1 February 2010 - Morning Manna

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.  (Psalms 39:12-13)

Today’s Morsel: The woman we know as Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in New York as Isabella Baumfree (after her father's owner, Baumfree). She was sold as a slave several times, and while owned by the John Dumont family in Ulster County, New York, she married Thomas, another of Dumont's slaves. What was unique about slavery was that slaves often times were given the last name of their masters. Sojourner had five children with Thomas. In 1827, New York law emancipated all slaves, but Isabella had already left. In 1843, she took the name Sojourner Truth, believing this to be on the instructions of the Holy Spirit and became a traveling preacher (the meaning of her new name). The word sojourner means a short stay at a place. The Apostle Paul said of the patriarch of old, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13-16). They saw themselves as strangers and pilgrims in this earth. They did not put down their stakes upon this earth, but they looked for a better place. Always remember that Jesus is the truth and that we are of Him. He’s gone to prepare a place for us and will soon come again to take us to the place He has prepared for us. Therefore, we are sojourners of truth in this land until Jesus comes and takes us to that better and permanent place. So don’t put your stakes down to deep for you tomorrow you might be out of here.

Sing: I’m getting ready to leave this place, I’m getting ready for those gates of pearls, keeping my record straight, watching both day and night, well I’m getting ready to leave this place.

30 January 2010 - Morning Manna

The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree (Psalms 37:32-35).

Today’s Morsel: If you have read my book, “If God Be For Us, Who Can Be Against Us,” in the story of “Satan’s Convention”, you will notice that Satan told his demonic force to pound people with the news 24 hours a day. If you are a Christian, then you may be getting a little upset and angry at the things that you see and hear that are taking place in the land these days. But let me ask you a question, do not wicked people do wicked things and foolish people do foolish things? Do not sinners sin? So why get upset and angry when you see it happening? When you get upset and angry, you are the major recipient of the pain that it causes. Never think that the wicked are getting over and getting away with something, they are soon cut down like a branch if they are not warned of their wicked ways. If you will notice in scripture, the same things we see taking place today were taking place in Jesus' day, too. However, Jesus didn’t focus on their wickedness unless it was taking place in the temple. He let His light shine and caused many to turn from the wickedness and follow Him. Jesus’ command to us was go preach the gospel to every creature. You see this gospel can turn the wicked heart back to God the same as it did you and me. Prayer and being a good witness can work wonders. But what I see today is that the church seems to be more focused on what the wicked are doing instead of praying and warning them. The Lord told Ezekiel, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ezekiel 3:17-19). If there has ever been a time to be a light in a dark world, it is now. The harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few. So don’t spend too much time focusing on what the wicked are doing, but focus on what you can do to deliver them from their wickedness that they perish not.

Sing: O sinner seek the Lord, repent of all your sin, for thus he hath commanded, if you would enter in; and then if you should live a hundred years below, up there you’ll not regret it, you settled long ago.

Long ago, down on my knees; long ago, I settled it all; yes, the old account was settled long ago; and the records clear today, for He washed my sins away, when the old account was settled long ago.

29 January 2010 - Morning Manna

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed

(Psalms 37:25-26).

Today’s Morsel: If you were asked what does it mean to be blessed, how would you describe it? Do you consider yourself blessed or do you consider yourself as lacking? Me, I’m always blessed and highly favored of the Lord. Speaking of Abraham, the writer of Hebrews said, “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee” (Hebrews 6:13-14). God told Abraham that He would bless him. Paul said that when we are baptized into Christ, we become Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:27-29). If you are His seed, then you are blessed. Even if in your eyes you don’t think that you are, you really are. The blessing of the Lord isn’t about material things all the time. It’s more about a relationship and understanding of God. When we know Jesus and have an understanding of Him, blessing from the throne begins to flow to us. Each day that we awake we are blessed. I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying, if you don’t think that you are blessed, ask the man that has no shoes to put on his feet. Or, if you don’t think that you are blessed, ask the homeless who have no where to sleep. If you don’t think that you are blessed, think about the person who doesn’t have eyes to read this Manna as you do. As Jesus told His disciples, many eyes hath desired to see the things that you see and have not. Think about!

Sing: I am blessed, I am blessed, every day that I live I am blessed; when I wake up in the morning, til I lay my head to rest, I am blessed, I am blessed.

28 January 2010 - Morning Manna

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever (Genesis 3:22).

