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A SONG AND A PRAYER |
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MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 1-15, 2007
Enter subhead content here  MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 15, 2007 - PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS MANY BENEFITS! Psalms 112:1 (New Living Translation) Do you fear the Lord?
That is, do you have a healthy reverence for Him? (Deuteronomy 6:24) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10) That, in itself, is enough reason to praise the Lord! But, that's not the only benefit that
God gives us when we fear and obey Him. Psalm 112:1 says that we will be blessed if we fear the Lord. "Psalms 112:1 (King James Version) (King James Version) 1 (KJV) Praise
ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments." Does blessing sound good to you? It sure does to me! That word, "blessed," comes
from a Hebrew root word having the figurative meaning of, "to go forward, be honest, prosper, be blessed, be happy, go,
guide, lead, relieve." All that sounds great to me. How about you? Of course, if we fear the Lord, we will have a desire to obey
Him. Reverence for God brings wisdom. Wisdom tells us that there is a life of rewards in obedience. (Psalm 111:10) Not only will we be blessed if we fear the Lord and obey His commands, our children will be successful
too. (Psalm 112:2) Our godly lifestyle will cause blessing to fall on a whole generation of people. Wow! The world needs
that today. Our children and grandchildren need us to live a godly life in front of them. It stands
to reason that the opposite will be true too. A whole generation will be affected by ungodly lives. We certainly
don't want that! Long ago God gave His people the choice of life or death, blessing or cursing. That
choice had to do with us and with our children. Of course, God wants us all to make the right choice. (Deuteronomy 30:19) Have you made that choice today? That's only the beginning of the benefits the Psalmist lists in Psalm 112. Wealth,comes to those who fear God. Their good deeds, says the Psalmist, will last forever. (Psalm 112:3) Do you need some light shed on a situation in your life? Light shines for the godly (Psalm 112:4) Light is not just a thing. It's a person. Jesus is the Light. (John 8:12) He illuminates the ways of those who seek God through Him, causing them to be generous, compassionate and righteous.
If we reverence God, realizing all He has done for us, we will lend generously and conduct our business with integrity.
(Psalm 112:5) Because of that, we will not be overcome by evil. Satan will have lost his battle for our lives and we will
be long remembered. What a wonderful thing to be remembered for living a godly life! Do you want to be free
of any fear of bad news? (Psalm 112:7) We can if we're living a life of reverence for and obedience to God. What will happen is that, as we
realize just who He is, we will begin to confidently trust Him so much that we will be able to face our enemies triumphantly. Remember,
those enemies are not people but principalities and powers. (Ephesians 6:12) We are victorious in any battle that comes against us from the devil. (Psalm 112:8) Yes, reverence for God will prompt us to share and give generously when we see someone in need. Those things
will be remembered and they will bring glory to God. God is a rewarder of those that seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) We will be given influence and honor. (Psalm 112:9) The enemy really would like to bring you and me down. But, we are not his victims. Jesus has made us His
victors. Psalm 112:10 says the wicked will see the lifestyle of reverence and godliness outlined in Psalm 112. Yes, Satan and his cohorts will be furious. They will grind their teeth in anger. Let us not flinch
when we hear those teeth grinding! Let's not grow weary in living out the first nine verses of Psalm 112. We may hear some furious tooth grinding from the enemy but, in Jesus, we're victorious. That enemy
will have to slink away. Their hopes will be thwarted. Can you envision that this morning? Don't you
love the picture you see in your mind of Satan and all his demon friends defeated and slinking back into the pit where they
belong? There are many benefits that come from God as we reverence and obey Him but the greatest is that our enemy has
no more control over us. No matter how angry He is, He has to flee because He sees that the One living in us is
greater than himself! (1John 4:4) He knows we will be victorious in this life and the next! (John 3:16) No wonder he's so mad! No wonder Psalm112:1 begins with, "Praise the Lord!". For all those benefits and more, let's praise the Lord! MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 14, 2007 - AS WE MEET WITH THEM Psalms 111:1 (New Living Translation) Yes, let's praise the Lord this morning! Let's thank Him with all of our heart. Let's meet
with His godly people and encourage one another in His love. I hope you're not thinking, "Okay, I'll
do that the next time I go to church." Of course, it's good that we go to church and we should thank the Lord
that we can meet at local gathering places with godly people. We are blessed in America that we still have that
freedom. But, that's only the start of meeting with God's people. All those who trust in Christ are God's
people. We have the opportunity to meet with them all the time. For instance, if you are married and your spouse
is a believer, you meet with a godly person quite often! If your children are walking with the Lord, you can also thank
the Lord with all your heart as you meet with them. Especially when you realize that so many parents are praying desperately
that their children will become godly. All of our meetings with believers should be cause for thanking the Lord
with all of our heart. Today, I visited a nursing home where I have the privilege of ministering and visiting at least
once a week. Some meet in the dining room for song and to hear Biblical words of encouragement. Then, I meet with
others in their rooms. Let me tell you, I am blessed as I meet with His godly people and I thank the Lord with all my
heart for the opportunity to see those smiling faces, despite the fact that most of them are in wheel chairs or even confined
to bed. These are godly people. These are people who praise the Lord even in extremely difficult circumstances.
One younger resident who is sadly distorted and can't even speak much of anything that is understandable, lifts his hands
in worship, smiles that crooked smile and even attempts to dance. He can't stand up but he pushes those foot
rests aside and with all the energy he can muster he moves his feet. He worships. He is truly filled with the
joy of the Lord. Quite a contrast to those of us who insist that everything be perfect in our worship services. Are you glad when you are able to go to the house of the Lord? (Psalm 122:1) The Israelites were anxious to go where people would worship the Lord together. We do that when we attend our
local fellowship. But, we also have the opportunity to do that when we meet with one another in our homes, in restaurants,
in the lunch room at work, in the shopping mall, etc. There are Christian brothers and sisters all around us but we
don't usually think about that when we go about our daily routines. There just may be someone in your path today
who is a Christian, a godly one. He or she may really be in need of encouragement from another believer. Can we
just take some time to look at those around us while we're out and about? (Hebrews 10:24) To make some eye contact rather than just go through the motions of shopping, working, errands, etc. Every
person we deal with in some way is a person that is either already a godly person or needs to know how to become one.
Really, if we are truly believers, we will know that every single person we come in contact with is a divine appointment.
We have made our plans for the day but God has directed our steps. (Proverbs 16:9) What are we doing about it? Maybe it wasn't just to pick up a prescription that God led you to the pharmacy............. We all have one thing in common. (Proverbs 22:2) God made us all. God wants us all to have something else in common. He wants everyone to come to His Son.
(John 3:17) He wants everyone to be saved. Jesus did not come to condemn us but to save us. He came
because God loved us. (John 3:16) God was willing to give His best so that we could become one of His people. (1 John 4:9) Now He wants us to love each other so much that we will win the lost and encourage those who believe. Our
love for those around us will cause us to thank God with all our heart whenever and wherever we meet with His people.
That same love will encourage those that don't yet believe to come to the Lord. (John 13:35, Colossians 4:5-6) Are you thankful this morning for each time you get to meet with one of God's people? Let's make that
a practice and a mindset, not only within the four walls of our church building, but also in our every day, every
moment experience. Who do you see and speak to the first thing in the morning? Begin thanking God right now if
that person is a Christian. Thank Him with all your heart. Do this all day long with everyone you meet.
If you meet those who are not yet Christians, thank God with all your heart that you have the opportunity to let them see
what a Christian looks like, how a Christian speaks and acts, how a Christian loves. Yes, praise the Lord, we have
reason to thank Him for everyone we meet! The godly and those who will become godly because Jesus has shown Himself
through us. MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 13, 2007 - BY FAITH Hebrews 11:3 (New Living Translation) How is your vision this morning? How is your understanding? Hebrews 11:3 tells us that it is by faith that we understand what God can do by a single command. It is by faith
that we can now see stuff that just happened to come from nothing that we can see with our human eyes. Some of us need
more understanding this morning. Not the world's idea of understanding but God's idea. If I told you that
my tea cup was made from seemingly nothing, of course you would think I was a bit touched in the head. However, that
is exactly what we are supposed to understand by faith. The entire universe was brought into place by a word from God.
