Glory to His Name

December 12-15, 2013 – Glory to His Name – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Psalm 115:1 “… unto Thy name give glory …”

Song: Glory, Glory, Glory

Glory! Glory! Glory! 

Glory to His name;

Glory! Glory! Glory! 

He’s ev-‘ry day the same.

Why should I be drear-y, 

With Jesus always near me?

Glory! Glory! Glory!  

 Praise .. His .. Name! ….

(Harry Dixion Loes)

A Gracious God

December 11, 2013 - A Gracious God – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Jonah 4:2 “… I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness …”

The book of Jonah told the story of the prophet’s disobedience to God’s call to preach to Nineveh of God’s judgment. God had wanted to give the city of Nineveh a chance to repent of their sins so they would understand why the judgment had to come.

When Jonah finally obeyed God and he went to the city of Nineveh to preach repentance. The history told of the one of the most remarkable city-wide spiritual awakenings in all of history. The king called the entire city to fasting and repentance. Jonah knew that God was a gracious God. God forgave the city of Nineveh when they had repented of their sins.

Jonah was angry because in the past years, Nineveh had been “cruel” to Israel and they had done terrible things. So Jonah felt Nineveh deserved to have God’s judgment rather than to spare them if and when they repented of their sins. Jonah did not want God to cancel His plans of judgment against Nineveh who was the enemy of Israel.

God taught his angry prophet that He delighted in making His grace available to everyone, not just to Israel and Judah. Jonah knew that God was a gracious God who was slow to anger and the God of great kindness. God delighted in canceling His plans of judgment when people repented of their sins.

Doesn’t this make you want to love God even more? When you read this story of Jonah of how much God cares to find someone like Jonah to go to the worst city of Nineveh because God was more interested in “saving the souls.” How much more does God loves you and gives you another chance to know how gracious God is to you right now.

So let us trust our gracious God today!  

Song: Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin.

(Julia Harriette Johnston, Sing His Praise)

God is Gracious

December 9-10, 2013 - God is Gracious – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Nehemiah 9:17b “… Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful …”

I find it interesting to search more verses about the topic, gracious. The purpose is to know more about God’s gracious. The word, gracious means marked by kindness and courtesy. The word, kind means wanting and liking to do good and to bring happiness to others. 2: showing gentleness or goodness out of heart.

Nehemiah had left his job as a cup bearer to the King Xerxes and Queen Esther of Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. Nehemiah was also called to bring God’s people back to the Lord from their erring (sinful) ways. The Word of God was read by Ezra and the people repented and turned to God by saying, “Thou art Lord.”

The Lord is a gracious and compassionate (showing mercy) God; therefore He is ready to accept again those who have forsaken Him and sinned against His laws whenever they repent. He helped His children to overcome their sin and to keep following His ways. How kind is our God! Ps. 111:4 “He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.”

Psalm 116:5 “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous: yeah, our God is merciful. Psalm 116:6-8 “The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and He helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.”

Do you ever felt like you were brought low and falling? God wants us to know who He is and that He is kind to reach down and lift us up into His arms of love. How gracious is our loving God who is always ready to pardon, to forgive us from all of our erring ways. His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness and be clothed with Christ’s robe of righteousness. Praise Him for the salvation of the Lord!

Song: God is Love, God is Light

God is love, God is light,

God is faithful day and night.

He is eternal, He never changes

Though the seas rise to

   swallow mountain ranges.

God is interested in you and me,

Wanting us to be the best we can be.

We’re not perfect living the way we do

But He knows just what we’re going through.

God is love, God is light,

God is faithful day and night.

He is eternal, He never changes

Though the seas rise up to

   swallow mountain ranges.

(Inspiring Choruses)

O Taste and See

December 7-8, 2013 - O Taste and See – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Psalm 34:8 “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”

In this verse, it is about the Lord Himself. The word, taste means the actual living through the event or series of events such as learn by experience. “Taste and see” does not mean, “Check out God’s credentials.” Instead, it is a warm invitation: “Try this; I know you’ll like it.” When we take that first step of obedience in following God, we cannot help discovering that He is good and kind. When we begin the Christian life, our knowledge of God is partial and incomplete. As we trust Him daily, we experience how good He is.  

The word, good has a very broad meaning so I will choose a few. God is good. God is just who shows a great concern for what is right. God is kind who shows His gentleness. God is right who show His justice and fairness. God is loyal who shows His faithfulness. There are several verses to read that the Lord is good.

Ps. 86:5 “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” Ps.107:1 “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Ps.135:3 “Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto His name; for it is pleasant.” Ps.145:9 “The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.”

