Daily Manna from Heaven

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” -Matthew 18:19

General George Patton believed in getting things done. He once told a chaplain, “There are three ways that men get what they want: by planning, by working, and by prayer.” When rainy, foggy weather stopped the Allied Forces intent on liberating Germany, Patton telephoned the Third Army Chaplain and said, “This is General Patton. Do you have a good prayer for weather?”

The chaplain came up with one in a hurry, and Patton had it printed and distributed to the 250,000 men under his command with the order to pray for good weather. “I am a strong believer in prayer,” he said. When the weather couldn’t be changed by hard work or by planning, Patton resorted to prayer.

Everyone, however, doesn’t share Patton’s enthusiasm for getting things done through prayer. A contemporary of the Russian novelist, Dostoyevski, whose name was Turgeniev, wrote that “whatever a man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer,” he said, “reduces itself to this: ‘Great God, grant that twice two not be four.’”

Donald Cole points out that H. L. Mencken used to laugh at prayer. When he signed his letters, “I am praying for you,” he considered that to be wildly humorous. I, suspect, however, that on his deathbed, Mencken changed his mind.

As the Titanic listed in the icy waters of the cold Atlantic and people began to realize the unsinkable ship was about to go down, the orchestra began playing, “Nearer My God to Thee,” and people began praying.

If I had never attempted the broad jump, and I was on a roof with safety a mere six feet away, I can tell you for sure that I would be highly motivated to give the leap my very best try. But if I had trained for the Olympics as a broad jumper, then, a six feet or two meter leap would be a pretty simple feat.

The difference, of course, would be the discipline and training. That’s why the one who prays only as a ship is going down, or prays only at the bedside of a dying loved one, or only as a plane tosses in angry clouds, is not sure whether his prayer is a grasping for a wild hope that God will hear him, or knows that in the time of trouble, his father will hear his voice.

For you who want to discover something of the power of prayer, may I suggest that you start training today. “How?” you may be thinking. Let me put it like this. If I wanted to learn how to acquire a skill, I’d begin by getting some of the best books available and hearing what the experts have to say.Does that work with prayer? Yes and no.

Taking time to study both the contents of the prayers which both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul prayed gives you a structure, something to use as a guide. There are times when I have read some of Paul’s prayers—say, those recorded in his letters—and said, “Yes, Lord, that’s how I feel. Increase my understanding and give me wisdom. What Paul prayed is what I want and need.”

But in the final analysis, you have to learn to pray yourself. Prayer is conversation, remember? It has to come out of your heart, not out of a book. A study of Paul’s prayer, however, shows that he prayed for others, he prayed for friends, for enemies, for situations, for safety, for deliverance from difficult problems, for physical needs, for deliverance from those who hindered the work.

He prayed with other believers in small groups, on his own, in times of worship and praise. General George Patton was right. Prayer is a means of getting things done, God’s way.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” -Mark 11:25

Of the four Gospels, none is more to the point and straightforward that the account of Jesus’ life as rendered by Mark. Because of his close relationship with Peter who, himself, was a pretty blunt, leave-nothing-unsaid sort of a person, many scholars believe that Mark simply reflected Peter’s thoughts.

With that in mind, may I remind you that some of the most uplifting, positive words of Jesus are also recorded by Mark? For example, Mark tells about the time Jesus was talking with the disciples and said, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). Then Jesus said, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (v. 25).

Ponder those words, “When you stand praying…forgive…” “Just a minute.” you may be thinking, “What does God have to do with my relationship with other people?” In one word, everything! Prayer reflects a vertical relationship between you and God, but forgiveness is a picture of the horizontal relationship between you and someone else.

Jesus is saying that personal, answered prayer is conditioned upon your relationships with others as well as with God. But that’s not the way we like it. We prefer to get what we want from God at the same time we snub people or are angry and bitter with them. But it doesn’t work.

Immediately after Jesus gave the disciples the prayer we know as The Lord’s Prayer, He made this statement: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14,15).

