supernatural!
I am always in awe of how God protects and rescues me from dangers that I see. I saw it firsthand just today when my
own driving blunder almost caused me to be in a terrible accident. I called out the name of Jesus and somehow escaped
the accident. However, I'm even more in awe of the many things I know He has protected me from that I never even
saw! When we have received the Lord and are seeking to walk in His ways, the enemy will try anything to bring us
down. He is really after the One who lives in us. Satan is deceptive and tricky. He will try to "break
in," if you will, while we are not looking. Aren't you glad that God is shedding His Light on you and me today?
The enemy cannot get us in the dark because we are in Christ. In Christ, there is no darkness! (1 John 1:5) David knew that God had rescued him from death
at the hands of the enemy. We, too, can know that we have been rescued from death at the hands of the enemy and
will forever live in the Light. Satan would keep us in darkness now and for eternity. But the true Light has come. (John 12:46) Jesus is the Light. (John 9:5) Jesus is the Word. (John 1:14, Psalm 119:105) He is the Light for our path. We, like David, have been rescued and now we can walk in the life-giving
Light of His presence. (John 14:6) We can walk that way now and all the way into Glory. His Word will keep our feet from slipping
as it lights our path. I was awakened about 3am with the admonition to write about His glorious light this
morning. It has been so much on my heart and I pray that, if you are in the darkness of some situation or of depression,
that you will look up and realize it is only a cloud. Don't feel guilty because of how you feel. Be thankful
that your knowledge of the Jesus transcends your feelings. He already knows how you feel and He understands. He
took all that when He went to the cross. The Son is always shining! Even when you can't see Him...... You
are in His presence. His life-giving light will come right through that cloud and you will once again see the
path ahead of you. As you glance backward at the footprints, you will see that He's been with you all
the way. If you can only see one set of footprints, you will know that He compassionately carried you! Or maybe
you were following so closely that you put your feet right in the places where His left....... MORNING MANNA - MARCH 13, 2007 - HOW SOON WE FORGET! Numbers 16:41 (New Living Translation) Time and time
again, the Lord (Moses too) had become angry with the Israelites because of their attitude. It was one of pretty constant
complaining. They muttered much of the time trying to place the blame for their circumstances on Moses and Aaron.
Many of their circumstances were brought about by their own disobedience! How soon they forgot that! Do we do
that? I confess, I have been guilty. God had just completed an awful judgment on Korah and his gang of followers
because they had come against Moses. They were all swallowed up alive in the ground - even their wives, children and
everything they owned. Wiped off the earth in a moment of time! (Numbers 16:31-34) If that wasn't enough, God sent fire and burned 250 men instantly because they were disobeying
and trying to usurp authority that did not belong to them. (Numbers 16:35) My humble conclusion here would be that this was something God wanted His people to remember so
that they would not fall into the same trap. They didn't seem
to remember even after all that running and screaming in fear. (Numbers 16:34) The very next thing we hear about after they cleaned up all the mess from that catastrophe is, "The
very next morning..." You guessed it, the people copped an attitude again. Muttering was heard throughout
the camp. Do we as humans have such a short memory? Or, is it that we often think judgment is surely not going
to fall on us? What do we think anyway? If our minds are constantly renewed, as we are told to do, we
will be aware that, "But for the grace of God, there go I." (Romans 12:2) Remembering that, we may just be able to get away from a complaining attitude which has become the
norm in this world. I have fallen into it many times. It's bad enough to be complaining about the
medical community, the insurance business, the IRS, the....... But, many of us even complain about those God has sent to
lead us, just as the Israelites complained and blamed Moses and Aaron. That is dangerous ground. (1 Chronicles 16:22) God proved it in the book of Numbers and throughout the scriptures. My husband and I once belonged to a church in which one of the deacons was always being divisive. Every
business meeting turned into a session of complaining about leadership and about everything else. Rarely was
anything accomplished. One evening, he even got up in front of the church and spilled his complaints. I'm
not saying here that some complaints are not legitimate. Surely, if scripture is being violated, we should seek to implement
change. But, we had better have a good solid scriptural reason and go about creating change in God's way.
Complaining, muttering, bickering, backbiting and divisiveness are not His ways. The story I am telling you about ended
rather abruptly. The church was going into a tailspin because of this one deacon. When all seemed to be lost,
he lost it all. He fell over dead! Believe me, the fear of God came upon that church! I will not
stand as judge in this case as to whether it was because of his dividing the church and causing many to fall into despair.
I do know, though, that God has his ways of dealing with stubbornness and strife if we won't deal with it ourselves in
submission to Him. As I once heard someone say, "I've had a 'whoopin' from the Lord and I don't
want any more!" I've had them too and I certainly don't want any more! I want to remember that God
is definitely loving and long-suffering but He hates it when we complain about things that He is able to change if He
wills it (and that's everything!). Lord, today, please keep our help us to remember that You are both loving
and just. That You will not always strive with the hearts of men if we persist in negative attitudes against you
and those you have sent to minister to us. Give us hearts of obedience and open our mouths, not in condemnation and
discord but, in commendation of Your ways and delight in Your love. MORNING MANNA - MARCH 12, 2007 - GRATITUDE FLOWS! Numbers 15:18-19 (New Living Translation) Is there something in your life that you are waiting for God to perform? Is there
a promise He has put in your heart but you haven't seen it yet? This may be a time of preparation and also testing
before you are ready to receive the manifestation of what He has put in your heart. The people of Israel had not
entered the promised land yet when God was giving the above instructions. He was preparing them and they were being tested
in the wilderness. They didn't do so well so maybe we can learn a lesson from some of their mistakes. One
of the key words in the above verse is "when." There is no doubt that God is going to bring
everything He has decreed to pass. The "when" will be in His wisdom. We love to give our children good
things, don't we? (Matthew 7:11) God is the perfect Father and He wants to give us the things that are best for us at the best time. If you have a younger child and you have purposed to give them a vehicle, you don't
give it to them when they are ten years old. It's already theirs because you have decided it will be theirs
but you are not going to give it to them before they are able to handle it. In the meantime, you might be preparing
them for the responsibility of such a gift and giving wise instructions hoping to prepare the child to be safe and
use the car wisely. Just an aside - you would also want to be setting a good example of how to handle that responsibility
yourself! God was preparing the children of Israel to handle the great blessing that was coming their way.
