"Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. " 1 Timothy 4:16.
Every now and then someone comes along and claims that believers can have new experiences with the Holy Spirit, such as-
- laughing uncontrollably,
- or making horrible noises,
- or rolling on the ground,
- or "slain in the Spirit" etc.
My response is:
"Excuse me, where is that in the Bible?"
If I can’t find it in the Bible-
- then I am not interested.
If it is not in God’s Word-
- then it is not of God.
We should always be able to have a scriptural basis for what we are hearing,saying and doing.
Do not spiritualize a text.
And do not use it out of context.
When someone claims to be a prophet of God with a new revelation for the church that has never been revealed before, just remember that-
- if it is new-
- then it is not true.
And if it is true-
- then it is not new.
I am not looking for a new revelation.
I have more than enough in the Bible.
Yet there are people today who are looking for "new words from the Lord"-
- when they never have even read God’s written word, the Bible, from cover to cover at least one time in their life time!.
There is plenty in Scripture to occupy ourselves with.
The Word of God is complete,perfect and final!
So don’t look for new revelations.
Instead, look at the Scripture and always have a Biblical basis for everything that you say and do.
Just as an artist knows how to use his pens and brushes,
- just as a chef knows how to use his knives,
- and just as a soldier knows how to use his weapons,
- we need to know how to use the Word of God.
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"I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses." Joshua 1:3.
Opportunity comes-
- to pass;
- not to pause!
When God told Joshua and the ancient Israelites that he had given them the Promised Land-
He certainly didn’t hand it to them on a silver platter.
To claim God’s promise, they had to battle every inch of the way.
They still had to go, conquer, and possess it.
The reality is, however, that had God not given it to them, they never would have been able to conquer and possess it.
And might I add-
- they wouldn’t still be there today!
God has a work for you and me to do too!
He will give us the opportunities every day to serve Him.
But it’s up to us to take advantage of these-
- as they come to pass,
- not to pause!
True, God feeds the sparrows.
But He doesn’t throw the food into their nests.
They have to go out and get it.
Whatever God has for us to do, he doesn’t do it for us.
He will guide us.
He will direct us.
He will give us wisdom.
But He won’t do it for us.
We, too, have to arise, go, and possess the opportunities and promises God has for us.
With God’s help, let us carpe diem!
Seize every opportunity to serve Him!
My Manna
"And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him." Genesis 32:25.
Have you ever heard the phrase “addition by subtraction”?
You often hear it used by sports analysts when an athlete leaves a team.
God often removes things from our lives that we consider very important.
But in the end, we see that by removing that thing, we are better off.
Jacob lost something that was extremely important to him:
- his ability to run!
Jacob’s pattern was simple.
He would deceive and then he would run away.
He ran from Esau after stealing his birthright.
He later ran from Laban, taking all his possessions with him.
However, after the Lord injured his thigh-
Jacob was forced to confront his biggest fear.
He had to face Esau.
And much like the Prodigal Son, Jacob was welcomed with open arms by Esau.
By subtracting his ability to flee, God added back Jacob’s brother.
The Lord may be removing dependencies in your own life.
What you may be missing, though, really may be God’s provision through these times.
How is the Lord taking care of you even while stripping away things you thought you needed?
I want to encourage you to look for the addition that results from God’s subtraction.
"I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel." Ezekiel 39:29.
The upper room has been described as "the birthplace of the church."
Certainly it was there that power was loosed which changed the world.
The upper room was part of someone’s home-
- someone sympathetic to Jesus and His ministry.
Why did the Holy Spirit come upon the disciples in a home-
- and not in a sacred place such as the temple?
If the Holy Spirit had come upon them in the temple-
- then His coming would have been associated with a sacred place, sacred services, or sacred occasions.
The Holy Spirit came in the most common of all places-
- a home, as if He was saying,
- "I am here not just for ‘sacred’ occasions,
- but for all occasions, for all of life!"
The Holy Spirit is not a spiritual luxury-
- to be imported into the unusual-
- but a spiritual necessity for the usual!
He is to be the pulse-beat of all we do-
- the usual as well as the unusual,
- the ordinary as well as the extraordinary.
In the coming of the Holy Spirit, the ordinary and seemingly insignificant things of life are touched with divine significance:
- every bush is aflame with the glory of God,
- every moment is packed with eternity, and
- every contact we make is part of His perfect purposes.
I am so thankful to God that I don’t have to wander from sacred place to sacred place in search of His power.
He comes to me just where I am until my heart glows with His glory!
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Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the
Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Revelation 19:7
Tomorrow we go to a funeral. Like many of you reading this, a funeral
is the last place on earth I want to be, yet not every funeral is bad.
The dear soul whose funeral this is suffered many long months with
pain as cancer continued to destroy her health. She was ready to go
long before she went to be with the Lord.
It is painful to lose a loved one, yet there is comfort in knowing
that the suffering individual has gone on to be with the Lord where
there is no pain or suffering or tears or sickness. We mourn our loss
of those who have gone on, but we have peace in knowing they are in a
better place.
I loved the following dialog from the “Return Of The King” movie when
it looked like all was lost and the Hobbit named Pippin turns to wise
Gandalf and says:
Pippin: I didn’t think it would end this way.
Gandalf: End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another
path… One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world
rolls back, and all turns to silver glass… And then you see it.
Pippin: What? Gandalf?… See what?
