Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

One day, over lunch, my sister and I were reminiscing about how unselfish our parents were throughout our lives. We were a family of 12, including dad and mom. Mom labored at her never-ending job of cooking, cleaning, washing, and driving us everywhere. She was absolutely selfless in living for us. Dad was the same but in a different way. He usually worked six days a week, 8 hours one day and 12 the next. He did what he had to do to provide a great home for all of us. On the few nights he had off, he’d always be there playing catch with a football or baseball or taking us swimming or to some activity. If there were three things they prioritized in their life, it was God, family, and church.

Jesus taught priorities! He called us to know them. He taught us what our number one priority should be. We read it in Matthew 6:33 (NIV): “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Another Bible translation says it like this: “He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. (Matthew 6:33 (NLT) 

Have you ever wondered why God wanted you to seek Him first? Is He egocentric? Of course not! He is Holy! So then, what is His motive? His motive is pure love. He did not create a sin-defiled world. He created a perfect world that was defiled by man’s sinful choices. Mankind gave entrance to Satan, and that was the beginning of ongoing poor and sinful choices that completely defiled this world. Every human being, except Jesus, has participated in those sinful choices. That’s why we need Jesus!

The reason God desires you to seek Him is so that through His Word, He can help you navigate the evil and, instead, experience His promised blessings that come through obedience. We see this in 2 Peter 1:4 (NLT2): “And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

Are you like most people? Do you find it a battle to put God first in your life? Does your heart want to? Does your spirit agree that you should put God first place in your life? But does the evidence confirm that though you have this good desire, you fail at it?  Jesus once said to Peter, “… the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41). Jesus knew we would be willing and wanting to put God first. The words that will spill from the hearts of men before the throne of God one day will be a tsunami of good intentions.

Jesus knew that the natural things created in this life would create a competition for our hearts, thoughts, emotions, and priorities. He wanted to remind us that they don’t compare to seeking God—His righteousness and His kingdom FIRST!

Jesus taught and continues to remind us through His Word, the Bible, of this timeless truth etched in God’s promises! Matthew 6:25-33 (NLT): “So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. “And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t He more surely care for you? You have so little faith! “So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.”

God’s love compels us to understand the importance of the verses you just read. Seeking Him daily needs to be our quest. We must be confident that in seeking Him through His Word, prayer, and in the community of other believers, it will produce the instruction, the direction, the grace, and the strength to trust and follow His words so that we can be led to the blessed life in Him. It is God alone who can fill the voids of the heart and the needs of life that we so often fail to meet. Seeking to know God and His will are the top priorities of our faith. By trusting God and seeking Him first, we have the foundation of faith that everything else in our life will work out for our good! As Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) says, “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.”

When we seek God first and put our faith in His promises, then our faith and trust in God will trump the fears and mental struggles that the challenges and struggles life brings. Our immovable faith and trust in knowing that God is with us, for us, and desires to help us will anchor us where we would otherwise drift into the sea of worries and fear! Jesus said our spirit was willing. He also said our flesh was weak. He also said the way for our willing spirit to defeat our weak flesh is to “Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you…”(Matthew 26:41 (NLT). Temptation isn’t just about restraining ourselves from sin. Temptation can also be about compromising our lives for entertainment, relaxation, and the desire for “things” outside of God or putting God at rock bottom of our list of priorities.  The proof is in the pudding! You decide!

Are you putting God FIRST today, or are you in the good intentions-only zone? Be confident that seeking God first is the lifeline to God’s blessing and a rightly prioritized life! Keep yourself in remembrance that God’s motive is love, your protection, and seeing you blessed. Understand that asking God in prayer to help you is where supernatural grace and strength to value and keep this priority comes from. It’s why God said, “Keep alert!” Do a self-check! An honest one! And deal with yourself accordingly.

I thank God my parents modeled that for me. It was embedded in my heart as an example to follow from the time I was a child! And I purpose to live it wholeheartedly before my children until the day I leave here to go to Heaven.

Proverbs 8:17 (NLT2) “I love all who love Me. Those who search will surely find Me.”

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In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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