Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 2013 May 4

Saturday, May 4, 2013

2013 May 4 - Morning Manna

Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. (1 Kings 2:28-31)

Today's Morsel: I've noticed that most Christians sacrifice at the altar, but fewer die at the altar. We give our offerings, pray, and even stand around the altar, but few die at the altar. The sacrifice was killed and placed upon the altar. If we are called to be living sacrifices, then when we come to the altar, we should be ready to die. Once I die to this world and my flesh, I am no longer pulled and tugged by them to draw me away from the Lord. The reason sin is not to have dominion over you, is because you should be dead to sin. And that should have happened to you at an altar of repentance, as repentance is death. Death to this world and oneself. So if we are dead, Paul said that we should not serve sin. In so many ways, we may have to die daily the same as Paul did. (I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily - 1 Corinthians 15:31.) When Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and told Joab, Thus saith the king, Come forth. Joab said, "Nay; but I will die here." Joab said was saying, No, I will die right here at the altar. When I die at the altar by myself and to myself, the second death will have no power over me.

Sing: Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid? Your heart, does the Spirit control? Only be blest and have peace and sweet rest, as you yield Him your body and soul.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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.