Memo From the Mann

A Better Man/Woman

Being creative people, means we’re often searching for a better way to do things. A better way to save time, or a better way save money. The quest here is an honorable one ...after all our creative genes come from our Designer, who created us in his image.
 
In Psalm 101, we read where David wanted to bring the Ark of God up to Jerusalem. The Ark was God’s sacred seat - His throne on the earth. David wanted it to be center stage in the life of the nation. He was looking to better the situation. But David went about it the wrong way...
 
Instead of using the eyelets where poles could be inserted and then carried by men, he put it on a cart. His better way neglected to take advantage of God’s protective design.
 
The cart hit a bump, a man reached out to brace the Ark (which could not be touched by unholy hands) ...and a man’s life was lost. It was an extreme lesson. And David took it to heart.
 
Sandy Adam’s shares - that David learned two truths from this tragedy.
First, God anoints men not machines. His presence is to be carried in the hearts of men not carted on the latest technology (or the better way). EM Bounds once said, “Man is looking for better methods. God is looking for better men.
And second, David learned a good deed can be done a wrong way. It is not enough to simply serve God - there is a way He wants to be served.
 
In our quest to find a better way, we need to consult with God before enacting our own cleverness. We need to allow the Spirit to be the guiding force behind those better ways.
 
Lord, we ask for your guidance in all matters. We pray for the discipline to come to your first before acting, and to listen patiently for your directions. Father, help us to become better men and women, in our quest to find better ways.
 
Pray on...
Song: Walk in His Ways (Album: Yes Indeed)

Called to Faithfulness

Malachi 2:4–6 (NIV): 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
 
I count myself as being blessed when it comes to my parents. They were firm, but fare when it came to my upbringing ...and the two main things they instilled in me were a love for Jesus, and the character trait of always giving my best.
 
Coming up short was allowed if my best effort had been put forth ...and that brew a love for competition, because it allowed me to enjoy the flow and beauty of a game without the stress of having to win. Now don’t get me wrong, I want to win as bad as you do, but I was taught how to lose, and in life, the reality is, you’re gonna lose sometimes. I don’t ’t even like saying that, but it’s the truth. Yes, even Christian’s lose once in a while.
 
Here in Malachi we read where if the Levites would give themselves to serving God and forsake their own glory, God would give them life and peace. Their special responsibility was to teach God’s instructions.
 
The Levites had been called (to a covenant on Mt Sinai) to be the spiritual leaders,
and God reminds them of it in verse four of the second chapter. But a problem arises when they stray from their calling and break the covenant.
 
God’s word to us is grace, and his calling is faithfulness. ~ K.L.
 
We need to guard our Spirit, and take the message to heart ...think for a second, consider the covenants you’ve made. Does the life you live match up? Are you doing your best? Are you giving your best? Because God deserves it, there’s no way around that.
 
The Christian who honors his covenants, brings honor to the mighty name of Jesus ...and who doesn’t want life and peace.
 
Lord, help us to see our lives for what they are ...not allowing us to paint false portraits that blind us from the truth. Help us to honor our covenants with you... and let our true hearts boldly exclaim our love.
In Jesus name,
Amen
 
Pray on...
Song: Just How Good You Are to Me (Album: Endurance)

A Worthy Walk

6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.
“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ ~ Malachi 1:6 (NIV)
 
If I’m honest, there were a few moments growing up where I probably harvested some contempt for my earthly father. You can’t be a good father without guiding your child through their formative years ...and to do so requires some hard moments in the present, that’ll reap the results you want in the future.
 
Now as the child, you’re unable to embrace the future picture, and usually resent the lack of freedom you so desire ...but it’s done for your benefit ...and personally if I could have understood that, then the contempt would have not manifested itself, and I truly would have honored him for the caring love that he had shown to me.
 
So let’s get real in a current sense,  if you refer to God as Father or Lord, do you treat him that way?
 
When you sign the adoptive papers to allow God to be your dad,
you’re signing on for more than just playing catch and roasting s’mores,
when he says clean your room you get on it,
when he says you can’t date that girl, you obey,
you honor your Father. ~ K.L.
 
In our everyday actions, and in our everyday offerings, let’s strive to show him everyday honor, honor that he so graciously deserves. Let’s not just give him our leftover time, let’s give our heart to him, not our idols ...as Romans 12 says,  let’s offer our lives as  a living sacrifice to God.
 
Remember, as a follower of Jesus, we are the offering, our life is a gift to God.
So let’s walk worthy of his calling.
 
Pray on...
Song: Every Little Thing (Album: Worship)

Should I ...?

“Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” ~ Zechariah 7:3
 
How many time have you caught yourself doing something that you weren’t aware of. Maybe your hands were idling themselves with unknown movements; or your leg were bouncing with anticipation, or maybe your feet were tapping out an annoying rhythm.
 
We are prone to doing some really curious stuff when we’re asked to perform repetitive actions. You know, the ones that require little to know thought ...we’ve done them a million times before and we navigate through them without so much as a thought.
 
In Zechariah 7:3 the people ask, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
 
God asks, whom were you fasting for in the first place?
Was it really for me?
As it turned out, God had never asked them to fast.
In fact God’s yearly Israelite calendar was filled with feasting.
Except for Yom Kippur.
 
The key question to every religious practice is for whom is it for?
When you take a step back and look at your religious practices, ask yourself for whom are you doing them?
 
Religion usually means doing godly things for yourself,
relationship means doing selfless things for God.
Religion makes you look good to others,
relationship makes you love God no matter what other people think.
 
Father, help us to be focused on your wants and desires, and not on other people and world around us.
 
Pray on...
Song: I Rest in You (Album: Chapel Songs)

Is There Any Seed Left in the Barn?

Is there yet any seed left in the barn? ~ Haggai 2:19
 
As the days fly by on my calendar, I’m well aware of the passing of time. In fact these days, way too often, it seems as if life is rushing by ...and then with it comes these feelings of self deprecation.
 
Age has a way of creeping up on us when all of a sudden we’re doing second takes at the image in our mirror, but it’s the nature of our existence that we are one notch closer to the end when we wake each day.
 
Our world is so youth focused that it’s inevitable that we’re going to face some self doubting as we age, but lost in our aging doldrums is the realization that we’re not, depreciating in God’s eyes. His plans and purpose for us don’t slow down or end at the world’s stated retirement age.
 
In Haggai 2:19 we hear God ask, “Is there yet any seed left in the barn?” In this context he’s challenging some lazy folks who aren’t working hard to rebuild the temple, but the challenge is still there today in each of our lives. Is there any seed left in your barn?
 
As you age you may not be producing as much fruit as you used to do, but you’re still capable of being a vibrant contributor to this world ...and none of us want to fall short of God’s design for our lives.
 
So wherever you are in your journey, remember that God is in control, and that He has established that we are alive with value until He decides differently. Regardless of what the world says, be strong and work, and remember that God is with you.
 
Pray on...
Song: All That I Am (Album: Love Strands)

Kicking the call Down the Road

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’ ” ~ Haggai 1:2
 
My earthly father had a tough time with me when it came to getting my chores done, my jobs done around the house. I had a special way of putting them off. I don’t know why I say special, as they were anything but special in that I was always getting reprimanded for not getting them done in a timely matter.
 
My father was a patient man, but I really pushed his buttons when it came to this issue. Now I wasn’t a lazy kid, in fact I was on the go from sunrise to sundown. I played sports all day! Everyday! ...and I played hard!
 
The problem was that I put the thing of my father second. I put them second to my things, and in doing so, they often fell between the cracks of time; meaning they weren’t getting done on time.
 
In the prophet Haggai’s words, the Israelites were doing the same thing. They were working on their own homes and leaving the temple in ruins. They put their own worldly things first, and their Father’s second.
 
They weren’t saying that they wouldn’t build God’s house, just that it wouldn’t be today. As with myself, they weren’t lazy in general, just in doing the things of God.
 
What I found out as a kid, was that when I put my father’s work second I was always finding myself in trouble. and likewise, when you put God second, all the things you put first don’t go so well.
 
What the Israelites found out was that when they took God’s message to heart, God had one more message for them, “I am with you.” This affirmed God’s covenant with them, his personal presence, and his support.
 
Lord, help us to develop a keen sense of perspective when we are called to do you work. Help us to battle spiritual procrastination, and to speak, work and act in a way that pleases you ...in a way that’s reflects our gratefulness for your personal presence and support.
 
Pray on...
Song: My Alms (Album: Chapel Songs)

My Faith, Insulted

“you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” ~ Habakkuk 1:13a
 
Do you ever look at the world and feel confused by its behavior? Not a day goes by where we’re not bombarded with an endless supply of examples. It seems that every time I really step back and look at it, the world insults my faith. It makes me, a believer, wonder how can this continue ...day in, and day out?
 
The prophet Habakkuk was wondering the same thing as he watched his world spin in an undesirable free fall. He prayed in what he thought was vain, but God was doing something, something radical.
 
