Category: Entrée

Entrée

Will You Rejoice?

The Manna Chef

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

“This” day—the one we are experiencing right now—is full of the blessings and manifested promises of God.  Sure, there are challenges, but God is right there with us in the midst of them.  We spend a lot of time in the past or worrying about the future.

Stop looking back at yesterday and wasting energy over things you cannot change.  You can’t live your life looking in the rear view mirror.  Quit stressing over the uncertainty of tomorrow.  God made this day—TODAY—so appreciate it.  Notice the beauty in this day.  There is an anointing for this day.  Choose to rejoice; your will is involved.  And that’s where we have to see our responsibility in how we respond to each day. 

Our will expresses our desire, our consent, our capability, our determination, and our persistence.  (There’s no doubt that I am going to do it because “will” is used, not “might.”)  My will indicates my determination to do something and includes my passion for seeing it through.  It demonstrates my power to choose.

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I Know Where My Help Comes From

The Manna Chef

Sisters, I simply want to encourage your hearts today and remind you that not only does God see you, He cares deeply about you.  I woke up hearing the song, “My Help,” (by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir) in my spirit.  I’ve been singing it since all morning.  It’s an incredible reminder of just how much God really does take care of us.  He’s left nothing to chance concerning you.  Do you really know that?  He is taking care of you every moment of every single day.   I sometimes can’t wrap my head around that.  There are almost 8 billion people in this world right now, and God makes it a point to check on me all day long?  That’s so amazing!  Who wouldn’t serve a God like that?  He is right there with you throughout each day, no matter how it seems in those dark moments.  Whenever you find yourself wondering how you are going to make it in these perilous times, I want you to read Psalm 121(NKJV):

1I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

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Are You a Conduit or Reservoir?

The Manna Chef

Merriam-Webster defines a conduit as a natural or artificial channel through which something is conveyed (transferred or delivered) and a reservoir as a place where something is kept in store (placed and left).  I want to you examine yourself spiritually and emotionally today. 

Which are you, Sister, a conduit or a reservoir? 

A conduit listens, prays, supports, encourages, and may even offer guidance.  And then she hands the matter over to the Lord, trusting that He can handle it.   She’s not a super-saint.  She doesn’t wear a superhero cape and “fly” around solving the world’s problems.  But she is in constant communication with the Holy Spirit, and she can pray down the heavens!  That’s how she reaches Jesus.  It’s also why people are naturally drawn to her; they know she is connected to the Father.  But that can be a blessing and a curse if she is not operating as a conduit. 

Sister, no one is asking you to carry the spiritual load of those around you.  You cannot store up hurt and burdens in your heart.  It’s not healthy, and it certainly is not productive.  First of all, you are not designed to carry loads.  You are not a beast of burden, so carrying heavy loads does nothing but weigh you down and prevent you from obtaining the promises of God.  Psalm 55:22(NIV) says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”  Cast your cares upon the Lord.  In other words, give those cares to God, and trust that He will move on your behalf.  Release them and hand them over, completely.  And then know that God will sustain you; you will not succumb to the pressure around you.  Unfortunately, some of the people of God haven’t learned to do that yet.  And when you refuse to hand the load over to God, you become a reservoir. 

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Whose Feet Do You Need to Wash?

The Manna Chef

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to His Father.  He had loved His disciples during His ministry on earth, and now He loved them to the very end.  It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.  Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God.  So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin.  Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.  (John 13:1-5)

I was raised in a holiness church, so every New Year’s Eve, during watch night service, we had to wash the feet of our fellow saints.  Let me be honest here; it was not one of my favorite parts of the service.  You see, as a child (maybe even as an adult), you don’t always realize the significance of washing someone else’s feet.  All you see is the condition of the other person’s feet.  And then you have to touch those very feet and pray for the person they are attached to?  And after that, you have to allow someone else to wash your feet?  I remember thinking, “Why in the world do I have to wash somebody else’s feet?” 

As children, that moment was lost on us many times.  We’d listened to the reading of John 13:1-5 often, but we didn’t fully understand why we were instructed to reenact that significant action every December 31st.  And your title didn’t matter; even our pastor washed others’ feet.  We were all expected to serve each other.  It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I began to get the revelation of the humility that God was requiring in order to meet the needs of His people through service.

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What Is Your Story?

The Manna Chef

Not long ago, I was asked, “What is your story.  What brought you here?”  It was an interesting question.  When God first told me to pack up my things and move to another city in another state, many folks thought I was crazy.  Why in the world would I leave my family and my church?  It wasn’t like I was a twenty-something looking for adventure.  I was established.  I had a good job.  I had been teaching for a number of years and had finally arrived in the position that I had designed beyond academics.  I was the artistic director, and I’d finally gotten to that point where the work was fulfilling.  Sisters, plain and simple, I was comfortable.  I had settled in the routine and was quite content.  And don’t get it twisted, I was ministering and teaching, and I was extremely active at my church.  I wasn’t just sitting on my laurels; I was trying to represent my Father well on a daily basis.  And right there in the middle of all of my comfort, God spoke and told me to move, to leave everything I’d ever known.  It was my Abraham moment, you know, like in Genesis 12:1-3 when God spoke to Abram and said,

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

At the time, I didn’t think it was as profound as Abraham’s call.  I was just trying to be obedient to the Holy Spirit.  I told my family and my pastor that it was time to move, and I started packing.  It was scary and exhilarating at the same time because I was instructed to move to a city I’d never even visited before.  (Talk about a faith walk!) 

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