We read in Exodus (16:12-35) about manna.  It sustained the Hebrew nation of +3 Million people in the wilderness for 40 years...  We know it was God's provision and the people had to gather it daily..... (Exodus 16:21)  While we wonder about what manna was, (translated, "manna" means "what is it"), we speculate about it's taste, texture, and nutritional value....  We don't really know anything about it other than the fact that God rained it down daily from heaven....

 

     Today's "manna" is God's daily Grace...  His grace is given to us every single day...  perhaps that's why Jesus says not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow's "Manna" (Grace) will be sufficient to take care of the day itself... (Matthew 6:34)  ...What does that really mean?  Think about it for a moment....  The Hebrews in the wilderness did not suffer sickness....  They consumed manna every day...  We have the Lord's daily provision of Grace, which is "sufficient " for us.   We, as Believers, are not to live in sickness either.  The same can be said for provision... (Clothes and Shoes of the Hebrews did not wear out for 40 years.... (Deuteronomy 29:5)  Divine protection covered the Hebrew's also... (against the attack of the enemy).  ...and we have that same provision today... (James 4:7)  ...and the Lord promised them a land flowing with milk and honey (promised land).  As Believers, our "promised" land is heaven.  It's more than "Paradise", it's eternal life with our Lord, Jesus Christ.  And there are other comparisons as well...  Cloud by day and fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22) can relate to the Divine protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit.)

 

     The Hebrews only had a shadow of all that we, as Believers, have today....  Theirs was "manna", a food source from God that sustained them.  Our sustaining source of food and drink today is the Lord, Jesus Christ...(Our Manna)  Which is why we should take Communion daily, consistently, with the understanding that He is our Daily Bread. (Matthew 6:11)  He told us that He is the Bread that comes down from heaven. (John 6:48-51)  What is that daily Bread for Christians? ...Grace.  Consume it every day, for He provides fresh "Manna" (Grace) daily.  Don't worry about tomorrow's "Manna", for His Grace will be there when you need it.  (And by the way, .....You will need it!)

 

Blessings,

Rick

  

 

     Some people see Malachi 3 as a "negative".  We need to look at these verses in Malachi as a "positive" statement...  When the church congregations hear these scriptures, often the first thought is about how "the church wants my money"....  But the real point of this passage is that He will rebuke the devourer for us. (Malachi 3:11)  It's the same Lord who encourages us to tithe...  He is saying that "if you commit to me, I will take care of anything negative that comes into your life!"  It's better than any insurance policy... It's His Assurance policy.  We do our part and He will take care of His end of the agreement.  That's awesome!  This is the same God that multiplied the little loaves and fishes, filled the boats of Peter and his friends so full of fish that they began to sink, raised the dead, cast out demons...  Gee whiz, ...and He only asks us for a 10% tithe?  Who would be foolish enough to pass up that deal?  ....When you're in really tough circumstances, ....you wouldn't care if it was 100%.  You would give it all.....  But that's not necessary.  God is more than sufficient to meet every need in our life, and rebuke the devourer too...  He merely asks that we give Him something to "work with".

 

     Tithes and offerings are a way for God to get back to you blessings multiplied many times over.  It's not a "get rich scheme", but more like a partnership arrangement.  Jesus as my "Partner"?  Yeah!  Yet, too many, however, want to embrace Him as their "silent partner".  Jesus doesn't desire to be "silent" in our lives though.  He has much to say....  And here, in Malachi 3, our Lord is saying ..."here, let Me help you"...  "Let Me handle it"... "I've got this one".... "Relax, partner, ...trust Me, I know what to do".

 

     When you know that Jesus loves you so much that He is willing to do anything, you will understand that to bond with God, 100%, ...your small portion of only 10% is just a token.  His portion is 90%... and whatever He touches is multiplied by many blessings over and over to the point of super abundance beyond anything that we could ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

 

     Don't make Jesus your "silent partner", ....tithe accordingly and let Him be your object of praise and worship.

