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A SONG AND A PRAYER |
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MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 16-30, 2007 Enter subhead content here  MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 30, 2007 - NO PEACE Isaiah 57:21 (New Living Translation) Who are the wicked? God says
there is no peace for them. (Isaiah 57:21) They are those with unrepentant hearts. The pleasures of sin are temporary (Hebrews 11:25) and there is no peace for those who continue to sin. Peace is where God is. It's in a holy place, a
place where only those with humble and contrite spirits live. (Isaiah 57:15) God says He restores the crushed spirit of the humble and He revives the courage of those with repentant hearts.
Has your spirit been crushed? If you remain humble, God will restore you. Does life and its adverse circumstances threaten
to take away your courage? If your heart is repentant, God will revive your courage. None of us is without sin.
We have all come short of God's standard at one time or another. (Romans 3:23) Humility and repentance are never out of order. (Psalm 147:6) There is no peace for those who insist on continuing in sin. But, God will lead
those who come to Him in humility and repentance. Sin is sin and God does not overlook any of it. He sees every
wrong thing we do and he knows every thought and attitude, whether it be right or wrong. (1 Chronicles 28:9) He says He has seen what we do but He will heal us anyway. (Isaiah 57:18) What a God of mercy He is! He has also promised to lead us if we humble ourselves before Him. We certainly need
His leading. There are many inviting paths open to us but the path to eternal life and eternal peace with God is
narrow. Few will find it. (Matthew 7:13) There is no way we will find it by ourselves. We need His leading and He has graciously promised it if
we will remain humble before Him. When we sin, either in thought or action, we lose our peace.
This brings us grief. God knows that too. He has promised to comfort us when we mourn. We must be truly
sorry for the sin that has caused us to lose our peace. If we are, we will be comforted. (Isaiah 57:18, Matthew 5:4) We will also be given words of praise to speak back to God who is worthy of our praise (Isaiah 57:19) God is a healing God. His wish for us is not just peace but abundant peace. He is the God who
heals us. Those who insist on having hard hearts willed with pride have nothing to look forward to but a life on a constantly
stormy sea. (Isaiah 57:20) Do you know the Master of the wind? He can calm our storms and make the sun shine again. Those beautiful
words are from a song entitled, "Master of the Wind." They are words filled with truth if we have humbled
ourselves before God and turned from our sin. If you have not already done so, you can come to God in humility
this morning. Receive His peace and healing. He knows about everything in your life and He loves you anyway.
He will never love you any more or any less than He does right now. All we need to do is acknowledge His holiness and
humble ourselves before Him. Abundant peace is ours. MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 29, 2007
- GOD'S WORD WILL ACCOMPLISH IT Isaiah 55:11 (New Living Translation) Don't
you love the smell of the earth after a nice rain? Isaiah 55:10 says that the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. The water causes
growth, providing seed for the farmer and ultimately bread for the hungry. And on and on it goes. God's Word is
just like that. Jesus is the Word who has come in the flesh. (John 1:14) God sent that Word to the earth. He spread the seed of God's Word. Some fell on fertile ground. (Matthew 13:8) Jesus, the Word, is also the living water. (John 4:10) He is both the seed and the water that has come to earth. There are all kinds of seed but Jesus is the
only good Seed that is sure to always produce fruit. The only Seed that will always prosper.
Is the ground of your heart good ground this morning? Is it free from the cares of this world so that it can be
a fertile soil to grow the seed of God? If so, God can produce in you a crop of thirty, sixty and even one hundred fold!
(Matthew 13:8) The more of His Word we get into us, the more it multiplies and the greater it becomes in us. In the parable of the farmer, some of the seed did not fall on good ground. However, when it rains on a
parched dry desert, things seem to sprout up over night. We have been given seed to spread because we
have received the Seed and it has multiplied in us. Yet, we may feel at times as if we have spread it on dry, cracked
ground. Someone may not have seemed to receive it at all. We may feel as though we have wasted the seed.
However, the Living Water is not constrained to time and the Seed still has the power in it. It may just be that
our witnessing to someone who seemed to care less will at some point take root. We need to pray that God will help
us break up the fallow ground of our hearts making it suitable for the growth of seed. (Jeremiah 4:3) He tells us in Isaiah 55:11 that when He sends His word out, it will always produce fruit. We are not the Master Gardener. Only He knows how
long each seed has to stay in the ground before it will grow and produce the promised fruit. As we sow the
seed of His Word into the lives of others, we need to do it just like the farmer does it. Sow and go. We don't
need to move it around, dig it up to check it, or add more seed on top of it. We just need to trust what God
said. It will always produce fruit. If we are walking by the Spirit, God is sending us with the seed
of His Word every day. When He sends us with it, it will accomplish what He wants it to do.
It will prosper everywhere He sends it. Have you grown tired of waiting
for some of the seed you have sown to come up and produce fruit? If God has sent you with the seed, he has sent you
with His promise too. It will always and everywhere produce fruit, accomplish what He wants it to do and prosper.
We have no reason to give up and lose heart. There will be a harvest. (Galatians 6:9) We are very results oriented today. This is the "microwave generation." But God's seed is precious
and needs much more than just a 30 second microwave blast. It takes time to grow, making it healthy, vital
and vibrant when it matures. It is in His timing that it will grow. He says one day is like a thousand
years with Him. (2 Peter 3:8) That's quite the opposite of the current "microwave mentality." Our timing and our thoughts
are not His. (Isaiah 55:8-9) The seed He has given us is going to do what He wants it to do. I have found in my own life that, as
I go about planting seed, sometimes I have been mistaken about everything that seed would accomplish. Sometimes
I have forgotten that I am only the seed sower. God is the seed grower. Just when I have wondered why I haven't
seen any sprouts, something appears that was much better than what I thought I had planted! Jesus certainly knew about seed.
He knew that He was the Seed from which all other seed would come. Before a seed can produce thirty, sixty and one hundred
times more than itself, it must be planted in the ground and die. That's exactly what Jesus did for us. (John 12:24) He allowed Himself to be put to death and be placed in the earth. (Matthew 27:60) But then, when all hope seemed lost, He sprung up. He rose again! (Luke 24:6) Now that one Seed has produced many fold and we, who are receiving God's Word this morning, are part of what
was produced by Jesus's death. He continues to water us daily with His living water if we will stay close to
Him and so we keep on producing. I don't know when I will see the harvest of the good seed I have sown but I know
I will see it. It may not be with my physical eyes while I'm still on the earth. It may not be until eternity
that we know the full measure of the harvest. Our only job is to trust God that what He has given us to sow will
grow! Do you have your seed ready this morning? Let's start sowing! The more we sow, the bigger the
harvest! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 - CAREFUL DETERMINATION Ephesians 5:10 (New Living Translation) Who are we trying to please this morning or any morning? When
we first open our eyes, what thoughts come to mind? Are they just frantic thoughts of how we're going to get everything
that needs doing done today or are they determined thoughts? Thoughts focused on God and what He wants done today?
(Psalm 143:8) The Psalmist was eager to hear of God's love in the morning. He trusted God. Is that where we are too? The
Psalmist continued to say, "Show me where to walk..." Each morning would be a great time to try to find out
what is pleasing to the Lord. The King James Version says, "Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord." "Proving"
is a very strong word. It is much more than just a casual "trying to find out." It means to discern,
approve, examine and allow. Discernment requires a close walk with the Lord. We must examine His Word constantly
and allow our minds to be renewed by it. The Psalmist knew the secret to finding out what is pleasing to the Lord. Upon
waking, he requested to be led in the right path. This morning, as we search God's Word, there will be signposts
and directions for our pathway through the day. If we follow them, all the while listening to His Spirit, we will be
doing what is pleasing to God. Shall we take a God-led, God-pleasing, journey through this day? Then every day
after? When you choose your friends, do you choose people
that you can agree with? Most of us do. We can't walk together too closely unless we agree with one another.
