The Manna

"And when the children of Israel saw a small, round thing...as the hoar frost they said.."it is manna...the bread which the Lord hath given to it." Exodus 16:15

In the Old Testament, the manna was Jesus Christ "the bread of life" who came down from heaven pictured as our Lord. The manna was not the baked bread product of this world. It was not made by men but it came down from heaven as a miraculous gift from God. The manna was a small, round and white thing which symbolizes our God. (Exodus 16:14,31).

The manna was the Word of God made by the Holy Spirit and became flesh in order to save us from sins. In Exodus 16:13-14, the manna came right where the people were right into the camp. It was right hand and readily accessible. Like Jesus, He is always readily accessible, waiting and willing to save us, to forgive and cleanse us. "I stand at the door of your heart."(Revelation 3:20).

The manna was small which symbolizes Jesus' humility. "He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death." (Philippians 2:8). The manna was also round which symbolizes eternality. "I am the beginning and the end." (Revelation 1:8). The manna was white which symbolizes purity. "But was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin"(Romans 6:23).

The manna was a free gift from God. "The gift of God was eternal life."(Ephesians 2:8). "Not of works lest any man should boast, for by grace are ye saved through faith and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."

Each of us should personally gather our own manna. We will never be hungry if we eat the "bread of life."

The Message Of Christmas

"Jesus was born to give us a second birth." 1 John 12:13

I - "Christmas Is Jesus Hanged On A Tree - not Christmas tree." (Acts 5:30). Christmas is Jesus saying to us "Ye are the light of the world" not Christmas Lights. Christ has chosen us to reflect His light from His followers to an unbelieving world. The word witness indicates our role as reflectors of Christ's light.

II - Christmas Is Not Meat And Drink. "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17). God reminds us to stay healthy during Christmas by avoiding salty, sweet, and saturated fat diet and alcohol.

III - Christmas Is Humility - If we say we follow Christ, we must also say we want to live as He lives. We should develop the attitude of humble service even when we are not likely to get recognition for our efforts.

IV - Christmas Is Being A Good Model - We must set as a good example. "Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps." (1 Peter 2:21 ).

V - Christmas Is To Be Born Again - "Jesus was born to give us a second birth." (1 John 12:13).
Being born makes us physically alive and places us in our parent's family. Being reborn makes us spiritually alive and places us in God's family.

VI - Christmas Is Being Understanding To Everyone - God knows our joy and sorrow.

Consider this story:

A woman walking in a city park noticed a boy sitting on a bench with bird in his hand. She went to him and discovered that one bird's wing was broken. She offered to take it home but the boy declined and said "I'd rather do it my self." As the woman turned away from him, she saw under the bench something - A crutch and on one of the boy's leg a heavy brace.

The lesson of the story is, God is an all knowing God. He understands our situation. Whatever infirmities we have God knows how to heal us.. physically and emotionally. May we always think of Jesus as the center of Christmas celebration this year and onwards. Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The Christ

"Casting all your care upon Him, for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7

The word Christ is not a name but a title. It is the Greek word "Christos" which means "Messiah" the Anointed One. In the Bible only the Prophet, the Priest and the King are anointed with oil. The Prophetic , the Priestly and the Kingly offices are all the works of Jesus.

I - He Is The Christ Who Walks With Men - Jesus' mission is to redeem, not to condemn. He always asks "where art thou?" especially to those who have gone astray. God always walks with us. Like Peter when Jesus walked with him during the storm. We too sometimes have storms in life. God may allow His people to be tried with season and to be tossed to and fro by storms of trouble but never let them forget that winds, waves and storms are all Christ's servant. They cannot move without permission.

II - He Is The Christ Who Cares For The Problems Of Men - A certain woman was sick for 12 years with a blood disease was physically, financially and spiritually burdened, but because of her faith, she was healed by Jesus. The woman is a picture of all people. Physically we move toward death, financially money cannot buy what one needs and spiritually sin separates us from God. In 1 Peter 5:7, God is asking us to cast all our care upon Him, for He careth to all of us. As the famous song has this to impart us: "There is no problem too big He cannot solve it, If He'll carry the weight of the world upon His shoulders, I know my brother the He will carry you." "He said come unto Me all who are weary and I will give you rest."