Everything we see with our human eyes this morning originally came from nothing. At least nothing that we can humanly
see. All of this we have to know strictly by faith. Faith is not an option either. It's an essential,
not only in the life of the believer but in every life. As believers, we please our Father with our faith. (Hebrews 11:6) We need to, not only believe that He is who He says He is, but we have to believe that He rewards those who wholeheartedly
seek Him. We can't see Him and we don't yet know the rewards He has planned for us. Yet, we seek
Him by faith and by faith we believe that He will reward us. Past experience tells us that He is who He says He is and
we can certainly testify to the many rewards that He has given us when we have sought Him. I know that most of
you will agree with me on this point. But, if you have never come to God by faith in His Son, won't you do that
right now. (2 Corinthians 6:2) Your reward will be eternal life and so much more! Even those who have not yet believed in the Lord have some kind of faith, although it is
misdirected. Most everyone believes that a chair will hold up the one who sits down on it. That's because
we can see the chair with our eyes and we know what it's made for. More times than not in our lives, the chairs
we have plopped ourselves on have held us. Our faith in chairs is pretty solid. We know what they're made
for. We've most likely never or rarely been let down by one. So, faith is not hard. It just requires
that we know about the object of our faith and it helps that we have had experience with it. This morning, if we feel
a bit low on faith, perhaps we just need to get to know the object of our faith more intimately. Our God is a rewarder
of those who will sincerely seek after Him. He is our Shepherd, providing all that we need. He's our
Prince of Peace bringing the kind of peace that nothing in this world can offer. We can't see these things
with our eyes. But, they are all true just the same. We just need to accept them by faith. Will
we seek to know God more intimately this morning and every morning of our lives by meeting Him in prayer and fellowshipping
with Him in His Word? (Psalm 92:2) That's exactly how we'll get to know Him and how we will have those experiences that help our faith to grow. What is it that you need this morning? Will the understanding,
by faith, that God created the whole universe help you to remember that there is not a single situation in
your life that is impossible for Him? If so, your faith will be pleasing to Him and there will be a sure reward for
you. Abel brought the right kind of offering to God by faith. (Hebrews 11:4) God would rather have our obedience than our sacrifices. (1 Samuel 15:22) By faith, will you obey His voice today? Enoch never had to experience the pain of death. God just
took him home because Enoch was pleasing to God. (Hebrews 11:5) Enoch had learned, even in those early days, that faith pleased God and he was rewarded for his faith. There
are many things that we may be spared of in this life if we are living a life of faith. A life that is pleasing to God. Then
there was Noah. God warned him about something that had never happened in the world before. He only understood
what God said by faith. He obeyed God despite all the taunting of those around him. (Hebrews 11:7) All his jeering neighbors were destroyed and Noah was saved - by faith. Isn't it much like that today?
God has given us His Son for our salvation. He has told us Jesus will come back as the ruling and reigning King.
This has not happened before but, as we believe, despite the contrary viewpoint of this world, we will be going
Home with Jesus to rule and reign with Him forever. (Revelation 11:15) How about Abraham and Sarah? They both had to muster up some pretty radical faith. Just about everything
was against them. Even after they made some mistakes, they had to keep their faith in God. Everything He told
them proved to be true even though it was impossible in the natural. (Hebrews 11:8-11) God has given us many, many promises in His Word. They're all true whether we choose to put our faith in
them or not. If that is so, then let's just reach out in faith today clinging to every Word from God. Anything
else would just be plain dumb! It is pleasing to God when we believe what He says even, and especially, if
we haven't seen it yet with our eyes. Every single promise he has made to you and me is totally true. (2 Corinthians 1:20) There is absolutely nothing that is impossible with God. (Luke 1:37) He goes even further to say that all things are possible to them that believe. (Mark 9:23) In other words, to those who have faith. Whatever doubt we might have had when we came to the scriptures this
morning should be totally dissolved by now. All God's promises are true, nothing is impossible with Him and all
things are possible if we believe. Whatever might have been our problem when we started reading can be dismissed
right now - by faith. MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 12, 2007 - BE SURE Hebrews 10:39 (New Living Translation) May I reassure you this morning? If you have accepted the gift of salvation bought by the sacrifice of Jesus, you have
the assurance that it is yours. I taught a little lesson to the children in church a few weeks past about reassurance. In
the words, reassure and assure, there is another smaller word that makes the point. That word is, "sure."
The Psalmist asked God to reassure him of His promises. (Psalm 119:38) We all need reassurance once in a while. The point is that we can be sure of our salvation. Because
we have chosen to follow God and to receive His free gift of salvation, our faith allows us to be sure. Luke wrote a
whole book to help reassure those living in that day. (Luke 1:1-4) We can use that reassurance in our day too. What Luke wrote was taken from eye witnesses but we must receive
it by faith. Are you ready to accept the reassurance from God's word and live by faith? (John 20:29) Thomas was a little bit skeptical. He had some trouble with the assurance of Jesus's resurrection.
Jesus understood Thomas so He made a personal appearance. We have that incident recorded in God's word,
along with the encouraging and reassuring words that we will be blessed if we believe without having seen what Thomas saw
with his eyes. Though the world would encourage
us to turn our backs on God, it would be a deadly thing to do. Hebrews 10:39 tells us that we will seal our fate if we choose to do that. As the writer of Hebrews wrote to the early Christians,
"But, we are not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate." Jesus dealt with people
who turned away from Him. They couldn't understand what He was trying to tell them. So, instead of trying
to get closer to Him and understand, they chose to turn away. (John 6:66-69) While it is true that it is difficult at times to grasp everything in the Word, we sometimes tend to forget that
Jesus is the Word. Like John, we should find ourselves saying, "To whom would we go?"
The answer is not to turn away but to turn closer to Jesus. Yes, the world wants to break down our assurance that Jesus
is the Way; but what do they offer in return? So far, the things that have been suggested and tried have only brought
the world closer to destruction. Wars, famine, crime, illegal drugs, teenage pregnancy, abortion, homosexuality, etc.,
have increased. Because of these things, many are turning away from Jesus instead of toward Him. This morning,
be careful to be "sure." Don't lose that assurance of your salvation no matter what the circumstances
look like. Be confident of this. Faith and assurance go together.
Hebrews 11:1 lets us know that faith is confident assurance. It goes on to say, "faith is the evidence..."
We are assured of our salvation because we have faith in God and in His Word. The Holy Spirit even bears witness to
the fact that we belong to God. (1 John 5:6) The Holy Spirit will always bring us assurance of the truth of God's Word. (1 Thessalonians 1:5) Have you asked Jesus to live in you, to become the Lord of your life? If so, you have the assurance
this morning that you will share in His glory. His life in us gives us that assurance. (Colossians 1:27) As the world turns more and more to human secularism, we may be tempted to follow. However, we
must remember the good news of the gospel of Jesus. We must not drift away from it, but stand firm in what God's
word tells us and what His Spirit has confirmed in us. (Colossians 1:23) Paul indicates that we must not drift from the assurance we have in Christ. So, for us, there
is no turning back, no drifting away. Only a drawing closer to God, trusting that Jesus has made the way for
us. (Hebrews 10:21-22) The Amplified Version makes Hebrews 10:21-22 much clearer: "22 (AMP) Let us all come forward and draw near with true
(honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire
human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled
and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water." Unqualified assurance
and absolute conviction engendered by faith will keep us on a steady walk with the Lord. We will then be able to say,
like Paul, that we have finished the race. (2 Timothy 4:7) Where did Paul get his cue? From Jesus, of course! That's what it's all about.
Not turning back. Jesus didn't turn back. Look what The Message says: "Hebrews 12:2 (The Message) (The Message) 2 (MSG) Keep your
eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where
he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame,
whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God." This morning be assured of
your salvation. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Don't lose sight of where you're headed. Put up with whatever
you have to in order to finish the course! Hold on to your assurance. Be reassured. Be sure! MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 11, 2007 - HE SAT DOWN Hebrews 10:12 (New Living Translation) What do you usually do when you complete a difficult project?