You can’t have it both ways. If you want God’s forgiveness, you must learn to forgive others. If you want God to answer your prayers, you have to turn loose of the bitterness and let Him deal with some situations.

Question: Why is it so difficult to do this? The answer is that you feel more in control, more in charge, when you are filled with anger. But the very opposite is true. We also feel that forgiving someone is a matter of weakness, a giving in to the other, capitulating. But it is none of these. It is turning loose; it is letting go.

The Bible teaches that to forgive someone is to give up your right to hurt that individual because he hurt you first. It isn’t letting the person off the hook, but turning him over to God. And believe me, when you do this, the burden lifts and the anger and hatred in your heart is replaced with God’s love.

A rabbi who had lost his family in the Holocaust said that he forgave Hitler for the horrible loss he had sustained because he chose not to bring Hitler to America with him. That’s wisdom. In their book How to Forgive When You Don’t Know How,” authors Mary Grunte and Jacqui Bishop write, “When you forgive, you reclaim your power to choose. It doesn’t matter whether someone deserves forgiveness; you deserve to be free.”

Should you take time to do a study of how the word forgive is used in the Bible, you will discover that in the vast number of occurrences, it relates to an individual’s response to wrongs that others have done to him or her, rather than to seeking God’s forgiveness for what the individual has personally done. It includes wrongs done by husbands and wives, by brothers and sisters, by business associates, by neighbors and by friends. Alexander Pope once wrote, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” He was right.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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Take Every Thought Captive
by Max Lucado

Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.
Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum.
Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime.
Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse.
Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery.
Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement.
Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear.

Could that be why Paul writes, “Love … keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5 NIV)?

Some folks don’t know we have an option.

Paul says we do: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

Do you hear some battlefield jargon in that passage—“capture every thought,” “make it give up” and “obey Christ”? You get the impression that we are the soldiers and the thoughts are the enemies.

It was for Jesus. Remember the thoughts that came his way courtesy of the mouth of Peter? Jesus had just prophesied his death, burial, and resurrection, but Peter couldn’t bear the thought of it. “Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that.… Jesus said to Peter, ‘Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important’” (Matt. 16:22–23).
See the decisiveness of Jesus?

What if you did that? What if you took every thought captive? What if you took the counsel of Solomon: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23).

You are not a victim of your thoughts. You have a vote. You have a voice. You can exercise thought prevention. You can also exercise thought permission.

Change the thoughts, and you change the person. If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love? Will standing beneath the downpour of his grace change the way we feel about others?

Paul says absolutely! It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We have to cultivate a list of blessings. The same verb Paul uses for keeps in the phrase “keeps no list of wrongs” is used for think in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (RSV). Thinking conveys the idea of pondering—studying and focusing, allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.

Rather than store up the sour, store up the sweet.

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By: Joel Osteen

It’s easy to be tempted to give up on a goal, prayer or desire when it seems as if the answer isn’t coming as quickly as you would like. Yet, at these times, dare to learn how to hope even more in God. Usually, our battles seem the darkest just before the dawn.

Just like a woman experiences birth pains right before the birth of her child, we too experience intense moments before breakthrough. Yet, we must not give up prematurely during these heated times. In Hebrews 10:35 it says, “Do not cast away your confidence for it will be richly rewarded.”

As faith-filled believers, we must keep hoping, keep believing and stay faithful. Many times, we are closer than we think to victory. God is faithful to His promises. When God says we will be richly rewarded for keeping our confidence in Him, that should give us a second wind, giving us fuel to keep up the faith.

Don’t give up today on your dreams and your hope in God. By developing the attitude, “I’ve come too far to stop now” and learning how to be full of hope, expecting God’s favor daily, you’ll see God begin to do amazing things even in the midst of trying times!

You are closer than you think to victory. Dare to hope in God and His promises. You will not be disappointed!