Song: God Is So Good

God . . is so good ….

God . . is so good ….

God . . is so good,

He is so good . . to . . me ….

(Author, unknown)

Good to Wait Quietly

December 6, 2013 - Good to Wait Quietly – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Lamentations 3:26 “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (NIV).

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord (La.3:26 kjv). But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works (Ps. 73:28 kjv).

In the Old Testament, salvation means that God would save them from the danger or evil. Moses said unto the people, “Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show you today” (Ex.14:13a). The Israelite saw the Egyptian soldiers who were chasing them. Moses said, “The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

We have seen a movie of Moses and it was always amazing to watch how God divided the Red Sea and the water became walls on both sides. I tried to imagine if the Israelite had taken a short cut to Philistines route, we would have never read the story of the Red Sea being divided. The Pharaoh and the Egyptian soldiers would capture them and bring them back to Egypt. God knew this. He had a plan. He had led them to the mountains where the Israelite were trapped.

The Red Sea opened up and became walls for the Israelite to walk through until they reached the top of the mountain. The Egyptian soldiers chased them through the Red Sea and God had commanded the walls of the waters be loosed and it covered all the soldiers and they drowned. So the enemies would no longer chase them. The Israelite were free to travel with God’s presence.

This story gives me a confidence that I am not to worry, but to ‘stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” So I am sharing this with you that we are not to fear, but to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Thank You, Lord for giving us the strength to wait quietly for Your work in us, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen!

Song: In the Quiet of the Morning

In the quiet of the morning,

I will worship Your name.

I will lift my voice with singing

to praise You again.

For it fills my heart with gladness

that remains through the day,

In the quiet of the morning,

I will worship Your name.

(Author unknown)

My Portion

December 5, 2013 - My Portion – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Lamentations 3:24 “I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him’” (NIV).

When we say, “The Lord is my portion,” we are saying that the Lord is my share. He is part of my life. Without Him I am nothing. Therefore I will wait for Him to do the work that needs to be done.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, wrote the book of Lamentations. He witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and he wept over it. Jeremiah wrote his grief over the people who have not been faithful to God.

Yet Jeremiah set his hope in God and said, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (NIV Lamentations 3:22-26).

There is a time of grief when we read or see or hear the news of tragedy that many are going through. Our hearts could sense the grief that others are going through. Our hearts could sense the heaviness of sufferings, yet the Lord is our portion, He feels the grief, He feels the sufferings, therefore we wait for the Lord to provide help.

Again, I say, “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” To wait means to stay in place until someone comes or until something happens. We are to wait for the Lord until something happens. That is what our faith in God does.

So let us trust the Lord today!

 Song: Faith in God

Faith in God can move a mighty mountain,

Faith in God can calm the trouble sea;

Faith can make the desert like a fountain,

Faith will bring the victory.

(Inspiring Choruses) 

He inclined to me

December 1-4, 2013 - He Inclined to me – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry.”

The word, incline means to bend the head or body forward or to lean; to bend from an upright position like [the tree leans to one side]. So we visualized God bend His body and His head with His ear to hear our cry. David knew God would incline, bend down Himself to hear his cry. So David waited patiently for the Lord.

Waiting for the Lord can transform us into a people of growing faith. When we become frustrated with God’s apparent (clear to see) delay in answering our prayer, it is good to remember that He is interested in developing faith and perseverance in our character (James 1:2-4). Wait on the Lord!

We are encouraged to keep our trust in God and experiencing His personal goodness because it is necessary for our perseverance in the faith. Perseverance means to keep at something in spite of difficulties, oppositions or discouragement. It is all about our character that God is interested in us to “be like His Son.”

John, the beloved mentioned that some day, “we shall be like Him” (1John 3:2). Paul mentioned that “God chose us to become like His Son” (Romans 8:29). So how do we become like His Son? Waiting on the Lord does that work, transforming us to be like Him. It is God’s work through the power of Holy Spirit for “we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1Jn.3:2).

Now we know what “waiting on the Lord” does to our character. That should make us want to let Him do His work in us. It is not like we are sitting around and doing nothing. When we wait before the Lord quietly, we allow His presence to influence our lives. Come to think of it! What exactly does the word, wait mean? It means to remain in place in readiness (prepared for use or action) or expectation of something. Await means to be ready for something like [a reward awaits you].

Waiting on the Lord is to be ready for something that God, our Father wants to do great things for us. So let us wait on God today!

Song: O, To Be Like Thee

O, to be like Thee! O, to be like Thee!

Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

[Lyrics: Thomas Obediah Chisholm, Sing His Praise]