The Bible says we should not be unequally yoked with others. (2 Corinthians 6:14) That's because God's righteousness cannot live closely with the world's unrighteousness. We won't
get very far along the pathway of our destiny if we're always stopping to argue or take a side road with someone
we don't agree with, especially if they are headed in the wrong direction in the first place. When we have chosen
to follow the Lord, we can no longer stay in the company of those who choose to disregard and disrespect Him. (Psalm 1:1) If we don't choose to forsake those kinds of close relationships, we will lose the blessing God has intended for
us. We will be totally unfulfilled and unable to find peace and happiness. Why? Because the kind of behavior
that goes on in most of the world is not pleasing to the Lord. Our job, as believers, is to find out, prove,
examine and discern what is pleasing to Him. We already have seen in Psalm 1:1 that it is not pleasing to God for us to hang out with those who have no regard for their Creator. That may challenge
some of us with a choice. We may have to give up worldly intimate ties in order to have a genuine intimacy with our
Savior. Of course we know that an intimate relationship with Jesus is much more important and pleasing to God than any
other relationship. We are first to love God will all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
(Mark 12:30) It is only then that we will be filled with the love we need to have good relationships with others which is the second
greatest commandment. (Mark 12:31) In our search to find out what is pleasing to God, we have just found the two main things that everything else will
hinge on. The first is loving God. The second is loving our neighbor. The common element and the foundation
for everything is love. Finding out what love really is will not be hard either. 1 Corinthians 13 will give us a detailed account of it. Now we've seen the
real thing. It is love. This is what will help us determine everything else that is acceptable to God. When
people are being trained to detect counterfeit money, they are not shown all kinds of counterfeit money at first. They
are shown the real thing. They are trained to detect every aspect of the real thing. After that, they are equipped
to notice the inconsistencies and flaws in what is counterfeit. That word, "pleasing," actually means, "fully
acceptable." We can't half-heartedly follow after God. That is not fully acceptable to Him. Love
has to do with giving it all of our mind, soul, body and strength. That is the real thing. God does help us out
by giving us a partial list of counterfeit things that can appear to be okay at times but they are never pleasing to God no
matter how they're packaged. Here are a few: sexual immorality, impurity, greed, obscene stories, foolish
talk, and coarse jokes. (Ephesians 5:3-4) God then says that we can be sure that no one who does these things will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
(Ephesians 5:5) In addition He adds greed, which is a form of idolatry since it takes our worship away from God and places it in material
things. God will have no counterfeits in His Kingdom! Have you taken time to carefully determine what is pleasing
to God? Have you asked Him this morning to lead you in the way you should go (which is obviously a way that is pleasing
to Him)? Have you fully understood the basis upon which we can find out what is fully agreeable to God? Is love
what motivates you? Love for God first, and then for others? Now that I have challenged myself, I'm going
to pass the challenge on to you. Let's determine every day to stay in contact with our Savior in His Word and in
prayer so we can carefully determine what is fully agreeable and acceptable to Him. MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 - WHAT ARE YOU DISPLAYING TODAY? Ephesians 4:24 (New Living Translation) One version of Ephesians 4:24 says, "Put on your new nature." What we wear usually makes a statement. It is a sort of sign-board
or display of who we are. What we display spiritually makes a statement too. It's an indication of what
we are on the inside. Our thoughts become our actions. If our thoughts are full of darkness, we will gravitate
away from the life God has given us. (Ephesians 4:18) Of course that's not our desired destination. We need to remember that there are many things in this world
that are shameful. (Ephesians 4:19) Just because we see them flaunted on TV and in the movies and magazines, it doesn't eliminate the shame.
When we linger watching and reading such things, we open our thoughts to them. The result is that we develop actions
and then habits of living for, as Paul says to the Ephesians, "lustful pleasure and (we will begin to) practice every
kind of impurity." Do you see this sort of pattern going on in much of the world today? I do.
The tide has turned to the point where there seems to be no shame at all any more. Anything goes. The trouble
is that when we begin to develop habits of darkness, those habits form our character. Paul also says, "...that
isn't what you learned about Christ." (Ephesians 4:20) What can we do to make a difference in our sin-sick world? Because
we have heard about Jesus and learned His truth, we can and must cast away our old sinful nature. It is something we
have to choose to do. It is not always easy, yet God promises that if we will make that choice, He will provide the
strength involved. (Philippians 4:13) The old life is corrupted by lust and deception but we can have a brand new life if we choose to do so.
(Ephesians 4:23) If we let Him, the Spirit will renew our thoughts and attitudes. It is then that we will be able to "put
on" or "display" our new nature. It is created to be like God - righteous and holy. This is a good
morning to make that choice. To turn from any old thoughts, actions and habits, preventing them from
keeping us from having a godly character. One choice we may have to make is to come away from old "friends"
who have not chosen to have godly character. (1 Corinthians 15:33) When we know Jesus and the power of His resurrection, we will come to our senses and stop sinning, no matter
what others choose to do. (1 Corinthians 15:34) When Paul was speaking to the Corinthians, he said he was afraid that some of them did not even know God. They
may have said all the right things and known scripture by rote but they didn't really know Him in their heart of hearts.
Because of that, they were not able to display the new nature that is given to us by the Spirit. Character
was lacking. It is endurance and steadfastness in making the right choices, even in and through hard situations,
that helps us grow in godly character. (Romans 5:4) When we have godly character, we can display a new nature and work out our salvation with fear and trembling just
as the Bible says we should. (Philippians 2:12) No one will need to watch over us constantly telling us what to do. Our new nature will dictate our
actions and our actions will be displayed in our lifestyle. We'll be wearing a whole new set of clothes! Our new nature is in the likeness of God. Adam and Eve were created like
that but, when sin entered the world, we began to look less and less like God. Now, because of Jesus, it is possible
to be renewed to our former state. As we "put on" or "display" our new nature, we will
see a new person when we look into the mirror. That person is holy, righteous and true. (Ephesians 4:24) Forgiven. There's nothing we can do to earn that righteousness. It is a gift from God given to those
who have faith. (Romans 4:5) Abraham believed God and God declared him righteous. God even called him, "friend." (James 2:23) That is because Abraham lived by his faith. He trusted God and was willing to do whatever God asked.
His habits and character were of such that God could trust him completely. (James 2:22) Our thoughts should always be God-centered and our actions will then become a display of what is on the
inside. (James 2:24) These right actions become habits and then our godly character is formed. Before you know it we will be
a display of holiness, truth and righteousness. God wants to display Himself in us showing that He can create
a new person out of every one of us. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Will your thoughts and actions stem from the person you used to be or from the new man that you are supposed
to be putting on display? We need to renew our minds constantly so that the old person will not control us any
longer. (Romans 12:2) That's not always as easy as it sounds but we can do all things if we trust in Christ for strength. (Philippians 4:13) We can start renewing our minds by believing what God says. We are new creatures after having put our trust
in Jesus. We are righteous, holy and true! And, that's the truth! Let's keep that on display! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
- FROM BEFORE BIRTH TO DEATH AND AFTER Isaiah 46:3 (New Living Translation) Although God was speaking to the Israelites in Isaiah 46:3, the same principle applies to all of us who believe. Really to everyone, but we need to receive
that fact and receive the love of Jesus before we will receive the after death care. We have all been
cared for by God since before we were born. The Psalmist declares that and it is true for each one of us too.
(Psalm 71:6) It's so reassuring to know that we did not just appear here on earth haphazardly. The Psalmist
knew that. That's why he said, "No wonder I am always praising You." God planned for us to be here and
took care of us from before we were born. We don't even know what we may have been protected from because God had
a purpose for us to be here. (Ephesians 2:10) God spoke to Jeremiah and told him that he was known before he was even formed. He was set apart for a certain
purpose. (Jeremiah 1:5) It's true, we are not all Jeremiah's , but the principle is the same. Each one of us was set apart before
we were ever conceived. God knew us and had a plan for our lives. God's plan has never been to do us wrong.
(Jeremiah 29:11) When we trust Him, we can be assured that He has plans for a future and a hope for each one of us. It was
set in place long before we ever took our first breath. Not only
has God created each of us for a certain purpose, but he has also cared for us ever since. We may have gone
through some tough times but, we're still here. We're reading His Word this morning so we're still
in His care. There are so many things that could have destroyed us before we even knew what happened, but God has kept
us safe and brought us this far. For a purpose. The primary purpose is so we can be conformed to the image
of His Son. (Romans 8:29) Although times may have been hard and we may have some hard times in the future, we can be sure that God will
work all these things for good if we continue to love Him and do what He has called us to do. (Romans 8:28) What the enemy has meant for evil in our lives will be turned to good if we will just wait and trust God. (Genesis 50:20) Joseph realized that, even though he had good reason, in the natural, to be bitter and want revenge. He knew
that, through all of his trials, God had kept him alive and even gave him favor and prosperity. He trusted God.