I don't know about you, but I sit down. I take a rest. What did God do when He created the world? At
the end of the six days of creation, He rested. (Genesis 2:2) Do you sometimes feel a twinge of guilt when you sit down to rest? God felt nothing of the kind. In fact
He set the seventh day apart as a special day because He rested. (Genesis 2:3) Then He instructed His children to observe that day too. (Exodus 20:8) It wasn't just an instruction. It carried with it stiff consequences for the one that broke it. There wouldn't
be any trouble with population control today if that consequence was still carried out! If you didn't rest on the
Sabbath day and keep it holy, that was it for you. Dead! (Exodus 31:15) Does that mean that God is mean? That He doesn't love His children? No! It means that His
desire for them is not to have a mediocre life. He intended for our lives to be full of life, His life.
Rest is a part of life if we take our example from God. And, who else better from whom to take our example? So, it's okay to sit down once in a while. Especially on the
Sabbath day. (Exodus 20:10) God, having made us, knows we need a rest. (Mark 2:27) But, Jesus shows us an even greater picture of sitting down. When the priests went into
the Tabernacle in the Old Testament days, they had to keep moving. Of all the furniture and vessels in that place, there
was no chair. One commentary said that those priests of old had to keep moving or standing because their work never
ended. It was an imperfect work. However, God did not plan to leave any work imperfect. Jesus was waiting
in the wings knowing that the blood of animals would never be a perfect sacrifice. The old covenant would require the
constant shedding of the blood of animals and it would still not be enough. Every day the sacrifices would
have to be carried out because every day, we fail to meet the standards of a holy God. God had a once and for all plan
and Jesus willingly carried it out. (Hebrews 10:10) I like the Amplified Version of Hebrews 10:10. Check it out. "10 (AMP) And in accordance with this will [of God], we
have been made holy (consecrated and sanctified) through the offering made once for all of the body of Jesus Christ (the Anointed
One)." The King James Version says this, "10 (KJV) By the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." This version says, we "are"
sanctified, or made holy. When looking at the root of the word translated, "are," (as in "we are
sanctified") I found that it meant, "I am." No wonder Jesus could sit down by His Father!
He made us holy once and for all. Does that mean that we don't get our feet dirty as we walk in this unholy world.
Not at all. We step in "stuff." That's why we're to wash each other's feet, just as Jesus
washed the feet of His disciples. We're to encourage one another, pray for one another, hold one another up, and
remind one another that we have been made holy once for all by the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ. Dirty feet don't
necessarily indicate a dirty heart. We, too, are seated in heavenly places with Christ. With our High Priest. God sees us as "seated."
It's okay to sit down. In fact, if God's word says we're seated in heavenly places, would we want
to find ourselves arguing with God? (Ephesians 2:6) Why do we have this privilege of sitting with Christ above our worldly circumstances? Because
He made us holy. We are holy. His resurrection life in us has pushed out every spiritually dead thing.
Those things are falling away during this season we call, "life on earth." God has chosen not to remember
those dead things of sin. (Jeremiah 31:34) In Hebrews 10:17-18, we find that there is finality in that. The sacrifice was completed and with it came complete forgiveness.
I was just reading where, though amazing as it may seem, it's possible for us to think we believe what, really in our
hearts, we don't believe. We could imagine that we believe in the forgiveness of our sins but really have missed
the mark. We may still suffer from intense feelings of guilt. I am learning that this belief cannot just
be logical and true in theory. It has to be put into practice. It has to be actual in my life. When
that becomes true, forgiveness will flow from my heart, even forgetfulness of my own sins and the sins of others, because
of the enormity of the gift God has given me. Do feelings of guilt make their way into your thoughts and life? You
and I were guilty. But, God remembers that no longer. Once and for all, He took care of that. We
can sit down and enjoy this finished work! We're saved and forgiven! We're given new power that doesn't
come from ourselves but from the resurrection power of Jesus. Let me leave you with this encouraging excerpt from a
story I found in "Preaching the Word." "It was a lovely spring day. The sun was shining, and not a breath of wind
was blowing. As he walked along, examining the war remains, he noticed leaves were falling from the great trees that
arched along the road. He brushed at a leaf that had fallen against his chest. As he grasped t it, he pressed
it in his fingers, and it disintegrated. He looked up curiously and saw several other leaves falling from trees.
Remember, it was spring, not autumn, nor was there enough wind to blow off the leaves. These leaves had outlived the
winds of autumn and the frosts of winter. Yet they were falling that day, seemingly without cause. Then Dr. Barnhouse realized why.
The most potent force of all was causing them to fall. It was spring - the sap was beginning to run, and the buds were
beginning to push from within. From down beneath the dark earth, roots were sending life along trunk, branch, and twig
until it expelled every bit of deadness that remained from the previous year. It was, as a great Scottish preacher termed
it, "the expulsive power of a new affection." Can you and I live this Christian life perfectly by ourselves? No! Christ has already
done it for us and has made us holy. It is His life in us that is pushing off the old leaves that are dead. New
leaves of holiness have taken the place of those old sinful leaves. There is no more guilt or death within us,
only the life of Christ. Now, I'm going to sit down a while and think about that. Maybe you want to do the
same. MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 10, 2007 - IN SPITE OF
SIN, WE CAN KNOW HIM Ezekiel 20:44 (New Living Translation) Do
you think the people of ancient Israel were any different that we are today? According to Ezekiel 20:44, they were wicked. Do we live in a wicked world today? It seems so. Why do you think that
is? It couldn't be that we don't have knowledge. Knowledge is increasing so fast that we can't keep
up with the latest! Knowledge can be good but it will never give us the power to resist sin. And, knowledge, in
and of itself, will never bring us into intimate relationship with another. All through the Old Testament, God makes
this statement over and over again. "You will know that I am the Lord." Now there's real
knowledge! Do you know that He is the Lord this morning? That's what He wants us to know. All other
knowledge needs to be filtered through the fact that God is God. He is sovereign. He is the LORD! Sometimes
God did miracles and sometimes He used discipline or brought calamity throughout the Old Testament. The whole time,
it seems that His purpose was to get them to know that He was (and still is) LORD. Are you a parent? Do you
love your children? Do you discipline them when they are rebellious? Of course you do! Does that mean
you don't love them? No, it means you love them intensely. (Proverbs 13:24) In fact, the Bible says, if we do not discipline our children, we really don't love them! Would you say that God is a good parent? We can't deny that He is the
perfect Father. (Deuteronomy 8:5) He will never deny who He is either. His very name holds honor. Because of that honor and
because of His great love for us, we are given mercy. Someone once told me that mercy is, "not getting what we
really deserve." Though we may be told by today's society that we deserve anything we want, by God's standards,
we deserve death. (Romans 3:23) So did the Israelites who continued on in their wickedness in spite of God's warnings - and in
spite of His blessings. We don't deserve mercy but our loving Father gives it anyway. Because of who
He is. Because of the honor of His name. That's what He did for the Israelites. That's what He's
done for us. Are you in a wilderness situation this morning? Is it because you chose not to really know that your
Heavenly Father as Lord? Maybe you received Jesus as your Savior. Maybe you said that prayer but the real truth
is that you have not learned to know the Lord. To really know that He is LORD. Since God does
not change and He does not lie, it would seem safe to assume that, just as much as He wanted the Israelites to know that He
is LORD, he wants us to know that today. The Israelites found themselves staying an extended time in the wilderness
because they refused to really know that God is God. If they knew that, they would not have murmured, mumbled, and complained.
It was in the wilderness that they had an opportunity to repent and they had the time to really know God as LORD. They
didn't use that wilderness time wisely and except for the two that did, they did not get to enter the promised land.
(Numbers 14:30) What are you
dealing with this morning? Are you in a wilderness section of life? If so, I would venture to say, from examples
in God's word and from my own life experience, that God is wanting you to know who He really is. He could
have destroyed the Israelites. They deserved it. But, because of who He is, He spared them. There have been
times in my life when I knew that I deserved destruction. Yet, in spite of me and my sin, God gave mercy instead.
Maybe some of you can relate. Do you know your Father this morning? The One who has given His only Son for your
sins so that you would not reap the destruction we all deserve? (John 3:16) This mighty, but merciful Father that we have is none other than LORD. Have you taken it
for granted that the LORD of all creation has allowed you to call Him, "Father?" Even "Abba," (a
more intimate and endearing term something like "daddy")? Nevertheless, this One who desires the an intimate
relationship with us is still, "LORD". He is still the One who calls Himself, "I AM."
