Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 8 November 2022

The Greatest Achievement

“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
(2 Corinthians 10:12)

Today’s Morsel: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment,” says Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Satan has pushed self-discontentment to the forefront of his battle and strategic plans to cause people to lose out with themselves and God. In the same way that he tricked Eve in the garden to think she was missing something from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he has now confused many into thinking that they too were supposed to be someone or something else, or that they can now become someone else.  He tells them that with just a little artwork on their bodies, get a Botox shot in the lips and face, pierce holes in their eyes, ears, lips, and noses, dye their hair another color, and dress nude, or do a number of other things to themselves and they can be someone else and they will be happier.  Sadly, many have fallen into his trap and now can’t escape.  As people age and the battleship tattoo sinks, guys and gals being rejected because of their strange looks, people are going into depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and fear. And now people don’t know where to turn.  “These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit, Jude said. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 1:19-25)  There is a place of hope to turn to, and that is to the One who created them, Jesus Christ.  Yet first and foremost, remember to be yourself and give no place to the devil.

Sing: I’m Your's Lord, everything I am, everything I’m not, I’m Your's Lord, try me now and see, see if I can be completely Your's.

Thought For Today: Don’t let Satan get the advantage over you.

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 7 November 2022

 Hallelujah Anyhow

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”
  (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

 

Today’s Morsel: Sometimes in my travels, I will come across people that I know were once strong supporters in their church and loved the Lord, but now they are no longer in the church, and in some cases, they don’t even go to church anymore at all.  I don’t usually have to ask them about their walk with God, their decorum normally gives them away. And they will say to me, I just hit a bad time and the church wasn’t teaching the truth, and on they go.  And I just say I thought church was about your relationship with God and not someone else’s.  If other people and their actions can cause you to give up and walk away from the church, you just played right into Satan’s hand.  Habakkuk shows us what our attitude and actions ought to be when things aren't going right in our lives, or we face opposition from others. He said: "I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." In other words, hallelujah anyhow.

 

Sing:  Oh, glory be to Jesus, let the hallelujahs roll; help me sing the Savior’s praises far and wide.  For I’ve opened up toward heaven all the windows of my soul and I’m living on the hallelujah side.

 

Thought For Today: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand (Psalms 149:6)”

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 5 November 2022

 Operating In the Will 0f God

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

 

Today’s Morsel: Someone asked me one day what is the will of God. I told him, well scripture says in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. He said everything. I said yes, everything. He said what if it's bad! I said scripture says everything. God didn’t say just to give thanks in the good times or for what we think is good. His word just says in everything give thanks. There were, what seemed like a lot of bad things happening to Israel and a lot of it was because of their ingratitude. We read nowhere where they thanked God for delivering them from slavery. We read nowhere where they were thankful for the manna, quail, water in the desert, their clothes not wearing out, or for being delivered from their enemies. We only read of their complaining and murmuring against Moses for bringing them out to kill them. One of the dangers of the sin of unbelief is that it will cause you to be unthankful. If we are going to operate in the will of God, we must learn to have a heart of gratitude, and be willing to give thanks no matter what may come our way.

 

Sing: How do I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet You gave to prove Your love for me.  The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude.  All that I am and ever hope to be I owe it all to Thee.

 To God be the glory, to God be the glory, to God be the glory for the things He has done.  With His blood He has saved me, with His power He has raised me, to God be the glory for the things He has done.

 Oh, just let me live my life, let it be pleasing, Lord, to Thee, and if I should gain any praise let it go to Calvary, (Calvary).  For with His blood He has saved me, with His power He has raised me, to God be the glory for the things He has done.

Thought For Today: Calvary should empower your gratitude. 

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 4 November 2022

 Be Thankful

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:12-17)

 

Today’s Morsel: If you have ever noticed, those who are thankful usually are those who walk in peace and tranquility, too; and evil things and circumstances that don't look good, don’t seem to bother their peace, serenity, and faith. While on the other hand, people who are ungrateful are most often agitated, restless, and dissatisfied not only with themselves, but others, and life in general.  Nothing better tends to promote peace and order in life than a heart of gratitude to God for His mercies. Paul told the church at Colossi that they should let the peace of God rule in their hearts, to which also they were called in one body and to be thankful. Stop worrying about the size and cost of the gift, just be thankful.

 

Sing: Thank God for the blood, I thank God for the blood.  I thank God for the blood, that washes white as snow.

 

Thought For Today: Always be thankful for what is given to you. 

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 3 November 2022

 Decision Making

“Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?” (Malachi 3:7)

 

Today’s Morsel: One of the things about serving God is that you must not be afraid to make decisions and you must not be fearful of making a mistake. Decision-making is just a part of life and sometimes making mistakes may come along with our decisions. But if you are fearful of making a decision about your life and walk with God, you will probably be left in a holding pattern and never be able to accomplish anything for the Lord. Scripture says that God called for the children of Israel to return to Him, but they said wherein shall we return? It was as though they didn’t know their right from their wrong. Throughout scripture, God's word challenges us to always do what is right. Not sometimes but always.  That means we must decide if we are going to obey. Joshua states: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). What is your decision?  Do not let fear hold you captive.

 

Sing: I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.

 

Thought For Today: “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, how long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” (1 Kings 18:21)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2 November 2022

 Sacrificing the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.” 
(Psalms 107:21-22)

 

Today’s Morsel: The word “sacrifice” here is used in a large sense to denote worship or adoration. Let them worship God with thanks or praises. Anytime God does anything for you, you should offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. If He heals your body, brings back your backslidden child to church, allows you to be hired for a job, allows you to be used in any type of ministry, gives you an opportunity to share a Bible study with someone, you ought to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. You don’t do this stuff on your own, it is God whose compassion is renewed every morning. Therefore, you ought to be thankful. Think about this for a moment, what if on the job you get hired for, the Lord allows you to tell everyone that works there about Him, and they all get saved? Would you be thankful? Well, usually God gives us the desires of our hearts when we are thankful. The more you are thankful,  the more you will maintain the right relationship with Christ.

 

Sing: I’m thankful, thank You, Lord, you’ve been so good to me, thank You Lord for giving me eyes to see, thank You Lord for giving me the victory; and O’ Lord I am thankful.

 

Thought For Today: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalms 51:17)

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 1 November 2022

 Thankfulness

A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalms 100:1-5)

 

Today’s Morsel: If someone were to tell you that you had been invited to the White House to meet with the president, what would be your reaction? Some folks may say that it would be no big deal for them because they do not like the president. But believe me, most people who would be given that opportunity would be excited. If nothing else, just to be able to say that they had met the president in person and that they had been inside the White House. The Psalmist states that we should enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise; that we should be thankful unto Him and bless His name. There are so many reasons, if we would ponder them, that we should be thankful for. When we are awakened in the morning, we should be thankful. When we have a job to go to, we should be thankful. When we see the roof over our heads, we should be thankful. When we read the word of God, we should be thankful. When we have food to eat, we should be thankful. When we see all the migrants trying to get into another country to better their lives, we should be thankful that that is not us. It doesn’t take much to be thankful for if we stop and consider where we are and where God has brought us from.  Remember, tomorrow is not promised!  Be thankful today.  

 

Sing: Thanks, thanks, I give You thanks, for all You have done.  I am so blessed, my soul has found rest, O’ Lord, I give You thanks.

 

Thought For Today: Don’t ever forget to bless the Lord.