Word Return Void? (4/28-30)

28-30 April 2015 - Word Return Void? – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Isaiah 55:11 NKJV, ”So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me void …”

The word, void actually means nothing; empty. NVC quoted: “The same thing is true of the words I speak. They will not return to Me EMPTY.” My translation might be like this: God said, “When I speak the Word from My mouth, it will not come back to Me for NOTHING.” It means God’s word are never cancelled or becoming nothing.

Isaiah uses a powerful picture: just as water from the sky causes things to grow physically. So the word that comes out of the mouth of God causes us to grow spiritually. Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void (NOTHING), but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing which I sent it.”

I held on to that verse: “It shall not return to God for nothing.” Something must happen soon. So how are we to understand God’s ways? Here’s the encouraging words from Isaiah 46:5, 9-10 “To whom will you compare Me? Who is My equal?” 9) And do not forget the things I have done throughout the history. For I am God—I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like Me. 10) Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”

Those words that God spoke about Himself is a very powerful picture of who God is. His Words says, “Do not forget the things I have done throughout the history …” His Word carries spiritual vitality or that has the ability to last forever. That’s why it doesn’t return void. It doesn’t return for nothing. To an open heart, it brings refreshment, nourishment, and a new life!

What impressed me? I think I began to understand why Manna is so important for me to study His Words. I see that studying God’s Word is refreshing every day. Even when it takes me 2-3 days to develop the Manna. It grows on me. Many studies on God’s Word have answered my deep inner questions sometimes.

Here’s the motto: “The Bible is to a thirsty soul what water is to a barren land.” In case, you asked what is motto. It is a short expression of a guiding rule of conduct or a sentence or phrase that leaves a deep impression of its meaning.

So God is asking us to trust Him because no one else is like Him!

SONG: GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE

God is still on the throne, And He will remember His own;

Though trials may press us, and burdens distress us,

He never will leave us alone. God is still on the throne.

He never forsaketh His own; His promise is true,

He will not forsake you, God is still on the throne.

(Inspiring Choruses)

Have Nothing to Eat (4/25-27)

25-27 April 2015 - Have Nothing to Eat – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Mark 8:1 KJV, Jesus said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.”

Four books of the Gospel wrote about the crowd that fed with fishes and loaves of bread to 4,000 men plus women and children might be about 10,000 or more.  Where did all the people come from? Jesus did some miracles of healing and the word spread around very fast. The crowd kept getting bigger each day for three days since they brought many sick people to Jesus and He healed them all.

The sick people were desperate to be healed. They had forgotten about the food since they were hungry to hear Jesus’ Word of teachings. So disciples were getting edgy and told Jesus that they have nothing to feed them. Send them home.

What impressed me? Jesus said, “I have compassion … they have nothing to eat.” What kind of a man was Jesus? Jesus was touched with compassion for the needs and suffering of the people. They were hungry. He did not want to send them away starved and they might faint if they tried to go home. Many people were healed and they were happy. So now, their human bodies got hungry.

So what did Jesus do? Feed them. What? Disciples were bewildered … where can we get so much bread in the wilderness and how can we satisfy these people? Strange to say … the disciples had seen this miracle the first time when Jesus fed the five thousand from reading Mark 6:30-44. Now, this was the second time the disciples had faced in Mark 8:1-9. They may have “throw up the towel” and say, “Now what?” They forgot the miracles Jesus had done in the first place and they had seen many people being healed. 

Yet Jesus asked disciples to go and find out about the food. The disciples discovered there were five loaves of bread and two fishes. Jesus had people to sit down in groups. He blessed the food and broke the loaves of bread and passed on to the people as well as fishes. Every one ate and had their filled. That was a real miracle that 4,000 men plus women and children up to 10,000 were fed from just fives loaves and two fishes.

I want you to notice something. The first crowd from Mark 6:30-44 was mostly the Jews from the southern area close by. Before that, Jesus had heard of John the Baptist’ death. So Jesus and disciples went to find a quiet place to rest. But so many people came to see Jesus and He was moved with compassion and taught them many things. They were mostly people who were Jews.