(Exodus 3:14) He is the self-existent one from whom all things have come forth. (1 Corinthians 8:6) Are we like the Israelites, failing to know that our precious Heavenly Father is, indeed, LORD?
Do we realize today that He is in control of the world He made? Both wilderness places and green pastures.
This morning the LORD would like to lead you and me in green pastures and beside still waters. (Psalm 23:1-2) He has already shown us the mercy we need in spite of ourselves. Jesus has taken those things
that would cause our destruction upon Himself once and for all. (Hebrews 9:28) In spite of ourselves, God gave His best. What does He want in return? The same thing He
wanted from the Israelites. He wants us to know that He is LORD! Do we really know that this morning? Do
we really have it settled that this LORD lives inside of us if we have received salvation through the sacrifice of His Son?
If not, we're in the right place right now, no matter what our external circumstances are. You can only really know
who someone is by spending time with them and learning about them. That's what we're doing right now. Praise
the LORD! He is helping us know Him better and better. MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 9, 2007 - LOVE NEVER FAILS Psalms 106:45 (New Living Translation) Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8) Take a look at how the Amplified Bible opens up 1 Corinthians 13:8. "8 (AMP) Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to
an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for
tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by
truth]." What is love anyway? No matter how we define it, those are just words. The bottom
line is that love is not a thing. It is not just a word with various definitions. He is a person. He is
God. God is love. (1 John 4:8) It is His unfailing love that has kept us from destruction even when we, like the Israelites, have
forgotten Him and turned away from Him. Love remembered His covenant with them. Love remembers the new covenant
with us too. How can a Father forget his son? Jesus sealed the new covenant with His blood. God, or
Love, is the foundation of everything. He is the source of creation. He is the Father that gave His only
Son for the world He created. We can do many, many things. We may have many, many talents and gifts. We
can be thought of by those around us as being good people. But, if we don't have love, all of our gifts, talents
and deeds are worthless. (1 Corinthians 13:1) Again, take a look at the Amplified Version of 1 Corinthians 13:1. "1 (AMP) IF I [can] speak in the tongues of men
and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s
love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." 1 Corinthians 13:2-3 goes on to elaborate on our "nothingness" without love. God's love is unfailing. That's
the way He intends our love to be too. It must not be affected by circumstances if we are to be like our Father.
The Israelites had totally turned away from Him. He had good reason to destroy them. Yet, because of His unfailing
love, He remembered. He wasn't remembering so much who they were but who He is. He remembered His covenant
with them. In spite of the fact that they had broken covenant with Him, He remained true to His part of the covenant.
Aren't you glad that, this morning, we serve a God who remembers His covenant with us, in spite of us and some of the
poor choices we make? In spite of the fact that we, perhaps, do not give Him a second thought throughout our busy days?
That's just what love does. It remains. It is secure. Faith, hope and love will remain but the word of
God says that the greatest of these three is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) No wonder! God is love. What emanates from Him is unfailing. No matter what we're going through
this morning, whether it is self-inflicted or not, God's love for us is unfailing. He can't change who He is.
He poured out His love for us when He sent Jesus to die in our place for our sin. That love awaits us whether or
not we choose to receive it. Have you received it this morning? (Ephesians 3:19) If not, won't you receive it now and experience all that God has for you? It is only by receiving God's gift of salvation that we can become like our Father and exhibit true and
unconditional love. We can't even love Him unless He pours His love into us first. (1 John 4:19) "1 John 4:19 (Amplified Bible) 19 (AMP) We love Him, because He first loved
us. " God's love for us is unfailing. He never forgets that He is love.
He always remembers His covenants and keeps them. Can we say the same thing about ourselves? Rather than being
negative about it, we can say, "By God's grace, I will grow in His love and become a faithful covenant-keeper
just like my Father." Different ones of us are in different places along the road to walking in unfailing and unconditional
love. Wherever we are this morning, we're growing if we're reading this and searching the scriptures with
all of our heart to seek out the way of Love. Love involves doing what God did in Psalm 106:45. It involves remembering His covenant with us. (Matthew 26:28) The covenant we now live under was sealed by the blood of Jesus. It insures that we are forgiven for all the
times we did not operate out of love. When we pause to realize this, it helps us see a bigger picture. Jesus used
a sinful woman as an example of love and forgiveness. (Luke 7:47) He said that because she had been forgiven much, she loved much. Some this morning may feel like they are not
in need of much forgiveness. This perception is very deceiving. Usually, it is based on works rather than relationship
with Christ. I used to think that if I had good manners, if I spoke politely, if I never hit anyone or used bad language,
I was pretty good. It wasn't until God left me to my own concept of goodness that I found there were other things
lurking under all of that facade on the outside. I found myself quite capable of doing things I never dreamed I would do.
Whether God has had to leave you to your own devices so that you could realize your need for much forgiveness or not,
the fact is that we all are in great need of forgiveness. The woman Jesus was speaking about in Luke 7:47 was just totally aware of just how much forgiveness she needed. Because of that awareness, she was able to be
more like her Savior. She loved much, realizing deeply how much He loved her. God's love for you is unfailing
this morning. It contains forgiveness. By receiving that forgiveness and love, you will be able to love much in
return. Our love must be so unfailing, despite all the outward circumstances that may come against us, that it shines
like a beacon pointing others to the Father's love for them through Christ Jesus. It's how a love-starved
world will know that God is real and that we have met His Son. (John 13:35) Besides that, it's a commandment. (John 13:34) The command is to love like God loves. His love is unfailing. How are we doing? Do we
resemble our Father? MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 8, 2007 - WHO WILL STEP FORTH? Psalms 106:23 (New Living Translation) Are there
people in and around you who are just not living right? Maybe it's even someone very close to you, such as your
spouse or your children. That's what happened to Moses. God had used him to bring the Israelites out of the
bondage of slavery. He walked closely with them and led them. They should have realized the goodness and
mercy of God. They should have respected the leadership of Moses. They should have had a reverential fear
of God because of the miraculous things they had seen Him accomplish in their lives. But, it wasn't that way.
It's not that way today either with some of us. It could even apply to us personally. Do we appreciate the
mercy and deliverance that God has given us? It's very true that every single one of us has come short of God's
righteousness. Not one of us reading this today has lived a perfect life. God has brought us this far by His strength
and His spirit. Yet, we may have spiritual memory lapses just as the Israelites did. (Psalm 106:21-22) Are there days when we get so busy with the affairs of life that we forgot God, even for a moment? Remember
now, it's a sin to tell a lie! Are there days when, instead of turning to God for deliverance from certain situations,
we sit in our "tents" and complain? (Psalm 106:25) I think this happens to us once in a while, some of us more than others. If we've learned anything
from watching the activities and events of the Israelites, we should have learned by now that God doesn't like complaining.
It's like we're really saying, "God, you don't know what You're doing here." "God,
I don't think you're capable of bringing me out of this." Now, just stop and think for a moment.
If this creature that you had made decided that you were incapable of or too dumb to know why you made it and what you created
it for, what emotion would that elicit in you? I dare say, you'd be a little more than "ticked!" God wasn't happy with the Israelites. And justifiably so. He was going
to destroy them but something amazing happened. Moses stepped forth. (Psalm 106:23) This same Moses was the one that the Israelites had complained about and murmured against. (Numbers 16:13) They did this more than once too! (Exodus 16:2) But, Moses was a humble man. He loved God and the people so much that He was willing to step between a
holy God and a rebellious people. Can you imagine how Moses felt? He had followed God and led the people, wanting
to get them to the land of promise. But, they didn't appreciate it. Instead of saying, "Go ahead, God,
destroy them. They deserve it," Moses took the chance of standing between them and God asking that they be spared.
Then, we see another man in Psalm 106:30 stepping forth. His name was Phinehas. Because he dared to step forth and stand in the gap on behalf of
the disobedient Israelites, a well-deserved plague among them was stopped. God is willing to listen to those that will
step forth boldly in intercession for others. In fact, He is looking for someone to stand in the gap for others.
(Ezekiel 22:30) It appears that there are not many like Moses and Phinehas. How about us? Will we step forth into the
gap for our loved ones and for the disobedient world around us? God hears every cry of intercession. Why should we bother to stand in the gap? We most likely will encounter cross-fire
from Satan. It is often not a comfortable place. Yet, we have an example to follow. Moses and Phinehas were
great examples but the supreme example is Jesus. He stood in the gap for you and me. Even now He is in God's
throne room constantly pleading for us. (Hebrews 7:24-25) We're saved from God's wrath and certain destruction because Jesus stepped forth and took what we deserved.