Gandalf: White shores… and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Pippin: [smiling] Well, that isn’t so bad.
Gandalf: [softly] No… No it isn’t.
We recognize the truth in those words. We are on the path to heaven,
and there awaiting us is the Great Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God.
Jesus is awaiting us, and that isn’t so bad.
Those with Chronic Illnesses often find that death’s door draws close,
but whether we are given more time on this earth, or go on to be with
the Lord, God’s goodness is with us always.
Prayer: Dear Lord, You died so that we would have eternal life, thank
You for that wonderful gift and the better life awaiting us all. Amen.
Question: Do you have hope of eternal life through Jesus? Do you look
forward to seeing loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord?
Karlton Douglas copyright 2011
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My Manna
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.
In 1818, a boy named Louis was sitting in his father’s workshop in France.
His father was a harness maker and Louis loved to sit and watch his father work.
One day, he said, “Father, I want to be a harness maker like you one day.”
To which the father replied, “Why not start now?”
He took a piece of leather, drew a design on it, and instructed his son to use the hole puncher and hammer to follow the pattern.
The man set him off to work with a warning to be careful.
Young Louis was excited to begin his new job, but when he hit the hole puncher, it flew out of his hand and pierced his eye.
He immediately lost his sight in it as a result.
Later, sight in his other eye failed, and Louis became totally blind.
Several years later, Louis was sitting in a garden when a friend handed him a pine cone.
Louis ran his fingers over the cone, and suddenly an idea came to him.
This idea eventually led to the creation of an alphabet of raised dots on paper so that others who were blind could feel and interpret what was written.
As a result of his accident, Louis Braille opened up a new world for the blind!
To some, this type of tragedy would have been the thing that would have sent them into depression and isolation.
But as believers, we know that all things happen for a reason:
God’s divine purpose and plan.Jeremiah 29:11.
God has mapped out every day and detail of our existence.
When tragedy strikes, don’t be alarmed.
Know that God is in control!
And that all things work together for His glory and your good.Romans 8:28;Psalm 47:8.
Thank God for His promises of hope and a future, even when tragedy strikes.
"You are to go into all the world and preach to Good News to everyone, everywhere." Mark 16:15.
FedEx CEO and founder, Fred Smith, first developed the idea for an innovative airfreight company while he was a student at Yale University.
His professor was less than impressed.
The paper Smith submitted outlining the concept earned him a C.
Thirty years later-
FedEx is the world’s largest express transportation company, with 128,000 employees and more than $7 billion in capital.
Smith’s shortsighted professor didn’t take a few things into consideration.
One was Smith’s persistence!
He refuses to give up.
Another
is his plans!
When plan A doesn’t work-
- there is always a plan B to put in motion.
Most important, however, was Smith’s ability to recruit people!
People want to be part of what he is involved in—even to the point of sacrifice.
In the early days, for example, his pilots often refueled company jets with their own money.
Sometimes they sat on paychecks for months to help keep the company afloat.
Can you imagine what would happen if every Christian had that kind of attitude in wanting to be a part of God’s plan and what he is doing in the world today—and was willing to make that kind of a sacrifice to follow Christ and accept his commission to take the gospel to everyone everywhere?
‘Oh Lord please light the fire,
That once burned bright and clear,
Replace the lamp of my first love,
That burned with holy fear.’
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We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place." 2 Corinthians 2:14.
As you fight the good fight of faith today-
Remember this:
Your mind is where the battle will take place.
Whatever you allow to captivate your mind will rule your life.
Will it be-
- the Word of God
- or the lies of Satan?
The decision is yours!
If you want the Word to reign-
- make up your mind now to resist the devil when he comes to plant doubts within you.
Refuse to surrender to the circumstantial pressure he brings your way.
Decide at the onset that you will not succumb to this trial.
Dig your heels in and stand immovable upon the promises of God.
When thoughts come that are contrary to God’s will-
- cast them down.
And above all-
- don’t worry!
Worrying is meditating the thoughts of Satan!
When you recognize you are worrying, stop it immediately.
Replace worried, fearful, and doubtful thoughts with the Word.
Be assured!
Satan will continually try to tell you that your situation is hopeless.
He will persistently peddle doubt, defeat, and discouragement.
But if you won’t allow him to sell you his goods.
His commission will be zero.
If you don’t buy his lies-
- he can’t cause them to come to pass in your life.
God has promised that He will always cause you to triumph in Christ.
You are guaranteed victory over any adversity you face today.
Make up your mind right now-
- to be a winner and you’ll spread the knowledge of victory in Christ everywhere you go.
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If you are blessed by this devotional,please forward it to your friends or send us their email addresses that we may send them My Manna.If you want us to pray for any need,please join our prayer group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/myprayergroups/ If you need prayer or personal counsel come to skype at: my-manna
Living in God’s Presence
Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. —Eph_6:18
How do I live in God’s presence? How do I detect his unseen hand on my shoulder and his inaudible voice in my ear? … How can you and I grow familiar with the voice of God? Here are a few ideas:
Give God your waking thoughts. Before you face the day, face the Father. Before you step out of bed, step into his presence.
Give God your waiting thoughts. Spend time with him in silence.
Give God your whispering thoughts… Imagine considering every moment as a potential time of communion with God.
Give God your waning thoughts. At the end of the day, let your mind settle on him. Conclude the day as you began it: talking to God.
Just Like Jesus