He does the same for us. In this case, God said "when
you arrive" and "you will eat from the crops." He had brought to pass every other thing He had
spoken to the Israelites so they had no reason to believe that they would not arrive in the promised land and that there would
be crops from which they would eat. (Psalm 37:5) You and I have the same opportunity to believe God. We can all find instances in our lives that prove
that God has brought us to this point. Some have had harder lives than others but the fact that you are alive, breathing
and you can read this is evidence that God has not allowed you to be destroyed by any of those things that could have
brought you down. (Psalm 56:13) Just as when these words were spoken to the Israelites, there's more to come. In fact, the best is
yet to come. (John 14:3) God did not want His children to forget where all these benefits and blessings came from. (Psalm 103:2) He still wanted them to love Him with all of the heart, soul, and strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5) He didn't need their gifts. (Psalm 50:12) Everything here already belongs to Him. But, He wanted them to set aside some of the first of their crops willingly
for Him. In so doing, they would remember the Giver above the gift. God has always been into gifts and not
a one of us can out give Him. He gave His very best when He sent Jesus to give Himself up as a sacrifice for our sin.
Numbers 15:20 says that the Israelites were to present a cake from the first of the flour. Jesus was Heaven's
finest and He is the Bread of Life given for us so that we could experience salvation now and for eternity. (John 6:48, John 6:51) Giving of the best of our first fruits is not a commandment but it brings great blessing and the law of love
in our hearts may cause us to do it. One of the blessings that comes from giving is keeping us mindful that we have
done nothing on our own. It is God who has given us the power to obtain everything we have. (Deuteronomy 8:18) The Law is fulfilled by the spirit of love we see in Jesus. Can we do less? Do we want to
do less? What do you have today that God has given you? Have you offered back some of the first of it to
Him as an acknowledgement of His great love in providing for you? Are you prepared to get that desire that He
has placed in your heart by being humble enough to give some of what you have received so far and show by your actions
that you're ready? Again, it's not a commandment, it's a way of life, an attitude. It
is not just about money. It's time, talent, knowledge, spiritual insight - whatever God has trusted you with. We
often remind one another that we should have an attitude of gratitude. Attitudes reveal themselves in actions. We
will be a generous givers to God when our attitudes of gratitude begins to flow into actions. (Luke 6:38) MORNING MANNA - MARCH 11, 2007 - A GOOD REPORT Numbers 14:36-37 (New Living Translation) It truly is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (Hebrews 10:31) God had made a promise to the children of Israel. He had promised them a land flowing with milk
and honey, a place where they could live in His favor. He never promised that it would be easy. He never promised
that they would not have to press in and fight to get it. But, He did promise them victory. He has promised that
for you and me too. He sent twelve leaders to scout out the land that was already theirs by His promise. He didn't
send them to decide whether or not it could be theirs. He sent them to look at what He had already promised was theirs.
All they had to do was believe and obey. Unfortunately, only two of these leaders were willing to catch God's vision
and believe His promise. These days, we say, "The majority rules." That is true but the majority
is not always measured in numbers in the Kingdom of Heaven. When God is for something, He becomes the majority!
By the way, the Word says, "If God is for us, who can be against us." (Romans 8:31) These twelve men that God trusted as leaders
went in to scout the land but ten of them forgot that they were only God's servants, not His advisors. They forgot
that when God makes a promise, He always keeps it. (2 Corinthians 1:20) They forgot all about all the miracles they had seen in the wilderness. (Numbers 14:11) All they saw were the giants - and lots of them. While there were all the many wonderful
things that God told them would be in the land, their negative thinking caused them to miss the mark. Instead of being
in one accord with Joshua and Caleb who were staunch believers that, if God said it, He would do it, (Numbers 14:9) they chose to follow fear. They saw themselves as grasshoppers before the mighty giants that
inhabited the land. Then they assumed that the giants saw them that way too. (Numbers 13:33) Have you ever been there, done that? I have. At times I have forgotten God's
promises because of the giants that I saw in my life. Then I even began to think that the giants saw me as someone small
and insignificant even though I know that, because Jesus lives in me, I am nothing of the kind! Are there giants in your life today (who doesn't have them?)? How is your thinking? Are you trusting
that what God has promised in His Word is true or are you like the ten who decided not to trust? The sad thing about
not trusting is that it not only affects us and our lives but it affects others too. It is the desire of the Lord that
we, as believers, should walk in unity in Him. When we rebel as the ten spies did, it causes division and many
are affected. When the ten spies brought back their negative report, all the people were stirred up to fear
and there was great division. (Numbers 14:1-4) The majority opinion had caused the majority of the people to go the wrong way! God was not pleased.
