And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:29)

You are an heir. The next time you are feeling low or insignificant, worried or frustrated, confused, confounded or just plain conned, stop and consider this: you are an heir. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” (Rom 8:16-17)

“An heir to what?” you ask. That’s a fair question.

You an heir to every promise God makes in the Bible. You are an heir to the great power and promise of God, your Heavenly Father.

When Jesus says, “Fear not”, you have no reason to fear. Your faith in Christ puts God in your corner.
When the Lord says, “I will never abandon you”, you have no reason to feel abandoned or alone. He is with you always.

The psalms are filled with promises of strength, protection, deliverance, fulfillment and healing that David clung tightly to.

David, king of Israel, knew all too well that, despite his sins and failings, God loved him and kept watch over him.

You, too, can cling tightly – and confidently – to God.

When Paul wrote that he was content no matter what physical state he found himself in -whether full or hungry, in need or lacking nothing – he was fully aware of the promise that was his in Christ. “I can do all things in Christ Who strengthens me”, he boldly proclaimed. Philippians 4:11-13.
You, too, can do all things in Christ, who is your strength.

You see, as a child of God, you have great and mighty power available to you – to see you to the other side of every storm, to move the mountain that blocks your path, to implement the
changes needed in your life. When life feels too tough, remember His promises. Look in His Word and find what you need. God’s promises are for you, just as they were for Paul,
and David, and Abraham.

Do you know you have the power from God to live life to the fullest and to execute God’s will to usher His kingdom on earth?

You are not ordinary; You are extraordinary in Jesus Christ!

The post Divine Authority Given To You appeared first on My Manna.

The psalmist tells us that God has His plan. He hears our prayers and sees our need. He knows exactly what is going on. The wicked think that they have everything under control. “Yet they say, ‘The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand”‘ (v. 7). “God can’t see what we’re doing; God’s not going to do anything.”

That’s the false confidence of the wicked. But the psalmist answers that with inspired logic.
“He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who instructs the nations, shall not He correct, He who teaches man knowledge?” (vv. 9,10). In other words, is God dumber than we are? He sees what’s going on in this world. He hears the cries of His own people and disciplines those who need discipline.

Our tendency, of course, is to take things into our own hands. Moses tried that approach, and it sent him to the wilderness for 40 years to learn how to trust God’s timing and method. When you find yourself crying out, “How long, O Lord, how long,” focus on God and remember that He knows as much about the situation as you do—probably more. Then wait on Him. Watch and pray. You can be sure that He will keep His promises.

Learning to trust God’s methods and timing is a lifelong course. When you need to wait patiently for God to act, first look to Him and lay hold of His promises in Scripture. Then rest in His care. He knows your situation, and He keeps His word. He will act at the right time.- Warren Wiersbe

Read the following words of our God with your name in “you”.

In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD. (Isaiah 54:14,15,17).

If you are a servant of God please read this message again.
Be sure of the facts that the Holy Spirit is praying for you now! (Rom.8:26).
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”
Our Lord Jesus Christ is interceding for you now!! Rom.8:34.
“Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us”.

Prayer: Lord, I put my time entirely in Your hands. Though circumstances may not seem to be in my favor, I will still trust in You no matter what happens. I believe that Your eye will guide me.

The post Trust God's Timing appeared first on My Manna.

Despair-
They are going to be howling calamity. You are going to face those with disdain – they are going to laugh at you. And you’re going to face those with

Discouragement –
They are going to say that it can’t be done. And you better learn to silence their voices. How do you do that? Get alone in the secret counsel halls of the Almighty and get your eyes on God. If you listen to what those people say, you’re not going to be victorious in what God
is calling you to do.
I believe David conquered Goliath because he got alone with God.
I believe Joseph survived abandonment and imprisonment because he got alone with God.
So you need not live with disappointment for God is your-

Defense!
“Write on a piece of paper those people in your life who laugh at you, those who tell
you to give up, and those who tell you it can’t be done and those who constantly trouble you and torment you..
Now, lift them up to God for Him to silence them and give you the strength to love them.” (Adrian Rogers).

The post But the Lord is My Defense appeared first on My Manna.

When nothing seems to be going right in your life, don’t despair, pray and ask for God’s help, and then;
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord. (Ps 27:14)
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
(Isa 40:31)
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
(Lam 3:25)
Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” (Isa 49:23 ESV)
Therefore don’t let disappointments cause you to give up, instead always;

Hold unansweringly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)

Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all…As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.

Life with Christ is an endless hope, without Him a hopeless end.

I place no hope in my strength, nor in my works: but all my confidence is in God my protector, who never abandons those who have put all their hope and thought in Him.~ Francois Rabelais
And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. (Job 11:18)

Anyone who is among the living has hope.

But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. (Eccl 9:4 ESV)

Now, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, may the Grace of the Lord
be with you, and grant you peace!

The post He is Our Hope and Help appeared first on My Manna.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33.

A man was out driving in the country during a heavy rainstorm when he came across an old farmer who was surveying the ruins of his barn.

He pulled over and asked the farmer what happened.

“Roof fell in,” the farmer replied.

“What happened with it? Why did it fall in?” asked the stranger.

“It leaked so long, it just finally rotted through,” the farmer said.

“Why in the world didn’t you fix it before it rotted through?”

“Well, sir,” said the farmer, “I just got around to it. When the weather was good, there wasn’t a need for it. And when it rained, it was just too wet to work on.”

Isn’t it amazing that when you want to do something you somehow manage to find the time, no matter how busy you are?

