Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 2010 August 20

Friday, August 20, 2010

2010 August 20 - Morning Manna

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Today's Morsel: Two priest were standing along the road with a sign that said, "Turn around." People ignored them, kept driving, and ran into an open ravine. Finally, after many cars drove into the ravine, one of the priest said, "Do you think we should change the sign to say, "Stop! the bridge is out!"

One of the hardest things about passing a driver's test in a foreign country is knowing the road signs. If you can master the signs, then everything else is usually pretty self explanatory. In other words, the other rules for driving, basically apply in every country. But it's always the signs that cause people to fail. Accidents are sometimes caused by people failing to see the sign. I've heard people say, "I did not see that stop sign." In Mark 16:15, Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Are you a believer in Christ? If so, what signal (sign) are you sending to others? Does your life display "Stop" because I'm having a bad day and my attitude reflects it? Does it display "Caution" because the people that see you don't know if you will be happy or explode? Does it say, "Make a U-turn" because I really don't care to see anyone ? Or does it say, "Open for business?" If people cannot see Christ in you, the hope of glory, then you are sending the wrong signal; you are displaying the wrong sign. Gideon wanted a sign from God that He was going to deliver the Midianites into his hands (Judges 6:17). The prophet Isaiah told Ahaz to ask a sign from the Lord. But Ahaz said, I will not tempt the Lord by asking for a sign. And so Isaiah said to him, is it a small thing to weary men but you won't weary God? He said, since you won't ask, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Immanuel according to the apostle Matthew means, "God with us."

Sing: I saw the Lord! I saw the Lord! He was high and lifted up and His train filled the temple; High and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. The angels cried holy, the angels cried holy. The angels cried, holy unto the Lord!

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About Morning Manna

And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat (Exodus 16:10-15).

“Morning Manna” is a short daily devotion which began in 2002, with just a short note of encouragement to a friend who was facing difficulties at the time. Through their response, I was encouraged to begin a daily devotion via email and send it to people who asked to be put on the distribution list. It is now reaching around the globe. Its birth came about during Morning Prayer. The Lord revealed to me that I should forward my friend a word of encouragement, since it is through patience and comfort of the scripture that we find hope. Thus, I forwarded him the words the Lord had given to me for him, and he forwarded it on to someone else who was having difficulties in their life as well, and thus the original list began.

The goal of “Morning Manna” is to provide people with a quick, thought provoking Word from the Lord, as well as provide encouragement from His Word that can help them through the day and during unexpected trails and circumstances in their daily lives.

Several years ago, Jesus moved on my heart to start writing daily devotions; thus began “Morning Manna”. Today, many people are receiving these daily devotions and many of these people are forwarding it on to their family and friends. It is my hope to encourage even more through posting the devotions to this blog-page.

I pray that you, too, will enjoy reading the manna from this site.