Athirst? Come!

October 17-18, 2013 - Athirst? Come! – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Revelation 22:17b “… let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (KJV),

 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” (Rev.21:7 KJV). In Revelation 22:1-2a “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. It was shining like crystal and was flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb down the middle of the street of the city” (NCV). It feels like we could dive into the river of the water of life and swim with Jesus.

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may have the water of life as a free gift” (Rev.22:17 NCV). The last mention of the Holy Spirit in the Bible shows Him inspiring the bride (i.e., the church) to invite all who want salvation to come to Christ. The church is now empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the evangelism of the world (Acts 1:5-8; Acts 2:4). [Note from the Full Life Study Bible] Oh! Let’s sing! “Glorify Thy name … Glorify Thy name … Glorify Thy name in all the earth!...” (Song by Donna Adkins, Sing His Praise)

I was surprise to find this song that matched Psalms 42:1-2a. It’s beautiful! It touched my heart and it comes with this verse. Psalm 42:1-2a “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (NKJV).  

Song: As the Deer Panteth

1.  As the deer panteth (thirst) for the water,

so my soul longeth after Thee.

You alone are my heart’s desire,

and I long (want) to worship Thee.

Chorus:

You alone are my strength, my shield.

To You alone may my spirit yield.

You alone are my heart’s desire,

and I long to worship Thee.

2. I want You more than gold or silver,

only You can satisfy.

You alone are the real joy-giver

and the apple (favor) of my eye.

(Then chorus)

3. You’re my friend, and You are my brother

even tho’ You are a king.

I love You more than any other,

so much more than anything.

(Then chorus)

 [Martin Nystrom, Sing His Praise]

I pray that your soul would reaches to the very heart of Jesus. As we touch His heart, His healing will just flows into our bodies, mind and soul. Oh, how much we need to worship Him. May the Lord touch your bodies and be healed in Jesus’ name. Amen!

The Future Feast

October 14-16, 2013 Future Feast of Tabernacles – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Zechariah 14:16 “All of those left alive of the people who came to fight Jerusalem will come back to Jerusalem year after year to worship the King, the Lord All-Powerful, and to celebrate the Feast of Shelters” (NCV).

The Feast of Shelters is the same as the “Feast of Booths” or “Feast of Tents”; reminded the Israelites of how God had taken care of them when they left Egypt and lived in tents in the wilderness. (Ref. Ex.23:16; Deut.16:13-17)

“And it come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which come against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles (Zech.14:16 KJV). This is a prophecy that foretells the future plan after Christ’s return to earth. After the destruction of antichrist and his armies, all the nations of the earth that survived the Great Tribulation will come together to worship the Lord in Jerusalem during the Feast.

 At the future Feast of Tabernacles, people will celebrate for joy, liberty and victory because the redeemed people have gone through “the wilderness experience of life” and they will experience the new glorious provision of God. That glorious provision is living eternally and worshipping and serving God through the universe. The Feast is a foreshadow of the Lords’ sheltering Presence over Israel during a thousand years of peace. There will be no more oppression of the ungodly nations of the world.

The whole point of the Feast was that the people thank God for the rains that brought forth fruits of the ground as the “Day of Ingathering” of the harvest. Interesting part was that God commanded that all nations come and to keep the feast of tabernacles annually to worship the King which is Jesus Himself. Why? It was to remind them that God is the One that provides the rains and if any nations refused to come to the Feast, God will withhold the rains upon their nations (Zech.14:17-19).

There are three things that impress me about the Feast. One: thanking God for the rains for the fruits to grow and to meet our daily needs. Second: Jesus provides the water of life for our thirsty souls. Third: a time of rejoicing, liberty and victory that God is our provider and He delivered us from Satan’s oppression.

This calls for faith when we go through the “wilderness experience,” we could have “The Holy Ghost Feast” in us, a time of rain, a time of rejoicing, a time of victory, a time of deliverance, and a time of healing waters flows into us. Hallelujah!!!

Let God be praised for open His Word to us about the Feast!