He paid the penalty for our sinfulness. If we have received such a gift, should we not follow His example? He
has already paid the price for our salvation and that of those around us. He died so we don't have to die. Salvation
and eternal life is there to be received, treasured and enjoyed. But today many are blinded by the enemy.
They are headed for destruction. Who will care enough to step forth and stand in the gap, interceding for their
deliverance? Because we have experienced the joy of knowing we are not under God's anger, but saved and kept
by His great love, will we step forth and beg God for that freedom for others? We have a choice. We can be like
Jesus. Or, we can be like the Israelites and just complain about our surroundings. Stepping forth, standing in
the gap, and interceding will always touch the heart of our Father. I'm sure there's not a one of us who can
say, "I don't have anyone in my life who needs me to stand in the gap with or for them". Even if that
could be said, there's a whole world out there falling apart. God is just waiting for someone to step forth on their
behalf . Who will it be? Will it be you and me? MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 7, 2007 - HE REMEMBERS Psalms 106:4 (New Living Translation) The Psalmist prayed that God would remember him and show him favor. No wonder! Where would you and
I be unless God remembered us and showed us His favor? Aren't you glad that God said a long time ago that He
would never forget us? (Isaiah 49:15) The thief on the cross realized that Jesus was the Son of God. At that moment, he called out to Jesus, "remember
me." (Luke 23:42) The result was that the thief received salvation instantly and was promised a place in paradise with Jesus.
(Luke 23:43) We see from this passage that God had indeed heard the Psalmists prayer of long before Jesus gave Himself for
us on the cross. That prayer in Psalm 106:4 where the Psalmist said, "come to me with your salvation," was made manifest when God sent Jesus
to earth. Salvation came to this earth and touched our lives the day that Jesus came in the flesh as a tiny baby to
be a sacrifice for us. Jesus is salvation. God has already shown us great favor by sending us a Savior.
When Jesus died on the cross, the early disciples were unsure of
what would happen to them. They had not made sense of the events around Jesus's death and resurrection yet
and they were distressed and confused. (Luke 24:10-11, 17-21) Of course, Jesus appeared to many, confirming that He had indeed risen from the dead. (Acts 1:3) He truly had taken the sins of the world upon Himself, gone to the grave with them, and come back the victor over
sin and death. Have you received this great salvation? It's yours for the asking. (Romans 10:13) Yes, favor was shown to the world when Jesus came in the flesh for us. It is a gift that none should refuse.
(Ephesians 2:8) Jesus still depicts Himself as the gentleman standing at the door of every person's heart waiting to be invited
in. (Revelation 3:20) We must open the door. He will not force His way in but His desire is to have fellowship with us. Today
is the day He wants you and me to invite Him into our hearts and lives. (2 Corinthians 6:2) God has remembered us. Salvation has come. His name is Jesus. The question is,
do we remember Him? It was enough that God should
favor us with Jesus and give us salvation. But, His favor doesn't stop there. He shows us favor all the time
and will continue to show us favor because that's who He is. We can't work for His favor. It, too, is
a gift. (Galatians 4:10, 5:3) Because of it we are saved today. (Ephesians 2:5) Because of God's favor, we have hope and comfort today. (2 Thessalonians 2:16) Where would we be if we didn't have hope in this turned upside down world? But, we have hope because we
have Jesus. We have God's favor. Paul was very excited because he knew that it was only by God's favor
that he was able to serve Him. (Ephesians 3:7) That same favor is at work in us today as we serve the Lord. We would not have been called to come to Him or
to serve Him, had it not been that God remembered us, brought us salvation, and His favor. Because we have salvation
and favor, we can now spread the Good News of salvation to others. The Apostle, Paul, prayed for the Thessalonians.
(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12) That prayer was put into scripture for a reason. It applies to us as well. In that prayer, Paul prayed
that we might be given the power to live a life worthy of the salvation God has given us. He prayed that God would be
honored in our lives. Is this totally possible? Yes it is. Is it because of anything we do or have done
or can do in the future? No. It is solely and completely possible because of the undeserved favor we have
received from God the Father and His Son Jesus. Can we just praise Him this morning because we know that He
will never forget us? Because He has given us salvation? And because He has poured out His favor upon us?
We have been given the answer to the Psalmist's prayer in Psalm 106:4! MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 6, 2007 - WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS? Proverbs 27:1 (New Living Translation) Are you a planner?
That's a good thing because, without a vision or a plan, prosperity will elude us. (Proverbs 21:5) Good planning and hard work are the keys to getting things done well and effectively. We're told to hang
on to wise planning and insight. (Proverbs 3:21) God uses these two things to watch over us and keep us safe. (Proverbs 2:11) All of our planning is good but it must be subject to the plans of our Father. God will overrule any wrong
plans we have to complete His purposes. We all have dreams, expectations and plans for our lives. That's a
good thing but, if we insist on having them set in stone and become fixated on them, we may be going against the very One
who insures our prosperity and safety with His perfect will. When we leave God out of our plans, we begin to assume
a boastful attitude. We start to feel self-sufficient. We begin sometimes to forget God is really in
control. We're supposed to plan our way, but the final decision is always up to God. Sometimes we forget that
completion of our plans will come about only by His Spirit. Sometimes our own might and power tend to get in the
way. (Zechariah 4:6) Yes, God is the perfect planner and His plan cannot be changed.
We can insist on our plans and, somehow in His Sovereignty even though we are being stubborn and go our own way, His plan
will not be changed. We, however, will remain accountable for not being in the right place at the right time.
And, we will probably have some consequences to go through. One commentary says that fools think they know
the future or can affect its outcome. But in the end, it will be determined by God. We certainly don't
want to play the fool! Proverbs 16:1 tells us that the plans of our heart belong to us. The final answer though will come from God, Himself if
we are listening. His absolute sovereignty will always have precedence over our plans. Are all of your plans
this morning based on the Word of God? Are you trusting Him with all your heart and not depending on your own understanding?
(Proverbs 3:5) I'm asking myself that question too. It's hard. It's a question that indicates a life of faith. (2 Corinthians 5:7) However, it's really the only way we can please God. (Hebrews 11:6) As we acknowledge Him in all of our ways, He has promised to direct our paths. That means make them smooth
and straight. (Proverbs 3:6) So, let's include God in all of our plan-making. Instead of being rigid and perhaps getting into the bragging
stage about all that we're going to do, let's remember that God allows us to partner with Him in making our plans
but He will direct our steps. Once in a while, those steps will be directed into an unexpected interruption in the plans
we thought we had. Then, we need to remember, it is God directing our steps. It is by faith in that situation
that we will please Him. It is by trust in His perfect plan that we will end up at the proper destination at just
the proper time. Motives play a large part in our human planning.
God will weigh those motive of our spirit. (Proverbs 16:2) Sometimes our real motives even escape our own detection but God will help us by determining whether our plans are
made with the right motives. He will weigh our hearts. (Proverbs 21:2) We might as well not be in denial about any of the motives concerning the plans we are making because God will ferret
out every impure thought and desire. (Proverbs 24:12) The Apostle, Paul, knew that even he, man of God that he was, could not thoroughly know everything about
himself and he had to let the final verdict fall with the Lord. (1 Corinthians 4:4) All of our motives, thoughts and plans are under the watchful eye of God. We should be doing everything
we can in all those areas to make sure we line up with His will, His Word, and His ways. He is the perfect planner and
it's already done. (Jeremiah 29:11) The master plan has been set if we have given our lives to Jesus. The details are up to us to work out
and walk out by the power of His Spirit. One of the ways to do that is to commit ourselves fully to Him and trust in
Him. (Psalm 37:5) Are your plans this morning based on His Word? Then commit them to Him and fully trust Him. He will
bring them to pass. That's not to say that you won't have an unexpected delay. Even in that delay, God
has a plan. If we are seeking His will this morning, our steps are directed. God is delighting in us, in
every detail of the plans of our lives. We may stumble but God will lift us up with His very own hand. (Psalm 37:23-24) That hand is powerful, loving and secure. What are your plans this morning? Have you committed them to the Lord?