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“The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.” -Proverbs 20:7

Can you raise G-rated kids in an X-rated world? You bet you can, but it isn’t easy. It’s the challenge of the century, and certainly the challenge of your life. The following are five guidelines which can help you accomplish your goal.

Guideline #1: Set the example.

Parenting is the raising of children by parents, not the raising of parents by their kids. God made you the mommy or daddy, so assume your responsibility. You gave birth to a child. Now instill in that child integrity and character, the kind that produces a g-rated kid in an X-rated world, a world filled with moral and spiritual pollution.

If you are an R- or an X-rated parent, don’t expect yours to be G-rated kids. You set the example. They learn from you. Never deceive yourself by telling you kids, “Don’t do as I do; do as I say.” Save your breath. What you do, they will do, but they will go one step beyond you—always.

Guideline #2: Help your child be his or her own person.

One of the greatest things a parent can do for a child is to help him throw off the “cookie cutter,” be-just-like- everyone-else, mentality which is so prevalent today. This requires your putting a certain amount of space between your kids and the world whose values are far from G-rated. It means you help your offspring to understand, “I don’t have to be just like everybody else. It’s OK to be me and to be different.” Sure, your kids are going to hear and see a lot of junk outside your home, but having a standard at home says clearly, “We don’t approve of that stuff, and we won’t allow it in our home. We love you too much to let you warp your character with junk.”

Guideline #3: Build character through the moral feeding and nurturing of your children.

I can tell you a thousand places where your children will not build character, including most movies, TV, and the lyrics of a lot of contemporary music, so you have got to concentrate on feeding the moral and spiritual nature of your child. This means Sunday School and Church, youth activities, events and activities that are family-centered. Sure, this inconveniences you as an adult. You’ve got to shut off the TV and pack the van and think about where you are going and what you are going to do.

It means you monitor what comes into your home and what goes into the minds of your kids. This includes not only what you put on the table but the music that goes into the iPod you teen listens to. A policeman? No, a parent who needs to remember a line which puts an end to the question, “Why not?” It’s, “I’m the mommy, that’s why!” or “I’m the daddy, that’s why!”

Guideline #4: Reinforce character with a positive peer group.

This means making it easy for your kids to be with others whose values are the same as yours, and difficult to be with other kids who are being raised in a permissive environment without convictions. When you fail to make some decisions, by default you lose your position to leverage your influence for good and God.

Guideline #5: Empower your child with validation.

The most important thing in the life of a youngster isn’t really, “What do my peers think of me?” in spite of the fact that we’ve bought into that mentality and touted it for a generation. The truth is that parental approval, hearing a dad say, “I’m really proud of you,” or a mom say, “Sweetheart, you really handled that situation well. I couldn’t have done better myself,” is the most meaningful validation in your kids’ lives.

You can raise G-rated kids in an X-rated world with God’s help and a lot of dogged persistence. It’s worth it. It’s the one thing that will count and make a difference in tomorrow’s world.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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“Bloodthirsty men hate a man of integrity and seek to kill the upright.” -Proverbs 29:10

You reputation is what others think of you, while character is what you really are. Your character is revealed, of course, by what you do, either negative or positively, but Ralph Waldo Emerson used to believe that, more accurately, your character is defined by what you think. He wrote, “People seem not to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.”

In recent days we have heard more than a few decry the lack of character, especially among youth today (who, of course, have not seen a lot of this quality in the lives of their parents). Convictions produce character, which may account for its scarcity today. When people have no firm convictions of right or wrong, their moral life is a replay of uncertainty, a combination trial and error. When people’s beliefs are put to the test, it is their character or lack of it which reveals how much integrity is within.

Though everyone prefers to avoid conflict, it is this which is the real testing ground of character. When you are challenged, or more specifically, when your views of right and wrong are challenged, you have to make a decision to compromise and go along with what violates your sense or right and wrong, or face the consequences.

