Manna for Your Morning

Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” — Matthew 28:5-6 (NLT) Who do you look for? Seek Jesus, the Messiah, our Risen Savior, the One who touches and transforms lives. Look for Christ, the One who conquered sin, death and the grave. Matthew 28:1 (NLT) says:  Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.  May we seek Jesus early. Don’t get started on your day until you spend some time with the Lord, dine with Him, feed on His Word and seek His will. Engage with Him,  not just early, but continually throughout your day. Luke 24:1, says the women came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. Today, let us bring our hearts to Him. May we prepare our hearts to receive our King. Let Him fill your heart with the sweet fragra...

We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. — 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (MSG) Let there be nothing between you and God. Only our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. He formed us in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) Open the door of your heart and let God enter those rooms that you have padlocked shut. Let His glory bring light to the dark areas. We become more and more like Him as we allow Him to enter the crevices of our hearts and perform His restoration project. He takes lives that have been seemingly reduced to rubble and transforms them into lives full of His beauty and glory, as we allow Him to work in us, and through us.

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.