(Numbers 14:12) Moses was about to get the promotion of his life! God was going to destroy all of the dissenters
and make a far greater nation out of him. However, even though Moses had enough reason to accept this promotion,
he knew it would not bring the glory to God that He deserved. So, instead he plead for the people
to be spared. Not because they deserved it but because it would bring more glory to God. Today, we have the
choice of believing God over what we see in this world and with our natural eyes and giving a good report about Him wherever
we go. Our choice should be easy since Jesus, like Moses, has plead for our salvation and given Himself up for it.
We may be in the minority but we can remember that the Kingdom of God is upside down compared to this world's standards.
No matter. God's promises are all true. We are not grasshoppers unless we choose what some have called, "stinkin
thinkin," which is not of God. It is not only our own lives that are in danger when our thoughts turn to the negative
but also everyone around us including our children and grandchildren. Which will we choose this morning. Wouldn't
it be great if we would all choose to be a Joshua or a Caleb? Can you imagine how much glory that would bring to our
loving Father? What is your report this morning? MORNING MANNA - MARCH 10, 2007 - HUMBLY FAITHFUL Numbers 11:23 (New Living Translation) God says something about Moses that is very flattering and, by it,
I would have thought that Moses was practically perfect! God said that Moses was humble. That he was the most
humble man of the face of the earth! (Numbers 12:3) Mind you, this could not have been easy because he was raised in a palace having every need met.
He was now leading thousands of people. The very people he was trying to lead to freedom were complaining and murmuring
against him all the time. They even talked about stoning him. (Exodus 17:4). I don't think I would be too humble at this point. He had spoken directly with God.
(Exodus 3:4) They had not. They were even afraid to go near God. (Exodus 20:19-20) The fact that he was able to talk with God when others were not might be reason to have great
pride. But God called him humble. We can be humble and still have flaws. Oh yes, Moses had his flaws (and
so do we!). For one thing, Moses had an anger problem.
Now, I don't blame him. I would have been much worse. But, that is not what God wants from us. When
we are angry at any situation, we are ultimately angry at God who is able to take us out of that situation if and
when He wills it. We are also showing a lack of faith (even if we claim to have faith, which probably makes us
a liar to boot!). Faith knows beyond any shadow of a doubt that God knows and does best in our lives.
Because His ways are so much higher than ours, we can't always see how the ingredients He uses in our lives will
come out for good. But faith says they will (Romans 8:28) and true faith walks tall in the midst of struggles. True faith also believes in how much God
loves us as individuals and as His creation. Because he not only loves us but He is love (1 John 4:8), we can know that nothing in our lives has come to ultimately harm us and no weapon formed against us will
ultimately prosper. (Isaiah 54:17) The Lord has spoken it! God will work with us to eliminate the problem of anger (or any
other problem we have that is keeping us from His perfect will). He loves us too much to leave us the way we are.
Moses also seemed to have lapses of faith, even after having performed all the miracles in front of Pharaoh and leading the
people through the Red Sea! You might say, "How could He? If God had done all those things for me, I would
surely not have any lack of faith." That's what my first impulse was. Then I thought about my own life. When I realize that we go from faith to faith, it suddenly hits me that I'm never
"there." (Romans 1:17KJV) The just shall live by faith. Since living is an ongoing process, then faith is an ongoing
process. We can't sit back and rest on the laurels of past victories There will always be challenges
and opportunities for our faith to grow. Moses seemed to be in that situation when God spoke Numbers 11:23 to him. The people had been grumbling again. They wanted their cravings met (boy can I relate
to that!). They were tired of the manna God had been providing and they wanted meat - you know a Triple Whopper
or a Texas style T-bone steak. They cried. They just didn't cry. They all stood in the doorways
of their tents weeping. They wept loud enough for Moses to hear and certainly God heard it. God was very angry but
He promised to send enough quail to make them gag. (Numbers 11:20) Poor Moses! He was at His wits end. Can you imagine trying to lead thousands of crybabies
to victory? Moses heard God say that He would provide the quail and enough for all the people to gorge themselves
for a month. But wait. This man of God had a lapse of faith. (Numbers 11:21-22) He started out a basket case in life and he was about to slip back into one! Here he was trying
to figure out how you could possibly get enough of any kind of meat to feed his unruly flock. But he was thinking in
the natural. He had forgotten that, if God said it, HE would do it. Well, sure enough, God did do it
just like all the other times He had done what He promised in Moses life. It's that way with our lives too.
New situations come up requiring new faith. We can't live on yesterday's faith. It's like a
muscle that has to be constantly exercised so it will become stronger. Moses may have been the most humble man on earth
but he still had lessons to learn from His God and so do we. So, today let's welcome God's hand in our lives
that allows growth situations so that our faith can be built. So that we can realize that without Him we are nothing.
(John 15:5) Let's humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God because in His time, we will be rewarded! (1 Peter 5:6) MORNING MANNA - MARCH 9, 2007 - DO WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE Mark 14:8 (Amplified Bible) This woman, of whom Jesus said, "She has done what she could," was immortalized throughout history in scripture.
Our first thought might be that she was a "super-Christian" and had done things in her life to earn that privilege.
