Fix Your Gaze On Christ!

Manna For Today: Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Hebrews 12:2 – …fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

This scripture calls us to attention in the military sense of that word (attention). When at attention we’re not available to distraction or the usual relaxed allowance of minutiae that invades and takes over our lives so effortlessly.

It’s a call to arms, to our rightly position, to attend to the author and finisher of our faith.

Note how in this verse Jesus assumes the same position as it relates to His Father. “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

It was, it seems, His attentive gaze upon His father that enabled Him to endure, push beyond shame and accomplish His goal of reunification with His Father. His goal was never to get to heaven, it was always to get to His Father!

Today, my friend, gaze upon Christ in a way that transforms your thinking from wanting to go to heaven to wanting to go to Him there!

Remember, you are loved!

Peace and blessings!

Stand Firm In Faith Today!

Manna For Today: Monday, October 15, 2018

I Corinthians 16:13 – Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

The Spirit of God informs us as to what we are to be and do in this brief scripture.

Note the following are not suggestions but commands:

1. “Be on guard”

• Be watchful and alert to God’s revelations and insights. Be mindful of threatening dangers and avoid drowsiness that de-energizes your faith. Reject anxiety and fear!

2. “Stand firm in the faith”

• Be stationary, fixed and persevere as you rest in your God, staying connected to Him and finding life in Him; and be fully persuaded and confident in the truth that is the Gospel of our Lord!

3. “Be courageous”

• Move forward with maturity and the confidence of your conviction.

4. “Be strong”

• Be empowered, strengthened and strong so that your vitality in God is evident to all.

Today, allow the Spirit of God to lead you in embracing these commands for His purpose and be blessed!

Remember, you are loved!

Peace and blessings!

Owning Your Mission

Manna For Today: Sunday, October 14, 2018

Romans 12:6 – Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…

1 Peter 4:10-11 – As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Rick Warren teaches us that, “we are made for a mission.” In other words, God has something for each of us to do. The text in Romans 12 tells us that we have been given gifts of grace that we are to use. This same sentiment is echoed by the text in 1 Peter where we are encouraged to serve one another with our gifts. This is not something we can or will do without taking ownership or responsibility in Christ and under His authority for what He has given us.

Taking responsibility means to simply use our gifts for the cause of Christ in the lives of others.

Today, pray and ask God to reveal to you the way in which His grace in terms of gifting has been given to you. When He tells you, and He will, use it for His glory.

Remember, you are loved!

Peace and blessings!

Reignite Your Passion For God!

Manna For Today: Saturday, October 13, 2018

Colossians 3:23 – And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.

Reigniting your passion for the things of God holds great benefits for the believer. Clearly the text above addresses the way in which we do things in our Christian walk; “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit.” “Do it heartily as to the Lord.”

Consider the follow further benefits of ignited passion:

1. It gives you energy for living your life.

• Passion creates energy; an unenergetic life is a passionless life.

2. It brings the impossible into the realm of possibility.

• Many of the feats once thought to be impossible have been achieved by persons with great passion.

3. It gets and keeps you moving daily.

• Sometimes all we need is just more days of forward motion to breakthrough to our victory.

4. Passion will attract needed resources.

• People want to add insight and skill to something pursued with passion.

5. Passion causes you to persevere.

• Passion can enable us to take it and make it in difficult times.

6. It is the womb of improvement.

• Passionate people don’t settle for good when better is available.

My friend, ask God to reignite your passion and become His tool of doing the same for others. Let your passion for Christ become contagious.

Remember, you are loved!

Peace and blessings!

Developing A God-First Mindset

Manna For Today: Friday, October 12, 2018

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Developing a God-first mindset is one of the greatest resources we can have as we process the ups and downs of life. The text above clearly instructs us that prioritizing God adds resource to us.

We can then appreciate why the enemy of our souls works so hard to cause us to reprioritize God to a lower status in our lives. We find ourselves in pursuit of that which He tells us would be added by simply seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness.

Today, let’s reset our priority to God-first, pursuing His kingdom and His righteousness and watch God add to us everything that is needed.

Share this scripture with someone and ask them to reset with you!

Remember, you are loved!

Peace and blessings!

God Has A Plan For You…

Manna For Today: Thursday, October 11, 2018

Among the many reasons we can have confidence in our victory in Christ is that God has finished our lives before He began them. An architectural drawing details out the building in completion before the actual work is done to construct it. The plans are a sign of what is to come.

Seeing the plans reveals the capacity. Show me God’s Plan for you and I will show you what you can take. Tell me what God has brought you through and I will tell you where you can go.

• Show me your scars and I will show you His Grace.

• Show me your problems and I will show you His Plan.

• Show me your pain and I will show you His Purpose.

Hebrews 11:10 says, “Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.”

Abraham knew God’s Plan and Purpose and therefore anticipated seeing what was not visible at the time.

II Corinthians 5:11 says, “Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.”

God designed our building from start to finish. He knows all the detail and uses it must undergo.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

I Corinthians 10:13 – The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

There is a sense in which all that is left for us to do is to live out God’s Plan and Purpose for our lives. The question becomes, how do I begin to do that?

1. Connect with God at increasingly deeper levels.

• Pray

• Read God’s Word

2. Connect with other believers; live your life in community with others.

• Small groups focused on God’s answers to life’s questions.

3. Connect with those who are not connected with God.

• Wherever you are, they are there. Let your light shine!

Wake up every morning, look at yourself in the mirror and know that because of Jesus, you are looking at a winner!

Remember, you are loved!

Peace and blessings!

Learning To Win!

Manna For Today: Wednesday, October 10, 2018

A noted cardiovascular surgeon stated that he requires his patients to bring family on the day of the surgery because the will to live is critical to recovery from the surgical procedure.

Hall of fame coach Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything but wanting to is.” Winning is learned behavior and our determination or lack thereof is a key variable that determines the outcome.

So what do we do to develop determination?

1. Exchange good insight for God insight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 [Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.]

•Don’t allow the old and familiar to rob you of God’s new and better.

Isaiah 43:19 [For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.]

2. Don’t be set back by setbacks.

Colossians 3:15 [And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.]

“It was said that an Eastern Monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: ‘And this too shall pass.’” – Abraham Lincoln

3. Assess yourself not by who you were or are now but by who you are becoming.

2 Corinthians 5:17 [This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!]

•Potential is an abundant resource that is seldom utilized.

Dear friend, allow these thoughts to be your meditation today. Allow God to establish your determination to the end that it is fixed conclusively and authoritatively.

Remember, you are loved!

Peace and blessings!