The second crowd from Mark 8:1-10 was mostly the non-Jews, Greeks, Gentiles and Romans from the northern area close by. Before that, Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon to hide Himself so He could get some rest, but a Greek woman found Him and He ministered to her. He left Tyre and Sidon and traveled to Decapolis area. Someone recognized Jesus and brought him a deaf man who couldn’t speak. He was healed and the words spread around very fast and that was how Jesus got the multitudes.

When they had nothing to eat, Jesus fed them. This show me how much He care enough to meet their needs. We prayed, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Let us thank our Heavenly Father when we have nothing to eat, He will send us “Manna.”

Special Prayer Days (4/22-24)

Special Prayer Request for Shelly Guinn at Deaf Prayer Partners Lifeline
Go to http://deafprayerpartners.blogspot.com/

Nothing is Impossible (4/19-21)

19-21 April 2015 -Nothing is Impossible – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Luke 1:37 KJV, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Who said this? God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village of Galilee, to a virgin name Mary. Gabriel announced that she would have a son, Jesus who shall be called the Son of God. Mary became confused so Gabriel explained how that works. Holy Spirit would come and overshadowed her. And also Elizabeth in her old age was six months pregnant. (Luke 1:26-36)

So angel Gabriel quoted: “For nothing is impossible with God.” Mary’s responded to angel Gabriel that she believed and accepted whatever God had a plan for her. So angel Gabriel left. Even though we have heard this story so many times, it is good to be reminded that this is our legacy and their stories of faith was passed on to us for 2,000 years. This reminds us that God still does “the impossible business” today!

In reference to Genesis 18:14, three men who were angels came to visit Abraham. The Lord was the one who spoke to Abraham that Sarah would have a son. Sarah laughed because she was 87 years old. The Lord said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” If you wondered how I got this exact age. Sarah passed away when she was 127 years old from Genesis 23:1. Isaac was 40 years old by then and married Rebekah from Genesis 25:20. The answer is: “No, nothing is too hard for the Lord!”

In reference to Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah prayed, “O Sovereign Lord! You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power. “Nothing is too hard for You!” Jeremiah prayed a long prayer from verse 17-25. And then the message came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for Me?”

To understand why the Lord asked Jeremiah this question, “Is anything too hard for Me?” The Lord had asked Jeremiah to buy a field in his hometown village of Anathoth, a place was already controlled by the forces of Babylon; Jeremiah felt foolish to buy land that was already in enemy hands. (Jeremiah 32:6-15)

God encouraged Jeremiah to purchase the land that would demonstrated his faith in God’s promise that God’s remnant would return to the land again. They would again buy land and build houses. Jeremiah was puzzled by God’s instruction to buy land just when Jerusalem was about to fall. Jeremiah prayed to God for understanding, while keeping his faith in God’s Word. (Jeremiah 32:16, 25-27)

With the Babylonians at the city walls, the future looked dark; yet God assured Jeremiah that through His power the people would be restored to the land. This story encourages us that God’s word, His promises, and a blessed future is for all believers in Christ. We can depend on His word even though we don’t always understand His ways. So let’s trust our God that “nothing is impossible with Him!”

SONG: GOT ANY RIVERS?

Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?

Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?

God specializes in things thought impossible;

And He will do what no other power can do.

(Inspiring Choruses)

Something from Nothing (4/16-18)

16-18 April 2015 – Bring to Nothing Things That Are – Manna by Dorothy

1 Cor. 1:28 KJV, “And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.”

Interesting word is nought and also naught. It means nothing, nothing at all, no point, no purpose. I understood this verse meant that what the world looks down and didn’t like what they see, yet God had chosen them. Also things which are not meant something that was not there (nothing there), yet God brought nothing into something. Let’s study more to get a clear picture of what this verse meant.

I realized that it was important for me to read the first Corinthians on the entire chapter one in order to see why Paul wrote 1 Cor. 1:28. The commentaries I chose for 1 Cor. 1:22-27 were the best for interpretation. Instead of copying word for word, I decided to try to type my own words so I prayed for wisdom from James 1:5-6. So here’s goes.

