My Manna

My Manna

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother' s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? " Matthew 7:3-5.

An elderly woman who, when sitting in the waiting room for her first appointment with a new dentist, noticed his DDS diploma, which bore his full name.

Suddenly, she remembered that a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in her high school class some 40-odd years ago. 

Could he be the same fellow that she had a secret crush on, way back then?

Upon seeing him, however, she quickly discarded any such thought.

This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way, way too old to have been her classmate.

After he examined her teeth, she asked him if he had attended Morgan Park High School.

"Yes. Yes. I did. I'm a Morgan Mustang," he gleamed with pride.

"When did you graduate?" she asked.

He answered, "In 1959. Why do you ask?"

"You were in my class!" she exclaimed.

He looked at her closely and then asked, "What did you teach?"

How easy it is, when meeting old friends we haven't seen for many years, and think to ourselves how much they have aged, not even imagining that they might be thinking the exact same thing about us. 

And amazing how easy it is to see "the speck of sawdust" in another' s eye but fail to see "the plank" in our own eye.

"Dear God, please help me to get real about my own self with all my sins and faults so that I will not be so judgmental of others. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' Name, Amen."

My Manna

People react differently-
- when confronted with problems, adversities or hardships. 
 
Many people seem to break down at the mere idea of hardship.
And they convince themselves that they will never be able to triumph over adversities. 
 
They will never admit that they are incapable of facing challenges.
But always blame other people or circumstances for their failures.

On the other hand-
We find those people who are stimulated by challenges!

When they have to face dark, difficult situations-
- it seems as if they have inner reserves to draw from to lead and support them. 
 
Thoughts of defeat, frustration or failure never even occur to them!
Because they are constantly planning constructively for a better future!!

A Christian should never complain!
Because that will show a lack of confidence in the abilities of our heavenly Father. 
 
Regardless of how difficult or demoralizing the situation might seem; 
regardless of how ominous the  depression or disappointment may be- 
- always hold on to God’s promise!

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”.Hebrews 13:5.

The greater the threats in your life-
- the closer you should live to God!
 
In the consciousness of His living presence you will understand what Paul meant when he said, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”.Philippians. 4:13.

May God teach you to trust Him unconditionally- - so that you can live triumphantly in the midst of sorrow and discouragement.

My Manna
"The ravens brought him bread and meat in the 
morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the 
brook." 1 Kings 17:6.

When the Bible says that ravens brought Elijah food-
- it 
doesn't mean they took his order, 
- flew through the local fast food 
restaurant, 
- and then delivered his meal. 

Ravens are scavengers. 
They 
brought little bits of meat and bread to Elijah. 

What's more, the water
in the brook from which he drank would have been somewhat polluted. 

It
was not an easy situation. 

How easily Elijah could have said:
"Lord, I don't really want
to be in this crummy little place. 
I kind of like being in front of 
people. I like the limelight." 

But the Lord was preparing Elijah for 
something beyond his wildest dreams. 

Not long after this, Elijah would 
be standing on Mt. Carmel in that great showdown with the false prophets.
1 Kings 18:20–39. 

Sometimes we don't like where God has put us. 

We say, "Lord, I 
don't like this situation. I don't like where I am. I want to do 
something great for You. I want to make a difference in my world." 

Maybe the Lord wants you to be effective right where you are. 
Maybe He 
wants you to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you and be 
faithful in the little things. 

Who knows what God has in store for you? 

If God has you by some muddy little brook-
- so to speak, just hang 
in there. 

Be faithful in little-
- do what He has already told you, 
- and wait on Him,
- and on His timing. 

God will do something wonderful for you and/or with 
you. 

Just be available!
And be open to do what He would have you to do.

Will you say, "Amen!"

My Manna
What is a calling?

Sometimes people struggle to understand what a calling is.
It sounds so mystical and mysterious to many.

A calling is an invitation or summons to leave what we're doing to serve
someone who needs us.

It always involves feelings of inadequacy-
- because
it moves us out of our comfort zone.

It always involves sacrifice,
unselfishness, and commitment for us to use our talents, abilities, and
life experiences to serve God and man.

A calling of God is always an
inner leading from Him-
- that is consistent with God's Word in the Scripture.