(Proverbs 16:3) Have you given up trying to make them happen in your own strength, instead trusting in the God who loves you and delights
in bringing them to pass? (1 Samuel 2:9) So, go ahead and make good plans knowing that the Perfect Planner has all the bugs worked out of them
and will bring them perfectly to pass for your good and according to His will. MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 5, 2007 - PATIENCE AND CONFIDENCE Hebrews 6:15 (New Living Translation) The scripture is filled with the promises
of God. I don't know about you, but I don't always "feel" like I have the promises. What are some
of those promises? How about this one. 2 Timothy 1:7 What has God promised in His Word here? Power. Love. A sound and disciplined mind. Do you always "feel"
powerful? Are you always "feeling" His love or "feeling" like being loving?
How about a sound and disciplined mind? Are there times when the pace of this world makes you "feel" as though
you're going crazy? Are there so many things on your mind, coming from different directions that you "feel"
as though you can't seem to get your mind disciplined? You may relate to one or more of these things.
But the fact is that, despite what we "feel" like, God is always true to His Word and every promise is certain
and for real. When those "feelings" come that are in direct opposition to God's promises, we
must be patient and confident. Not in ourselves, but in the total trustworthiness of our God. He cannot lie!
(Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:1-2) Our faith must kick in and remind us that all of His promises are yes, and amen! (2 Corinthians 1:20) Even the ones we haven't seen totally fulfilled! At first, Abraham wasn't quite exercised at having confidence in the promise of God. He was promised
a son with his wife Sarah. But, he was very old and so was she. If you are getting older, you might
relate to that sense of panic that it's getting to be too late for God to fulfill those promises that have been in your
heart for so long. If Abraham didn't feel that way, Sarah sure did. She talked him into trying to help
God out with His promise. (Genesis 16:3-4) Unfortunately, Abraham agreed and the world has been in turmoil ever since. However, that little lapse
of faith on the part of Abraham and Sarah did not stop God from fulfilling His promise. Abraham was one hundred years
old and Sarah was ninety when they got word that God was not finished with them yet. (Genesis 17:17) God is not finished with you or me yet either. As long as we're still here, there are more promises to be
fulfilled and experienced. When we truly believe that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37) and that all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26), then we're in a position to wait patiently and have confidence. We won't need to help God out.
He's really quite capable and trustworthy all by Himself! So
what is our problem sometimes? I can tell you that I have a problem with waiting! Especially in our world today.
And waiting patiently? Well, that's almost an impossibility, except that we've just seen that nothing is
impossible with God. So that cancels that statement right out. There are even promises related to waiting. (Isaiah 40:31) As we wait on God, we will find new strength. Now, that's a promise! Is there something in your life
that you really don't want to wait for? Would you rather have the real thing or a microwave version? Remember
Abraham and Sarah! Yet, we, though we may have failed to wait patiently for God in the past, are not defeated.
This day is a new day. This day is a day with new mercies from God. (Lamentations 3:22-23) Just as Abraham and Sarah were kept from defeat and destruction when they tried to help God out a bit with His
promise, we also will be kept from ultimate defeat. Why? Because God is who He is. If He makes
a promise, He keeps it. He has always been that way and He always will be that way. (Hebrews 13:8) He will keep His promises, all of them. It's not because of our great faith or patience.
He will keep them because of Who He is. In that, we can be confident. It takes all the pressure off of us because
we can't foil God's plans. We can choose to disobey and bring correction upon ourselves. (Proverbs 3:12) But, there is no way we can stop God from doing what He has planned to do. We can be confident in that.
(Hebrews 6:19) Just because we have not seen every promise of God manifested in our lives doesn't mean that they are
not operative. Every promise is in and will always be in good operating order and every promise of God is working
in us if we have received the Lord Jesus as our Savior. (Hebrews 6:20) Did Abraham see the promised son, Isaac, with his eyes when he first heard the promise? No. Did he make
a mistake between when he was given the promise and when it became visible to his natural eyes? Yes.
Have you been there and done that? I have. Did our unbelief or lack of confidence negate even one particle
of any one of God's promises? No! This morning, let's encourage ourselves and one another to remember
that every promise in the scripture is true. We can stand on that. We just need to stand on them patiently
in faith and with confidence that God is Who He says He is. He's the original promise keeper! MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 4, 2007 - GROW UP! Hebrews 5:11 (New Living Translation) Are you seeking to
understand more and more of God's Word this morning? I would assume you are, otherwise you would not be reading
something such as the MORNING MANNA. I want to understand more and more too. Just reading the Bible through every
year is good. We know that. But, it's not enough. Even having large portions of the scripture
memorized is good. But, even that is not enough. The Word is living. It goes far beyond just reading it
or even studying it through once or twice. Every time we come to the Word, we can see something different. The
more we read, study, and meditate on it, the deeper we go into it and, consequently, the higher we go in our ability to do
life in a way that is pleasing to our Savior. The writer of Hebrews shows perhaps a bit of frustration in his writing of Hebrews 5:11. The church people didn't seem to be really listening. If you've ever spoken or sung to
a congregation, you may know how the writer of Hebrews felt. As you gaze out onto the faces of those you are trying
to communicate with in the congregation, many times you will see people doing everything but seeming to listen. You
might even think they are taking notes because they are writing but they could just be creating their shopping list or writing
a note to their friend. People even fall asleep in church. That happened when Paul was preaching too. The
guy was sitting in a window, fell asleep and fell out. He didn't fall out in the Spirit. He fell out the window.
(Acts 20:9) A third story window at that! If you're prone to fall asleep during the preaching, be sure
you watch where you sit! The man died but Paul went and stood over him and life returned. He was taken home unhurt.
Isn't God good? Even if we have a temporary lapse, He's got us covered! Paul just went on preaching.
Yes, we need to pray for and pay close attention to those who are trying to edify us with the Word through preaching and music.
It can get pretty discouraging looking out onto a "dull" crowd. The King James Version is quite a bit harsher
in the way it translates Hebrews 5:11. Take a look. "Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be
uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing." Those people were accused of being dull of hearing. Dull
means, "sluggish, lazy, stupid and slothful." Well now! I know some people who seem to be like that
concerning listening to teaching on the scriptures. They just want the basics. Unfortunately, I have to admit
that I have times when I have been like that too. That's not a good thing. Remember when you were a child and, if you couldn't do something
your peers could do, you might get called, "baby." Babies are really cute but that wasn't what you wanted
to be called at five years old! Well, that's exactly what the writer of Hebrews was calling those church people
he was writing to. He said that all they wanted was milk. Babies drink milk. They have to because they can't
chew or digest other food. (Hebrews 5:12) But, basically after a couple of years, babies may still drink some milk but they have added all of the solid foods
to their diet. They are able to chew and digest. They have even developed an appetite for solid food. Hebrews 5:12 goes on to let us know that, after we go through the baby stage of Christianity, we need to grow up.
We need to feed on the meat of the Word. We can't just count on having said the sinner's prayer once and then
sit back and do nothing further. How would it be if a man and woman stood at the marriage altar and said their vows
but after walking down the aisle at the end of the ceremony, they turned in separate directions, doing their own thing, never
bothering to go through life together? Yes, they are married but they have not experienced and lived out marriage.
Some Christians never want to come out of the "baby" stage. It's easier to be bottle-fed and even get
to the spoon-fed stage and stay there. Remember what, "dull," meant? Lazy, slothful, sluggish and even
stupid? If you had a baby that never showed a desire for or developed an appetite for solid food, you would know that
it was not normal. It may be retarded or it may have physiological deficiencies. It surely would not have a normal
life if it grew to maturity still needing to be bottle-fed! God loves His new babies. But, it's not His desire
to have spiritually abnormal children. He wants us to use what He has given us to train ourselves and learn to teach
others. (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 5:12) If we haven't done that, we don't know much and are not very far along in our Christian life.
(Hebrews 5:13) In fact, we won't really even know how to do what is right. When the enemy comes, and he will, we won't
be able to resist his temptation because we're spiritually malnourished. Malnourished in the Word,
we will not become strong. There are so many levels any one of us could be on this morning. Are you still
a baby Christian? That's okay as long as you are growing every day and taking in more and more nourishment, learning
to chew and developing an appetite for the meat of the Word. The temptation may be to get dull of hearing. The
answer to that is to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal more and more to you as you read. He will if we are interested.
