Manna for Your Morning

“ You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place; carefully, skillfully you shaped me from nothing to something. ” — Psalms 139:13, 15 (TPT) We are created in the image of God. (See Genesis 1:27) The One Who formed you in the womb of your mother knows everything there is to know about you. He knows our inside is delicate, easily broken or damaged. And our outside environment is intricate, very complicated or detailed. No need for pretense with Him. We cannot hide anything from Him, so be humble, open and honest with our heavenly Father. Even though He knows our weaknesses and the areas where we completely miss the mark, He also sees the best in us and wants the best for us. He has given to each person talents and gifts, which are to give glory to our Maker and His Kingdom. May we submit to His Holy Spirit, Who is at work in u...

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. — Romans 12:2 (MSG) Instead of copying the ways of this world, let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. May we fix our attention on God and renew our minds, with His Word. This will elevate our thoughts, because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. As our minds are renewed, we will be able to recognize His perfect will and respond to it, with a sense of urgency. Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.  — Proverbs 4:23 (GNT)

The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. — 1 Timothy 1:5 (MSG) If we want to ensure our love is uncontaminated we need to live our lives open to God. God is love. As we stay open to Him, He transforms us from the inside (our hearts) to the outside. As we stay open to God and the work His Holy Spirit is doing in us, His love will permeate every fiber of our being. As we fully embrace God's love, we can let go of self-interest, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc. Let us knock down any barriers we have erected and live open to God. This is the optimal position from which to love, love the LORD and love others, with a plain and simple love and no hidden agendas.