Author: The Manna Chef

Entrée

Into Your Hands

The Manna Chef

By this time, it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.  The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.  Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!”  And with those words he breathed his last.  Luke 23:44-46 (NLT)

This passage is commonly referred to as the seventh of the “Last Words of Jesus” during His Crucifixion.  Jesus suffered an agonizing death on the cross for you and me, and all of nature reacted to His suffering.  The Bible says that the light from the Sun was gone.  Darkness covered the entire land for about three hours in the middle of the day!  And all of a sudden, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.  Sisters, let me explain why that particular detail is significant.

The Temple was composed of three parts: 

  • The outer court for all the people;
  • The Holy Place, where only the priest could enter; and
  • The Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies, where the High priest alone could enter once a year to atone for the sins of the people.    

It was in the Holy of Holies that the Ark of the Covenant, and God’s Presence with it, rested. 

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Entrée

I’m Right Here

The Manna Chef

This morning, as I sat in traffic (like I do most mornings), I asked God for fresh Manna for His daughters.  I literally asked, “Father, what do You have for Your daughters today?  What am I supposed to tell them?”  And for those who know me, you know that not too much later, I sat still with a pen in my hand and simply waited for God to speak.  And God said, “Tell them, I’m right here.”

He continued speaking to each one of us: 

Beloved, I see you, and I know every detail about your current circumstance.  Do not fret.  Don’t be discouraged.  I am right here with you.  I have always been here, and I will always be with you.  Cast your cares upon Me today, and let Me carry what you were never designed to carry.  I need your hands to be free, so that you can receive from Me.  I have blessings beyond what you have ever imagined, and they are waiting for you.  Look beyond the distractions around you and seek My face.  I have what you need; you don’t need to look anywhere else.  Look to Me.  Come to Me.  I’m right here.  I love you more than your mind can conceive.  I care about every single detail concerning you.  I am right here.  Trust Me, daughter.  I’m here.”

Sisters, I am in tears right now, knowing that God is ready to bless His daughters.  Please receive what the Father is saying directly to you right now.  He sees.  He knows.  He understands.  He cares.  And He’s Almighty God.

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”  (Hebrews 13:5b NLT)

Entrée

Ask, Seek, and Knock…

The Manna Chef

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV)

This passage of Scripture is not for us to quote, snap our fingers, and expect the Lord to move like a genie.  We, the people of God, sometimes misunderstand and then misuse the text; later, we get discouraged when we don’t see the results we desired because it feels like God isn’t answering our prayers or He’s moving too slowly. 

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Entrée

Keep on Producing

The Manna Chef

Sisters, I want to remind you to hold on to the promises of God.  I recently had to remind myself to do just that—hold on, no matter what.  I received a phone call from my doctor’s office that, for a moment, took my breath away.  I gave myself the grace and space to feel in that moment, and then I remembered what God promised me many years ago.  I had to recite it out loud over and over.  I reached out to my tribe and asked the ladies to pray, and that’s exactly what they did. 

Sisters, we are human, so it’s important for you to allow yourself to have “all the feels” but not be led by them.  I could have driven myself crazy with worry, allowing my mind to run rampant; instead, my response was 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV), “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

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Uncategorized

Missing a Part of My Heart

The Manna Chef

Sisters, it’s been a year since I lost my mom. I miss her every single day. For anyone who’s experiencing loss, I want to share this entree with you. I actually wrote it 2 1/2 weeks after she passed away. I’ve been waiting for the moment that I felt ready to share, and today is that day, exactly one year from the day she returned home to our Heavenly Father.

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It is only the end of January, and it is already the most difficult year of my life.  The Lord called my mother to her heavenly home, and let me say it right now—I was not ready.  I mean, think about it, are we ever really ready to say goodbye to someone who shares our very heartbeat?  That’s who my mom was to me.  It hurts me even now to say “was” instead of “is.”  She wasn’t just the woman who gave birth to me and raised me—she was my ace, my confidant, my girl, my road dog, and the “Thelma” to my “Louise.”

And let me be honest, my reaction has been that of her baby girl, not as a minister of the Gospel.  I did not feel like Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-3:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.  Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

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