But, as it seems, it was just the opposite. She was an ordinary woman. Even a sinful woman. Also she was a
"woman." Here was a group of men reclining at a table eating their food and all of a sudden a "woman"
enters the room. Never mind that she was an uninvited guest, a "party crasher" so to speak. She
was a woman. Now, she wasn't just any woman. She was a woman with a past - most
probably a questionable (to say the least) past. She had apparently had a career that allowed her to make some money
(most probably in the wrong way) and, with it she had purchased an alabaster box of expensive perfume. It was very
costly and perhaps represented what she had to show for her past services. (Mark 14:5) Can you imagine yourself being that woman, walking
through a crowd of men, uninvited and breaking all tradition? But, something inside you just told you that you had
to be near Jesus? You had to give Him your life. Her alabaster box represented her life and what
she had done with it. It may not have been what you or I would have considered right and worthy of a gift to the Lord
of Lords but it was all she had and it represented all she had done. Perhaps you, like me, have done a few (or
more than a few) things you now wish you would have chosen not to do. Unfortunately, there are no "rewind"
buttons in life. What has been, has indeed been. However, once we meet Jesus, just as this woman had
done, we are driven by His love for us to give Him our worship. Taking what she had, she risked the scorn and ridicule
of those in the room that night and poured her love out on Jesus in pure abandon. She did what she could with what she
had. It was financially costly and probably represented many days and hours of her life. Jesus, knowing everything
about us, received the gift amidst the grumbling's of the self-righteous men who sat around scoffing at her. (Mark 14:6) There she was, all by herself in worship at the feet of Jesus. All alone in worship. You don't think
those men sitting around were following this worship leader, do you? I would suppose that none of those nasty remarks
about her being hurled around the room ever reached her spirit, though her ears may have detected them. Her spirit was
in communion with the Spirit of the Living God. What about me?
What have I risked to pour everything I have on Jesus in worship? We all have an alabaster box somewhere in our lives.
It represents what we have collected through life (both good and bad). It is a box mixed with the perfume of our lives.
There is a temptation to hold on to it because it represents everything we have done thus far. There's also a great
risk in opening it because it may reveal some things we would like to keep hidden. Each of our boxes holds something
different but each represents something we can give to Jesus as we stand before Him in worship. There is a beautiful
song entitled, "Alabaster Box." It says, "I've come to pour my praise on Him like oil from Mary's
alabaster box." Are you ready to be like Mary this morning and just begin pouring your praise on Jesus like the
oil that spilled from Mary's alabaster box? Are we ready to take the risk of giving what we have, no matter what
remnants of the past it might contain, believing that Jesus will receive it and change us from the person we once were to
the person He intends us to be? Mary had a broken and contrite heart as she poured her oil that day. (Psalm 34:18) The broken seal on her jar of perfume represented the brokenness in her heart. Nothing was left
unopened in the jar and nothing was left unopened in her heart. She was completely humbled before Jesus and those who
were angry with her. (James 4:10) Ever since that moment, by one Word from Jesus, she has been exalted. Can we just open our hearts to Jesus this morning,
humble ourselves before Him and pour out our everything on Him? If so, He will receive it and we will rise up from worship
totally changed and renewed. You can't reach out to touch Jesus and come away untouched yourself!
MORNING MANNA - MARCH 8, 2007 - TRUE THANKS Psalms 50:14 (New Living Translation) "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord." Did you ever sing that little worship
chorus? Have you ever felt like you really weren't in the mood to sing something like that? Maybe you had
a bad day, a disagreement with your spouse. Maybe a disobedient or disrespectful child. It could be even worse.
Your emotions are not really in line with singing or declaring thankfulness. That's when thanks is really "true"
thanks. That's when it becomes a sacrifice. It's not easy to give thanks when the circumstances around
you don't look the way you think they should. It's not easy when the pain in your body or your emotions scream
constantly at you. It's not easy when grief clouds your vision and tears blur and distort what you see. It's
not easy when you can't see where your next meal is coming from or you don't know when they might turn off your
electricity. When we know that we know that we know that God
is in control.... When we know that He is loving and has no plans to harm us.... (Jeremiah 29:11) When we know that our future is secure in Him.... Then we can begin to give thanks in everything
because we know that it is His will for us. We do not necessarily give thanks for everything.
We give thanks in everything. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) His will is just that we give thanks from the bottom of our heart for who He is. Because
we live in a fallen and sin-stained world, things will come against us that are evil. But, if we know our God and who
He is, we will know that if He is for us, nothing can be against us. (Romans 8:31) That's good reason to give thanks right there. But He further tells
us that nothing can separate us from His love. (Romans 8:38) The enemy will try to make us think that we are separated but we can give true thanks because we know that
God has given us His promise. In the context from which this verse
was taken, God had just told the Israelites that He didn't need their sacrifices. (Psalm 50:13) Although He is in need of nothing, He tells them earlier that He has no complaint about their giving
sacrifices. In other words, He is not saying that they should not bring them. Only that they should be bringing
them with a proper heart. A grateful heart. He also wants us to keep our word to Him. If we have promised
Him time, talent or resources, we should continue to "pay those vows." We should do it cheerfully and with
a grateful heart. (2 Corinthians 9:7) We will be blessed even though sometimes it requires patience and faith for us to see that
blessing manifested. (Psalm 37:7) When I focus on what my eyes see and my natural mind tells me about negative situations in life,
it is very easy for me to slip into the trap of "seeing is believing." However, if I
walk in faith then, "believing is seeing," becomes my thought process. (Hebrews 11:1) It is then that I am able to give true thanks because I know that if God is in control, the answer
is already in place. I can know that He is has heard my every prayer and is holding on to all those things over which
I have relinquished my control. (2 Timothy 1:12b) My hands are now empty of everything I have tried to hold on to and free to be lifted in praise and true thanksgiving
to God. I am also free to pay my vows to Him because I have no extra baggage to tie me down or hinder me. When
we are filled with faith because we know that God is our strength, shield and deliverer, we will bubble with true thanksgiving
and joy. Nothing will be contrived or forced because we have the knowledge of who He is. (Psalm 28:7) We can't even praise and thank Him properly without His help. But, He has not only given us His requirements, He
has also promised to enable us to meet them! Wow - true thanks and service are due such a loving and holy
God! (Psalm 56:12) MORNING MANNA - MARCH 7, 2007 - HOW MUCH FOR REDEMPTION? Psalms 49:6-7 (New Living Translation) Imagine
having every need met. Not just met but met with extravagance. You live in the finest of the finest area.
