Manna for Your Morning

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. — Romans 12:11-12 (MSG) The best way to stay full of His Spirit and on fire for the LORD, is to keep a constant connection with Him throughout your day, through prayer, praising and the giving of thanks. Let the difficulties and challenges draw you closer to Him. Look to our great God in cheerful expectation of the deliverance He will bring about in your life. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person is powerful and produces wonderful results. Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2 AMP)

The LORD will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. — Psalm 29:11 (AMP) The strength the LORD gives us is unyielding. It doesn’t cave in, under pressure and it doesn’t quit, in times of difficulty. We grow tired and weary when we try to do things in our human strength.  Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.  (Romans 8:6 MSG). When we are open to God’s will and allow His Holy Spirit to work in us and through us, His supernatural strength carries us, and our strength is renewed. We will soar on wings like eagles; we will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31).

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. — 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (NLT) We are in a race, however we are not competing against each other, but against an enemy whose only desire to trip us up, and keep us from crossing the finish line. All he wants us to do is give up on God and quit. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself (1 Corinthians 9:26-27 MSG). Let us run with purpose in every step!

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out  before a single day had passed. — Psalms 139:16 NLT We often respond prematurely to an event that is only the current chapter, in the book of our lives. God knows the whole story. He wrote the book. So don't put a period after life's challenges present themselves. Instead, put a comma and a "BUT GOD!” We have not reached the conclusion of a matter until God says, it’s over. The enemy wants us to get discouraged and quit, but let’s continue to fight the good fight of faith, to the end. Our victory is etched onto the pages of eternity!

“There is the sound of war in the camp.” — Exodus 32:17 (NIV) Wake up! We are in a war. Every day we are in the midst of a battle. In Revelation 12:17, the devil declared war with the woman and the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Let us be good soldiers. Good soldiers stay focused on the mission of the Commanding Officer. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier (2 Timothy 2:4). Good soldiers do not quit in the middle of the battle. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3). Get your boots on the ground and stay engaged in the good fight of faith. The PRICE is the war that must be fought, but the PRIZE is the wedding to come (Revelation 21:1-4). March on good soldiers, with your eyes on the prize!

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. — Hebrews 6:15 (NKJV) Whether in a line at the grocery store or sitting in traffic on the freeway, most of us do not like waiting. Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised. During his time of waiting, he had to endure some things. May we also learn the art of patient endurance. Let us be patient in trouble, and keep on praying (Romans 12:12). The Message version says, don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Do what God instructs you to do and leave the rest to Him. He will bring it pass at the perfect time, its appointed time.

I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. — Psalm 146:2 (NIV) Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful (Psalm 147:1 NKJV). He inhabits the praises of His people. The LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous (Psalm 146:8 NIV). God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit (Psalm 145:14 MSG). Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”  — Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV) The Message Bible says it this way: “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!” With an everlasting love, our heavenly Father draws us to Himself. Be captivated with His love!  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19).

A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again. However, in a disaster wicked people fall. Proverbs 24:16 (GW) No matter how many times you may stumble and fall, get back up again. We can endure troubles, hardships and distresses because the LORD is our helper. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up (Hebrews 12:1, GW). James 1:4 tells us to let perseverance finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. When life knocks you down, get back up again and never quit!