“Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” 1 Samuel 2:3.

If intellectualism alone were the major key to purpose and fulfillment-
– then our universities and college campuses would be bastions of peace and purpose.

Yet as you walk around your typical secular university today-
– you will see the emptiness of academic pursuit without God.

On these campuses you will often find the most bizarre and aberrant ideas circulating today.

Certainly the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom is a good one.
Very few things this life offers are greater than the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, the pursuit of a good education.

But if in that pursuit we leave God out-
– then it will indeed be an empty one.

The year before he died, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist who was known as “the father of the atomic bomb,” said this about his life:
“I am a complete failure!”

In looking back on his achievements, he said they were meaningless.

That sounds a lot like Solomon, who said, “But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind.” Ecclesiastes 2:11.

We celebrate our dramatic advances in science and technology, which have been breathtaking to say the least.

But as Tom Brokaw once said-
“It is not enough to wire the world if you short-circuit the soul.”

With global telecommunications, we truly have become a global village.
Yet there is a sense of isolation and detachment, and all this technology almost seems to numb the soul a little bit more.

It is the pursuit of knowledge without God.

The post I Am a Complete Failure appeared first on My Manna.

“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:13-14.
I am convinced that if Christians truly understood what takes place during prayer-
– they would call upon the Lord more often and with greater results.

The believer’s prayer isn’t simply spoken into empty space.
The Holy Spirit is there to guide us in offering God-centered requests-
– to fill in words we fail to say,
– and to carry our needs before the Lord.

The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, so He knows the mind of God intimately. 1 Cor. 2:11.

Since He, like the Father, is omniscient and omnipotent-
He fully grasps the circumstance we are praying over—even the parts that remain unseen or utterly confusing to us.

Also, the Spirit dwells within every believer and knows each one’s mind and heart.

With this full knowledge, the Holy Spirit can carry out His responsibility to make our petitions match God’s desires.
To that end, He speaks in our spirit and opens our mind to Scripture.

The fact that God gives His Spirit to all believers reveals the value He places on communication between Him and His children.
Our Father provides the best possible Helper to ensure that we can be prayer warriors—wise, strong in faith, and fully yielded to Him.

But we are none of those things unless we are habitually talking with the Lord.

Christians never have to feel guilty for being uncertain about how to pray.
The indwelling Holy Spirit knows our needs and desires—as well as the mind of the Father and the details of every situation.

He speaks to God on our behalf while teaching us to pray in accordance with the Father’s will.

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“The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11.

Do you feel overwhelmed and smothered by pressure?  

Are you desperate for “breathing room”?  

Do you try to escape the stress through…

-an extended vacation,

-therapeutic counseling,

-alcohol,

-drugs,

-entertainment, or

-a romantic liaison . . .

only to find when you stop to assess your condition you are no better than you were before-
– because the pressure is from within?

Only God has the power to lift the pressure from within you.  

Your circumstances may remain the same-
– but He has the power to give you breathing room!

He can give your spirit peace and rest, even as He gives your life a new dimension.  

Just ask Him.

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“when I will fulfill the good promises that I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” Jeremiah 33:14.

The prophet Jeremiah told us God would fulfill His promise of a Saviour.

The people could look forward to someone who would save them from captivity.

What did they expect as an answer to their prayers?

They thought the Messiah would be a powerful leader-
– capable of subduing an empire and ushering in God’s reign.

But instead of answering the promise as they anticipated-
God did the opposite.

He sent a servant who would die on the cross for their sins.

God often does that!

He answers our prayers in unexpected ways.

We ask for healing-
– but God chooses to give us strength for each day.

We ask for relief from our trials-
– but God helps us endure and grow stronger.

We ask God to deal with our adversaries-
– instead, He transforms our attitudes.

God is always faithful to his promises.
He just doesn’t do things the way we expect.

When you don’t see answers to prayer that you are anticipating-
– take a look to see if God is blessing in unexpected ways.

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“Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!” Isaiah 40:9.

In one of his sonnets, Shelley tells of a traveller from Egypt who, in a trek across a desert wasteland came upon the remains of a marble statue.

All that remained on the pedestal were two feet and the lower part of two gigantic legs.

Nearby, lying in the sand, was the cracked remnant of what had been the head.
The face had a cruel sneer on its lips.

When the traveller rubbed the sand away from the pedestal, he found this inscription:

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.”

The traveller looked, and as far as the eye could see-
– there was naught but the sifting sand.

Ozymandias bestowed upon himself the name “king of kings,” but whatever kingdom and glory he once enjoyed had disappeared.

In contrast, the true King of kings was meek and lowly of mind when He came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday riding a donkey’s colt.
Here, riding into town in great humility, was the King of kings and Lord of lords—the King of all creation!

Napoleon observed at St. Helena-

“Can you conceive of Caesar as the eternal emperor of the Roman Senate and, from the depths of his mausoleum, governing the empire, watching over the destinies of Rome?

Such is the history of the invasion and conquest of the world by Christianity; such is the power of the God of the Christians…”
Jesus is the eternal King of kings, the Lord who reigns supreme.
No other has ever been or ever will be greater.

Behold your God!

“I know men, and I tell you, Jesus is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist…There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity.”-Napoleon.

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If there’s anything that-
I need to do—that you need to do, that we need to do, that everyone needs to do—it is to learn how to pray.

The man who can pray can do anything, for prayer can do anything that God can do, and God can do anything.
Our desperate need in these days is to link our lives with the omnipotent God who has called on us and told us to pray.