Your home is a mansion. Even your floors are made of the finest materials. Your foot never has to step anywhere
but on the best ground. Your food is totally nourishing and satisfying. The taste is literally out of this world.
No more hamburger helper or burnt offerings that you have to eat anyway because there's nothing else in the frig.
Imagine having the finest of clothes and being surrounded by jewels. You never need a doctor because your health
is always flourishing. Nothing happens in your life that makes you sad or even angry. How much money would it
take to buy all of that? Most of us will never have enough money to acquire all those things. But, some do
acquire fame and wealth and seemingly are denied nothing but the best. There's only one problem with this. Unless those, who have been given much in this world, use it for the purposes of the
Kingdom... Unless they use it to help those less fortunate than themselves... Unless they use it to spread
the Word of God... Unless all of these things, they will come to a perhaps untimely end, most probably in an unredeemed
state. We see that time and time again as the nightly news reveals the death of someone rich and famous. No matter
how much money or fame we have, death will come to us. It will also come to our closest relatives and friends.
No amount of money or fame will be able to stop death in our lives or in the lives of our loved ones. We all have
to leave this earth. (Hebrews 9:27-28) Whether we leave to live in Heaven or Hell depends not on our wealth or fame but on the wealth and fame that Jesus
laid down in order to redeem us. Aren't you glad today
that Jesus paid the ransom for us? I sure am! (1 Peter 1:18) If you can imagine all of the things mentioned above as a way of life, you can have them. Jesus paid for it.
God sent His dearest and best, a part of Himself, here to live and die so that you and I could really, really live.
(1 Peter 1:19) Death to this worldly life will come but, if we have received the gift of freedom Jesus paid for, we will be transported
to a life that one can only imagine here. (Hebrews 13:14) If you are well off in this world today, there is nothing wrong in that. It is such a great blessing of the
Lord. But, if your heart is set on those blessings instead of the Blessor, an adjustment needs to be made. Abraham
was highly favored of God and had riches beyond belief. But they were given to him so he could be a blessing to
others. (Genesis 12:2) It's the same with us. Wealth cannot "buy" us anything with God but He expects
us to use it for His glory and not our own. Not trusting in anything but God Himself. (Psalm 34:22) He gives us everything we have and He is the only One who could and did pay the ransom for our souls. All glory
to the One who has provided everything we need for this life and the next! Jesus paid it all! (Matthew 20:8) Whether we have little or much, all to Him we owe! MORNING MANNA - MARCH 6, 2007 - BE QUIET AND KEEP PEDDLIN' Psalms 48:14 (New Living Translation) There are some days when I just don't have a clue where to turn.
How about you? Things in this world can get very confusing. I might turn to another person for an answer.
This, in itself is not bad since the Word of God lets me know that counselors can help my plans succeed. (Proverbs 15:22) However, there is Only One who can effectively and will lovingly guide our footsteps in the way
that will be best for us. We can plan and plan with the aid of many counselors but it will ultimately be God that directs
our steps. (Psalm 37:23) What is it that you are struggling with this morning. Is it sickness? Is it finances?
Is it weakness? Isaiah 58:11 gives us the assurance that God will guide us through all these things by continuing to water
our lives with the Living Water of His Word. But, we have to be willing. Our attitude toward His guidance means
everything. Like the Psalmist says in Psalm 25:5, we must seek God and acknowledge Him as our salvation and our supreme Counselor and we must wait on Him.
No running ahead or lagging behind! We have to be willing to be teachable and walk in humility. Our hope must
be taken off of ourselves and our own understanding and placed in the only One who has the power to bring what is hoped for
to pass. (Proverbs 3:5) When that step is taken God's promise is that He will guide us and teach us His way. (Psalm 25:9) Have you ever heard the story of the man riding
the tandem bicycle with God? Of course, God is in the front and the man behind can't see a thing ahead of them.
The road is long and winding and they pass steep cliffs along the way which the man can see over the side as they pass.
The man begins to be afraid and, like a child in the backseat of your car on a road trip, asks many questions. He even
questions the discernment of the One in front because of the treacherous terrain involved and his own inability to see
what's ahead or to have any control over the steering of the bicycle. Sometimes he gets tired and wants to know,
"Are we there yet?" "Can we stop now?" However, God's answer is always the same,
"Just keep quiet (in other words, 'peace be unto you') and keep peddling." That's the way our
lives are. They have some long hard roads and some treacherous territory in them. However, when we let God do the steering,
we will make it to the end victoriously. Is
today one of those days where you can't seem to see what lies ahead and you're not sure which road to take?
