Manna for Your Morning

“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and pretenders! For you are obsessed with peripheral issues, like insisting on paying meticulous tithes on the smallest herbs that grow in your gardens. These matters are fine, yet you ignore the most important duties of all: to walk in the love of God, to display mercy to others, and to live with integrity. Readjust your values and place first things first.” — Matthew 23:23 (TPT) Keep first things first. Genuine followers of Christ will continually walk closely with God, in His love and compassion for humanity. May we cultivate faithfulness, humility, generosity, honesty, justice, and love. He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love lovingkindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 LSB)

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. — Luke 10:41 (NKJV) This time of year so many people run around feeling like Martha, worried and troubled about many things. Let us prioritize our list of tasks and give more weight to the important things. And the most important thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing, that is to celebrate the birth of Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is Immanuel: “God with us.” The Eternal One. The Prince of Peace and the living Word. Don't let the worries and cares of this world and the distractions of this season, with its worldly pleasures and man-made traditions creep in and choke the word of life right out of you. Set your attention and your affections on Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords! And touching others with His love, joy and peace.