There is no problem that cannot be solved by prayer.
There are no problems too big to solve, just people too small to solve them.

When we begin to pray and to seek the face of God-
– then we’ll know peace, both domestically and in our hearts, as we seek the face of Almighty God.

God wants to bless us, and God will bless us through prayer.

It is prayer that links our lives with the omnipotent power of God.
James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”

“Lord, we need You. Guide us. Draw us close to You. Remind us, in these trying times, that no problem is too big for You. Please show us Your mercy and fill us with Your peace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

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The term Lord should not be used casually.

When that word appears in relation to Jesus Christ-
– it refers to the God who is sovereign over life and all creation.

In the Greek, this title for Jesus is kurios—one who rules the lives of others for their good.

I remember lying in a hospital bed years ago and coming to the realization that I was there because Jesus wasn’t the Lord of my life.

If anyone happened to be observing my life back then-
– it probably appeared that I was serving Him with every ounce of my being.

I was overloaded with projects and plans for good kingdom work.
But that was actually the problem.

When God told me to stop, slow down, or do something different than I had planned-
I kept right on going. Flat on my back in the hospital,

I finally remained still long enough for the Lord to remind me that only He could direct my path. Jer. 10:23.

We use the term Lord in conversation and in our prayers-
– but then contradict its meaning by defying His will and His work in our lives.

Our resistance is oftentimes subtle.

For example, a believer might qualify his obedience by saying-
“I’ll follow the Lord if…” or
“I want to do what is right, but…”

Jesus’ question to His followers in Luke 6:46 must have stung their spirits:
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46-49.

When we entreat the Lord, we must be prepared to obey Him without resistance or pretense.
He is the One who rules over us for our good. 

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“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16.

In a tribe of Indians, or so the story goes, someone was stealing chickens.

The Chief declared that, if caught, the offender would receive 10 lashes.

When the stealing continued, he raised it to 20 lashes.
Still the chickens methodically disappeared.

In anger the Chief raised the sentence to 100 lashes.

The thief was finally caught, but the Chief faced a terrible dilemma.
The thief was his OWN mother!

When the day of penalty came, the whole tribe gathered.

Would the Chief’s love override his justice?
The crowd gasped when he ordered his mother to be tied to the whipping post.

The Chief removed his shirt, revealing his powerful stature, and took the whip in hand.

But instead of raising it to strike the first blow, he handed it to a strong, young brave standing at his side.
Slowly the Chief walked over to his mother and wrapped his massive arms around her in an engulfing embrace.

Then he ordered the brave to give him the 100 lashes.

That’s what JESUS did for you and me.
In love He became our substitute and died in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins.

He overcame our inability to save ourselves by paying the price for our sins.
His death bridged the gulf between God and man and made it possible for us to be reconciled to God and to be restored to fellowship with Him through faith in Christ and in His atoning death for us.

“Dear Jesus/God, how I thank You for loving me so much that You gave Your life to die on the cross at Calvary to pay the penalty for every sin I have ever committed, for Your full and free pardon, and for the gift of eternal life for all who accept You as their personal Saviour. For this I will be eternally grateful. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

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“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).” John 19:17.

In Jesus’ day, crucifixion was used by the Roman government as a method of executing criminals.

God transformed the cross into a symbol that unites Christians everywhere.
It stands at the heart of what we believe and serves as a central focus of the gospel message.

When we consider the cross-
– we will think about his…

Reputation!

Our Saviour left heaven to dwell on earth and become one of us.
While here, He obediently accomplished the work His Father had given Him. John 5:19.

Because of His perfect life-
He alone was qualified to be our substitute and bear God’s judgment for our sins.

Reconciliation!

Christ went to the cross in order to reconcile us to God.
He suffered a painful death on our behalf, and through His sacrifice, our sin debt has been paid.

God’s justice was fully satisfied at Calvary.
Nothing else is required for our salvation.

Resurrection!

Three days after Jesus was buried-
God raised Him from the dead.

The Saviour’s sacrifice on the cross was accepted as payment for our sins-
– and the way to heaven was opened for all who trust in Jesus.

Our resurrected Lord, having appeared on earth to many people, ascended to live forever with His Father.
Jesus conquered death and made it possible for us to dwell in heaven with Him someday.

I invite people to place their faith in Jesus Christ.

Because of the cross and what happened there-
– such an invitation has great value to the hearer.

In fact, the events of Calvary continue to be relevant to Christians of all ages.
Take time today to thank the Lord for the cross.

The post Calvary Continues appeared first on My Manna.

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:10-11.

Despite the goodness and grace of God around us-
– many people still doubt the depth of His love.

Nowhere do we see that love more clearly displayed-
– than in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross being God’s plan for our salvation.

So many people are trying to earn favour with God when He graciously offers us a free gift through Jesus.
God’s plan for people to be saved is simple, not for purchase or to be earned, but to be given by grace through faith.

Jonathan Edwards wrote-
“How astonishing is it that a Person who is blessed forever and is infinitely and essentially happy should endure the greatest sufferings that ever were endured on earth! That a Person who is the supreme Lord and Judge of the world should be arraigned and should stand at the judgment seat of mortal worms and then be condemned. That a Person who is the living God and the fountain of life should be put to death. How wonderful is this! And yet this is the way that God’s wisdom has fixed upon as the way of sinners’ salvation.”

Every person born into this world is a sinner in need of salvation.

God’s love decreed that He would provide that salvation for all who believe.
And because of His love, Jesus died and rose again, and God accepted His sacrifice.

We simply need to accept what He has done, turning from our sins to Jesus for salvation.

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