Are you maybe tired and perhaps, in your own strength, you have gotten off the straight and narrow road and become sidetracked
or even lost? There is great reason to fear in the natural but God has another way for you. When He shows
up (and He will if you call on Him right now), His first words are almost always, "Fear not." (Genesis 15:1, etc. etc.) All it takes is one 911 call to Heaven and God will be there on the double to guide you
to your destiny. He has plans for you and they are not for anything evil. (Jeremiah 29:11) He has a specific destination in mind for you, the very end being Heaven. The in-between's
are made specifically for your life. (Ephesians 2:10) He will guide you all the way through every difficult passage until your purpose is accomplished. (Philippians 1:6) Zacharias prophesied that Jesus would come to bring light to those of us in confusion and darkness
and to guide our feet in the way of peace. (Luke 1:79) He did just that and then He sent His Spirit to continue that work in us. (John 16:13) If there is anything in your life this morning that is not clear to you, just rely on the One
who promised to be your Guide all the way to the end of this life. He is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:9) He will do what He says because He cannot lie. (1 Samuel 15:29) Peace to you and happy peddlin'! MORNING MANNA - MARCH 5, 2007 - THE VOICE OF TRIUMPH Psalms 47:1 (King James Version) There's a song that I like to have fun singing. It's called "Carry On," by Babbie Mason.
Some of the words in it are: "Carry on brothers and sisters, carry on misses and misters. It does not matter
what other folks say or do, just carry on if the Lord has been good to you." Has the Lord been good to you today?
Did He open your eyes to a new day and promise that His mercies to you were brand new too? (Lamentations 3:22-23) Didn't God say that we would rejoice in each new day because He made it? (Psalm 118:24) Other lyrics in, "Carry On," are: "Well you can praise the Lord, raise
your hands, you can shout, 'hallelujah,' you can say 'amen'. The church has been quiet for
much too long, brothers and sisters carry on." Psalm 47:1 gives us the same admonition. Here's how The Message paraphrases it: "Applause,
everyone. Bravo, bravissimo! Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs!" Why? Because we've
got something to shout about! He says we are shout with the voice of triumph. That means joy and gladness.
Things may look bad now but we have his promise that they won't stay that way! We may be going "through"
but we're not "camped". Faith says to shout before we see
the results with our eyes. Faith, however, does definitely see the results though before they are manifested in
the natural. (Hebrews 11:1) Psalm 47:3 says God will subdue the people under us and the nations under our feet. We are children of the
King of Kings. We see with human eyes a world in turmoil right now but faith lets us see that God will
do as He promised. He will subdue all of this under His own feet and we will be the beneficiaries if we are Kingdom
dwellers. He is truly a great King over all the earth! (Psalm 47:2) There's another fairly new worship song that goes like this: As we read further in Psalm 47, we find in verse 6 the reason we have such cause to be a shouting, rejoicing, singing people.
God has gone up with a shout! Remember when Jesus died on the cross? At one point, he shouted from the cross (Matthew 27:50). As He did, He gave up His spirit. For us! Psalm 47:5 lets us know that God has ascended with a shout. Indeed, Jesus did ascend with a shout. As
I was studying the meaning of the words used in Psalm 47:5 in the KJV (God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.), I discovered
that the word, "sound" actually has to do with a voice, a calling out, and even a "bleating."
Isn't it amazing that Jesus was all that on the cross? He was a voice calling out to God and calling out to us.
He was the Lamb of God. He was the bleating Lamb as He suffered. But He was victorious and finished the mission making
it possible for you and me to have good reason to shout and sing for joy! No wonder Psalm 47:6 says we should sing praises to our God! It says it four times (along with the many other times
in scripture we are exhorted to sing, shout, praise, etc.) He is worthy of more than we could possibly voice.
He has made it possible for us to give up our voice of woe and shout with the voice of triumph! MORNING MANNA - MARCH 4, 2007 - NEVER FEAR, GOD IS HERE Psalms 46:1-2 (New Living Translation) Fear is a paralyzing emotion. It is one of the enemy's favorite tools. It works for him something
like a stun gun or a tranquilizer dart. We can be going along in life pretty much minding our own business and, "zap."
We've been hit. Can anyone relate? The enemy is going around "like" a roaring lion seeking
whom He may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Of course His power was canceled on the cross. (Colossians 2:15) But He's a deceiver. He works at making us fear that he is a roaring lion by acting
like one. He's looking for a victim and sometimes we tend to forget that we are victors - not victims!
(Romans 8:37) If he can cause us to fear so much that we stop in our tracks and forget who we are in Christ, he will
claim victory. And he will be at least partially right because he has succeeded in causing us to forget our heritage.
He has taken away our courage. We may have forgotten to wield our sword of the Spirit and tell him we are submitted
to God and he has to flee. (James 4:7) There are plenty of things going on in this
world to cause us to fear. Hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, drunk drivers, terror plots, crime waves - you name it.
And, if we walk around with unrenewed minds which are focused and centered on all the threats around us, we will be a likely
prey for the enemy. (Ephesians 4:23) We do have a refuge even in times of great trouble. We do have strength, even when we are
at our weakest in the natural. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Our mighty God remembers that He made us out of dust and He is always ready and willing to help one
who also remembers that he or she is made out of dust. (Psalm 103:14) He helps and gives grace to anyone willing to humble himself. But, we can resist that refuge
and deny that strength if we think we can go it on our own. (James 4:6) If we are tempted to fear, we need to just get our hearts and minds back on whom we should fear.