 

Blessings,

Rick

ACTS 2:36-38  Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  Then peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 

 

     It's canning season.  Gardens have been in production for a couple of months and it seems like more than ever, people are trying to grow some vegetables for harvest.  The quality is superior and the value is evident.

 

     Sandy has canned a lot of things this year, some for the first time ever, with excellent results....  If you have never "canned" before, once you've done it, you will appreciate canned goods even more when you realize how much effort it takes....

 

     As I was pondering this canning business, I wondered how one could relate this to the Bible, ....or our Christian walk.  Here are some thoughts:  "New" Christians are sorta like fresh "canned" vegetables.... some are tomatoes, some are pickles... and some are fruit, like blackberries or strawberry jam.  Once the produce has been sealed, much like we are sealed by the blood of Jesus at salvation, it needs time to age.... time to "mature".  You don't make a fresh batch of pickles and then turn around and start eating them...  Likewise, you don't take a new "convert" and put him in a pulpit... because he needs time to mature... time to be "seasoned", ....time to absorb the Word and become established in their relationship with Christ.  The Word tells us that we are not to put a novice in a position of authority. ( 1 Timothy 3:6)  The reason being that, besides "enthusiasm", they do not yet make good representatives for God's Kingdom.  Much like good canned vegetables, they need time to mature, ....a time of "seasoning", ....a time that is dedicated to absorbing God's presence...

 

     The Christian cannery?  It's supposed to be your local, Spirit filled church.  That's where people are to get grounded and established in the Word.  And that's why a strong discipleship program is necessary in every Christian church.  People need to be "seasoned" to the point where they are able to go out into the world and bring in new harvests for the Kingdom.

 

     What's our next canning adventure?  I think Sandy is going to do "pickled okra"?  (....okay, we've never had it either, but I understand it's better than pickled cucumbers...?)  And what of our "next" Christian "canning" adventure?  I think it may be an in home Bible study, ...although a missions trip sounds very intriguing.  What's on your calendar?

 

Blessings,

Rick

 

     Accents are interesting.  Americans from New Jersey don't sound like they're from Texas, ...and those from Boston sound different than a Californian.  We all speak the same language, but say it differently.

 

     Accents are kinda like church denominations...  I was basically raised as a Methodist.  My thought process was influenced by the Methodist church in my youth....  In fact, I even attended a Methodist College.  (Now Methodist University @ Fayetteville, NC) ....So, I "believed" that the Methodists had it right...  I talked like, sounded like, thought like... and probably even looked like one of them.  I didn't think like a Baptist, or a Presbyterian, or a Lutheran, or a Catholic, ....and especially not like a Pentecostal.  That was my life for a long time, ...but I gradually drifted away from the Methodist church, as countless thousands have, because it was.... well, it was boring, ...it was dull, ....in fact I wasn't getting anything there.  It was more of a "social center" than a place where one went to meet God....  I was looking through the religious lens of the Methodist church...  

     Many years later, I miraculously got born again, (outside of a church), and my life was changed forever.... (As it is supposed to).  I felt the need to attend church and hear God's Word.  After attending several different denominational churches, we opted to visit a Pentecostal Church of God.  What we encountered there was the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit.  Nothing compared to it, ...and while we attended some other churches afterwards, we always compared it to our experience at the Church of God.  So, ...to make a very long story short, ...that's where we dropped our anchor.  What happened there was that we soon began to pick up the "accent".  We began to think like a Pentecostal, talk like, sound like, ...and probably even look like Pentecostals.  We began to see the world through the Pentecostal lens...  It was a great experience and we spent nearly a decade there.  It was a growing period for us, a time to sink into the Word, and to establish our relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit.  The deeper we delved into the Word, the more we learned to interpret God's Word for ourselves.  ....Revelation of Him revealed that the Pentecostal church had it's own rigid interpretation of God's Word...  Honestly, all denominations operate the same way.  It's kinda like how the Methodists sprinkle some water in the face of converts at baptism.. and the Baptists submerge their new converts...  People have different perspectives...

