MORNING MANNA          9-25-22
THE LAMB OF GOD
 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”.– John 1:29

John points men to Jesus as the Lamb — the Lamb Who would be slain, Who would die on the cross to put away sin. Many in that day desired a king, but the message of a dying Savior held no interest. Today men will respect a great teacher, or follow a leader who calls for social reform; but they will reject the gospel of Christ because they have no sense of needing atonement, of needing a substitute to die in their place and take away their sin. Lessons concerning the Lamb are seen throughout the scriptures. When Abel offered a lamb which was an acceptable sacrifice we see a type of Christ, the Lamb who gave His life for sinners at Calvary. The Lamb was prophesied by Isaiah. The Lamb was identified by John the Baptist. The Lamb is seen glorified as the Apostle John writes in the book of Revelation.

May we on a daily basis follow the admonition to “behold the Lamb”. Behold Him as He ministers to the poor and the needy. Behold Him as He calms the storm and heals the sick. But most of all, behold Him as the Lamb Whose death on the cross successfully put away sin forever.

Sinners who look to the slain Lamb find a great hope. Those running the race find strength and encouragement as they look to Jesus and His completed work on the cross. And one day the struggle with sin will be over, all the battles will have been fought, the race will have been run and the redeemed will see Him and praise Him as the “worthy Lamb”, Who was slain and has redeemed us to God by His blood (Revelation 7:9-10).–“A Good Thing”

MORNING MANNA          9-24-22
COMPASSION
“Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.” – Luke 7:12-15

When Anne Morrow Lindbergh was six years old, her father hosted a dinner party for some of his friends. Among those invited was Calvin Coolidge, then a member of the Massachusetts state legislator and not yet well known in political circles. After the dinner was over and Coolidge had left, Dwight Morrow told those who remained that he thought Coolidge would be a good President. Some of the guests had not been that impressed with “Silent Cal” and disagreed, saying people would not like him. “I like him,” Anne said. She held up her bandaged finger and continued, “He was the only one at the party who asked about my sore finger.”

All around us there are people with hurts, burdens, needs and sorrows. Sometimes it almost seems overwhelming to think about all the problems. Yet when we show compassion, whether the matter is large or small, we are following the example of Jesus. While we should certainly do what we can to help those in need, many times the simple fact that someone has noticed the problem and does care is a huge encouragement to the one in need. All of us want to feel that we are not isolated and alone. We want there to be people who have compassion and will be there for us in times of trouble. We must demonstrate that love and compassion every chance we get. We will not be able to meet every need we see, but we can always show compassion to those who are hurting.- Copied

MORNING MANNA           9-23-22
THE CROSS OF CHRIST
 “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world”– Galatians 6:14
It is one of the most majestic ironies of history that the very cross on which Jesus died has become the event in which His followers glory… to the extent that Paul would even determine to revel in nothing other than the cross of Jesus Christ. The reason for Paul being enamored by the cross is, of course, that salvation for the people of God was accomplished there. And this salvation is described by Paul in terms of two distinct achievements:First, the cross of Jesus Christ has crucified the world to us. When we gaze, as believers, at our sins that are placed upon Christ and paid for at the cross, suddenly the exceeding sinfulness of sin becomes more apparent to us. We desire no longer to take active part in the worldly pursuits, headlong rebellion, and self-worship that resulted in the gruesome spectacle of the cross. As Jesus pays the heinous penalty for our specific sins, sin in general becomes repulsive to us.
Second, we are crucified to the world. The world is now just as repulsed by us as we are by it. How is this a benefit? Jesus tells us that it is because “I have chosen you out of the world” that the world hates you. And what the world hates about you is Christ in you; they hated Him and so they now hate the way you resemble Him. It is the great privilege of the cross that it causes us to hate sin and that it conforms us to the image of our Savior, which in turn causes the sinful world to hate us. This transformation can and did only occur because of the cross, and so our exulting should be only in the cross.–Baptist Bible Hour

MORNING MANNA         9-22-22
MY HEART IS FIXED
“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise”– Psalm 57:7

David begins this psalm asking God to be merciful to him in the time of his calamities. He describes those calamities as facing those with tongues like swords and those who had prepared a net to entrap him. But he declares that, although his afflictions are great, his heart is fixed since he is trusting in God.

It is God that he trusts, because he is confident there is nothing too difficult for Him to handle. God is sovereign, He rules over heaven and earth and the psalmist has every reason to trust Him. All of us face our calamities in life. It may be an attack from Satan who is as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; it may be the words of a vicious tongue that have caused great hurt; or it may be some difficult providence that we just cannot understand. 

May we so learn to trust in the Lord that we can say, “My heart is fixed” even in the most difficult of times—when the way is dark, when facing discouragement, when others are departing. And when there is a temptation to compromise in order to please men, let us stand firm with our heart fixed because above all we desire to bring glory to God. 

 
“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth” (Psa. 57:11)  Baptist Bible Hour

MORNING MANNA           9-20-22
TOUGH TIMES
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” –Psalm 34:19

Are you going through a tough time in your life right now? Here’s what you need to remember–if God brings you to it He will bring you through it! He who never lies has spoken, and He never fails.

 Someone said, “God had only one Son without sin, but he had no sons without suffering. And I would be less than faithful to the Word of God and the testimony of Christ if I somehow told, or even suggested, that you could experience life without suffering or sorrow. The Scripture promises you and me that affliction is part of living the Christian life.”

There will be times when you feel that you are all alone. But for the Christian that isn’t true. God has promised that He will never leave nor forsake us. Therefore we need never feel hopeless. Although bad things happen to good people they have the assurance that God’s grace is sufficient to sustain them.

Perhaps you’ve heard someone say,”Tough times never last, but tough people do”. Nonsense! Getting through your trials isn’t about being “tough”–no one is tough enough to get through anything. I don’t care how strong you are, there is something that is more than you alone can bear. It’s not about being “tough”, it’s about being “righteous”. Only the righteous person can truly say,”I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”(Phil. 4:13). Only the righteous person can claim the promise that “the LORD delivereth him out of them all”. Only the righteous can expect relief! –HDS

WHEN THE TOUGH TIMES TROUBLE YOU, TRUST IN GOD’S PROMISES TO BRING THROUGH