Today’s Morsel: After Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and received their punishment for their disobedience, God said that now they know the difference between good and evil and if they were to take hold of the tree of life they would live forever. If you will notice, the tree of life was already in the midst of the garden, the same as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). They could have eaten from this tree from the beginning and lived forever, it was never forbidden. The only tree they were told to not eat from was the tree of the knowledge of good in evil, because God said that in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die. Notice here, the tree is given the name 'knowledge of ood and evil. What we find here is that just because something looks good it may not be good for you. For example, look how beautiful a bee is, a bee produces honey that is good for you, but if he stings you, he can kill you. The same holds true with many things. Paul said, all things are lawful, but all things are not expedient nor do they edify me. When Eve saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), pleasant to the eye (beautiful) (lust of the eye), but then it would make one wise (pride of life) she took it. Notice that everything presented itself as something good, but God knew that it would bring about evil and so He told them to not eat from it. Friend, if God says you will die, you will die. What I have found about disobedience is as soon as you do wrong, you know it. God has made us so that when we do wrong we know. Adam and Eve immediately knew that they were naked and looked for a place to hide when they heard God’s voice. The sin of disobedience always makes you want to hide. God’s word pierces you when you have done wrong and you hear it. There is something inside of us that triggers our “You’ve done wrong button.” Jesus is the tree of life, and once you do wrong, if you are going to live, you are going to have to put forth your hand and take a hold of this tree and repent. Let me encourage you today. Just because something looks good to you, study it out before you partake of it, as it may be deadly for your soul and spirit.

Sing: I’ll say yes, Lord, yes, to your will and to your way. I’ll say yes, Lord, yes, I will trust you and obey; when your spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I’ll agree, and my answer will be yes, Lord, Yes.

27 January 2010 - Morning Manna

And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do. And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea. And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us. Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged

(Deuteronomy 1:18-21).

Today’s Morsel: I really like reading the book of Deuteronomy. It is a recollection by Moses telling the children of Israel what the Lord had done for them and what He had commanded them to do. A few weeks ago in service, our pastor was reflecting on the tragedies that they had been through in their lives and how the hand of God was with them through them all. He said, “'Somehow' God brought us through." The saying hit me like a ton of bricks. It was as though God said to me, "Stop and reflect on where I’ve brought you from." There were times of danger, there were times of loss, there were times of hardships, but somehow, somehow God brought me through. Oh! If we would only reflect on what God has done for us and not despise the day of small things, we would stand in awe of what God has done. Our Wisconsin State Superintendent for UPCI, Brother John Putnam, ministered that same Sunday saying, “Just One Simple Step.” We all took that one simple step to God and look what He has done in each of our lives. There are things that I have seen and places that I have been that if I had not taken that first step to God, I probably would never have seen or gone. We never know what God has in store for us, but if we will take that first step, God will do wonders in our lives. Moses wanted the children of Israel to know what God had done for them, and so he said, “And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea. And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us. Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.” He wanted them to know that even though it was tough, God brought them through. So let me encourage you today, you may feel like it is a wilderness walk, but God is taking you to a better place and you are going to be able to look back and say, "Look what the Lord has done!"

Sing: Look what the Lord has done, look what the Lord has done, He healed my body, He touch my mind, He saved me just in time. I’m going to praise His name, each day He’s just the same, I’m going to praise Him, I’m going to praise Him, look what the Lord has done.

26 January 2010 - Morning Manna

Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth

 (Proverbs 19:1-2).

Today’s Morsel: The Bush Administration began a program entitled, “No Child Left Behind.” The focus was on educating all children. This wasn’t anything new. Jesus had already told us to go into all the world and teach all nations. He knew that a soul without knowledge of Him would be destroyed and lost. Solomo said that it is not good that the soul be without knowledg. The church is to be a training ground. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone needs to be educated. So what should the church teach? The first two lessons that I believe every church should teach first is “Knowing Who Jesus Is”, because everthing flows from this founational knowledge. All doctrines and having an abundant life flows from this knowledge of Him. Second lesson that I believe every church should teachis “Knowing Who You Are In Christ.” Daniel said that the people who do know their God shall be strong and do exploits (Daniel 11:32). If you never know who Jesus is, you will never know who you are and this causes many so-called Christians to struggle and never obtain the victory in their relationship and walk with the Lord. The apostle Paul called for education when he said, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-11). The greatest lesson you will ever learn in your life is knowing who Jesus Christ truly is. As Paul said, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34). When a soul is without this knowledge, it is not good.

Sing: Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus, daily let me go; higher, higher in the school of wisdom, more of grace to know. O deeper yet, I pray, and higher every day, and wiser, blessed Lord, in Thy precious holy word.

25 January 2010 - Morning Manna

Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest (Joshua 1:1-9).

Today’s Morsel: There are times when we all need a little confirmation in our lives about what we have been called to do. Joshua was no exception. He saw what a challenge it was to lead God’s people, and he wanted to ensure that what he was about to do he did right. If you will notice, the Lord issued Joshua a command, and that command was to be strong and of a good courage. From a military stand point, a command must be obeyed or stern punishment can be issued for failure to obey the command or order which was given to you. Jesus, who is our Commander in Chief, has issued this same order to us, be strong and of a good courage. And being soldiers in His army and knowing that He has our best interest at heart, we should follow this order to its fullest. Daniel said, “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). Do you know your God? Then we should not have any trouble obeying what He tells us to do. What I usually find about leadership is that when they issue an order, they’ve already studied it out and know what they are telling you to do is for your good as well as that of the organization. If we are strong and of a good courage, we will have a good outlook on life and our morale is revealed to all.

Sing: Jesus, Jesus, you know what's best for me, so lead on, Jesus, I’ll go wherever you lead!