 

     What it all boils down to is this:  We need to read the Bible as it is written... literally... without the "accent" of some outside influence.  The Bible is about relationship with God and not about denominationalism, which tends to point more to our differences rather than our similarities.  Read the Bible for yourself and let God talk to you, ...then you will pick up His accent.  ...So when someone says to you, "yer not from around here are yaaah?", ....your response will be "No, Praise God, I'm not... My citizenship is from heaven!".

 

     By the way, we now attend a non-denominational church...  It's where He wants us to be...  We now view the Word through the lens of the Holy Spirit and share His Word with others....

 

Blessings,

 ACTS 9:3-6  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  And he said, Who art thou, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

 

     Lord, we're slow learners on this planet sometimes... and it must be frustrating for you.  There are times when we hear You talking to us, but we're not listening...  There are times when our minds are so filled with the irrelevant junk of this world that there's very little room for you to fit in...  Even though you are always present, living within us, desiring to assist us and be involved in our lives, ... yet we fail to acknowledge you...  Sure, we may say "howdy" on a Sunday morning, or if we feel a "twinge" in our heart... but, Lord, that's not the relationship that you desire...  You long to empower us to do great and wonderful things...  You long for us to be beacons of light in this dark, dank, dismal world.

 

     There are times when you just need to seriously get our attention, ...to knock us off of our  "high horse" like you did with Saul when he was on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:4)  I think, perhaps, that we all need that kind of experience... not that we desire it, but as a means of getting our attention.  When faced with the reality of who You are, we should all cry out, like Saul, "Lord what will you have me to do?" (Acts 9:6)  Jesus Christ, God Almighty, direct my path, open my ears to hear your instruction, ....remove the scales from my eyes that I might see the True Light of day. (Acts 9:18)  Let your power and love flow from these lips and your presence be evident to everyone about me as I reach out with my hands to touch the lost, the hurting, the confused, and those who are so bound by the enemy.

 

     Lord, ...I don't like to be chastened by you, ....but I love it when you raise me back up, dust me off, and tell me how very much you love me....  We all need to be re-charged, "revived", on occasion... so we can go back onto the field and be a contribution to you.

 

     Lord, Jesus, you know the desires of my heart....  Your Word tells me that you do.... and it gives you pleasure to fulfill those desires.  Likewise, I want to know and fulfill the desires of Your heart as well.  Open my ears to hear you, and my heart to understand what you are saying.  Guide me Lord, to be your presence in this world. 

 

     I love You, Jesus.

 

     Amen

 

 

     Honestly, there is only one thing that separates us from heaven, and that's sin.  Jesus came to restore our relationship with God, .....and "sin" was the barrier that divided us in the first place.  Because He became sin and substituted Himself for us, Christ opened the doors to restoration for all people.  Everyone can be saved, it's our choice.... and God honors our decisions ...(or indecision....)

 

     In his book, "The Great Divorce", C.S. Lewis writes about heaven and hell...  He says "There are two kinds of people in the end, those who say to God 'Thy will be done', and those to whom God says 'thy will be done'.  All that are in hell choose it."  Only one person to ever walk this planet has been to hell and back..., and that is Jesus of Nazareth.  He knew the horror there, and spoke of it often.  Mark 16:16 says that anyone who believes will be saved and anyone who does not believe will be damned.  ...So, how tough can hell be?  It's eternal punishment, eternal suffering, ...and perhaps the worst thing is that it will never, ever end.  Those there experience eternal pain (Revelation 16:10), and there is no rest. 

 

     God takes sin very seriously... serious enough to send His Son to deliver us from it.  Jesus became our substitute, and because He was made sin, He had to go to hell, just like every other sinful person...  God punishes sin.  Even when the sin is laid upon His own Son.  That's what happened at the cross.  ...Except there is one major difference, He went there in his fullness of power and glory.  He descended in Power, as a conqueror and set the captives free.  (Captives?  Yes, those in the "bosom of Abraham", those who died before the Resurrection of Christ.)  In fact, Matthew 27:52-53 tells us that those set free from hell (Abraham's bosom) were seen in the streets of Jerusalem before ascending to heaven....  That's pretty wild to think about.

