Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 2011 March 23

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

2011 March 23 - Morning Manna

"And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before" (Genesis 31:1-2).

Today's Morsel: When God started to bless Jacob more than his uncle Laban, his cousins became jealous of him and started to accuse him of taking away their father's possessions. After working there for twenty years, under his uncle Labans' unfairness, God began to bless Jacob. When you've been faithful and doing what you know to do is right, God won't allow you to not be blessed. He will bless you right before your enemies, and right before the eyes of those who have done you wrong. Laban was blessed only because God was with Jacob during his developmental process. But even today, when God begins to elevate a man or woman and their ministry, and their ministry starts to grow more than the one they are under, the spirit of jealousy can easily set in by those who have been there for a while. When David, who was under Saul's leadership, begin to defeat more enemies than Saul and the people started to give him praise, Saul became jealous and wanted to kill David. Saul could have had a force to be reckoned with and more possessions, the same as Laban, but he allowed jealousy to get into his heart and it destroyed him. Paul tells us, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:9-15). We must not become as Saul and Laban, but we must allow God to bless whom He desires to bless and we should rejoice with them.

Sing: I am blessed! I am blessed! Every day that I live, I am blessed. When I wake up in the morning, till I lay my head to rest, I am blessed, I am blessed!

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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.