That's what God wants from us today too. He never sweeps away the lives of those in His care. He always
tries to bring us back if we have been separated from Him. (2 Samuel 14:14) If we have lost some time in our lives to sin and destruction, God will restore those years. (Joel 2:25) Our only job is to believe that what God has said in His Word is true. He has cared for us since before we were
born. He will also care for us through our old age.
In Psalm 71:9, the Psalmist asked God not to set him aside or abandon him in his old age. We have God's promise
that He will not set us aside or abandon us if we walk uprightly and trust in Him. (Psalm 1:3) We are promised that, if we stay away from close company with those who do not fear God, we will
be like a tree planted near the water. Our roots will go down deep and we will always bear fruit when it's time.
Our leaves will not fade or wither. We will prosper in all that we do. How exciting to know that, if we stay
in the Lord's will and seek His presence, we will not just fade away into old age. Every one of our seasons will
be filled with fruit! We will flourish like Palm trees if we remain godly. We will be strong like cedars!
(Psalm 92:12) We will flourish because we have been transplanted from the briar patch of sin into the rich soil found in the courts
of our God. (Psalm 92:13) Even in our old age we will remain vital and produce fruit. (Psalm 92:14) God's promise is to keep us all the way through life. Even to the point where our hair turns white.
He promises to carry us along and to save us. (Isaiah 46:4) But, that's not the end. Just when we finish our season here on earth, we will be transported to a Heavenly
home where we will live in God's presence and peace for all of eternity. Jesus encourages us to trust Him.
(John 14:1) Then he gives us the assurance that He has gone to prepare an eternal dwelling place for us. (John 14:2-3) In that place God will continue to care for us throughout all eternity. (Revelation 21:4) All of our sorrow and pain will be removed forever. Yes before life here on earth, during and after,
God cares for us. Season after season, we're never out of His care! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
- WAIT 'TILL YOU SEE THIS! Isaiah 43:18 (New Living Translation) God is so good! He is so in love
with His children! For the Israelites, He opened a way of escape through the waters of the Red Sea. (Isaiah 43:16) He drew their enemies right into the dry path and then let the walls of water come down killing them all. (Isaiah 43:17) Then He says, "Forget all that - it's nothing compared to what I am going to do. (Isaiah 43:18) He promises to do a new thing for them. (Isaiah 43:19) Through Isaiah, the prophet, He is telling them what He is about to do against Babylon for their sake. Basically,
He's saying, "You have seen Me do lots of wondrous things in the past but I'm about to do a new thing."
Yes, God seems to be able to always outdo Himself! He wants us to know who He is and just how powerful
He is. (Exodus 29:46), Not only that, He wants us to see just how much He loves us. (Deuteronomy 7:8, John 16:27) God obviously loves us more than we can possibly imagine. He gave His only Son to die for us while we
were still His enemies. (Romans 5:10) Yes, you and I are loved this morning. That was evidenced when God sent Jesus to give His life so that we could have
eternal life. (John 3:16) Not only are we loved, but God is still on the move.
He still does things that are even more fabulous than the things He's done in the past. Philip had become
a disciple of Jesus. He was so excited about it, he went to search for Nathanael. (John 1:43-45) Nathanael was a bit skeptical at first. (John 1:46) It may be difficult for us this morning to really accept the fact that there is nothing
impossible with God. (Mark 9:23) Maybe our preconceived ideas or just our present circumstances make us a bit like Nathanael. But, Philip was
relentless. He just told Nathanael to come and see for himself. Well, Nathanael was blown away when he and Philip
arrived back to where Jesus was. Jesus greeted Nathanael and then told him He had seen him sitting under a fig tree
even before Philip found him. (John 1:48) That was enough to convince Nathanael. (John 1:49) Jesus has most likely shown Himself so powerful in your life in the past that you are convinced this morning
that He is the Son of God. Jesus asked Nathanael if he believed just because Jesus had seen him sitting under the fig
tree far away. (John 1:50) Do we believe just because of what the Lord has shown us in the past and are we just resting in that or
do we believe what Jesus went on to tell Nathanael - "You will see greater things than this." What is it that
you need to see today? Whatever it is, does it seem out of reach or just too unrealistic? God knows what you need
and He is a God who is always on the move. He never sleeps. (Psalm 121:4). He never gets tired of caring for His children! He cares about His creation and watches over every sparrow.
We have His assurance that we are much more valuable than even a whole flock of sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31) There is no situation in our lives that is bigger and more powerful that the God who loves and cares for us.
He's waiting to impress us with something new to show us just how valuable we are to Him. God tells the Israelites that He is already begun to do a new thing. He says, "Don't you see
it?" (Isaiah 43:19) They needed to look by faith in order to see it but that didn't mean that it wasn't already there! (Hebrews 11:1) He said He was making a pathway through the wilderness. Creating rivers in the dry wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19) Someone may be in a wilderness experience this morning. Or, someone may feel as if they are in a dry wasteland.
I've certainly been there and I'll bet you have too. That's the way the Israelites felt at times.
But God, had different plans for them and He does for us too. He was about to make a way where there was no way.
That's exactly what God is doing constantly for us too. If we need to have a Word from Him, He is available
twenty-four hours a day. All we have to do is call. (Jeremiah 33:3) There is a great song that says, "When I call on Jesus, all things are possible." How true that is!
He rescued the Israelites more than once and He will rescue us from our enemies too. The song goes on to say, "Cause
He'll move Heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call." He wants us to know and believe that He will give
us exactly what we need. (Philippians 4:9) He has plans for His children. (Jeremiah 29:11) He will go to any length to bring them about because He will bring them about. (2 Corinthians 1:20) He's already made us new creatures. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We have ever-increasing newness of life as we walk with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:18) He never stops doing new things. We can take a lesson from what God was telling the Israelites. We can
forget what is past, even the good things, and we can press on knowing that God is doing a new thing in our lives. (Philippians 3:13) We may not be a able to see it yet with our physical eyes but our eyes of faith prove that He has already begun
that new thing. It's only a matter of time when we will see the pathway through the wilderness and drink in the
fresh water of the rivers He is creating in our dry land. Praise God, He is doing a new thing, starting even this
morning. His mercies were brand new as this new day came into being. (Lamentations 3:22-23) Be encouraged, God is doing a new thing! It's almost as if I can hear Him saying, "Wait 'till
you see this!" MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
- YOU ARE CHOSEN! Isaiah 43:10 (New Living Translation) Have you heard those words
before? "You are my witnesses."? Of course we have! We see them here in Isaiah when God tells
them they were chosen to believe in Him and we see them again when Jesus lets us know that we are His witnesses. (Acts 1:8) This is how it reads in the Amplified Version: "8 (AMP) But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the
earth." In Isaiah 43:10, God lets the Israelites know that they have been chosen to know Him, believe in Him and understand that He, alone is God. Jesus
lets us know that we, too, have been chosen to believe on Him and to be witnesses of Him as we live out
our lives. If you have believed Jesus and received Him as the Lord of your life, you did it because God chose you.
It may have taken you a while to realize that you were chosen but He planned it all along. (Romans 8:29-30) If you feel Him tugging at your heart right now, just respond to Him. He is letting you know that you are chosen. What a privilege to be chosen of God! Because we are chosen, we know that nothing
can even be against us permanently. It may seem like someone or something has come against us sometimes but God's
Word says, "If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" (Romans 8:31) God said that a long time ago too in different way. He said that no weapon formed against us would prosper.
(Isaiah 54:17) When Paul and Silas were put in prison, I'm sure it felt like something had come against them and it probably
felt like it might be permanent. But, they chose to go against what they felt like and trust in Who they knew.
They began to sing praises! (Acts 16:25) They could do that because, despite how they felt, they knew in their hearts that they were chosen. They
prayed and sang praise to God by faith. Of course, they were delivered by the mighty hand of the God who chose them.
