Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 17 December 2019

My Beloved

“What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.” (Song of Solomon 5:9-10)

Today’s Morsel:   To me, the Book of the Song of Solomon is written as a love story that portrays a soon to be bride and her bridegroom.  It is a picture of what Christ is to us and we are to be to Him.  As Paul told the church at Corinth, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”(2 Corinthians 11:2)   The high priest was not to marry anyone that was not a pure virgin (see Leviticus 21:10-14).  Here, then, we see Christ is our great high priest, the spouse or husband, and we, the church, are the pure virgin, His soon bride.   We are to be the undefiled, the unspotted, the unblemished ones.  We are to remain pure for His coming.  What is our beloved more than another beloved?  Why is Jesus loved more by so many than any other?   Because “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12); “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8); And we must show that love by keeping His commandments.” (John 14:15)   We must remain pure for the soon coming of our Beloved.

Sing: He is fairer than the lily of the valley, brighter than the morning star; Purer than snow; Fresher than the breeze, lovelier than all of these.

Thought For Today:  Keep thyself pure.

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 16 December 2019

Comforting Words

  

“I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.” (Zechariah 1:8-13)

Today’s Morsel:  For a while, it was taboo to utter the words ‘Merry Christmas’.  Businesses and employees were afraid to use that phrase for fear of offending others.  But every so often it is good to hear good and comforting words and phrases from others.  Zechariah was concerned for Israel and the people of Jerusalem.  And so he said that the Lord answered the angel that talked with him with good and comfortable words.  Such as would be for the good and comfort of God's people.  God told the angel to tell him, “I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore, thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.”  When everything looks dim and drab, hang in there, God will soon send you good and comforting words to let you know that He has not forgotten you.  As He told Isaiah, “Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.” (Isaiah 38:5-6)  Cast not away your confidence.  He that will come, will come and not tarry.  The just must live by faith.

Sing: Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.  Let me more of there beauty see, wonderful words of life.  Words of life and beauty, teach me faith and duty.  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.

Thought For Today: A word spoke in due season how good is it?

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 14 December 2019

Consider Your Ways

“Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” (Haggai 1:5-9)

Today’s Morsel:  How often do you stop and consider your ways?  Are you on the right path?  Are you in the right calling?  Are you in the right ministry?  Are you taking the right courses?  Are you in the right job?  Do you feel stressed and discontented a lot lately?  Have you considered your ways to determine what the problem is?  The Lord said through the prophet Haggai that the people were suffering in many areas of their lives because they were doing everything for themselves and neglecting the house of God.  In others word, the church was not their priority, which made God not priority one.  When we neglect assembling for prayer, having daily devotions in our homes, and we miss attending church, we can expect issues.  Frustration and stress are usually caused by our priorities being out of line.  Yes, some of our frustrations and stresses may be caused by others, but the root is really our priorities not being aligned with God’s word and His ways.  If people can frustrate us and stress us, we are too far from God.  In other words, we are letting them come between us and God.  How much of your time, talent and treasure is committed to the upkeep of God’s house?  If it’s not at least ten percent, consider your ways.

Sing:  Lord I give you my heart, I give you my soul, I live for You alone.  Every breath that I take, every moment I’m awake, Lord have your way in me.

Thought For Today: Consider Your ways.

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 13 December 2019

Wait On God

“Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.” (Zephaniah 3:8-9)

Today’s Morsel:  Most people do not have the patience to wait on God.  They want their answer and problems fixed now.  But what if God is teaching us a lesson, or showing others how strong our faith is in Him when we are going through things in our life. Isaiah admonishes us from the Lord in Isaiah 40:28-31, “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31).  But those that wait on the Lord, who make conscience of their duty to him, and by faith rely upon him and commit themselves to his guidance, shall find that God will not fail them.  They shall have grace sufficient for them: They shall renew their strength as their work is renewed; they shall be anointed, and their lamps supplied with fresh oil.  God will be thou their arm every morning, and salvation also in the time of trouble (Isaiah 33:2).  If at any time they have been folded and weakened they shall recover themselves, and so renew their strength.  They shall have strength to labor, strength to wrestle, strength to resist, strength to bear.  As the day so shall their strength be.  Care to wait on God?

Sing: They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  Teach me Lord, teach me Lord to wait.

Thought For Today: Waiter and waitress both begin with the word wait.

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 12 December 2019

Write the Vision

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:1-3)

Today’s Morsel:  Write the vision and make it plan.  Put the bottom line up front.  King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 22:17-21, “Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?”  The prophet must write the vision. Thus, when John had a vision of the New Jerusalem, he was ordered to write. “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” (Revelation 21:5)   He must write it, that he might imprint it on his own mind and make it more clear to himself, but especially that it might be notified to those in distant places and transmitted to those in future ages.  You don’t sugarcoat the gospel and the doctrine of Jesus Christ and His apostles.  It must be written plainly.  Maybe this is the reason people are not committed to the church; the vision of eternity isn’t written plain enough.

Sing: Onward to the prize before me, soon His beauty we’ll behold; soon the pearly gates will open; we shall tread the streets of God.

When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we will sing and shout the victory.

Thought For Today: What is your understanding of eternity?

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 11 December 2019

The Omniscience One

“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” (Nahum 1:7)

Today’s Morsel:  Abraham Lincoln stated, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."  Sooner or later someone will figure you out.  Scripture says that the Lord knoweth them that trust in him.  God is all knowing.  David said in Psalms 139:1-16 “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalms 139:1-16)

We may be able to fool some people into thinking that we trust God, but we can’t fool God into thinking that we trust Him if we don't.  Either we do or we do not.  There is no gray area with God. It’s a yea or nay kind of life.  The Psalmist said, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalms 118:8-9) David said in Psalms 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”  If God is good, and a strong hold or refuge in times of trouble, shouldn’t our trust be in Him?  Do you trust God?

Sing: I trust in God, wherever I may be, upon the land, or on the storm seas.  For come what may, from day to day, my heavenly Father watches over, over me.

I trust in God, I know He’s cares for me, upon the mountain bleak or on the raging seas.  Though billows roar, He keeps my soul.  My heavenly Father watches over, over me.

Thought For Today: God knows everything about you.

Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 10 December 2019

Full Of Power

“But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8)

Today’s Morsel:  One of the reasons Jesus said that He would give us His Spirit was so that we would have power to be a witness for Him (see Acts 1:4-8).  The Bible says in Acts 2:1-4, that on the Day of Pentecost they were all filled with the Holy Ghost; God’s Spirit.  They received the power that Jesus told them He would send and that they would receive.  They were full of power by the Spirit of the Lord.  And immediately, Peter began to preach and to tell Israel of her sins and how to be remitted of them (see Acts 2:22-38).  Have you received the Holy Ghost?  If you have, then you are filled with power of Jesus to share in a loving way with others their sins and how they too can have them remitted.  Psalms 62:11 says, “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.”  Remember, a true witness is one who can help to deliver the accused and those who may be trapped in sin.

Sing: I’ve got the Holy Ghost down in my soul, just like the Bible says.  I’ve got the Holy Ghost down in my soul, just like the Bible says. Well, I’ve been to the water and I’ve been baptized.  My soul got happy and I’m so satisfied.  I wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now, just like the Bible, just like the Bible says.

Thought For Today: There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain.