Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 2015 December 22

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

2015 December 22 - Morning Manna

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. (Micah 5:2-5)

Today's Morsel: Last year at this time, my wife and I, and some other ministers from our organization, got to go to Israel on a Holy Land Tour. What an exciting time it was to walk the grounds of my Lord and Savior. The Bible really does come to life when you are there. One of the places that we got to visit and tour was Bethlehem, the birth town of our Savior. Just knowing that we were walking in the land of the Nativity of our Savior was awe striking. This little town, just five miles south of Jerusalem, attracts visitors from all over the world. It is not only revered by Christians as the birth place of Jesus Christ, but it holds great significance to the Jewish people as the burial place for Rachel (Jacob's wife), the home of Ruth and Boaz (found in the story of Ruth), and the birth place for King David. From it, you can see the shepherds' fields. According to most estimates, Bethlehem had only about 300 to 1,000 inhabitants at the time of Jesus' birth. And to know that I was standing in this little town that our Lord had chosen thousands of years before I was ever conceived in my own mother's womb left me mesmerized, and today having been there makes the Christmas story even more enjoyable to me.

Sing: O' little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie; above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by: Yet in the dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Thought for Today: Isn't it amazing that the Bread of Life would be born in the city of bread?

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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.