(Acts 16:26) If it feels like something or someone has come against you, begin to act on Who you know and what you know instead
of reacting to what you feel. Like Paul and Silas, you will see a great victory. God loves you and nothing at
all can separate you from that love. (Romans 8:38) You are chosen to stay in that love forever! Jesus makes
it quite clear that we did not choose Him. He chose us.(John 15:16) He chose us to produce lasting fruit. As a result, He says that our Father will give us whatever we ask in His
Name. What a privilege to be chosen to be a child of God. If you are not good at sports, you know the shame of
always being the last one left when it's time to pick teams at school. This is just the opposite. Jesus chose
us even before we were born. We had a divine purpose before we ever took our first breath here on earth. (Psalm 139:16) God had already prepared the good works for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10) We are chosen children of the King. We need to dress the part. Because we have been chosen,
we're to look a certain way. Here are the royal garments we need to put on: tenderhearted mercy, kindness,
humility, gentleness, and patience. (Colossians 3:12) What lovely clothes God has allowed us to put on. Because we are chosen, they will fit perfectly, but we have
to put them on. Are you dressed in your royal robes this morning? I hope so because the Word of God says that
long ago, even before the foundation of the world, we were chosen by God to be holy and without fault in His eyes. (Ephesians 1:4) Yes, it's a sure thing. God loves us and has chosen us to be His people. (1 Thessalonians 1:4) We have done nothing to deserve being chosen. He just wanted to show His love to us through His Son. (2 Timothy 1:9) We're not only chosen to wear the royal robes. We're chosen to wear priestly robes. We are now
to be holy. (1 Peter 1:15) The Spirit has made us holy. As a result of all that, we have obeyed Jesus and have been cleansed by His blood.
(1 Peter 1:2) It is His wish that we have more and more of His favor and peace. We are, not only chosen, but given power
by the Holy Spirit to be holy and to follow Jesus in obedience. We are cleansed by His blood. We were
chosen to receive all of these wonderful things in addition to God's bountiful favor and indescribable peace. He
has made us His own children. He's done it by giving us His Word. (James 1:18) Out of all creation, we are His special possession. I'm feeling very special this morning. Are you?
There's a song with lyrics that go like this. "But I'll prove someday just why I say, I'm of a special
kind. For, when He was on the cross, I was on His mind." Yes, God chose us before the foundation
of the world. He knew we would be sinners. Somehow, because He knows everything, He knew how much He would have
to love us and give for us in order to make us His chosen special possession. That song goes on to say, "He
knew me, yet He loved me." Yes, that's true. God knows everything about you and me. Yet, He loved
us and He chose us in spite of all that. You're of a special kind. You're hand-picked by the mighty hand
of God. You're chosen! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 23, 2007 - GOD'S AWESOME POWER Ephesians 1:19-20 (New Living Translation) Paul
wrote to the Ephesians calling them "faithful followers" of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1) This morning, if we are faithful followers of Christ, we have a Heavenly home. We have that inheritance because
Jesus purchased it for us with His life. As a guarantee of that, Jesus has given us His Spirit. He did all of
that for us because of His great love for us and so we would give Him praise and glorify Him. (Ephesians 1:13) Is anybody ready to praise Him this morning for the wonderful gift of eternal life? If you have not yet believed
in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, today is the day. (2 Corinthians 6:2) This is your time!! As if a home in Heaven forever was not
enough, God wants to give us understanding of Himself while we're here on this earth. He wants us to understand
the greatness of His power. There's no doubt about it. Our God is a powerful God. He created the earth
by just His Word. (Psalm 33:6) He holds it all together and keeps it in order. (Hebrews 1:3) Nothing is too hard for Him. (Jeremiah 32:27) There is nothing and no one more powerful than our God. The greatness of God's power is almost too much
to comprehend. And, all of that power is directed to those of us who believe. That same power once made a dry
path through the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape from their enemies. (Psalm 66:6) That power was what raised Jesus from the dead. (Ephesians 1:19-20) If we are believers, we have access to that power all the time. How awesome is that? With that kind
of power, we need not try to use that worn-out old phrase, "The devil made me do it." The incredible greatness
of God's power in you is so much greater than that of Satan. Because we believe, we share in God's glory. There
is glory in His power. (2 Thessalonians 1:9) Those who do not know God or obey Jesus will be punished when Jesus returns to earth. (2 Thessalonians 1:7) Part of that punishment is that they will be taken from His presence and from the glory of His power. If we
are trusting Him, we have the promise of just going from glory to more glory! (2 Corinthians 3:18) Yes, God wants us to be filled with the knowledge of His will.
He wants us to have wisdom and spiritual understanding. That's how we will be able to walk in a way that pleases
Him. (Colossians 1:10). No, God doesn't leave us here to walk in blind faith. Yes, we walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7), but God does give us wisdom and spiritual understanding, along with a knowledge of His will. He does not
leave us powerless to roam the earth wondering what in the world we're here for. He wants to strengthen us with might
according to His glorious power. (Colossians 1:11) He does this for us in order that we might be filled with patience, long-suffering, and joy. We can be
patient. We can be long-suffering and endure. We can be filled with joy. We've been
delivered from another power. (Colossians 1:13) The power of darkness. He's translated us into the Kingdom of His Son. If you're feeling weak
this morning, that's okay. In our flesh we are weak but in that weakness, God makes us strong with His mighty
power. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) There's not another power that's stronger than God's power. He created all the other powers (Colossians 1:16). Just think of it. You and I, as believers, are containers of the mighty power of God. He has given
us the power to become His children. All we have to do is believe and receive Him. (Romans 10:9) Does your power level feel low this morning? It's really not. You have God's resurrection
power living in you! Are you having trouble locating it? Just stop for a minute, get in His presence and wait.
(Isaiah 40:31) There's no end to His power. He wants to fill you with it. It won't be long till you're
soaring like an eagle. His power will be the wind beneath your wings. This morning, I'm flying both literally
and spiritually. I've found once again that, just when you might need somebody to remind you that God is all powerful,
He will send someone along, someone who is also a container of His power and love. I know. He just sent a cabin
attendant to encourage me. If I didn't know better, I might have said, "He sent an angel." But,
she was wearing an American Airlines uniform and she said her name was Karen........ (1 Chronicles 29:11) MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 22, 2007 - WHAT DO YOU WANT? Galatians 6:9 (New Living Translation) Jesus said that we should do for others what we
would like to have done to us. (Matthew 7:12) This morning, if you were going the wrong way on a two-way road, would you like someone to tell
you before you met up with on oncoming car? I assume your answer is, "Yes!" How are you doing spiritually?
Are you on the right path or have you gone down a side street and lost your way? Or, maybe you know somebody else
in that situation. Wouldn't it be good to have somebody come along and point you back in the right direction?
If not, you might get so lost that you never reach your destination. Even though your pride might be hurt a bit,
wouldn't you want some direction you could trust? The apostle, Paul, urges us to
help a brother or a sister who might be overcome by some sin. In other words, going down the wrong path. If we
are following the Lord and on the right path, we should gently and humbly help the wandering one back onto the narrow road.
(Galatians 6:1). Now, we must be very careful about how we do this, remembering that we, too, are not above temptation.
We must remember what we would want. Would we want judgment
or would we want help? Maybe you have a burden this morning. It seems bigger than
you can continue to carry by yourself. Is it possible that you want some help with that?
There are others all around you carrying burdens too. They're no different than we are. They're tired
and they want help. Paul told the Galatians that they should share each other's burdens.
In fact, this is the way we fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) The law of Christ is love. Do you want to fulfill that law? Do you want
help when you feel you can go no farther? Whatever help you give others won't be wasted. It will come right
back to you in your time of need. If you have met someone else's need who was in want,
one day the favor will be returned to you pressed down and overflowing. (Luke 6:38) It's only when we think we're too important to help another that we get into trouble. In that case,
Paul says, in contemporary language, "You're not all that!" We will all go through some type of want
in our lives and there are people all around us going through it too, right now. Not a one of us is too important
to help another. Who will be the one to reach out and obey the law of love? Do you
want the satisfaction of a job well done? Then pay careful attention to your own work.