 

     When Jesus tells us about sin, He warns us that it's better to pluck out your eye or cut off your hand or foot than to go the hell....  That's pretty tough... but apparently not as tough as becoming a permanent resident of hell, ...with no hope for "parole". (Matthew 18:8-9)  Jesus knows the wrath of God toward sin.  Does the thought of amputating body parts disturb you?  It should... but apparently it beats the alternative. 

 

     Paul writes that "the wages of sin is death" (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Death is everlasting pain and suffering.  To have "Life" is to be present with Jesus in the Kingdom of heaven.  The Word says in Deuteronomy 30:19, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life..."

 

     Jehovah Witnesses do not believe that hell exists... but they are wrong.  Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone in the Bible.  Hell is real, whether you believe it or not...  And, if you are saved, you are blessed and should live the balance of your mortal life as if you belong to God.

 

     It's important that we know about hell, because it should encourage us to reach out to the lost with the Good News of Christ.  Without hell, God would not be just to punish the wicked... and without hell, there would be little incentive for men to seek God.  Everyone, because of our sin nature, is destined to go there.... unless they choose Jesus... unless they choose Life. (John 14:6)

 

     God does not send anyone to hell... Jesus came because God is motivated by Love....  He is Love.

Rick

 

 

 

     The Word tells us that we are to be servants of the Lord (Galatians 6:6), ...and it also tells us that we are set free (John 8:36)...  That almost sounds like the Word is contradicting itself.  (It doesn't)  Both statements are true, because the Word only confirms itself.

 

     Non-believers resist the Word because they have the impression that to accept Jesus will lead them into a life of bondage and servitude.  Because the Grace message is not preached correctly by most churches, the Old Testament Law contaminates the New Covenant, and you end up with a "blend" of Law and Grace".  Most churches will do anything and everything possible to get the lost of this world to make a statement of confession to Christ.  The main thing they will tell you, is to "get them born again".  (Which is a good thing)...  But what follows after that is an endless list of "do's" and "don'ts", .....rules and regulations... expectations and limitations.  The lost get set free from sin, and are immediately put into bondage of religion.  Who wants that?  Either you're "free" or you're not.  Religious bondage is what makes the church of today lethargic, ineffective and weak.  The Law and Grace don't mix.

 

     Here's the real issue....  Jesus told us in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) to make disciples of the nations.  He didn't tell us to make converts.  Disciples become students or followers of Christ, ...followers of the Word.  Converts make a confession of faith because they are in desperate circumstances and need help.  Once the "crisis" passes, life goes on as usual.  ...(until the next "crisis")  They "convert" because of their present situation...  But they miss the point of redemption.  Christ didn't just come to deliver us from hell, but He came to establish a relationship once again with God.  There are so many more benefits to being a Christian than simply avoiding hell.  That new relationship empowers us to be free from the adversity of this world.  Freedom from sickness, disease, pain, depression, fear....   John 8:36 says that "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed".   How many "converts" live that kind of lifestyle?

 

     We mistakenly focus on saving the lost rather than making disciples.  Our understanding of this path to salvation is "first we've got to get them saved and then steps 1, 2, 3, 4,... in a discipling program...  That's not correct.  Jesus first made disciples and then people sought Him for salvation.  Really!  Look at the Word without pre-conceived understanding about how discipleship works.  True discipleship precedes conversion.  Yes, it can work the other way, but the better way is discipleship preceding conversion, then we "continue" in the Word... 

 

     In John 8:31, Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."  It's only in continuing in the Truth that you are set free.  And you are only free if you are a disciple of Christ. 

 

     When you choose to be a disciple of Christ, then you choose to serve Him as well.  Service to the Lord is a choice, not an obligation.  But as a true disciple, you serve Him because you love Him, not because you "have to" in order to "maintain" your salvation.... so you can go to heaven.  You will serve Him because you will want to.

 

     Discipleship is the path to freedom and the direction that Jesus points us to as we grow in our Christian walk.