Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 2013 July 10

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

2013 July 10 - Morning Manna

Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
(John 21:13-17)

Today's Morsel: I can remember when my wife and I were dating, she would ask me, "Why do you love me? or, "Do you love me?" A lot of times, she would ask me when my mind would not be on me thinking about how much I loved her. And so I would have to scramble in my thoughts, as I was thinking about others things to ensure I told her just how much I did love her.

One of the things about serving Jesus, is if you tell Him you love Him, He is going to check you to see if you really do. Having a love relationship with Jesus is the same as being married to Him. There are things you do for someone you love that you won't do for others. When Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him more than these (I think the fishes or his career), Peter's reply was 'Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.' But I don't think Peter was expecting Jesus to ask him the same question three times and respond with the same request to feed His people. What Jesus was saying to Peter, and it is for us today, is that if you love Me, show Me that you care. When it comes right down to it, the love you have for someone else is really predicated on two other things, faith and hope. If I can't trust in you and depend on you, then I really can't have a deep love relationship with you. I know I can trust and depend on Jesus; His question to me is, "Do you love me?"

Sing: He knew me, and yet He loved me, He whose glory makes, the heavens shine. I'm so unworthy, of such mercy, yet when he was on the cross, I was on His mind.

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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.