(Galatians 6:4) Don't go around comparing yourself with others or judging their work. The Message says it
this way: "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others." How can we do our own jobs competently
if we're always trying to compare ourselves with others? If we're always judging and criticizing the way another
is doing his job. Is that what you would want someone to do to you? God created good
works for each of us to do before we were even born. (Ephesians 2:10) There's enough for us to do to discern those works that were prepared for us and do them heartily. If you
gave someone a job to do, would you want them to do something totally different? Somehow,
I don't think God would want us to try to do someone else's job, criticize the way
they do the job He gave them, or compare ourselves to another's pre-ordained job. No, it's enough to be responsible
for our own conduct. In fact, it's a lifetime endeavor! (Galatians 6:5) Now, if you get a job, do you want to be paid? Of course you do! If you do a
great job, you may even want a bonus. There are people over us this morning who are either
out serving or in a prayer closet somewhere praying for us or perhaps in a study somewhere in the Word of God communing with
Him as to what they might teach us. If you were that person, would you want your needs met
after using up most of your time to meet the spiritual needs of others? I hardly think I'm going to receive a "No"
answer on that one. Those of us who are fed by others should be quick to provide for the ones who serve us by teaching
us. Paul says we are to share all good things with them. (Galatians 6:6) Someday God may promote you to a position of serving or teaching within His church. What would you want
in that case? Jesus went about doing good. (Acts 10:38) He is our perfect example. "Why not", you say, the Bible says, "God was with Him."
You're exactly right, of course. God was with Him and He was anointed. But, when He left this earth to go
back to His Father, He passed all of that along to us. He is God. (John 1:1) He is with us. (Matthew 28:20) He has equipped us to do the good works He did. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) He has given us the assurance that we could do them and even more. (John 14:12) He has promised us His own power to do them if we believe. (Mark 16:17-18) As far as I can see, we have no real excuse. We are sent out to sow good seed. What are we planting today?
Do you want weeds from the seeds you plant? Or do you want a harvest
of sweet, delicious fruit? Personally, I hate pulling weeds and I love to enjoy a nice sweet piece of fruit. How
about you? God's Word tells me that I'm always going to harvest what I plant. There seems to
be no way around that. Every word, every action, is a seed. Someone once told me he was watching his words more
closely now because he knew he might have to eat them one day. That's right, words are seeds. We should sow
only words that will bring a harvest of the fruit we really want. Paul lets us know in
Galatians 6:8 that, if we live only to satisfy our sinful nature, we will reap a terrible harvest. But we will reap.
It will be worse than weeds. It will be decay and death. Is that what we want?
Not! However, this morning we are not misled or uninformed. We're not going to even think about mocking
the justice of God. (Galatians 6:7) We're going to live to please the Spirit because, in doing that, we will harvest everlasting life.
Now that's what I'm talkin' about. That's what I want. Amen? So,
Paul says, "Don't give up." "Don't get tired of doing good." Just as when the farmer
plants a seed in the ground and knows something is happening under there, we can know that what we do is working. The
farmer doesn't see the seed before it sprouts and blooms and produces the harvest but he's confident that it is accomplishing
those things down in the ground where he can't see it. At just the right time, it will come out and continue to
grow. If the farmer were to prod around in the ground and uncover the seed every day to see if it was growing, he would kill
it. He would have no harvest. It's the same with us. If we want a good,
healthy, abundant harvest, we need to sow that good seed and leave it there. God's timing is just right. His
promises are always true. He said that we will reap a harvest of blessing. (Galatians 6:9) Then Paul says, "therefore." When we see that word, "therefore, we need to ask what it's
there for. This time, it's there to let us know that we should take every opportunity to do good to everyone and
especially to our brothers and sisters in the Lord. (Galatians 6:10) Is there a harvest you want in your life? Then sow the exact seed required to
grow that harvest. Be patient while your seed is in the ground. At just the right time, God's time, you will
reap the harvest. God promised. I hope you want to receive and believe that today! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 21, 2007 - GUIDE ME, HOLY SPIRIT! Galatians 5:16 (New Living Translation) If you are a believer, you have a new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 in the Amplified Bible reads like this: "Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether);
the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!" As
that very old hymn says, "My sins were washed away and my night had turned to day. Heaven came down and glory filled
my soul." That, indeed is glory!" But, it doesn't leave us without choices to make. The enemy
is not happy that we are filled with such glory. (John 17:22) Jesus, when talking to His Father, said He gave us His glory. Wow! We have His glory! Jesus
had a purpose for doing that. It was so we could become one as He and His Father are one. He gave it to us so
we could be in unity of heart and purpose in the will of God. No wonder the enemy is not happy with that. Satan
continues on the prowl for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Most predatory animals will look for a stray and or weak animal who is not among the pack or herd. They
are easy prey. Are you in unity with other believers? Are you in unity with God's will? If not, take
some time to get back there so you won't be that easy prey out there by yourself. You may feel strong but, if you're
going it alone, you are a lot weaker than the enemy! Our flesh may
not always be happy with this "new creature" that we are either. Our spirits are, indeed new but every once
in a while our old man will try to resurrect. Something like in the movies where the bad guy is killed
but somehow he comes back to life again causing terror. Let me tell you, our flesh can be a terror to us! The
old nature loves to do evil. It will try to claw it's way out of the grave and do whatever evil it can! Of
course, that's just the opposite of what the Holy Spirit wants. (Galatians 5:17-18) So, we have a civil war on our hands. Part of us craves the thing that is sinful and the other part longs to
be under the power of the Holy Spirit. That leaves us with a choice to make. According to Paul, we are constantly
having to make a choice between following the leading of the Holy Spirit or caving in to our sinful desires. That's
why its absolutely imperative that we renew our minds daily (for me, it sometimes has to be moment by moment). (Romans 12:2) We're like Transformers, those toys the kids play with that turn from something benign to some terrible monster. The
renewal of our minds constantly will keep us from operating in the "monster" mode. Our thought
pattern will change from the worldly, sinful things our flesh craves to the new man God has created in us. We will
be that person that desires His will, the one that can see his will and understand how good it is. Now, just because
we don't look like that monster on the outside, doesn't mean that there isn't a fight going on on the inside.
Our thoughts, motives and attitudes will not always be visible by those around us. In fact, when our actions turn
into the actions of the "monster," it will show that we have not been with the Lord renewing our mind.
By then, we're headed for defeat if we don't quickly repent. It's not hard to detect when we have followed those sinful desires that had to start as just a thought. Our
thoughts become our actions, our actions become our habits and our habits determine our character. Our character affects
our confidence in our salvation. (Romans 5:3-5) Yes, we may have to struggle within ourselves between that old man that keeps trying to call us
back to the wide road that many travel to destruction. (Matthew 7:13) We need to learn endurance. Those times of struggle help us to have more and more strength to
resist temptation. We can even rejoice in those times! That's what Paul says in Romans 5:3. Endurance strengthens our character and when our character is strong, we become confident in our
expectation of salvation. Have you ever felt unsure of your expectation of salvation? Was it because you failed
a test from the Lord? Was there a situation where you're old man seemed to win over the fabulous new creature that
you are? It happens from time to time with all of us. That's if we're really honest. But, when we
find ourselves in that situation, we need to get right back up and run to our Daddy with our scraped knee and humiliated
self and confess it. He is faithful and just and just loving enough to forgive us. (1 John 1:9) So, even before the thought that comes from the old man becomes an action, we should be quick to run
to our Father, confess it, cast it down, submit to God, and send the evil one that whispered that thought back to where
he belongs. If we don't deal with these things on a consistent and ongoing basis, it will be quite evident to us
and all those around us that we have made the choice to let that old dead person lead us. Right back to where we
were before and usually even in a worse position. Here is what will happen. We will display sexual immorality,
impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension,
division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties,.........and other sins like these. (Galatians 5:19-21) Whew! That's quite a list. Is there one or more things in that list that you still crave? Let
God renew your mind because God says that those who live that kind of life will definitely not inherit His Kingdom.
On the other hand, when we live according to our new life in the Holy Spirit, He will produce sweet fruit in our
lives. We will have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control!
(Galatians 5:22-23) Do you want to be that person? The one that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit. There is
only one way to do it. Nail the passions and desires of your sinful nature to the cross of Jesus and crucify them
there. (Galatians 5:24) Oh yes, you will feel some temporary pain as they die. Endure it by the power of the Holy Spirit
and rise up in that same power. What is holding us back today from getting rid of all of our sinful cravings?