Many Jews have thought that the Good News of Jesus Christ to be very foolish. Why? It is because they thought that the Messiah was supposed to come from the sky with the clouds as signs and miracles, as a coming King, a conquering King to overthrown Romans in an instant. While Jesus was in human form, the Jews thought that He would restored David’s throne as they expected.

When the Jews saw Christ on the cross, they questioned, “How could the Savior of the world be executed as a criminal? To the Jews, this was really foolish. They thought that Christ with respectable character who should not have been crucified. To the Jews, death was defeat, not victory. This is what Paul meant, the base things and despised things which the Jews looked at the cross as very foolish thing to do, yet this was what God had chosen.

So the message of Christ’s death for sins sounds foolish to the Jews who didn’t really believe. To them, death seems to be the end of the road, and the most weakness ever to be shown by using that cross which fits only for criminals. To the Jews, that was the base and the most despised things to do.

BUT what they didn’t know was that God had used “the thing that seems as NOTHING in death itself” … that death will become SOMETHING … what are they? Jesus’ resurrection demonstrated His power even over death. Jesus saved us from eternal death in hell, and gave us everlasting life if we trust Him as Savior and Lord. This sound so simple, yet the Jews won’t accept it.

Also, this looks foolish to the world, but Christ is the mighty power of God, the only way we can be saved. The “foolish” people who simply accept Christ’s offer are actually the “wisest” of all, because they alone will live eternally with God. Knowing Christ is the greatest wisdom anyone can have.

In another word, don’t try to understand the ways of God! Just believe it and accept it that God has made “nothing into something” and something greater than we could ever dream of. It is inspiring to me just to think that “GOD CAN MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING.” 

So let's trust God today! 

I Have Nothing (4/13-15)

13-15 April 2015 - I Have Nothing – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Luke 11:8 “. . . if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want . . . ” (NLT).

This verse was about persistence or boldness in prayer. So what was this all about? First of all, the disciples had watched Jesus prayed in a certain place. Jesus prayed a lot. They wanted to know what He was praying about. So Jesus told them to start with the Lord’s Prayer. (Luke 11:1-4). Let’s start reading from Luke 11:5-8, NLT.

5) “Then, teaching them more about prayer, He used this illustration: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would say to him, 6) ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7) He would call out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed. I can’t help you this time.’ 8) But I tell you this—though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won’t be damaged.”

What was the point that Jesus gave this illustration? Jesus illustrated very simply what man’s part is. The story explains itself. Jesus drove the point home: perseverance and endurance what a man wants or needs. What is the believer’s part? First, we will not leave the throne of God. Secondly, we will not go away. Thirdly, we will not let God alone.

The whole point is that the person who prays must be sincere, fervent, constant, persistent, persevering, and enduring in seeking the face of God for whatever the needs are. Jesus gave us assurance that God will hear and answer our prayer when we are persistence in prayer.

We need to visualize that God is most willing to give. We need to believe that He loves and cares for us in all our needs. God is not only willing to answer, He is most willing to answer. So why does God not always answer our prayers immediately? Why do we need to ask at all when God knows our needs even before we ask?

Here are several reasons: It is through prayer we get to know Him, and fellowship with Him. Through prayer, we learn to trust Him. When prayers are not answered, we keep coming to talk and share with Him more and more. Prayer teaches us both patience and hope in God and His promises. We patiently keep coming into His presence, waiting, hoping in what He has promised us.

Sometimes we could say before God, “I have nothing, Lord, so please help!” Prayer teaches us to love God as our Father more and more. Know that what we ask is coming and having to wait on it causes us to draw closer and closer to God and His gifts. When we received the gift, our hearts will cherish even more with what He has given.

Like a song that says: Without Him I could do nothing. Without Him I’d surely failed; Without Him I would be drifting, Like a ship without a sail. So don’t give up when God hasn’t answered your prayers. Let’s trust God today!!!!