But when someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do, suddenly there is just no room in the schedule.

This can happen when it comes to the Christian life as well.

If we are serving God only when it’s convenient-
– then we are settling for second best.

If we make time for the things of God only when something better doesn’t come along first-
– then we are missing out on what God wants to do in our lives.

How much better it is to make time for the things of God-
– to put the things of God above everything else.

How much better it is to get your priorities right. 
Instead of making excuses, make time for the Lord.
It is not only the simple way to live, but it is also the best way.

The post Priorities appeared first on My Manna.

“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”Acts 2:24.

Believing that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead is essential for Christians.

Merely recognizing that He died for our sins is not enough.
We must accept His resurrection in order to receive eternal life.

Christ paid our debt, but His sacrifice on the cross means nothing unless He possesses power over the grave.

In vanquishing evil and death, the Lord made our salvation possible.

Jesus’ resurrection proved He was able to remove sin and its penalty.

Assuming Christ remained dead would mean accepting the opposite—that believers are still in sin.
And the inevitable end of a sinful life is death.

Consequently, a person who denies Christ’s eternal nature looks toward a void future.
Bertrand Russell, a famous atheist philosopher, offered this sad description of such hopelessness:
“Brief and powerless is Man’s life; on him and all his race, the slow, sure doom falls pitiless and dark.”

Instead of enjoying Christian liberty and anticipating a home in heaven, those who reject resurrection are slaves to the present, with no real hope or meaning in life.

Career, family, and good works can offer brief pleasure but not the kind of joy that comes from knowing we are right with the Lord and working in His will.

Resurrection is not a denominational issue or a point for theological debate.
Either we believe Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven or we do not.

If we reject His victory over the grave, we deny ourselves a place in eternity.
But if we accept the truth, we will be saved.

The post Resurrection appeared first on My Manna.

“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.

“Thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57.

I heard about a man who tried to start his own religion but soon found that it didn’t go so well. 
He decided to approach the French statesman Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-érigord and ask him what he should do to gain converts. The statesman told him, “I recommend that you get yourself crucified, die, and then rise again on the third day.”

Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. It is what sets our faith as Christians apart from the faith of all others. 

Yet many view Christ’s crucifixion as a rude interruption of what was an otherwise successful ministry. But the cross was at the forefront of the mind of Jesus Christ from the very beginning. 
This is where He knew He was headed, and He spoke of it often. 

The Bible even tells us that before He even came to this earth, a decision was made that He would ultimately go to the cross. Scripture calls Him “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8.

It was at the cross that the righteous demands of God were satisfied. It was at the cross that God and humanity were reconciled once again. It was at the cross that a decisive blow was dealt against Satan and his minions. It was at the cross that our very salvation was purchased. 

Therefore, we can’t talk about the cross too much — or contemplate it too often.

(PR)

The post It Was At the Cross appeared first on My Manna.

“By this we know love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:16-18.

In Israel there is an interesting geographical phenomenon!

They are two landlocked seas.
One is alive and one is dead.

The sea full of life is the Kinneret, better known as the Sea of Galilee.
The other sea is a dead Sea.

Now the Kinneret is constantly emptying as it flows through the Jordan River valley into the Dead Sea.
But the Dead Sea does not empty its water at all.

Instead, the Dead Sea is continually shrinking-
– because the intense heat at this lowest place on earth actually evaporates more water than is flowing in.

Do you see a parable here?

The Sea that is alive is the one that gives.

The more of your self, of your life, of your love, that you pour out, the more alive, filled up, and refreshed you will become.
The Lord Jesus exemplified this to the greatest extent ever-
– by giving all He was and all He had,
– even to those who hated Him and were His bitter enemies.

And the love that He gave was returned to Him by His Father in the resurrection-
– and by all the multitude of His redeemed people throughout all ages and into eternity.

Could it possibly be any different for those of us who live lives of giving and loving?
No.

We will continue to be filled by the Lord’s infinite abundance no matter how much we pour ourselves out.
Of course, if we hold back, keeping all we have to ourselves, we will begin to evaporate and die.

Give and you will live.
Love, and you will be filled with God’s love.

Hold back, and even that which you have will vanish away.

There once was a sea that was dead
It was, ’cause it only got fed
And never gave up
Not one single cup
Now that’s something to keep in your head

Let’s be givers.
Let’s be lovers.

The post Keep in Your Head appeared first on My Manna.

God’s love moves us to believe that God will see us through the worst of times. Let’s see how the power of hope worked in the believer who wrote Psalm 42.
The psalmist seems to be a believer in exile, perhaps a prisoner of war in a strange land.

Is he being punished by God? Maybe, but we can’t be sure. Maybe it’s just one of the tragic
consequences of living in a world in which innocent people often suffer as a result of the decisions, right or wrong, of other people.

How is the psalmist doing? He is often lonely, anxious, and depressed. He longs to be back among his people and in his homeland, worshiping God “with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.”
But here he is, an outcast mocked by his enemies, who say to him all day long, “Where is your God?”
What does this believer do to lift his spirit from the pit of despair? Again and again the
psalmist says to his soul: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Dear friend, no matter what you are going through, keep on putting your hope in this great truth: Nothing in all creation – not even death – “will be able to separate (you) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Read Psalm 61:5-8:
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your love that moves me to the hope that you will never leave or forsake me. I’m waiting for your deliverance and delight. I’ll not be put to shame.
Work through me to share this hope with the hopeless.

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