That was exactly the situation years ago when a Persian queen whose name was Vashti was asked to dance before a banquet of rowdy military officers. Women, in those days, didn’t challenge the requests of their husband, but Queen Vashti knew that it would be a debauched and drunken group of men leering at her. She also knew that the consequences could mean divorce and even banishment from the throne. The conflict produced a decision which was costly, and in the event that you don’t remember your history of the book of Esther, it was Vashti’s refusal which cost her the throne. Character comes with a price tag attached.

Bill White found that out as well. He was one of four principals in a thriving electronics business when the quartet of businessmen went to a convention. The senior partner told about the great evening that he had arranged, which included a girl for each one, to top off the evening. “No,” said Bill, explaining that he was happily married and that he would prefer to go back to the hotel after the evening conference. “Aw, come on, Bill. Don’t be a killjoy,” his colleagues urged. But he stuck with his convictions, which revealed his true character. From that point on, he faced conflict with his partners, who had been best of friends until that crisis.

When you are faced with conflict or challenge, you don’t summon character as a resource to give you strength to do the right thing. Either it’s there or it’s not. It’s the crisis that reveals what your true character is. As Senator Dan Coats put it: “Character cannot be summoned at the moment of crisis if it has been squandered by years of compromise and rationalization. The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane. The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds of half-conscious, self-defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private. Habit is the daily battleground of character.”

In summary, your convictions are the basis of your character. Your habits are the mold for your character. Conflict is the testing of your character; and it is the measure of your courage which determines the extent of your character.

The following puts it well:

“Be careful of your thoughts, For your thoughts become your words.

Be careful of your character, For your character becomes your destiny.” (Author unknown).

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” -Isaiah 40:31, NKJV.

James Aggrey tells the story of a man who was walking through the forest and found a young eagle. Felling sorry for the young bird, which apparently had fallen out of its nest, and fearing that one of the wild animals of the forest would certainly pounce upon the eagle and kill it, he decided to take it home and put it in his barnyard, and that he did. Within a few days the young eagle adapted to his environment and began to eat chicken feed, and soon behaved much the same as the rest of the chickens.

One day, however, a naturalist was passing by, and saw the eagle in the midst of the chickens. Thinking it rather strange, he inquired of the owner as to why it was that an eagle, the king of all birds, should be confined to live in the barnyard as a common chicken. “Since I have given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken,” replied the farmer, “it has never learned to fly. It behaves as chickens behave, so it is no longer an eagle.”

“Still,” insisted the naturalist, “it has the heart of an eagle and can surely be taught to fly.” After talking it over the two men agreed to find out whether this was possible. Gently, the naturalist took the eagle in his arms and said, “You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle, however, was confused; he did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eat their food, he jumped down to be with them again. Undismayed, on the following day, the naturalist took the eagle up on the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world, and jumped down once more for the chicken food.

On the third day the naturalist rose early and took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There, he held the king of birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. You belong to the sky as well as to the earth. Stretch forth your wings now, and fly.” The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Still he did not fly.

Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun, and it happened that the eagle began to tremble, and slowly he stretched his wings. At last, with a triumphant cry, he soared away into the heavens. It may be that the eagle still remembers the chickens with nostalgia; it may even be that he occasionally revisits the barnyard. But as far as anyone knows, he has never returned to lead the life of a chicken. Though he had been kept and tamed as a chicken, he was, nonetheless, an eagle. And nothing could change that.

As I think of the parable of the eagle raised as a chicken, I think of the words of St. Augustine, who wrote, “Thou has made us for Thyself, O God, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.” In a real sense the parable of the eagle is every man’s story. You were made to have fellowship with God, to soar with the wings of an eagle far above the barnyard, but you became separated from God through sin that came into the human race.

Instead of fellowshipping with God, we became separated and estranged from our Heavenly Father. As the naturalist lifted the eagle towards the heavens, Jesus was lifted on the cross; and through His death He made it possible for you to be at peace with God, and on the wings of faith to rise above the barnyard filth that defiles and destroys.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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