Can anybody be called?

Yes!
In fact, everybody is.

"...you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out
of darkness into his wonderful light.Once you
were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:9.

For the highest calling in life is-
- not to be a
teacher or a public servant,
- not to be a pastor or a doctor,
- but to be a
Christian and to follow Jesus in faith.

It's a calling for life and for
eternity that you don't want to miss.

Have you accepted life's highest calling?

My Manna
"I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now
lives in you also." 2 Timothy 1:5.

There is a story of four ministers who were discussing various Bible versions and which ones they liked best.

One liked the King James Version because of its eloquent literary style.

Another one preferred the Revised Version of 1881 because it provided the most literal translation of Hebrew and Greek.
The
third minister felt that the New King James Version was the most
readable and easiest to understand of all.

But the fourth minister
didn't say a thing.

Finally, one of them asked for his opinion on which version of the Bible he liked best.

The man replied, "I like my mother's translation the best."

The others were shocked by his answer, and one of them asked, "Did your mother translate the Bible into her own version?"

"Yes, sort of," the man replied. "She translated it into her life, and it was the most convincing version I've ever seen."

If you are a believer, people are watching your life.

And quite frankly, your life is the only Bible some people will ever read!

In order for our lives to serve as godly examples for others-
- you and I must act out God's Word every single day.

You can be certain that-
- your children, grandchildren, friends, co-workers, and neighbours are watching how you live your life as a Christian.

Are you a living example of God's Word to those around you?

Pray that your life would be a living example of God's Word-
- so that you can point others to salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.

Ask the Lord to direct your words and actions so you can be a godly influence—no matter the circumstance. ========= ========= ========= === ========

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My Manna

"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity
is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel." 1 Corinthians 9:16.

Colonel G.W. Goethals, the man responsible for the completion of the Panama Canal-
-
had major problems with the climate and the geography as it was being
built.

If that wasn't enough to deal with-- he had an even bigger problem.

It was thegrowing criticism back home from those who predicted he'd never finish the project
and had opinions about how to do it better.

One day, a colleague asked him, "Aren';t you going to answer all these
critics?"

"In time," answered Goethals.

"When?" his partner asked. "When the canal is finished."

We, who know Jesus and have given our lives to his purposes have a big
task at hand, a bit bigger-
I would say, than the building the Panama Canal.

There is a world of people who are hungry to know God and the time is short.

The climate and geography may not be ideal and people around us might be
critical, but the task still remains.
And we who love God must all contribute and
stay focused!

We may come across some obstacles along the way.
But we cannot let them distract us from our calling!

If you haven't been focused on sharing the Good
News with the lost-- let's take this opportunity make it a goal today.

My Manna


This story comes from a Christian school teacher.
Having rehearsed,she felt brave enough to take the students for caroling.

They went to a number of places where the people were homebound.
After each place, the children talked about how the older folks had smiled as they sang.

The children had never seen such smiles.

The wandering concert ended up in the community's only nursing home.
There, the teacher, with her charges in tow, wandered the hallways giving a song at the doorway of each resident.

Only then did she notice that one of her more enthusiastic singers had rewritten the words to one of the songs.

Where he was supposed to be singing-
"Noel, Noel"(Noel, meaning Christmas or Christmastide) ,
- he was belting out, for all to hear:

"No hell, no hell, born is the King of Israel."

I like the boy's interpretation.
"No hell" certainly explains the purpose of Christ's coming, doesn't it?

Because God's Son came into this world-
- all who believe on Him no longer have to fear sin, death, the devil, or hell.

Because of Jesus-
- all who believe in Him as Saviour know they need not fear hell.

The job is done; our redemption is complete.
Believers have God's Good News of great joy that the angels first announced to the Bethlehem shepherds.

Christians have a Saviour-
Christ the Lord!

It is regretful that so many people seem to question-
- the reality, the completeness, and the truth of Jesus atonement.

If you are among those who are looking-
- let me assure you that Jesus' work is real, total, and effective.

Like the little boy-
- you can believe that because of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection, there is, for you, no hell.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned... " John 3:16-18.

My Manna wishes all our readers a Christ-centered Christmas!
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