Nothing but ourselves. Oh precious Holy Spirit, guide us today. Let us walk in You. Galatians 5:16 (King James Version) MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 20, 2007 - SINGING FOR JOY Psalms 63:7 (New Living Translation) I hope you're singing for joy this morning!
I know, things may not be going as you would like. Circumstances may be hard. But we can sing for joy.
David said that when he was in a wilderness situation. Are you in a wilderness situation? Or are you on a mountain
top today? Either way, singing for joy is in order. Maybe that's why Paul said, "Rejoice always, and
again I say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) Whether things look good or not so good, Paul encourages us to rejoice. David's example does the same.
Instead of thinking about his current wilderness situation, David decided to think about how much God had already helped him.
God has already helped you and me a lot too. If it weren't so, we wouldn't be sitting here reading this right
now! It's only by God's mercy that we are not destroyed. (Lamentations 3:22) There have been times that we didn't even know it when God kept us from danger and even destruction. That, alone,
is reason for us to sing for joy this morning! Our enemy, the devil, is always doing his best to kill us. (Psalm 118:13) Sometimes we're aware of it and sometimes not. But, God is always watching, aware, and right there bringing
us the help we need at just the right time. I hope you are rejoicing right now and will continue to rejoice over and
over again all day. Shout for joy and sing God's
praises - He has redeemed you! (Psalm 71:23) If you have never been redeemed, you can shout for joy and sing His praises too. This is your
day! You're in the right place at the right time. God has met you right here this morning. (2 Corinthians 6:2) This is the day the Lord has made and He's given us great reason to rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Today, if you don't know Jesus, you can call upon Him, repent of your sin and be saved. (Romans 6:23, Romans 3:23, Romans 10:13) Will you receive that right now? Then you, too, will be on your way to Heaven when it's
time for that trip into eternity. (John 14:3) Every one of us who have been redeemed have many songs of joy. One of them goes something
like this, "You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy." (Psalm 63:7) Are you struggling to find satisfaction in life? Who isn't really? We won't find
it in the temporary things that we find here on earth but we can find true satisfaction in the Lord. Look at
this passage from the Amplified Bible. Our satisfaction comes in spite of our earthly condition. It comes
from the Kingdom of God. Luke 6:20 (Amplified Bible) And solemnly lifting up His eyes on His disciples, He said:
Blessed (happy—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and
to be envied) are you poor and lowly and afflicted (destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor), for the kingdom
of God is yours! So, if your outward condition is less than what you would like, rejoice anyway because
you're a child of the King. The King, your Abba Father, knows just what you need and He will give it when you seek
Him first. (Matthew 6:33) That's just another reason to sing for joy! Contentment and satisfaction are things to be learned
by trusting in Who and what we know. Paul had to learn it and so do we. (Philippians 4:11) How did Paul do that? He remembered those things that he knew instead of concentrating on what he felt or saw.
He knew that God had promised to supply all of his needs and he passed that joyful information along to us too. (Philippians 4:19) His knowledge of who God really is and his close relationship with God kept him shouting and singing for joy
even while in a dungeon at midnight! (Acts 16:25) The other prisoners heard them. Is it midnight in your life right now? I know. It's dark and it may
be scary. You may even feel the pain of some chains of bondage digging into your flesh and emotions. But, if you
will begin to shout and sing praises, God will hear and respond. When Paul and Silas did that, the earth shook and the
prison doors flew open! Not only that, there may be other "prisoners" around you who will hear and find that
they too can be among the joyfully redeemed! There are so many reasons
why we can sing and shout for joy, it would take eternity to list them all. But, David mentioned one super
reason. It was because he knew, that despite his earthly condition of being in the wilderness, he was in the shadow
of God's wings. If you are a believer this morning, you are also in the shadow of God's wings. He has
you covered. You may feel like you're in great distress and pain but know that God is watching and covering
you. It could be so much worse! He won't allow you to go through anything that is too great for you.
When the way becomes too hard, He will make a way of escape for you. (1 Corinthians 10:13) He is your way of escape. And, while you are going through, it is an excellent time to rest in Him
and find the intimacy you may have lost or never really had. I have found that, in the hardest times of my life, it
felt like God was the closest to me. I know He's just the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), but I change. We all do. But God doesn't. Some changes are self-centered and tend to make us
walk from God instead of toward Him. His arms are always there outstretched, but we may think our way is better.
Even then, we are under the shadow of His wings although we are refusing to accept their warmth and receive rest.
The best change we can make is to do like David did. Cling to Him. (Psalm 63:8) His strong right hand will hold us securely. Now there's a good reason to shout for joy! In this
world of uncertainty, His strong right hand will hold us securely. David took the night seasons to meditate
on God. (Psalm 3:6) If we do that, even though there may be some weeping, joy will come out of it. (Psalm 30:5) Can you begin to see God hovering over you, providing shade from the heat of life, and defense from the enemy that
tries to trouble you? Just shout and sing for joy. He's there protecting you. Not only that, His wings
contain healing. (Malachi 4:2) Just receive that healing as you enjoy the safety He gives you under His wings. Healing for your body, soul,
mind and spirit. Soon you'll be leaping around, singing and shouting for joy. As the song says, "Under
His wings, who from His love can sever? Under His wings my soul shall abide. Safely abide forever."
Go ahead, sing for joy! God's got you covered! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
- WAITING PEACEFULLY AND QUIETLY BEFORE GOD Psalms 62:1 (New Living Translation) We live in an age where no one wants to wait for anything! And, if
we do have to wait, how peaceful are we while we're waiting? I find myself tapping my toe impatiently because the
microwave doesn't get my dinner done in three minutes. Even those three minutes seem to stretch into an eternity.
Wonder why that is - when we always seem to be suffering from a lack of time because time seems to go so fast? Except
when we want it to! Here in Psalm 62:1, David is saying that he is quietly trusting God for his salvation. Once we have asked for something, we don't
have to stand around and impatiently tap our fingers on the table or our toes on the floor like we're waiting
for the microwave or for an e-mail to appear. We can rest quietly, trusting that God has our lives and every situation
in His control. That's what He invited the Israelites to do but they decided they would have none of it. (Isaiah 30:15) A wise person will learn from other's mistakes. From this we can learn that we need to be quiet before God.
We need to cease from our fretting, impatience and worrying. (Psalm 37:1, Psalm 37:34, Matthew 6:34) To wait quietly comes from a Hebrew root word meaning, in part, "undone." That word is the same word
used in the scripture in Isaiah 6:5 where Isaiah had come into the presence of the Lord. If we could just realize that, as believers, we are in the
presence of the Lord constantly, we would be like Isaiah. We would know we are undone in comparison with our God.
Yet, He chooses to dwell within us and bring us salvation and deliverance. Are you feeling undone yet? Are you
starting to rest even though the situations around you may be less than desirable and certainly not what you hoped for or
expected? Don't stop hoping and expecting. God is working in ways we can't see. Our salvation comes from God. Our eternal
salvation and more. That word, salvation, from the Hebrew used in Psalm 62:1 means so much more than just eternal life. It's meaning goes far beyond that. Here are just a few
things: deliverance, help, aid, victory, prosperity and health. Where in our lives this morning do we need
one or more of these things? Waiting quietly before God, we will find the help we need. God is faithful to bring
us through and we don't need to come through kicking and screaming. Waiting quietly is so much more dignified!
(Lamentations 3:26) In Lamentations 3:26, it says it is good if we expectantly wait for salvation from the Lord. In other words, wait with hope.
The Hebrew word used for, "salvation" in this verse includes all the meanings mentioned above and additionally,
"safety." In Psalm 62:5, David professes his determination to wait on God with hope. That word, "hope" indicates an expectancy of
something he was longing for. Is there something you are longing for this morning? You haven't seen it yet?
Don't give up. Keep on doing the good things you know to do. (Galatians 6:9). Don't lose hope. Even great men like David have been tempted to lose hope. They have felt sad and
discouraged. Those feelings may come but, during those times, we need to remember what we know, not what we feel.
(Psalm 42:5-6) We can't stop the feelings but we can decide whether or not to let them become our reality. David was deeply
discouraged for a moment but then He chose to remember God's kindness in the past. God is always kind.