Like us, Habakkuk was  grappling to align God’s nature with his actions, or lack of ...he knew that God wanted justice throughout the world, but wasn’t able to comprehend  a plan being executed ...but God was working, as he is today, and just because we don’t understand how he’s implementing it, doesn’t diminish its brilliance.
 
Like Babylon, our world seems to worship its power ...as it gets rich at the cost of others ... and yes, it insults our faith! ...but we can rest in the promise that God has a plan, and will, and is, enacting it in his time, and in his way.
 
I encourage you to read the little book of Habakkuk, he exhibits an example of how to respond ...a way of lament.
 
Pray on...
Song: Once Again Lord

Laughing By His Side

“I am against you,”  ~ Nahum 3:5a
 
It’s human nature for all of us to want to be liked, to be accepted, and to be supported by others. Whether in business, or our personal lives, we want to be smiled upon. Just take a glimpse of our social networks and the vein attempts being made to get positive feedback.
 
None of us want to hear the words, “I am against you,”  ~ (Nahum 3:5a) ...but that’s exactly what the Assyrian city of Nineveh heard from Nahum’s prophecy. And making the situation worse, is that this is God ...it’s the God who created all things that’s saying,  “I am against you.”
 
In fact twice in the book of Nahum God tells Nineveh, I am your enemy (also 2:13).
 
Nineveh’s judgment stands as a historical reminder that the Lord abhors sin and will deal with people and nations according to their deeds ... and yes, that includes us, in case you found yourself looking down your nose (at this Assyrian city’s brokenness.)
 
Revelation 17-19 tells us one day, God’s justice will fall worldwide on those who have rebelled against him. So keeping that in mind, should help us to strive to stay on the  straight and narrow.
 
Melanie Hurlbut says, “We should join with the Lord and laugh at the futility of human evil as it try’s to resist the goodness of almighty God.”
 
I’d like to believe that more often than not, I’m on the Lord’s side, standing right next to him, laughing ...and not on the other side of his justice.
 
Lord, let your people hear your message clearly, and be strengthened, comforted, and healed by it.
 
Pray on...
Song: Into Your Presence

Divine Nature

His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet ~ Nahum 1:3b
 
The closest thing to God’s fury that I can think of is weather related. I’ve experienced some harrowing weather events in my lifetime, events that made me reflect on how I was in control of very little, if anything at all.
 
Those are great equalizer moments. In those moments we realize just how weak and small we are. In fact I don’t know of anyone who enjoys those kinds of situations. In general, we strive to be in control at all time, that’s our happy place. So when the world starts to spin out of control we’re uneasy and uncomfortable.
 
In Nahum 1:3 we read,
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet
 
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power (this was revealed to Moses; in Exodus 34). We’re told the Lord will not stand by and let wickedness destroy his planet.
His generosity and forgiveness are staggering, but for the non-repentant there will be judgement. Well, I don’t want any part of that! I do however, want to linger in his staggering generosity and forgiveness.
 
In our world of questionable behavior; in our world of lost and angry souls; in our world of darkness induced blindness; let us as Nahum did, shine a light; a light of comfort; and a light of hope, through the love of LORD.
 
Pray on...
Song: Divine Nature

Unfailing Love

hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea ~ Micah 7:19
 
My daughter once lost a teething ring in a swampy bit of water in St. Augustine Florida. What compounded the retrieval of the ring was that it settled onto the snout of a rather large alligator. Just relocating where the ring was a miraculous achievement on my part as I realized after the fact that it was gone, but the sight of this rainbow colored ring on an alligator’s snout was not one that would ever be forgotten. Now to be clear, we were guests at an alligator farm so this wasn’t a wild and dangerous setting, and the walkway that we were traveling on made it impossible for me, dad, to do anything stupid, as in trying to retrieve the ring, but the hurling of the teething ring into the swampy water was the end of it. It was gone and after a short period of time very rarely ever thought of.
 
Micah 7:19 says of God, he hurls all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
 
Corrie ten Boom (Dutch Resistance Hero) says,
“When God buries our sins in the deepest sea,
he then post’s a sign that says, no fishing allowed.”
 
There is no need for us to return to the scene of the crime, to continue to replay the act, or to cry over the broken moment.
 
God pardons, ...shows compassion, ...triumphs over his peoples’ sins, ...and seals those sins away. By his unfailing love, God continues to offer hope to those who trust in him.
 
Lord, help us to live for today’s opportunities, and to remember your pardons, your compassion, and your unfailing love.
 
Pray on...
Song: Relentless Love