Manna in the Morning

Have you ever heard the expression, “She’s got a bee in her bonnet?” Or, you might have heard a similar one, “He’s got a burr under his saddle.” Both indicate that the person being referred to is particularly upset about something. Author Max Lucado tells about his boyhood days of playing football out in the West Texas fields. The fields where Max and his friends played were full of grass burrs that stuck in their skin. Sometimes, after a big tackle, a player would have a leg or arm full of grass burrs. They stung horribly. The game came to a stop while the player pulled out each of the burrs. Some players wanted to keep on playing in spite of the burrs, but it was usually too painful. Lucado trusted no one but his father to pull out his burrs. So, he would leave the game, go home, and get his father to pull out every last burr, then he would return to the game. Friends, there are some burrs that only our Father in heaven can remove. Fortunately, God will remove them if we trust ourselves to Him. The Bible urges us to “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (I Peter 5:7)

Are you aware of the fact that there is someone who doesn’t want you to have a good day today? Are you aware of the fact that you have an enemy who is ready to take away your peace of mind as well as your joy? Do you know that someone is going to do everything he can today to get you to sin and be unfaithful to God? Surely by now you guess who that someone is... (and, you’re right) the devil. His vicious nature is described in I Peter 5:8, “Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” So, we need to be “careful out there!” But we have a wonderful promise that we need to remember. It’s found in I Corinthians 10:13,14: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape.” Yes, it’s true... Satan wants to destroy our relationship with God and he’ll use most anything to accomplish it. But, “greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world!” (I John 4:4) So, if we are faithful to God we do not have to fear what the devil may try to do. In fact, the Bible says, “If we resist him and he will run away!” (James 4:7)

In a real sense there is no room for complacency in the Christian Life. Paul comes at this with a negative in his principles for everyday Christian living when he wrote, “not lagging behind in diligence.” (Romans 12:11a) It’s been quipped that the problem with the modern church is that too many Christians who are merely sitting on the premises when they should be standing on the promises. To be diligent in our walk with Christ means that we will not become lazy in our Christian witness. It means that we will be alert as Peter says, “always ready to give an answer to the hope that is within us.” (I Peter 3:15) You see, there really is no place for mediocrity in the matter of following Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to follow Him and so we need to put forth the effort to “keep up.” We do that with a willingness to stay as close to Him as we can...any lagging behind makes us extremely vulnerable to the Devil and his attacks. So let’s wake up and get going today...pick up the pace, if needed. Jesus is out in front...let’s follow Him.

There’s a great verse in I Peter 4:8 that says, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” Fervent is a word that speaks of intensity and determination. It is an athletic term for stretching to reach the tape. Have you watched the fellows and gals who run the dash? When they come around that last turn and they’re pressing for the tape, they’ll get right to the end and then they’ll lunge forward. Sometimes they fall right there on the track because they’re pushing so hard. Those who do the long jump stretch every muscle of their body to reach as far as they can. The same is true of high jumpers and with pole vaulters. They stretch to the uttermost to reach the limit. That’s what the word fervent is all about. God is fervent in His love for us. We need to be fervent in our love for Him and for others. If your love has cooled...then re-ignite the flame and be fervent in your love.