Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2026 October 1

Greed

“He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.” (Proverbs 15:27)

Today’s Morsel: When I was in the army, I saw many soldiers and spouses addicted to BINGO because of greed. They wanted more.  I saw many of them troubled in their minds, depressed, stressed, and even fearful because they were addicted. One of the hidden snares I believe Satan uses to hinder people, and even those in the church, and cause division is greed. Notice what the writer of Proverbs tells us: “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house.” In other words, chasing money or taking bribes can harm one’s own family. How would you feel if you were arrested and your family and neighbors found out that it was because of greed? Solomon also informs us that: “He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.” (Proverbs 28:8). You may not even know that greed is in you until you start to get angry at others for what they have, you start going about trying to be like them, or you start to lose what you already have consistently over get rich quick schemes, or you think that you need more than what you have now. Paul informs Timothy that a deacon must be free from the love of money. Deacons are helpers and administrators. If they love money, they may rob the offering plate. We all need to be cautious that we do not let greed overtake us or become dissatisfied with what we have. 

Sing: I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.

The cross before me, the world behind me, the cross before me, the world behind me; The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back. 

Thought For Today: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2026 September 30

I’ll Fly Away

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Today’s Morsel: Are you ready for heaven? Are you ready to meet Jesus in the air? During the old military times, the sound of trumpets was used to give warnings to soldiers, and others. They had calls for gathering, eating, preparing for battle, retreating from battle, burials, and even going to bed. And the soldiers were aware of each. During the early days of the Israelites, they, too, were given warning through trumpets. Paul informed the church at Thessalonica, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so, shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. He said that the trumpet is going to sound and we are going to fly away. Are you ready?

Sing: Some glad morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away; To a home on God’s celestial shores, I’ll fly away. 

I’ll fly away O’ glory, I’ll fly away, when I die, hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away.

Thought For Today: “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2026 September 29

An Adventure

“Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.” (Acts 16:1-5)

Today’s Morsel: When Jesus called His disciples, He told them that if they followed Him, He would make them fishers of men. At that moment, those disciples probably may have thought that they would only minister there in Jerusalem. But after His resurrection, Jesus tells them:“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) I believe He was telling them, this is going to be an adventure like you have never seen before. I believe that God desires each of us to experience what His apostles and disciples did when they were upon the earth. This train is bound for glory, but it has many stops on the way, so get onboard and allow it to take you unto the uttermost parts of the world. I promise you, you have nothing to lose but everything to gain. 

Sing: Come along, my friend come along, get onboard and ride this train, nothing on this train to lose, everything for you to gain. So, come long my friend come along, get onboard and ride this train, nothing there for you to lose, everything for you to gain.

Thought For Today: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2026 September 28

Sing To Yourself

“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:17-21)

Today’s Morsel: They say that singing can sooth a hurting and broken heart. I am told that a lot of the gospel songs that were written, were sung by slaves during their times of trials and struggle under the brutal hands of their taskmasters. I can remember, as a young boy, working out in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, with the sun and heat being over a hundred degrees, someone, out of nowhere, would just start singing an old gospel song. And others would join in and suddenly you would not be moved by the heat, nor the tiredness, but energy would just rise up from within you, and you would get that second wind to keep going. Even in the military, you could be on a road march hurting and in pain, tired, and feeling like giving up, but as someone would start singing a Jodie, your spirit would be revived, and motivation would return, and you could carry on. When I was a Drill Instructor, I had this young soldier, name Bossheart. Bossheart probably weighed about 150 pounds. And we would be marching back from the Rifle Range, hot, sweaty, tried, worn, and dragging in the hot heat of Fort Jackson, South Carolina; I would call out, sing Bossheart. And he would shout at the top of his West Virgina lungs, “Gloom despair and agony on me, and all the troops would holler, O’ deep dark depression excessive misery, O’ if it wasn’t for bad luck I’d have to luck at all, “O’ gloom despair and agony of me.” Those soldiers would forget their tiredness, and their second wind would come again in them. Paul said “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”   The next time you are feeling down, sing. 