Nothing, Part Four (4/10-12)

10-12 April 2015 – Nothing, Part Four – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Luke 19:13 “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, “Occupy (trade, transact business) till I come.”

Jesus’ words in the “Parable of the Ten Pounds, “Occupy till I come.” What did Jesus do with one of the servant that did “nothing” with the pound that the master gave him? Let’s study Jesus’ words and we’ll come to the answer eventually.

Occupy till I come: The parable of the pounds illustrates that each redeemed believer has the responsibility to use what God has given him. Each one of us has been given the chance, the time, and the means to live for Christ by word and deed, by acts of kindness, in prayer, through offerings, and in many others ways. (Note from The Full Life Study Bible for Luke 19:13)

The word, occupy means to take up the attention or energies of <reading occupied me most of the summer> b: to fill up space or time. In another word, keep yourself busy. Do something to make yourself worthy of your time and labor.

Talents: The parable of the talents warns us that our place and service in heaven will depend on the faithfulness of our lives and service here. A talent represents our abilities, time, resources, and opportunities to serve God while on earth. These things are considered by God as a trust that we are responsible to administer in the wisest possible way. (Note from The Full Life Study Bible for Matt. 25:15)

Thou hast been faithful: Whoever has been faithful in his service for the Lord and has sincerely shared His burden and His concerns here on earth, will be richly rewarded in the future kingdom. He will be given even greater tasks in the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21:1). Those who have been faithful to a lesser degree will receive a smaller place and responsibility. (Note from The Full Life Study Bible for Luke 19:17)

This story shows Jesus’ followers what they were to do during the time between Jesus’ departure and His second coming. Because we live in that time period, it applies directly to us. Jesus expects us to use these talents or pounds so that they multiply and the Kingdom grows. While we are waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God in glory, we must do Christ’s work and “occupy till He comes.”

So the question remain: What did Jesus do with one of the servant that did “nothing” with the pound or talents that the master gave him? The answer is found in Matthew 25:30 KJV, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Reading from Luke 19:20-27 NTL, why was the King so hard on this man who had not increased the money?

Here’s the reason why he punished the man: (1) He didn’t share his master’s interest in the Kingdom, (2) He didn’t trust his master’s intentions, (3) His only concern was for himself, and (4) He did “NOTHING” to use the money.

So in NLT Matt. 25:30 quote: “Now throw this USELESS servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Let this be a warning to us how very important to listen to Jesus’ warning, “Occupy till I come.”

Nothing, Part Three (4/7-9)

07-09 April 2015 – “Nothing” Part Three – Manna by Dorothy Callies

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 KJV, “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.”

Question: How did Paul handle with those Christians who do “nothing” and stay in their idleness in the church? Answer: Paul counseled the church to stop supporting financially and associating with those who persisted in their idleness. Hunger and loneliness can be very effective ways to make the idle person become productive. Paul was not advising coldness or cruelty, but the kind of tough love that a person would show a brother or sister.

Let’s read what Paul wrote on 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 NLT, “Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. 15) Don’t think of them as enemies, but speak to them as you would to a Christian who needs to be warned.

Question: What cause these Christians to think that they didn’t need to work? *Some people in the Thessalonian Church were falsely teaching that because Christ would return any day, people should set aside their responsibilities, quit work, do no future planning, and just wait for the Lord. But their lack” of activity led them into sin. They became a burden to the Church, which was supporting them; they wasted time that could have been used for helping others.

*These church members may have thought that they were being more spiritual by not working, but Paul tells them to be responsible and get back to work. Being ready for Christ means obeying Him in every area of life. Because we know that Christ is coming, we must live in such a way that our faith and our daily practice will please Him when He arrives. [*Notes from QVLAB)

“This should be our ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before. As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others to meet your financial needs” (1 Thess. 4:11-12 NLT).

This reminds me of Jesus’ words in the “Parable of the Ten Pounds, “Occupy till I come.” What did Jesus do with one of the servant that were lazy and did “nothing” with the pound that the master gave him?

To be continued with Part Four.