Feast of Tabernacles

October 11-13, 2013 - Feast of Tabernacles – Manna by Dorothy Callies

John 7:2 “Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.”

I was thrilled to discover how important researches are to share with you so please bear with me. Note from the Full Life Study Bible: The “feast of tabernacles” commemorated the post-exodus journeys of Israel and the time when they wandered in the wilderness, living in tabernacles (or tents) under God’s care (Lev. 23:34-43).

Jesus was at the Feast of Tabernacles, but Jesus did not go into the Feast right away. His brothers challenged Him to reveal Himself if He was truly the Messiah. They didn’t believe Him because He was “too human.” Jesus said that it wasn’t His time yet. He told His brothers to go to this Feast and that He will go later (John 7:3-9).

Jesus could not come to the beginning of the Feast because the Jews sought to kill him (Jn.7:1). The Jews were asking where He was (Jn.7:11-13). He went in the middle of the Feast and He sat down at the temple and taught (Jn.7:14-19). Then there were debates and questions among the people and the religious leaders (Jn.7:20-36).

So Jesus was there for few days until the last day, that great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried out … “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Does anyone believe in me? Then, just as Scripture says, streams of living water will flow from inside him.” When he said this, he meant the Holy Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit later. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given. This was because Jesus had not yet received glory (Jn.14:37-39).

The priest with the pitcher poured the water over the palm branches that covered over the altar. The people were watching and at the same time, Christ introduced Himself as the Water of Life. The people discovered that the clue of the Feast was the Messiah. They said, “This is the Prophet. This is the Christ” (Jn.7:40- 41).

Still there were arguments among the people whether or not if Jesus was really the Christ. But at the end, they decided that Jesus was the wrong “Messiah” because they based that He was from Galilee and that no prophet ever come from Galilee. What they didn’t know that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem. So everyone went home and that ended the questions about Jesus (Jn.7:40-53).

I also, learned that the Feast was about giving thanks to God for the blessings of the rains, the water that brings fruits of the ground. God commanded that the people come to this Feast every year to give thanks to God for the rains and the fruits and that He would continue to bless them when they shouted “send now prosperity” (Psalm 118:25). More to come!

Chorus: The Healing Waters

Where the heal - ing waters flow,

Where the joy – celestial glow,

Oh, there’s peace and rest and love,

Where the heal – ing waters flow!

(H. H. Heimar, Sing His Praise)

Come and Drink

October 8-10, 2013 - Come and Drink – Manna by Dorothy Callies

John 7:37 “In the last day, that great day of feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”

I was curious what happened “in the last day, that great day of feast”? NLT quoted, “On that day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, ‘If you are thirsty, come to Me!’” NIRV quoted, “It was the last and most important day of the Feast. Jesus stood up and spoke in a loud voice. He said, ‘Let any one who is thirsty come to Me and drink.’”

What was the most important day of the Feast? What was so special that Jesus used that day to shout to the crowd? I did some research and it would be good for me to share this so we could visualize exactly what happened during the feast which was actually called, “Feast of Tabernacles.”

The Feast of Tabernacles was the most popular feast among the Jews. For that reason it was simply known as “The Feast.” The Feast was celebrated for seven days. Each Jewish family built a tent-like structure in their yard or upon some other property. Then they moved out of their home into the tent for seven day period. The purpose of moving into the tent was to remember the history of Israel’s wilderness wanderings of their forefathers (Lev.23:40-44).

The Feast celebrated two special events. First, it celebrated the day when Israel wandered about in the wilderness as strangers without a homeland. Secondly, the Feast was to be a time of thanksgiving at the end of harvest season. The people were to give thanks for all that God had given them and all the fruit of the land that enriched their life.

On each of the seven days, the people came to the temple and brought some fruit as an offering and a few palm branches. The branches were used to form a roof over the altar. Then the priest took a golden pitcher and led the people in an orderly ceremonial way down to the pool of Siloam where he filled the pitcher with water. During this march the people played the flute and sang from Psalms 113-118. It was on the return march that the special drama took place.