Really interested. If we really want to test ourselves to see if we are growing, the test is this: Are we in the
Word every day? Are we growing to spiritual maturity? Are we training ourselves by the Word to recognize
what is right and wrong? Here's the hardest part, at least for me. Are we doing
what is right? (Hebrews 5:14) If you understand that, you're probably growing. If not, you might just check to see if you are like those
of whom the writer of Hebrews said, "....it's hard to make you understand." No matter where we find ourselves
this morning, we can be encouraged. Jesus sent His own spirit to remind us of and continue to teach us about everything He
taught. Are we willing to grow up? MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 3, 2007 - DON'T TRY TO HIDE FROM GOD, BUT HIDE IN HIM Hebrews 4:13 (New Living Translation) Remember, as a child, playing, "hide and seek?" It was fun and sometimes we could
outwit the seeker by finding just the right place of concealment. Just the right hiding place. But, we can't
play that game with God. Nothing in creation can hide from him - not even the smallest ant! (Hebrews 4:13) That means that nothing in us can be hidden from Him either. Especially
when the light of His Word penetrates our innermost being. Since we are all here this morning and searching His Word,
something in us may have to come out of hiding. Something may have to change. His Word tells us that it is living
and powerful. (Hebrews 4:12) It is sharper and more precise than the finest laser surgery. It will cut between the bone and the marrow.
It will expose every single thought, motive and attitude within us. Are you hiding or trying to hide anything this morning?
Have you "stuffed" something? A hurt, an offense? A loss? You can stuff it as far down as you
want. The only thing it will do is fester and bring you more pain. God's Word is excellent at being the "Seeker."
It will seek out and clean out anything you may be tempted to hide. At some point, as Hebrews 4:13 says, we will have to explain to God all that we have done. All means all. It means thoughts, motives,
attitudes, and actions. Why not just come clean right now? Adam and Eve tried to hide from God but they weren't
successful. (Genesis 3:8) They didn't want Him to know of their disobedience. The omnipotent "Seeker" had no trouble in locating
them or finding out their sin. If He knows how many hairs are on your head right now, do you think it's a problem
to for Him to know what's hiding somewhere inside your thoughts or buried deep in your heart? (Luke 12:7, Psalm 44:21) A good way to push out things that should not be hidden in our hearts is to hide something better in there. Like
the Word of God. (Psalm 119:11) Then when God, being the Seeker that He is, looks into our hearts, He will find Himself in the form of His Word. He
will find Jesus. (John 1) That's the only thing we should have hidden deeply in our hearts! We don't need to try to hide ourselves or anything in us from God. What we need to realize is this. If we
are in Christ, God has already hidden us. Hidden us away from anything that can prevent us from reaching our eternal
destination of Heaven. In Isaiah 51:16, God let's Israel know that it is hidden in His hand. Because we belong to Him, we are hidden there also. Colossians 3 tells us that our real life is hidden with Christ in God. We don't need to hide because we are already hidden! We
can't hide anything because the Light will search it out. We can't stuff anything deeply enough to avoid the
probing Light of God. (Proverbs 20:27) Some people try to hide even behind the church or church activities but as The Message tells us plainly, that doesn't
work either. "Luke 12:1-2 (The Message) 1 (MSG) By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the
thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, "Watch yourselves carefully so you don't
get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. 2 You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before
long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your
true face will be (The Message) 1 (MSG) By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping
on each other's toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them,
"Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. 2 You
can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask
forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known." If we need
to hide, the place to hide is in God, not away from Him! He is our hiding place. He surrounds us
with songs of victory. (Psalm 32:7) We are not victims having to hide cowering somewhere in a corner. We are victors hiding in the Rock of ages.
He is our shield and the refuge where we can hide from all evil. There His Word will keep us. (Psalm 119:114) We can hide under the shadow of His wings. (Psalm 17:8) Is there a storm in your life this morning? There is safety and protection under His wings. (Psalm 57:1) If you just feel like running away and hiding in a corner this morning, resist that temptation. You won't
be really hidden anyway. God says no one can hide from Him. (Jeremiah 23:24) Is there something in your life that you need to lay bare before God? Go ahead right now and do it. He
knows anyway. You can't hide it from Him. The Psalmist said, "Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide them....." (Psalm 32:5) God didn't beat him over the head. He forgave him! This morning, be encouraged to stop trying
to hide anything from God and hide yourself in God. He is that Rock of ages, as the old song says.
He's there for you. He is our hiding place. MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 16, 2007 - HOW TO LIVE IN PEACE Hebrews 12:14 (New Living Translation) Is
it possible to live in peace with those around us in these days? God's principles have not ever changed. At
one time He told His people that He had sent prophet after prophet to let the people know how to live in peace. It was
exactly the same way that is inferred in Hebrews 12:14. They needed to stop worshipping other gods and turn from their wicked ways. (Jeremiah 35:15) They had heard from God but they refused to really listen and they didn't change their ways. Will we learn
from that and begin to seek to live clean and holy lives? The result of making the wrong decision here is dreadful.
Those who will choose to live unholy lives will not see the Lord. Oh, I want to see the Lord, don't you? Have
you ever noticed that when you get a bad attitude or in some other way turn slightly from the Lord, your spiritual vision
of Him is not as good as it had been? When you or I don't see Him working, is it because He has stopped
working? No, He never stops. We just can't see Him as well when we choose an action that breaks our fellowship
with Him. He loves us dearly and longs for intimate fellowship with us. It's no wonder that He has always
wanted us to live the kind of life that will foster that intimacy. It's no wonder that he wants to show us how to
live in peace. Living in peace with God is essential to having the
desire and ability to live in peace with one another. When we live in peace with one another, we are pleasing God. (Romans 12:18) However, this is not always the easier road to take. For instance, what's your first instinct when someone
curses you? Or hurts you badly when you have done nothing wrong? I'm not going to say what my first instinct
might be but I will say that we might all take a reminder from Romans 12:14. How about that? We need to pray for those who treat us wrongly. That God will bless them! Living
peacefully with one another gets a little easier after that one. Helping those in need and being hospitable brings
peace. (Romans 12:13) When those around us are happy, we should be happy with them. When they're sad, we should share their
sorrow. (Romans 12:15) Living in peace with others requires that we don't have an inflated view of ourselves or look down on others,
but instead enjoy the company of ordinary people, living in harmony. (Romans 12:16) How do you think of others? Philippians 2:3 says that we should think of others as better than ourselves. Humility will always go a long way to bring about
peace. Do we really want to live in peace with everyone? Then we should never pay back evil for evil.
(Romans 12:17) God will deal with any injustice done to us. He, on the contrary, gives us some pretty definite directions
for what to do if we are wronged. (Romans 12:18-20) Is there someone to whom you need to offer a cool drink or a tasty morsel of food? All through scripture there is the admonishment to live in peace with God and with others. (2 Peter 3:14) God is a God of peace. It is only His work in us that can make us the holy people that we need and want to be.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23 ) When we allow God to work out His holiness in us, we will have more and more peace with Him. That peace
will flow naturally from us so that we are able to live peaceably with one another. Even pray for those who have not
treated us as they should. Even in marriage, God desires peace. His will is that we be equally yoked with believers.
But, if something should happen and that is not the case, the believer should do everything possible to win the unbeliever. (1 Corinthians 7:12-14,16) However, in the case that the unbeliever is unwilling to stay, the believer is told to let them go because God wants
his children to live in peace. (1 Corinthians 7:15) Have you prayed for the leaders of our country lately? We're told to do that so that we can live quietly
and in godliness and peace. (1 Timothy 2:2) Is peace important to you? I'm sure it is. That's what the world is clamoring for, yet it seems
to elude us. Maybe it's because we are not living holy lives. Those who are being controlled by the sin nature
are incapable of living in peace with God, themselves and others. But, those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit will
live holy lives, finding life and peace. (Romans 8:6) That kind of peace comes only from Jesus. (Colossians 3:15) We must let it rule our hearts and enable us to live peaceful lives with one another. We're called to do
that as members of His Body. Imagine your own physical body. What if certain members did not get along
and work together. I can tell you, that is not good. My eyes do not work together. One goes one way and
the other goes its own direction. The result? Poor vision. Poor depth perception. Increased fatigue.
