Category: Entrée

Entrée

What’s in Your Hand?

The Manna Chef

Have you ever had that moment when you wonder if you’ve “missed it”?  Be honest with yourself.  (And admitting it doesn’t mean you lack faith, by the way.)  Whether it’s a dream that seems too far away, a career opportunity, a relationship with someone special, a business endeavor—that “something” that seems like it’s out of your reach now?  We have a list of excuses too:

  • If I was younger or older…
  • If I had more money…
  • If I was married or still single…
  • If I had another degree…
  • If I had just done this or that…

Well, I’m here to remind you that it’s not too late!  You woke up this morning, so there is yet time to accomplish that which God has placed on the inside of you.  He gave you that dream for a reason, so ask Him to show you how to implement the plans to produce results.  He has strategies that would never occur to you, so why not just ask Him?

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Entrée

The Choice Is Yours

The Manna Chef

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:25

Free will.  The concept really is amazing to me.  We serve this Awesome God, and He doesn’t force us to do anything.  We can choose to serve Him or not, as long as we recognize our choices have consequences.  I love the song, “The Choice Is Yours,” by the hip hop group, Black Sheep.  (And, yes, I’m still saved.)  The hook of the song says, “You can get with this or you can get with that…I think you’ll get with this ’cause this is where it’s at.”  (Ok, so now I’m jamming as I type this message.)  That’s how I feel about my spiritual walk with the Lord.  God is “where it’s at.”  Why would I choose to be anywhere other than with my Father?

I want you to take a moment to think about your relationship with the Lord.  It’s one thing to really know Him and quite another to only know about Him.  I shared with a dear friend recently that my life has become more than an additional book of the Bible; it’s an adventure with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and me doing our collective “thing.”  Some days are full of action and others seem pretty mundane; but make no mistake, we’re riding this out together.  As a matter of fact, I am learning how to be content in those mundane moments because I can see God in the midst of them, too. 

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Entrée

From My Heart to Yours

The Manna Chef

I want you do to something for me.  Think about those conversations that you’ve had with the Lord when He just whispers in your spirit about the plans He has for you.  You know, those dreams that have been inside you for as long as you can remember.  What have you been dreaming about lately, or have you gotten so distracted with life that you’ve stopped dreaming?  God has placed some amazing things inside of you, and I really want you to allow Him to show you the real you, the one He formed with His own hands (the vessel He breathed life into).  Do you see her? 

God has placed gifts, talents, and abilities in you to bring Him glory.  I’m not going to talk about the parable of the talents.  (That one is for another day.)  Instead, I want to bring your attention to Philippians 2:13.  It says, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”  He wants us to thrive, and it is for His good pleasure.  Sisters, you bring our Father joy!  He has so much love for you that it cannot be contained.  He delights in you.  Do you really know that?  Our Father delights in us.  And guess what?  Those gifts that you carry on the inside give glory to God and encourage others to develop their gifts for His Kingdom.

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Entrée

God’s Got You!

The Manna Chef

God’s got you!  Look, I know that is not grammatically correct, but I need you to really understand that today:  God’s got you right where you are!

God has been speaking to me about supernatural provision and His ability to take care of His children.  Surprisingly, He didn’t send me to Exodus with Moses and the children of Israel or to Elijah and the widow in 1 Kings.  He sent me to a passage that seemed odd at first, and I wondered, “What does this have to do with what You have given me, Lord?” 

But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples.  Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss.  But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!”  And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.

But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.  Luke 22:47-51(NLT)

First of all, let me give you some context here.  This passage describes for us the moment Jesus is betrayed and arrested.  Judas, one of Jesus’ own disciples, led a crowd that included soldiers and temple guards to capture Him.  They carried blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons as they arrived at the olive grove looking for Jesus.  Judas walked over to Jesus and kissed Him to identify the Man they were seeking, and chaos ensued.  The disciples were ready to throw down to defend Jesus.  Peter even drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Malchus.  But Jesus shut it all down, and He healed the man’s ear.  He didn’t condemn the soldiers.  He didn’t yell at Judas.  He didn’t run away.  Before willingly allowing the soldiers to take Him, He performed a miracle and healed Malchus—a man who was there with the crowd to arrest Him.  Even when it seemed as if the enemy was winning, Jesus stopped everything and showed us Who He really is. 

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Entrée

Stuck in the Mud

The Manna Chef

Have you ever experienced a time when you couldn’t seem to move forward? You prayed, fasted, studied the Word, heard from God, believed what He said, but you still couldn’t seem to move, even a step, forward? And I’m not talking about the waiting period before the promises of God will manifest, which is its own battle. I mean that moment when you wonder, “Is there a disconnect, because I heard clearly from God and still seem to just be stuck right here?”

I have experienced moments when I have been bombarded with so many thoughts, ideas, and plans that I didn’t know where to even begin. And that state of inactivity when I was trying to figure it all out caused me to become frustrated. First of all, I didn’t need to waste the time trying to figure everything out. I just needed to follow the steps that God had already ordered for my life. But I’m me, so I spent a great deal of time trying to figure things out, and that caused me to become discouraged. I had heard clearly from God, and what He revealed was going to be a blessing for His people. I received His word and believed it wholeheartedly, but for some reason, I couldn’t seem to act on what He said. And this wasn’t a timing issue (as in Eccl. 3:1-8); it was a matter of position. I was stuck.

I studied more, prayed more, and really sought God—but still there was no movement. I was just stuck in the mud. I had an awesome plan from an Awesome God, and I was stuck in the mud. I had a willing spirit with an available heart, and I was stuck in the mud. Yes, I was a true believer of the Most High God, and I was still just stuck right there in the mud. It actually caused me a great deal of despair.

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