Two things happened: As the pitcher of water passed through the Water Gate, people repeated in musical pitch: “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). Secondly, when the pitcher reached the altar, the water was poured out over the altar as an offering to God. While this was being done, the people waved the palm branches and recited (to repeat from memory) words “Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech (beg) thee, send now prosperity” (Psalm 118:25).

It was on “the last day, the great day of the feast,” when the people marched in the ceremonial seven times, and the people finished saying, “Send now prosperity” (Ps. 118:25). Then Jesus stood and cried out in a thundering cry: “If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly flows rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). [Manna shared some notes from Preacher’s outline]

This blew my mind because that “Feast represented Christ!” He announced it! Think about that! It is the first time I understood what the Feast was about! More to come!

Deer Pants for Water

October 3-7, 2013 Deer Pants for Water – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Psalms 42:1-2a “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (NKJV).

“A deer longs for streams of water. God, I long for you in the same way. I am thirsty for God. I am thirsty for the living God. When can I go and meet with him?” (New International Reader’s Version). (Pant=to breathe hard; yearn or long=desire eagerly).

David, as a psalmist was feeling separated from God and he wouldn’t rest until he restored his relationship with God because he knew that his very life depended on it. Just as the water is necessary for physical life, it gives a clear picture of God and His presence is necessary for our satisfaction and wholeness of life. We as the true believers will hunger and thirst for God and His grace, blessing, and supernatural activity in our lives.

When we stop our thirst for God, we will die spiritually. We need to check anything that would cause us to lose our intense desire for the things of God. One scripture warned about too much cares of this world, and chase after the earthly things, and the pleasures of the world would choke out the hunger and thirst after God and the desire to seek His face in prayer (Mark 4:19).

Someone said, “If we pay one tenth of our money that belongs to God, we could spend one tenth of 24 hours of our time to God daily. Out of 24 hours that is 2.40 hours. I asked Tony, my husband about this. He replied, “Take out 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of work that leaves 8 hours.” The time included eating 3 times a day plus, getting ready for the day and bed time would be 2.00 hours. That leaves 6.00 hours minus 2.40 equal 3.60. 1/10 of 24 hours doesn’t seem much, but the problem is that sometimes we don’t realized how we used our times.

So what I am saying, is we need to be like “a deer that longs for the living water” so that our soul would always be conscious of being thirsty for God. David, the psalmist took the “time out” to seek God. Like David, let’s seek Him, communicate with Him, praying, listening, reading His Word, studying, listening to the music (hearing people are lucky since most of us deaf can’t hear), watching CC on TBN’s preaching & singing, read devotional books, etc. Just 2 hours and 40 minutes of daily 24 hours would be ideal to keep in touch with God.   

If you call up your friends through the video phone and give an encouragement one to another, it is part of 1/10 of your times. I find this a blessing to pray with friend. You might want to lift your cup to the Lord and let Him fill you with His presence and let your cup of the living waters be overflowed into your friend. It would be awesome? So let’s sing!

Song: Fill My Cup

Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord,

Come and quench this thirsting of my soul,

Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.

Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.

(Inspiring Choruses)

Let the Lord fill your cup and continue to be overflowing into everlasting life!

Water Springing Up

October 1-2, 2013 – Water Springing Up – Manna by Dorothy Callies

John 4:14 “The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (NKJV).

Song: Springs of Living Water

1. I thirsted in the barren land of sin and shame,

And nothing satisfying there I found;

But to the blessed cross of Christ one day I came,

Where springs of living water did abound.

Chorus:

Drinking at the springs of living water,

Happy now am I, My soul they satisfy;

Drinking at the springs of living water,

O wonderful and bountiful supply.