No one can ultimately take us from our Father. But the Father has the power to either save us or destroy us. (Matthew 10:28) When our fear is proper toward God, a reverence and awe-inspired fear, we need not fear anything lesser.
We know that He has promised us mercy. (Luke 1:50) God is our refuge. A refuge is a place of shelter,
hope and trust. We may have been through or will go through situations in life that destroy hope. That take away
our trust. But, we have a place to run when we are tempted to fear. Perfect love casts out all
fear. God is love. He is perfect love. When we run to Him as our shelter, all fear will have to go.
I recently read a story of a French officer who was wounded in battle in front of the trenches. He was totally unprotected.
That's the way we are in the natural and there is plenty to fear. However, one of his fellow soldiers made
his way from the trench and did the best he could to take care of his wounds. Then he placed himself in front of the
wounded one and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I'm betwen you and the shells. They'll have to hit me
first." Aren't you glad this morning that you and I have a refuge? God is our refuge and
strength. We may have been wounded by life and have lots of reasons to fear but God has promised to be the refuge
we need. Anything that comes against us will have to go through Him first. Even our own sins cannot bring
death upon us because Jesus has taken those things and now stands protecting us. (Romans 8:1) He stood in front of us, and still stands, to take what should have fallen on us when He walked that road
to Calvary and laid down His life and then rose again. Yes, we have a refuge and we have strength. Troubles
may come but God will rescue us from them all! (Psalm 34:6) MORNING MANNA - MARCH 3, 2007 - I WANT TO SEE! Mark 10:51 (New Living Translation) A few days ago I heard a testimony from a couple who had a baby
that contracted a deadly form of leukemia in the first three months of his life. They, of course, were grieved
beyond description. The medical community offered no cure but they could do chemotherapy which might prolong his
little life but would cause him great suffering. There was no hope. At least in human terms. They grappled
with the choice they had to make of having him go through chemo so they could have a few more months with him.
Not wanting to cause him any more suffering than he was already going through, they chose to turn him over to the Lord
and savor every moment they had left with their baby. When the hospital finally had done all they could do, they agreed
to let the baby go home to be with his parents until the end. It
was a hard thing for them but they wanted to care for him and love him until God took him Home. Then came the day
when he began to fail. His mother was home alone with him and she could not reach his dad. She took him in her
arms as he was gasping for breath and began to rock him, singing, "Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see You."
Not able to or wanting to focus on the problem, she looked to Jesus. After a while, the little one's blue
skin began to turn pink again and his greatly labored breathing became normal. In the weeks to come, his damaged skin
began to clear up. Finally, the parents were courageous enough to have testing done one him to find out whether there was
any leukemia still in his system. There was none! He is now three years old and a normal, healthy child. When we have a problem, whether it be of great or small magnitude, our heart's cry
should be that we want to see Jesus. He is the healer, deliverer, counselor, judge of all matters, the peace we need,
the strong tower we can hide in. One glimpse of Him will help us through our most devastating situations. Not
every situation will turn out as this one did but having our eyes open to see the Savior will help us through anything and
everything we go through on this earth. Jesus asked the blind man, "What do you want me to do for you?"
In essence, when we are focused on any problem instead of being focused on the only One who can get us through that problem,
we are blind too. The blind man said, "I want to see." Will you and will I go to Jesus this morning
with any problems that we have and ask to have they eyes of our hearts opened so that we might see Him? The physically
blind man had heard about Jesus but he could not see Him. We have heard about Him too but we won't be able to see
Him, who is the answer to any problem, until we ask Him to open the eyes of our hearts to see that He is so much bigger than
anything we might be facing. He is still the same today. He's asking you and me, "What do you want me
to do for you." He's already told us that we can be confident that He listens to us and will give us what we
ask for when it is in line with His will. (1 John 5:14-15) Seeing Him clearly as the Savior of any situation is certainly in line with His will. We may
not understand everything. But once our eyes have been opened to the Savior, we can say like another blind man
that was given sight, "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" "Open the eyes of our
hearts Lord, we want to see Jesus!" MORNING MANNA - MARCH 2, 2007 - FOOD OR FOOLISHNESS? Proverbs 10:20-21 (New King James Version) Have you ever owned sterling silver? If so, you know that it requires polish and upkeep to keep it sparkling.
So it is with our tongues. It requires the upkeep of our heart and constant polishing by the Word of God to keep it's
words sparkling. The Word says that whatever is in our hearts will eventually come out on our tongue. (Matthew 12:34) If we are seeking Godly wisdom, He will give it and it will teach our tongues what to speak.
(Proverbs 16:23) Do we want to persuade others to turn to Jesus? A heart full of God's wisdom will cause our
speech to be persuasive. We are urged to carefully speak before God (and when are we not before God?).
The KJV of (Ecclesiastes 5:2) says, "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything
before God:......." Is your tongue polished and sparkling this morning? I don't know about you but mine
requires lots of maintenance! There are tons of hungry people all
around us. Not hungry for natural food but hungry for the Word of God - for the manna that keeps our spirits alive and
nourished. If we are living a right life before God, we will be able to feed many. Jesus gave an example of that
when He fed the thousands. He gave them spiritual food and then showed them how He could provide everything they needed
by feeding all of them with only a handful of natural food. (Mark 6:34-45, Matthew 15:32-38) Some of those we meet are in need of meeting Jesus. Others are Christians who need some encouragement.