He doesn't change. Even when we're discouraged. That's why we don't need to stay in that place
of discouragement. We know that God's loving kindness never changes. It never fails. (Jeremiah 9:24) When we have all
those things that are wrapped up in salvation, we have something else that is valued highly today but found rarely.
We have peace. No amount of money can buy it. It cannot be found anywhere else but in the Lord. When our mind
is fixed on Jesus rather than fretting about the things going on around us, we will have perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3) God says all who trust in Him and have their thoughts fixed on Him will be kept by Him in perfect peace. Are
you trusting Him this morning with everyone and every situation in your life? Are you boldly confident, secure and sure
that God will bring you through? That's what trusting is. Are your thoughts fixed on God? That
word, "thoughts," from the original meaning of the Hebrew word, includes imagination, along with all your other
thoughts. Don't let your imagination run away with you! If your mind is fixed on Him, it will be secure in
Him, propped up by Him. He will hold you up. (Isaiah 41:10) You can rest yourself in Him (Matthew 11:28), stand fast (2 Thessalonians 2:15) and be sustained (Psalm 55:22). When I put all of the above together, I realize that I don't need to be bothered by anything.
Everything I need is found in God. (Romans 8:32) Now, the world tries everyday to tell me otherwise. It
tells me I must be a career woman, also able to care for children and look beautiful all the time, waking and sleeping.
To the men, it says, "If you're not hunk, ripped and romantic and able to bring in a sizeable paycheck, you're
lacking". It tells me I need to have a certain kind of car or I'm a nobody. It tells me I must live in
a certain neighborhood or I don't have what I really need. The truth is we have everything we need if we have God.
While God is a giver of good gifts (Matthew 7:11), the gifts must never be sought before we seek the Giver. We are boldly confident that we have everything we need
in our Father. (Philippians 4:19) Jesus tells us to seek the Kingdom of God first and then all those other things will be added. (Matthew 6:33) The world says, go for the gold now and it leaves God out of the picture. There is no peace in the
way of the world. That is evident when you look around you and see angry, frustrated people everywhere. (John 14:27) We have peace when we wait quietly before God. Everything we need comes from Him and what He gives no man
can take away! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 - IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO ASK FOR HELP Isaiah 22:11 (New Living Translation) Isaiah, the
prophet, had many visions. He was to deliver them to the people but some were extremely difficult to deliver.
So much so that, at one point, he said, "leave me alone to weep....Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.
(Isaiah 22:5) In this particular vision, the city of Jerusalem was in great trouble. The whole city was
in an uproar. Is that how our lives feel sometimes? Totally in an uproar? (Isaiah 22:2) They were all running to the roof tops in fear. (Isaiah 22:1) Do we sometimes run in fear instead of standing in faith? (Romans 5:2) The people of Jerusalem were dying from famine and disease in Isaiah's vision. Spiritually, we can
find ourselves and our families in that position too and it will usually also spill over to the natural realm. They didn't
have to die from famine and disease. They had been given instructions to follow God a long time before. (Exodus 15:26) They were told to listen to His voice and do what was right in His sight. If they did that, they would not encounter
disease. That principle has not really changed today. Many of the diseases we suffer are from what we have done
to ourselves instead of listening to what God has told us to do. In fact, many today have stopped up ears. Some
don't listen to God at all. Many try to do what is right morally but find themselves at a loss to measure up because
they are trying to do it without the help of God. Isaiah saw the Israelites running this way and that.
(Isaiah 22:3), never finding a way out. This was happening in the Valley of Vision. God brought all of this trouble,
trampling down and perplexity upon the place with the name, Valley of Vision. It should not have been that way.
The word, vision, means revelation. However, the people of that time discarded their revelation and, in His timing,
God was about to let the seed His people had sown come to full harvest. They had not followed Him. Now trouble
was coming upon them. What we sow is exactly what we will reap, whether it be good or bad! (Galatians 6:7) We may have sown some bad seed in the past but this is a new day. God's mercies are new each morning
and this morning is no different. (Lamentations 3:23) If you have sown some bad seed in the past, and you have begun sowing good seed, just don't lose heart.
Keep on doing what God wants you to do and don't grow weary. You will see your harvest. (Galatians 6:9) If you haven't stopped sowing that bad seed, stop today. Repent and begin to sow good seed. You may
go through some of the consequences of those weeds coming up but you will be forgiven and the Lord will be with you as you
clear out the weeds and make way for the fruitful harvest. We just have to come clean with the Lord and ask
for help! Unfortunately the people of Jerusalem didn't ask for
help. They just reacted to what they had already brought on themselves with more scrambling in their own strength.
(Isaiah 22:11) This morning are we operating in our own strength or in God's strength? We know that scripture gives
us many pictures of exactly Who's strength we're to operate in. It's not by our own might or our own
power but by the Spirit of God that we will find success and victory in the battles of life. (Zechariah 4:6) Without Jesus, we're told that we can't do anything. (John 15:5) It's always been that way. We have been created by the Creator of this world for a specific reason.
When we try to do things our own way, it's like we're telling the potter how to make and what to do with the pot!
(Isaiah 45:9) The Bible says that destruction is certain for those pots that argue with the Potter. That's why Isaiah
was seeing the people of Jerusalem being destroyed. We can learn from this. Instead of trusting in our own ways or the
ways of men, we need to put our confidence in God and seek to do His will. (Psalm 118:8) Joshua 1:8 gives us the confidence that studying and meditating on God's Word while doing that which we read will make
us succeed. In other words, we will break out of bad habits and lifestyles, push forward to the land of promise God
has for our lives, and break through the giant barriers in order to live in that land! Is there a difficult
situation in your life this morning that has crept in because you have not been in God's Word so that doing it comes naturally
(or should I say super-naturally) to you because you are being guided by what you read? You're on the right
track this morning because you are reading His Word. We are looking into the Word and the Word is going to bring healing
if we remain there! (Psalm 107:20) Psalm 107:20 in the King James Version reads this way: "He sent
his word, and healed them, and delivered them
from their destructions." That's very powerful. Since that time, God did
send His Word. He came in the flesh. (John 1:1, John 1:14) His Name is Jesus! When Jesus began His public ministry, He started by preaching repentance.
(Matthew 4:17) In Jesus, we find the forgiveness we need. Through Him, we are able to go boldly before our Father's
throne to ask for help directly from Him when we find ourselves in a mess. (Hebrews 4:16) We are promised His mercy and grace. We are promised help in time of need. Is there something in your
life this morning that's in need of repair? Is there a mess that you just can't seem to fix? We need not
be like the Israelites who never bothered to ask for help from the Lord. They were in the situation they were in because
they had not followed Him in the first place. But, instead of turning back to Him to ask for help, they tried to go
it alone. They did not humble themselves before Him even when He gave them the chance to do so. (Isaiah 22:12) This morning God is giving us the opportunity to repent of anything distasteful in our lives. We need not
carry that thing that will result in possible destruction any longer. The Israelites chose not to repent but to dance
and play and feast instead. (Isaiah 22:13) Not a wise thing to do! We can forget about our troubles for a moment by doing that but our eternal well-being
will be at stake. There is a story in the book of Luke about a very foolish man. Very rich, but very foolish.
Apparently he had not read the Word to know that it was God that gave him the power to obtain all that wealth.
(Deuteronomy 8:18) The story is full of "I's." I'll do this and I'll do that and, and..... (Luke 12:16-21) Not a word about the God who had enabled him to be in such a good position. He had gone through his
whole life doing things in his own strength and ended up with no relationship with the God who made him and gave him the power
to get what he had. How foolish to go through life and all the messes that come with it (both brought on by ourselves
and the sin around us) and never ask for help from the only One Who can really give us the help we need. God
is a God of mercy and restoration. (Joel 2:25) He can restore moments and even years that have been eaten up by the locusts of self-made troubles and difficulties
brought about by sin in general. It's never too late to ask for help! MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 17, 2007 - DON'T TRY SO HARD Galatians 3:3 (New Living Translation) When Paul wrote to the Galatians, there is a little bit of frustration between the lines. They had
listened to him preach the good news of the gospel and the freedom that comes from believing that Jesus was the answer to
everything. That His Spirit would lead them and keep them. We, who have believed in Jesus, also know the truth
of that. But, how easy it is to get caught up again in the "do's" and "don't's" of what
we call Christianity. In the law. We get caught up in both God's law, which was only given to us as a guardian
in order to help us do what was right, (Galatians 3:24-25) and our own laws which are made up from our perception of what a Christian should look like. Paul calls
this, "losing our senses." When we come to Christ, we come just as we are. Dirty, filthy sinners in
need of a spiritual bath. We have no clean water of our own or any soap strong enough to cleanse our spirit.
