Manna for Your Morning

Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. — Proverbs 3:3 (MSG) Get a grip on love and loyalty and never let go. Jesus said, “ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself .” (Luke 10:27 NKJV) This the greatest commandment we have to fulfill. Therefore, let all that you do be done with love. (1 Corinthians 16:14 NKJV) Always walk in love toward God and people. And show yourself loyal, or faithful, to our heavenly Father. He who earnestly seeks righteousness and loyalty finds life, righteousness, and honor. (Proverbs 21:21 AMP) Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (James 1:6,8 NLT)

Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. — Hebrews 10:23 (MSG) Never let go or give up on the promises God has spoken to you. God is faithful and we can  trust Him to keep His promises. What the LORD speaks, eventually comes to pass (maybe not on our timetable). After God delivered the Israelites from slavery and ushered them into the Promise Land, Joshua 21:44-45 says, the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. This is the same God we serve. They may have spent 40 years in the wilderness, but through it all, God provided and His people prevailed. The enemy likes to use adverse circumstances to discourage us, but look past the smokescreen and see the victory we already have in Jesus! Hold onto His promises.

But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. — Ruth 1:16 (NLT) When Ruth chose to go with her mother-in-law, Naomi, she committed her life to God and His people. Ruth chose to leave the land of her birth, her family and all that she knew. Sometimes we have to let go of what we know and leave our comfort zone to venture with God into the unknown. When Ruth chose to go with Naomi, little did she know, that God had Boaz, in position to receive her as his wife. Because of her wise choice and commitment to God, she and her son Obed are listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5) What a destiny she would have never known if she would have turned back to the familiar. May we stay committed to the LORD and the call He has for our lives.

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. — Exodus 17:11 (NIV) The Israelites defeated their enemies because Moses continually held his hands up to God. We will win our battles as we continually lift our hands up, in surrender to God and in praise of Him. Lifted hands are a sign of surrender, letting go and giving our cares to God. Raised hands indicate a submission to God, His Word and His ways. We also lift our hands to worship and praise our Heavenly Father. So get your hands up and start praising God for your victory! “The LORD will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm.” (Exodus 14:14 AMP)

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, — Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV) How do we run our race with endurance? The key factor in running well is to learn how to "let go." When we experience disappointments and setbacks in life and people don't measure up to our expectations, we have to let it go and move on down the road. Philippians 3:13 (NIV) says it this way: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. Strip off that heavy weight of past hurts and bitter disappointments and keep running! The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger. — Job 17:9 (NLT)

Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” — Psalm 46:8-10 (The Message) Get out of the fast lane, with all of its distractions and detours. Put your hand in the hand of the Father and be led on the path that He has for you. It is a path of abundant life and peace. Take a long, loving look at the LORD. He is above all. Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God (Psalm 46:10, GW). Amen.