2. How sweet the living water from the hills of God;

It makes me glad and happy all the way;

Now glory, grace, and blessing mark the path I’ve trod;

 I’m shouting “Hallelujah” every day. (then Chorus)

(John Willard Peterson, Sing His Praise)

You know I came across reading the Daily Bread and somehow the quote impressed me, “Drink Lots of Water.” The same verse from KJV: “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

The word, water interests me. If I ask a person, could you explain the meaning of the water? Ahhh, everybody knows what water is. Water is water! Yeah, but can you explain the meaning of the water? Ahhh, no! So I guess I better look up in the dictionary since I am very curious how to define the “water.”

The meaning of the word, water: Noun 1: the liquid that descends from the clouds as rain, forms streams, lakes and seas, and is a major part of all living material and that is odorless and tasteless compound having two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen per molecule. I skipped to this. 5: a liquid containing or resembling water; esp: a watery fluid (as tears). Verb 1: to wet or supply with water (water horses or water the lawn)

I guess it got complicated. So to say, what is water? In my own words, water is liquid and it has no smell and it has no taste. It gets wet. When we drink water, it satisfies our thirsty body. What’s amazing? God created the water, knowing that our bodies would forever need them especially our soul. In the Bible, water is often used as a symbol of Jesus as the Living Water who satisfies our deepest needs.

On October 1^st, I read about John 4:14 and pondered them. The next morning I woke up with a song, “Drinking at the springs of living water” since I am familiar with it. So I looked up the song book and decided to share it with you. Don’t you love what Holy Spirit does for us? Awesome Holy Spirit! Thank you, Holy Spirit for keeping us alive.

May the Lord bless you today!

Continual Coming

September 30 2013 Continual Coming – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Luke 18:5 “Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me” (KJV).

You know, I had wondered about keeping on asking the Father about the healing for some of my Deaf friends who had ongoing vision problems. Until I read this, I realized Jesus was giving me an instruction. “But this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests” (NLT)! Don’t you love this? Let’s read on. 

Reading from Luke 18:1-8, Jesus gave a parable that we ought always to pray, and not to give up easily. The word “always” means at all times. Jesus told about a judge and the widow who kept coming to him for help. The word “persistent” means continuing and stubbornly determined. Another important word is “persevere” which are often used as “persevere in prayer.” It means to keep at something in spite of difficulties, opposition, or discouragement.

There was the unjust judge. The judge had no fear of God. The idea is that the judge took bribes and gave favors to person who held position and authority. There was the poor widow who had no money to bribe the judge. The widow was all alone with no money to get legal counsel to plead her case. The widow was persecuted, being taken advantage of some adversary or enemy. The widow kept coming to the judge and asked him to help her, to get rid of her adversary.

 The judge ignored her. The judge did not move to help her. The judge was silent. The Scripture quoted, He “would not for a while,” but the poor widow kept on coming and coming, pleading and pleading. She would not let the judge rest. Finally, he gave in to the widow and helped her of her adversary.

Why the judge gave in? Because of her “continual coming.” The judge could not get rid of her. The judge said, “Even though I don’t respect God or care about people, I will see that she gets her rights. Otherwise she will continue to bother me until I am worn out” (NCV).

The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge said.” What Jesus meant was the unfair judge holds a great lesson for believers. Hear, give attention and thought to what He teaches. Then Jesus said, “Shall not God help his own people who cry to Him, day and night?” Jesus used a story of the unjust judge to compare that God is far better because He does listen to the cry and Jesus said, “I tell you, God will help His people quickly” (Luke 18:8a NCV).

Luke 18:1 “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” Jesus’ word was strong and forceful in stressing the believer’s duty to persevere in prayer. The word “ought” means it is absolutely necessary that we persevere in prayer. The word “always” means at all times. The words “not to faint” mean not to lose heart, or give up, give in to evil. To pray is to “Seek the Lord and his strength, seek His face continually" (1 Chron.16:11).

Prayer: Thank You, Lord for this word of encouragement that in spite of what was happening around us, You stress strongly for us to keep on praying and to believe that He does hear our cry and to keep on trusting Heavenly Father. Thank You for the peace inside of us, knowing that You have a plan for us. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen and amen!

May the Lord touch your heart that God does care!