Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 2014 July 8

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

2014 July 8 - Morning Manna

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith"
(2 Timothy 4:1-7)

Today's Morsel: Most ministers will tell you that their ordination ceremony concluded with this same charge given to Timothy by Paul; Preach the word. But what I find is that many do not preach the word. They preach what the people want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Yes, the gospel is for encouragement, and I can't think of a better way to encourage someone than to show them how to get sin, that thing that has them bound, out of their life. No, you can't make people change, but God can. And that is why we must preach His word. Paul said that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The chains of sin are broken by preaching the word of God. The woman with the issue of blood knew Who could heal her after she heard about Jesus, the word made flesh. Preach what you want, but make sure that you have Jesus at the center of it.

Sing: Who is this who loves a sinner as a father loves his own, grieving over those who spurn His gentle plea? Always ready to forgive them and to make forgiveness known, who is this forever calling you and me.

It is Jesus! Jesus! Sad one, weep no more! He will heal the broken hearted, open wide the prison door, He is able to deliver ever-more.

Thought for Today: "Only Jesus has the power to set the captive free."

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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.