In either case, our hearts and tongues must be ready to offer the kind of nourishment they need. One version of
Proverbs 10:21 says, "The words of the Godly encourage many." That is something we can all do!
Rolling from our tongue can be "apples of gold in pictures of silver" (KJV) (Proverbs 25:11) If we refuse to live a righteous life and
feed ourselves from the Word of God, we are foolish. We will be undernourished and good for nothing. That will
lead to our own demise. Of course, none of us will make that choice. We are all taking the necessary steps to
learn from the manna of God's Word and then hide it in our hearts. (Psalm 119:11) That Word will then not only feed us but it will pour from our lips and feed many. Just as Jesus
feed 5000 with only a small amount, we can feed many by what we allow God to place in our heart. It will naturally
pour from our mouths. God will multiply it. We won't have to try to figure out how to "witness."
What is in our hearts will make us a natural witness. Have your words lacked the luster they used to have lately?
Then get out the polish of God's Word and apply it generously to your heart. Soon those words will pour forth sparking
with life again. Do you feel as though you lost all that you once had through misuse or non-use. Have the troubles
of life eaten up the silver in your heart? Then take heart again. It is told that there was once a servant
who received a silver cup from his master. He, unfortunately dropped it into a vat of acid where it was eaten up
and it totally disappeared. Of course, the servant was mortified. It so happened that his master, an
educated man, happened upon the scene. He infused salt water into the acid which caused the silver to separate from
the solution. He then melted the silver and hammered it back into the shape of the original cup. Friends,
God made us in His image. He prepared our hearts and mouths to be as pure silver. If yours has seemingly
disappeared, the Master stands ready to infuse the salt of His Word mixed with the Living Water into the acid that
has eaten what He gave you in the first place. Nothing is lost to Him. Be encouraged this morning and then go
and let those words of gold flow from the silver basket of your heart onto someone else! MORNING MANNA - MARCH 1, 2007 - A CALL TO REST Leviticus 23:3 (Amplified Bible) God has provided for us six days in which to work. Then comes that wonderful day of rest! He is adamant
about our taking the gift of rest He has given. (Exodus 20:8) It is to be a day set apart from all others. In it we can find refreshment for our souls and
bodies. One commentary notes that mental work done on that day is just as bad as physical work. When our minds
are on the things of this world, we are not really at rest. We have been given a reprieve on that day to set our minds
at rest in the Sabbath of our souls, even Jesus Christ. Although it is offered as a great gift, the one who does not
receive it is guilty of great sin. If a loved one offered you a gift and you refused to receive it, can you imagine
how offensive that would be? God knows our frame that we are but dust. (Psalm 103:14) On the other hand, He has chosen us to be the home of His Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:16) His desire is that this temple be maintained. He made us and He knows what it takes to maintain
us. So, He has made a day of rest so that we can be rejuvenated and revived. Some have perverted it by creating certain "rules" around it so it might be easier to keep. It is
really not a day of rules but a gift of love. God is interested in our well being. He does not desire that we
face an early death. He has a purpose for us to complete here on earth which can only be done when we walk in obedience
and when we receive everything He has given us. There is also a bigger picture here that He wants us to see and keep
in our hearts and minds. This day is a picture of that day when we will find our rest permanently. When the labors of
this world are done with. If we don't take time to stop and think of that Sabbath, we will get so caught up in this
world's affairs that we may and most likely will forget that this is not all there is. Philippians 3:19 lets us know the danger of constantly having our minds on earthly things. There is a story
of a man who was looking for a house in Newcastle. As the landlord took him upstairs, he explained that you could see
Durham Cathedral from a certain window on a Sunday. Not understanding why you could only see it on Sunday and not
any other day, the prospective tenant questioned the statement. It seems that the smoke from all the tall chimneys
blocked the view on the other six days. That's how it is for us when the smoke of this world's affairs
blocks our view on the six days that we are given to work in it. We need a window, a Sabbath, where we can get
our hearts and minds back on track and view what is really important - the things of our Lord. We don't have to obey rules and regulations. We have to receive rest. We have to be restored.
We have to be revived. We have to be relieved of cares. We have to stop running. While it is sinful to be
idle on the other six days (2 Thessalonians 3:11), it is just as sinful to be working and struggling on the seventh day. Anyone who did this in the days
of Moses had to be put to death. While we do not do that today, when we fail to receive the gift of the Sabbath
which was made for us, we cause our own death. Our bodies will wear out early. Our spirits will become dehydrated
and hardened. We don't have to make rules out of the Sabbath as they did in bygone days in an effort to keep it.
That would just entail another struggle. For example, the rabbis created 39 categories of possible violation of
that day. Then they broke down each category into specific rules. One of the rules got so specific as to try to
figure out if wearing a wooden leg would mean that you were carrying something and thus "working."
How blessed we are that we can know the love of God. It is this love that urges us, for our own good, to receive
the gift of rest. The choice is then ours. We can receive it and live. Or, we can refuse it and, in so doing,
give up the abundant life God offers here on earth and probably cause our bodies to fail before their appointed time. God
has always given us a choice. Choose life or death. Choose blessing or cursing. (Deuteronomy 30:19) Let's choose life and blessing! Enter content here Enter content here Enter content here Enter content here |
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