Jesus comes to us while we're still in that state, washing us clean with the water of His Word (Ephesians 5:26) and thoroughly cleansing us with His own spilled blood. (1 John 1:7) Tide may have power to get out most stains but nothing removes the stain of sin but the blood of Jesus! It's
just that simple. There is truly power in the blood! Now, with
all of that power in the blood of Jesus and the power that flows through His Spirit, in and through us, why would we ever
think that we can do a thing by ourselves? (John 15:5) Our human effort is nothing unless it is accompanied by God's Spirit. Nothing we do in the flesh will last.
We can try to follow the rules like the Galatians did in order to try to make and keep ourselves perfect.
But, those rules will change as the years go by. We have seen that in our own society. When we can't
keep those stringent rules, so we just tend to change them, watering them down to something we can do. The
unfortunate thing is that we can't do anything unless God gives us the power to do it. The power is from the Holy
Spirit. He drew us to God and He is the only one who can keep us there. All of our wonderful deeds, unless
done in the power of His Spirit, are just filthy rags before God. He can't even look upon them! (Isaiah 64:6) We may think we are doing some great things by following all of our man-made ideas of goodness but God says it will
only lead to our sins washing us away. I'd rather have my sins washed away than be washed away by them.
How about you? So, if the Bible says we are to be
perfect, as God is perfect, how are we supposed to do it? When I first read that and for a long time after, I thought
it was going to be too hard. I always wanted to be perfect. But, of course, the harder I tried the more
I saw where I was severely lacking. That was partly because I based my idea of perfection on the things I saw in
the world. Some people just seemed to have it all together. Some appeared to be so beautifully perfect
in every way. But, that's not what God is talking about at all. All of us can appear to be perfect for
an hour or two on a Sunday morning but sometimes you don't even have to get any farther than in their car on the way home
from church to find out that was just a cover-up. We can't even keep our own rules, much less God's law,
most of the time for longer than a few hours at a time. The Galatians started out right but, just like some of
us do, they got caught up again in the "rules." They began to forget that their salvation was totally
a result of the death of Christ on the cross. (Galatians 3:1-2) Are you trying to be perfect this morning? First of all, we need to remember that God's version
of perfect is not how the world would define it. He defines it as becoming spiritually mature. We can't
try to be spiritually mature any more than we can try to be ten years older. It is a process.
Something we constantly work toward. We need to quit trying so hard and just believe. The disciples once
asked what they needed to do for God. Jesus's answer was very simple. "Believe in the one He has
sent." (John 6:29) Abraham just believed God. Because of his belief, God saw him as righteous. (Galatians 3:6) It is the same with us today. Our job is to believe. It may sound too simple but it's the truth.
It sounds simple but it's not always easy when those around us don't believe and when circumstances seem to scream
for us to do something besides believing. But, if we will just stop trying to keep the law, we will relieve ourselves
of a curse. The Bible says, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all these commands that are written
in God's Book of the Law." (Galatians 3:10) Praise God, Jesus took that curse and we need no longer be under it. We only need to believe just
as Jesus said and as Abraham did. (Galatians 3:13-14) As we believe, we will grow in maturity and perfection. We will never achieve that by our own human effort.
It is through the power of the Spirit of Jesus. If you've been trying too hard and not believing enough, give yourself
a rest. Let the love of God and His gift of Jesus Christ bring you that rest. Perfection comes from the Spirit
of God working in us, not by our own human effort. MORNING MANNA - SEPTEMBER 16, 2007 - IT'S TIME TO SHOUT JOYFUL PRAISE! Psalms 59:16 (New Living Translation) We all have our days of "distress," amen? When David wrote Psalm 59:16, he was having a day of distress. He wrote it about the time Saul had sent soldiers to watch his house. They
weren't just watching the house. They were there to kill him! Now, I call that a distressful day! Not
many of us have had someone try to kill us, but some have. If you have been in that situation and you're reading
this, you know that God protected you. David also knew that he could call on God for protection. At the beginning
of Psalm 59, he cried out to God to rescue him from his enemies and protect him from those who purposed to destroy him.
(Psalm 59:1). There are more ways than physical force to take away someone's life. Words can bring death too. Emotional
and verbal abuse can cause another to die on the inside. To just give up and lose site of the fact that God
has a plan for their lives. (Proverbs 18:21) Maybe someone's words have injured you in the past or even seemed to kill the dreams God placed inside of
you. (Proverbs 12:6) Let me bring you some good news this morning. God has not forgotten you. You are still alive and you are
reading this. Just begin to praise Him right now. Though you may not have felt like it, He has been your refuge
in whatever days of distress you have had. He's been mine too. We just need to recognize that and, like David,
choose to sing of His power to keep us through what may have been some very trying times. David says, "But, as for me......."
Can we repeat those words with David this morning? We may have been through times of verbal, emotional or physical abuse
that seemed to rob us of our very lives. But, God was there to bring us to this place, right now. His Word says
that evil words destroy friends but discernment rescues the godly. (Proverbs 11:9) This morning, as we are seeking God, let's remember and discern who He is and all that He is. It
is by His grace that we have come this far! Can we, like David, say, "I will sing about your power. I will
shout with joy each morning because of your unfailing love."? Our past may try to keep us from the future God has
for us. But, our shouts and songs of praise will destroy any yoke that has hung around our necks dragging us down and
away from our destiny. If you are reading this and you are the one who has abused another with your words or your actions,
it's not too late for you either. If God is showing you that you have hurt another, right now, ask for forgiveness.
If Jesus is not really Lord of your life, then ask Him to be, right now. He doesn't want anyone to die in their
sin. (2 Peter 3:9) Make some restitution if possible and then know that God is your refuge too. Those who have been abused
and those who have abused have both been robbed. The enemy has succeeded in robbing them of their joy. The joy
that made David rise up each morning with a song in his heart of praise to God. This morning is a new chance for both
kinds of people to, with the help of God, throw off the past, get free of the enemy's hold and go free. If
you have been hurt, forgive. If you have caused hurt, ask for forgiveness from God and from the one you hurt. God's love is constant and
unfailing. We fail often but He cannot fail. We may have even hurt the ones we say we love. We have all
sinned at one time or another. We have all said and done things in ignorance and sometimes without really meaning
to cause hurt. We really have no enemies "with skin on." Our enemies are not flesh and blood.
They are principalities and powers in high spiritual places. (Ephesians 6:12) These powers may use another person who is not walking in the Spirit to wound us or even try to
kill us. But, that person is not our real enemy. We have the power to defeat our real enemy in several different
ways that God has given us. One of those ways is the way of praise. David used that a lot. The enemy cannot
abide in an atmosphere of praise. You know why? God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise,
God is so close to us. He is inhabiting every word. (Psalm 22:3 - The King James Version reads this way:Psalms 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou
that inhabitest the praises of Israel.) The enemy cannot work in the presence
of God. Besides that, God won't allow the enemy in His presence. His Light destroys all darkness.
No wonder David was always praising God, even when soldiers were camped about his house waiting to kill him! We have
an enemy that roams around the earth looking for someone to devour too. (1 Peter 5:8) We certainly have to be alert and aware of this enemy. But, God has given us power in our tongue
to bring His life into our situations if we will praise Him! Like David, we can even praise Him by just trusting
and waiting that He will rescue us. (Psalm 59:9) He is our strength. He is our place of safety. He is our refuge. His unfailing love is shown to
us daily. We're all still alive this morning and able to read this! God is worthy of all of our praise!
As the song says, "Shout to the Lord all the earth, let us sing, power and majesty praise to the King." He
is the King of Kings! Do I hear shouts going up this morning? Enter content here Enter content here Enter content here Enter content here |
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