III - He Is the Christ Who Sets The Hearts Of Men On Fire - God commissions us to get moving especially if we are defeated by fear, facing temptation, weary of financial woes, family conflicts, etc. Jesus will give us strength and burning passion like an eagle soaring high so that we will not be tired and weary of doing good. We must always set our hearts on fire by fixing our eyes on Him.

The Warnings Of God

"And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod." (Matthew 2:12)


God warns us to stay away from dangerous actions. Just as we warn children to stay away from stoves and busy streets. God's warning are to change the direction of our lives, to deliver us from Satan's temptations, and to direct us into the design of His Word.

Our sins do not appear ugly to us, and the "lovely" sins are hardest to avoid. They come to us in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are like ravening wolves. We must beware of false prophets. Sin's temptations are real and is trying us always to get us to do things his way rather than God's way.

Smoking and alcohol and other vices are the ones destroying our bodies. Sometimes, having diagnosed with catastrophic diseases like liver and lung cancer are the result of man's disobedience to the warnings of God. In the book of Galatians God warns us this : "what you sow you shall reap." It is a great sin if we do not take good care of our bodies especially if we are ill yet we don't go for a check up with a doctor, but it is more of greater sin if we destroy our body by smoking and drinking alcohol and taking drugs. We may not be aware but it may be just the same as suicide or self-kill!

Where will you spend your eternity: In a smoking or nonsmoking area? Sin will find one out of eternity. God is calling out His people out of this world. "Love not the world neither the things that are in this world." (1 John 2:15). Families were broken and children were left orphan due to loss of parents. It's not yet late...never late to ignore God's warnings.

Dreaming Of A Right Christmas

"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people." (Luke 2:10-11)

I - Right Gift - The right gift for this Christmas is to believe in God by accepting His eternal gift of life and salvation. "...For whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). Material gifts and worldly possessions are temporary gifts. Priceless jewels, bulging resume, fashionable clothes, accumulated wealth will one day disintegrate into eternal nothingness.

II - Right Invitation To Accept - Jesus' is inviting us always. But oftentimes we resist His invitation to His banquet because it's inconvenient. The time will come when God will stop inviting us, and it will be too late to get into the banquet. The Gospel always speaks of sinners as responsible and accountable beings, the Gospel places an open door before all mankind and no one is excluded from the range of its offers.

III - Right Spirit - Reconciliation and repentance are the lessons we can learn from the story of the Prodigal son. This means re-establishing relationship. Peace with God means we have been reconciled with Him. God whispers us in health and prosperity, but being hard of hearing, we fail to hear God's voice in both, whereupon God turns up the amplifier by means of suffering. Then His voice booms.

IV - Right Celebration - Focusing on God is the right celebration. We must not focus on our own achievements and success but rather focus more on Jesus our Giver of gifts, Creator of creation and Blesser of the blessings we received.

V - Right Response - "....And they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). Believing in God is our right Christmas response. When we say we believe....we say, we're not shouting we're clean living, we're whispering we were lost, now we were found and we were forgiven. We don't speak of this with pride, we were confessing that we stumble, and need Christ to be our guide. We're not trying to be strong, we are professing that we are weak, and need His strength to carry on. We're not holier than thou, we're just a simple sinner, who received God's grace somehow.

Until Then

Be thankful unto Him, [and] bless His name. For the LORD [is] good; His mercy [is] everlasting; and His truth [endureth] to all generations (Psalm 100:5-KJV).

Until Then

My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that’s winding always upward
This troubled world is not my final home.

But until then my heart will go on singing
Until then, with joy I’ll carry on
Until the day my eyes behold that city
Until the day God calls me home.

The things of earth will dim and lose their value
If we recall it’s borrowed for a while
The things of earth that cause my heart to tremble
Remember they will only bring a smile.

This weary world with all its toil and struggle
May take its toll of misery and strife
The soul of man is like a waiting falcon
When it’s released, its destined for the skies.