SONG: WE’LL WORK UNTIL JESUS COMES

We’ll work … till Jesus comes,

We’ll work … till Jesus comes,

We’ll work … till Jesus comes,

And we’ll be gathered home.

(Elizabeth Mills, Sing His Praise)

Nothing, Part Two (4/4-6)

04-06 April 2015 – “Nothing” Part Two – Manna by Dorothy Callies

2 Thess. 3:13 NLT, “And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.”

Part two remain the same question from Part one: “What if my work has “nothing” to do with anything “Christian”—How can God be glorified in my work?” Answer:  Christians are commanded to work hard at whatever they do. What did Paul really believe? Paul was writing here about the person who is lazy.

To find out more, let’s read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 NLT, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christians who lives in idleness and doesn’t follow the tradition of hard work we gave you.

7) For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you. 8) We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9) It wasn’t that we didn’t have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.

10) Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: “Whosoever does not work should not eat.” 11) Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and wasting time meddling in other people’s business. 12) In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we appeal to such people—no we command them: Settle down and get to work. Earn your own living. 13) And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.”

Again, *Paul was writing about the person who is lazy. Paul explained that when he and his companions were in Thessalonica, they worked hard, buying what they needed rather than becoming a burden to any of the believers. The rules they followed was, “Whoever does not work should not eat.”

*There’s a difference between leisure or pleasure and laziness. Relaxation and recreation provide a necessary and much needed balance to our life; but when it is time to work, Christians should jump right in. We should make the most of our talent and time, doing all we can to provide for ourselves and our dependents. Rest when you should be resting, and work when you should be working. [*Some of the notes are from QVLB]

What does this means to me? Sometimes I wonder if it was okay to play free puzzles in IPAD that I enjoyed very much during my break time. It was amazing that God’s Word would let you know how to balance your life.  

The next question: How did Paul handle with those Christians who do “nothing” and stay in their idleness in the church?

To be continued with Part Three.

Nothing, Part One (4/1-3)

01-03 April 2015 – “Nothing” Part One – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Genesis 2:15 NLT, “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it.”

The question I found from the Quick Verse Life Application Bible was: “What if my work has nothing to do with anything “Christian”—How can God be glorified in my work? Answer: Our work is anchored in God’s very character; part of being made in His image is sharing the industrious and creative aspects of His nature.

To find out what this really mean, let’s search Genesis 2:1-9, 15 in NLT, “So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2) On the seventh day, having finished His task, God rested from all His work. 3) And God blessed the seventh day and declare it holy, because it was the day when He rested from His work of creation. 4) This is the account of the creation of heavens and the earth.”

4) When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, 5) there were no plants or grain growing on the earth, for the Lord God had not sent any rain. AND NO ONE WAS THERE TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL. 6) But the water came up out of the ground and watered all the land. 7) AND THE LORD GOD FORMED A MAN’S BODY from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. AND THE MAN BECAME A LIVING PERSON.

8) Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and HE PLACED THE MAN HE HAD CREATED. 9) “And the Lord God planted all sorts of trees in the garden—beautiful trees that produced fruit. 15) THE LORD GOD PLACED THE MAN IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN TO TEND AND CARE FOR IT.”

Dorothy: What did I learn from this? When God created the earth, there were no plants or grain growing on the earth because no one was there to cultivate the soil. So when God made Adam, God gave Adam a job to do. To cultivate the soil, God need Adam to prepare the land for the raising of crops, to loosen up or break up the soil. God need Adam’s help with labor and to take care of the growing grain and vegetables that it becomes food for Adam.

So we see that Adam was made in God’s image, His character that God likes to work and God gave Adam a job to do … to cultivate the soil, to raise food and to keep busy working six days a week. Then God rested on the seventh day and Adam, like God, rested on the seventh day.

God was glorified when Adam obeyed and he did the work of cultivation on the soil. It is true that cultivation has “nothing” to do with anything “Christian,” but still God put Adam to work. When God worked, Adam worked too. So there’s more to this.  

To be continued to Part two, “Nothing.”