No peace, harmony and unity between them. That affects my whole body negatively in various ways. Can you see
how this would effect the Body of Christ? If all of us members are not living in peace with one another and with
the Head, the church will not function properly. We see evidences of this all the time. What can we do about it?
Change our ways. Live holy lives of love and peace. We can encourage one another. I hope this reading
has encouraged you to go and encourage someone else. Then the God of love and peace will be with us. What
could be better than that! (2 Corinthians 13:11) MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 2, 2007 - WHO ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT? Hebrews 3:1 (New Living Translation) What's
on your mind today? A bill that needs to be paid but you don't seem to have the resources? A health problem
that no one can seem to diagnose properly with no seeming cure? A problem child? A feeling of depression?
A disappointment in a relationship? The latest terrorist report? You fill in the blank. With the glut of
information in the world today, we can have a million and one things on our minds. If you're like me, you have
to be careful that all those things don't crowd out the most important thing. Hebrews 3:1 tells us that it is not really a, "thing," but a person. It is Jesus. If you stop for a moment
to think about all those things you have on your mind right now, I think you'll realize that they all have the same
answer. What is that answer? Rather, Who is that answer? It is Jesus. Hebrews 3:1 also tells us that if we belong to Jesus we are bound for heaven. Are you bound for heaven today? If
you have traveled much, especially in these days, you will find that lots of baggage only gives cause for more inspection
as you go through security checkpoints. Not only that, it slows you down and zaps your strength as you try to pull
it, push it or just lug it around. If you're like me, and the flow of the security line is making you hurry,
but you've got so much stuff.... Well, frustration and irritation can make you more than a bit grumpy if you're
not careful! If we are bound for Heaven this morning (and we are if we have received Jesus and are following Him), do
we have too much baggage? Don't you hate it when you get up to the airline ticket counter and your bag weighs 52
pounds? You either have to pay a substantial charge or stand there and open up your suitcases switching items from one
bag to another. Or, as in the case of someone I know who travels a lot, pull out a folded zippered duffel bag,
putting that extra stuff in there to avoid the "overweight" fee. All the while the counter attendants are
impatient. Not to speak of all those people lined up behind you, some of which have learned that less stuff makes a
smoother trip and can't possibly understand why you have not come prepared to travel lightly. So, what are you thinking about this morning, even possibly as you are reading this? Is anything crowding your
mind that would keep you from thinking about Jesus right now? Is Jesus standing in line waiting on you to shuffle all
those extra thoughts and cares around so He can get on board with you? Hebrews 3:1 tells us that, if we are on a journey, bound for Heaven, that our thoughts should be on one thing. Jesus!
All those other things that boggle our minds are just things for which Jesus has come to be the answer if we'll let
Him. Now, I didn't say that I was perfect or even where I could be on this subject. But this morning,
I do hear the Spirit saying to me, "You need to go in that direction." Is He speaking to you too? We're
bound for heaven. When we get there, we can't take anything in with us! (Job 1:21) That includes material things as well as any sin or cares of this world. Oh, we can send things on ahead, thus
eliminating the need to carry that heavy stuff in our frail human arms. (Matthew 6:20) Wouldn't we much rather have somebody else take all that stuff for us and find it all laid out and ready when
we get there? We can do that by making regular deposits of eternal treasure that will stay in Heaven's lock box
until we get there. Jesus has taken the bad stuff upon Himself. He is our High Priest. He has
taken all of our sin upon Himself and paid the price for our journey to and our accommodations in heaven!
No more sacrifices need be made except the sacrifice of praise for the gift of salvation. (Hebrews 7:27, Hebrews 13:5) He has promised to meet every need we have here on earth leaving us free to think about Him and follow Him on our
journey. (Matthew 6:33) Not only is Jesus our High Priest, He is our Messenger. He left us with His Spirit who will bring those
things to remembrance about Him that we need for this journey. Just look at how the Amplified Bible puts John 14:26. "But the Comforter (Counselor,
Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place,
to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of,
bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you." Yes! Jesus is our High Priest. He
is also a Messenger sent from God. Though He no longer walks this earth in the flesh, He intends for us to be constantly
reminded and constantly thinking about His message. Are you burdened down this morning by thoughts coming from every
direction? Call on Jesus! Invite Him to be the center of your thoughts. His Spirit is willing and able to
bring everything you need to your mind. We can let go of everything else because He is the answer to all those "everything's".
As my Mom used to say, "J'ever think of that!" MORNING MANNA - NOVEMBER 1, 2007 - YOU DON'T DESERVE IT, NEITHER DO I! Psalms 103:10 (New Living Translation) Has anyone ever
complained to you about something in their life with the comment, "That's not fair!"? When my children
used to say that to me, my first thought was, "If God were "fair" with us, we would not be offered salvation.
Well, that's not exactly how I would think. What I would really think was that if God was really "fair,"
we would all go to Hell. Obviously God chose to be merciful instead of sticking to just being, "fair."
(Psalm 86:15) Good thing for all us children - amen? Here's another
saying that we see in magazines, commercials and on billboards all too frequently. "You deserve it."
It would be one thing if we were being told that by our spouse because of something exemplary that we had done or our employer
because we had gone beyond the call of duty on the job. But, just who is saying this to us? To be blunt - it's
thieves. They're trying to get our money away from us, encouraging us to buy things that are beyond our means at
the time by telling us we deserve whatever it is they are trying to pawn off on us. The stuff they're selling may
not even be all that good. Are we gullible enough to believe that lie? Or are we thoughtful and insightful enough
to know that God will supply all of our needs without trying to flatter us to gain something for Himself? (Philippians 4:19) All He wants is our obedience and devotion. In fact, what
is it that would be entirely fair from a Holy God's perspective? What is it that we deserve? If God cannot
look upon sin, it would be fair if He destroyed us. For a time God gave the Israelites what was fair to try to get them
to see who He really was. Look what The Message says: "Ezekiel 39:21-24 (The Message) (The Message) 21 (MSG) "I'll
put my glory on display among the nations and they'll all see the judgment I execute, see me at work handing out judgment.
22 From that day on, Israel will realize that I am their God. 23
And the nations will get the message that it was because of their sins that Israel went into exile. They were
disloyal to me and I turned away from them. I turned them over to their enemies and they were all killed. 24
I treated them as their polluted and sin-sated lives deserved. I turned away from them, refused to look at them."
Do we really want what is fair? Or, are we thankful this morning that we have been given what is merciful? Ezekiel 24:23 shows us where we would be if it were not for God's grace and mercy which is showered on us through Jesus. If
we were to get what we really deserved, God would refuse to look at us. We would be separated from Him. We
know that separation from God is called Hell. Have we not all sinned against God and come short of His glory?
(Romans 3:23) Yet.......yet, God in His great love for us chose to purchase us back from the pit by sending His own Son
to pay the price for our sin. Even while we were still in our sin, even when we were not even aware that we needed a
Savior, even when we were still enemies of God in that way, Jesus obediently took what we deserved. He didn't deserve
what He took but He took it for us. (Romans 5:8) There's a song that has lyrics that include these: "Out of
His great love, He picked me up, set me feet on a sturdy Rock. Out of His great love, I know the meaning of salvation -
out of His great love." That's the gospel truth. Aren't you glad this morning that God has not
been totally "fair" with us? And that He has not given us what we really deserve? He has chosen to give
us abundant life. (John 10:10) Jesus didn't "deserve" to have to die for it but He did. We did not treat
Him fairly when He walked this earth but He took it so we wouldn't have to take what would be fair upon ourselves.
One of the thieves on the cross recognized that and was given Heaven on the spot. (Luke 23:41) The prodigal son realized that principle when he returned home to his father. Here's how The
Message puts it: "Luke 15:18-19 (The Message) (The Message) 18 (MSG) I'm
going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; 19 I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand'. "
Today, you and I have earned the wages of death. That's fair and that's what we deserve. But
God has given us what we don't deserve - eternal life. (Romans 6:23) That gift must be received though. If you have not yet received what you don't deserve, will
you receive salvation this morning? Praise God for His great love that picks us up and sets our feet on that sturdy
Rock! Jesus, the Rock we don't deserve. Enter content here Enter content here Enter content here Enter content here |
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