Manna
“Great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:23 (NIV)
Sometimes when I’m teaching a Bible study or preparing for a speaking engagement, God surprises me with “manna,” a resource that I need that I didn’t know I needed. Manna in the Old Testament was the daily bread that God rained down daily on Israel to sustain them in the wilderness on their forty-year journey to the Promised Land. Manna didn’t just provide food for the hungry nation; it also provided them a glimpse of God’s faithfulness and provision.
I am currently teaching through the first five chapters of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the Apostle John’s letter sent to seven actual first century churches who were knee deep in compromise, complacency, suffering, and persecution. John encourages them not to give up or give in, but to remember that Jesus rules and reigns over all history. Revelation in form is a letter to these seven real churches, but is in fact, a letter to all churches at all times. It tells us what we must know: Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection has overcome and won the victory over Satan, sin, and death!
Ephesus today: photo by Gini Beth Welch
Last week’s Bible Bits post looked at the Church at Ephesus. The Ephesians had many commendable characteristics including keen minds, good works, faithful orthodoxy, and sound doctrine. They were intolerant of false teachers and hated immorality, but they had lost their first love. Losing our first love for Jesus is not only soul killing, but church killing.
Perhaps you’re now wondering, “What’s manna got to do with Ephesus?” My Sunday School community’s summer teaching focused on 1 Corinthians 13. Our teacher spent an entire thirteen-week quarter on that one chapter. Honestly, I moaned inwardly that first Sunday of June. I know there’s a place for going deep with small portions of the Scriptures, but I prefer to study larger chunks of the Bible in order to study ALL of it! In other words, instead of gratitude for the “food” that was being offered, I was grumpy and grumbling just like the Israelites in the wilderness!
That is, until I turned over the teacher’s first handout and read the back page. That heading didn’t refer to 1 Corinthians 13. Instead, it referenced Revelation 2:4 and losing our first love. The bold heading read, “Twelve Evidences that We Have Lost our “First Love” for the Lord.” Below the heading, twelve evidences of lost “first love” were identified and referenced biblically.
Manna from heaven! Especially for one unfamiliar with the book of Revelation and struggling to learn and teach it for the first time. That first week was the ONLY time that those “lost love” evidences were listed on a 1 Corinthians 13 handout.
Last week’s Bible Bits post generated several conversations about what it means to lose our first love. I am grateful for Pastor Benny Parks 12 Evidences of lost “First Love” for the Lord that provide additional insight.
I have lost my “first love:”
When my delight in the Lord is no longer as great as my delight in someone else. (Mark 12:30)
When my soul does not long for times of rich fellowship in God’s Word or prayer. (Psalm 42:1)
When my thoughts during leisure moments do not reflect upon the Lord. (Psalm 10:4)
When I claim to be “only human” and easily give in to those things I know displease the Lord. (John 14:15)
When I do not willingly and cheerfully give to God’s work or to the needs of others. (1 John 3:17)
When I cease to treat every Christian brother as I would the Lord. (John 13:34)
When I view the commands of Christ as restrictions to my happiness rather than expressions of his love. (John 14:21)
When I inwardly strive for the acclaim of the world rather than the approval of the Lord.
(John 15:19)When I fail to make Christ or his words known because I fear rejection. (Romans 1:16)
When I refuse to give up an activity which I know is offending a weaker brother. (Romans 14:15)
When I become complacent to sinful conditions around me. (Matthew 24:12)
When I am unable to forgive another for offending me. (1 John 4:20)
Israel’s manna appeared to be “thin flakes like frost on the ground” (Exodus 16:14). My manna was an assistant pastor’s faithful teaching. Both were God’s provision for his people to be fed.
Where have you seen manna -God’s faithful provision- in your life?
Great is his faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:23)