Sing: I’m gonna praise the Lord anyway that I can. I’m gonna praise the Lord anyway that I can. I’m gonna praise Him in the morning, praise Him all day long, I’m gonna praise the Lord anyway that I can.

Thought For Today: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2026 September 27

All Hope Is Not Lost

“Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” (Acts 27:17-20)

Today’s Morsel: One of the things about serving God and being a Christian is you cannot allow bad decisions nor poor decisions by others to cause you to lose hope. Hope is never lost. Faith, hope, and love work together to buildup and edify. If the enemy of your soul can get you to think that you have lost any one of them, he will put you in a vortex and drag you under. Paul informs us: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4). The word of God and the stories in the word of God are to give you hope.  He also stated that: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:1-5) Notice we rejoice in hope, patience brings about experience, and experience brings us hope. And the writer of Hebrews informs us: “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” (Hebrews 6:18-20) Hope is our anchor for the soul. It will hold you in the storms of life, and it will hold you when it feels like your boat is about the go under. Hope is there no matter how dark life may seem. If Jesus is your hope, then it’s going to be alright.

Sing: Have faith, hope, and charity, that’s the only way to live successfully, how do I know, the Bible tells me so.

Thought For Today: “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2026 September 26

Fervent Love

“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:7-8)

Today’s Morsel: How much do you love others in your life? What about the church? I’m sometime perplexed, especially in the church, when I have all these folks telling me that they love me, and yet they never call me, text me, send me a card, or contact me in any way. I’m starting to feel like an unwanted child. Peter tells us to have fervent love among ourselves. We ought to love each other deeply, because it covers all sin. We must love each other earnestly and sincerely. Paul tells us to let our love be with dissimulation. Our love ought to be real because God is love, and love came with the Holy Spirit, and love is the bond that brings us into perfectness. I have heard folks say, “I don’t like that person, but I must love them because the Bible says so.” That is confusing to me. How can you love someone you don’t like? If I don’t like you, the likelihood of me loving you isn’t going to happen either. I like that which is attributed to Abraham Lincoln when he said, “I don’t like that man, I need to spend more time with him so that I get to know him better.” If there is someone in the family of God, or a co-work, that you may not like, why not trying spending a little more time with them and get to know them. You may be surprised that you may have more in common than you think and it may foster a wonderful friendship and strengthen your love for them.

Sing: I was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more, but the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Love lifted me, Love lifted me, when nothing else could help, Love lifted me. Love lifted me, Love lifted me, when nothing else could help, Love Lifted me.

Thought For Today: “These things I command you, that ye love one another.” (John 15:17)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2026 September 25

Living With Passion

“And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” (2 Kings 2:1-10)

Today’s Morsel: One of the requirements for ministry, I believe, is that of passion. If one does not have a strong sense of passion for what God may be calling them to do, or what their spiritual leadership may ask them to do, then they should probably stay away from ministry. I know that that may seem harsh, but this is not a playground, this is warfare. This is protecting and saving peoples’ lives and going into hostile territory. This duty requires commitment, dedication, and devotion to duty. Jesus even said that no man can serve two masters. He further stated “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:18-20)

Elijah’s request to Elisha to not follow him, I believe, was a test to see his passion. Elijah knew that ministry is a 100% commitment and devotion. I also believe that Elisha understood this because he was willing to sacrifice his oxen and leave his family to go after his calling. I am not being critical here, but ministry is Active Duty, not Reserves who only meet on the weekends. If parttime is your understanding of serving God, you will soon lose your passion for your calling. If you will notice, Elijah never asks Elisha what he wanted until he crosses the Jordan River. I believe that Elisha had now proven himself as committed to the call; and so, he, Elisha requests a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Elijah knew that it did not come from him, it came from God. And if Elisha saw him go up, the anointing would come down. And it came down upon him. If you say that you have the anointing, then you ought to have the same passion as Christ and his disciples had. As Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” (Luke 4:18); John said, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” (1 John 2:27) If you have the anointing, you ought to have the passion. And if you say you have the Holy Ghost, you should have the passion that comes with the anointing.  

Sing: Anointing fall on me; Anointing fall on me; Let the power of the Holy Ghost, fall on me; anointing fall on me.

Thought For Today: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)