Manna for Your Morning

“I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.” — Psalms 145:1-3 (NLT) “The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. All of your works will thank you, LORD, and your faithful followers will praise you.” (Psalms 145:8-10 NLT) Yahweh is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. (Psalms 145:18 LSB) May we be faithful followers of our mighty GOD, an d His Son, King Yeshua.  He is the way, the truth, and the life. (See John 14:6)  I will praise the LORD, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever. — Psalms 145:21 (NLT)

Praise the LORD! Yes, give praise, O servants of the LORD. Praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD now and forever. Everywhere—from east to west— praise the name of the LORD. For the LORD is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens. — Psalms 113:1-4 (NLT) Our God is good and everything He does is good. (See Psalms 119:68) Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. He causes us to remember his wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our LORD! (Psalms 111:3-4 NLT) Not to us, O L ORD , not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. (Psalms 115:1) The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD, for they have gone into the silence of the grave. But we can praise the LORD both now and forever! Praise the LORD! (Psalms 115:17-18)

Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive fails and the fields produce no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will [choose to] rejoice in the LORD; 
I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation! — Habakkuk 3:17-18 (AMP) The enemy would have us to focus on the negative in any situation. Instead of looking at what we have, he will highlight what is lacking. But we must look at our circumstances with eyes of faith. The righteous shall live by faith and not by sight. Knowing that nothing is too difficult for Yahweh. He is bigger than the balance of your bank account. He is more powerful than any political party or government official. His supply is abundant and He is extremely generous. Our God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (See Philippians 4:19) Yahweh is a faithful Father, and a Promise ...

Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] — John 14:27 (AMP) When the enemy tries to bombard your mind with anxious thoughts remember you have the mind of Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 2:16) And we have His peace. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Don’t let him rob you. Hold on to your peace, in every circumstance and challenge. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. (See Philippians 4:7) Jesus came that we may have life, and have it abundantly. (See John 10:10 NASB1995) Living in the Kingdom of God is about peace, love, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. — Isaiah 40:27 (MSG) Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. (Isaiah 20:28 NLT) When you go through deep waters, He will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For He is the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (See Isaiah 43:2-3 NLT) Instead of whining and complaining, trust God and know that He is with you and nothing is too difficult for our great God.

Trust in the LORD and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. — Psalm 37:3-5 (NASB) Trust God and do what is right in His eyes, instead of following the ways of the worldly culture. His ways are higher and better than our ways. When our delight and true pleasure are in Yahweh, our desires will align with His good plans and He will certainly bring them to pass. Commit everything you do to the LORD, and your plans will be established. (See Proverbs 16:3)

“ You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. ” — Isaiah 26:3 (AMP) The key to remaining in perfect and constant peace is to keep our mind stayed on our great and awesome God. Give more attention to the Good News than to the nightly negative news. Keep your thoughts focused on the Most High God, Elohim, the all-powerful One. For you know the saying, “We live in God; we move in God; we exist in God.” And still another said, “We are indeed God’s children.” (Acts 17:28 VOICE) “ Trust in the LORD forever, for in God the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock. ” — Isaiah 26:4 (NASB)

“ For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His… ” — 2 Chronicles 16:9a (NASB) The eyes of the LORD search for sincere hearts, not physical appearances, or lofty titles. When our hearts are fully committed to the LORD, we can rely on Him to strengthen us. We can do all things [which He has called us to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers us. (Philippians 4:13) Realize, it's through Him. You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near. (James 5:8 AMP) God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him. — 2 Chronicles 16:9a (MSG)

The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. — Malachi 1:1 (NKJV) Malachi was burdened with a word from the LORD that he had to release. The word “burden” has a heaviness to it, but it can also be a beautiful thing. In Matthew 11:30, Jesus said: “ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. ” The burden Jesus gives us is light. However, manmade burdens are too much for us to bear. Matthew 23:4 says: For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. May we feel the weight (or the significance) of God’s Word more than anything the enemy brings our way. Let us put on the burden of the Word of the LORD, and release it to others. The Word says all things are possible with God. That is a much more easier burden to bear than one of discouragement and defeat. Every word of God proves true! (Proverbs 30:5a NLT)

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. — Psalm 73:23-24 (NKJV) Just as God is always with us, we need to be continually with Him. Sometimes we get distracted by things of this world, and tend to drift away from our heavenly Father, but Psalm 73:28 says, it is good for us to draw near to God. Don’t just draw near with your mouth and honor Him with their lips. Draw near with your heart and honor Him in all that you do. Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith… (Hebrews 10:22a NASB). When we draw near to God He draws even closer to us. And with Him we go from glory to glory.

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).

But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. — Numbers 14:24 (NKJV) In the school of ministry, we learned that “different” means next. While the other Israelites were ready to turn around and go back to the land of their captivity, Caleb was courageous and ready to conquer the enemies living in the promised land. Do you have a what’s next spirit or a what could have been spirit? Let us not have a critical, whining or complaining spirit like those who perished in the desert. The eyes of the LORD are constantly searching the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). Even though circumstances don’t appear the way you thought they should, always be ready to move on and ask God “what’s next?”

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; — 1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. Let us walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). We have been called and chosen by God. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5 NKJV). The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2). We are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). May we walk before God in the light of the living, and draw those caught up in the darkness of this world, into His marvelous light!

We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. — 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NCV) We may be surrounded by troubles, but we are not crushed. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble,” so we can expect that, but He also said, “take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). Whatever life brings our way, we are not defeated, nor destroyed and we will never be abandoned by God. So, don't ever give up the HOPE of living a victorious life!

The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. — Genesis 7:1,7 (NIV) Because of Noah's faithfulness to the LORD, God provided a place of protection for him and his family while the floodwaters destroyed every living creature on the earth. Let us be found righteous in this generation. Second Chronicles 16:9 says, the eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.

Even though an army sets up camp against me, my heart will not be afraid. Even though a war breaks out against me, I will still have confidence in the Lord. Psalm 27:3 (GW) As believers, we have an enemy and we are actively engaged in a spiritual war. The devil has declared war against those who keep God’s commands and hold fast to their testimony about Jesus, (Revelation 12:17). The devil's purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. However, no weapon formed against us shall prosper, (Isaiah 54:17). The One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world, (1 John 4:4). So maintain your confidence in the LORD, for everyone born of God overcomes the world, (1 John 5:4). The battle belongs to God and He has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen! On this Memorial Day, we honor all those who have served and are presently serving in the U.S. military. Thank you for your service.

"I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you." 1 Chronicles 29:17 (NIV) God is pleased with integrity. Let us say what we mean and follow our words up with the appropriate actions. Our heavenly Father does not lie and He delivers all of His promises.

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. Job 38:1 (NIV) Job lost his flocks and herds, his sons and daughters died and his physical body was covered with painful sores. Job found no support or comfort from the words of his wife or friends. Out of the storm, Job heard the voice of the LORD. Sometimes in the midst of stormy times it seems like Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat (Mark 4:38). However, the LORD is always with us and He is very much aware of our specific situations. He wrote all our days down before one of them came to be. Even if our boat tips over and we are trying to stay afloat in rough waters, let us keep our ears open to hear the answer the LORD gives. He will answer, out of the storm. Love, Jackie