Manna for Your Morning

Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. With your hand of love upon my life, you impart a blessing to me. This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible! Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength. — Psalm 139:1-6 (TPT) We are never forgotten, abandoned, nor hidden from the LORD. He knows all about our hurts, struggles, and failures. His hand of love is still on you. He knows the plans He has for you are good, more glorious and will last throughout eternity. He has already gone before you and made a ...

The LORD appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.” — Jeremiah 31:3 (AMP) Just as the LORD drew Israel to Himself, He has drawn us with unfailing love. His love never fails. It never runs out on us. Open your heart and receive the lovingkindness that He continually lavishes on us. Great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23), and it endures to all generations (Psalm 119:90). He is faithful to see you through every trial. He is faithful to heal all your hurts. And He is faithful to provide all your needs. Declare His lovingkindness in the morning, and His faithfulness every night. (Psalm 92:2)

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” — John 14:27 (NLT) How would you feel if you gave a loved one a very special gift and they never opened it? Let’s say they never even bothered to acknowledge it. They just left it sitting on the table, collecting dust. Sometimes, we bypass God's gift of peace and take on the burden of anxiety and worry. I imagine it hurts the heart of God when we don’t acknowledge the valuable gifts He has given. Our heavenly Father knows the benefit of the good gifts He has given to us; if only we would accept them and consistently use them. In Luke 10:19 (NLT), Jesus told His disciples, “Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy…” We have been given His peace and power and authority over our enemy. May we wisely benefit from the good gifts we have been given. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God o...

“Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” — Isaiah 43:19 (NASB) “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.” (Isaiah 43:18 NASB) It is hard to press on to what God has for you if you keep looking back at the disappointments, hurts and regrets of the past. Just as His mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:23 NLT), the LORD is always doing something new. The Message Bible says: “Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.”

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us… — 1 John 4:17 (MSG) If we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! (1 John 4:12 MSG). Let the love of God be fully formed in you by taking up permanent residence in Him and allowing Him full access to every area of your life. As we open our hearts to God, the flow of His love from us to others will be constant. When people say or do something that offends us, we are able to respond with the love that God has poured into our hearts. It's God's amazing love that heals our hurts and strengthens our spirits. It's His perfect love that brings unity to the family of believers and draws unbelievers closer to Him. The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both (1 John 4:21 MSG).

The next day they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord…and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. — 1 Chronicles 29:21 (AMP) In today’s culture of convenience and entitlement, most of us rarely entertain the notion of giving sacrificially, giving of our time, our treasures and our talents, until it hurts. Sacrifice is the act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy. What are you willing to offer to God as a sacrifice today, for the sake of His Kingdom? May we freely sacrifice to the LORD in abundance. Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name (Hebrews 13:15). Psalm 27:6 tells us to offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle. Psalm 51:17 says God will not despise, the sacrifices of a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. And then, Romans 12:1 tells us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God. Amen!

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? — 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV) The Spirit of God who dwells within us is a God of love, peace and patience. He is the God of all comfort. He is a God of mercy and truth. Our heavenly Father is our strength and the very source of all that we need. Let the presence of His Holy Spirit permeate every crevice of your being. Let His light invade any dark areas of your heart and mind. He will strengthen the weak areas and heal the hurts, with a constant flow of His love. But we must open the door of our hearts to  Him.

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  — Isaiah 42:9 (NKJV) Let go of past failures, hurts and offenses. Those things have come to pass. The things that are going to happen tomorrow are greater than what happened yesterday. “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). New things are on the way!