Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

This weekend Renee and I watched our youngest son Matthew, the fourth of our four children marry the most beautiful and sweet young woman – our new daughter-in-law Sarah. I had the privilege of performing the wedding ceremony as I have for all our children. It’s an honor beyond what I could have ever imagined I would experience in life.

It was an outdoor wedding in La Crosse Wisconsin at a country club in a special wedding cut-out along a golf course. Sarah’s parents who are from the area, out did themselves in the planning of this wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. Close friends and family that knew Matthew and Sarah well came from close and afar to celebrate with us. The entire weekend was spectacular and left Renee and I in awe as we pondered it all on our three hour drive home to Minneapolis. I am still in awe this morning. I am thankful beyond words. It would take me a very long time to tell you all the touches of God’s grace throughout the weekend but there were many. It was His way of letting us know of His love and presence throughout.

My life was such a train wreck when I first gave my life over to Jesus 33 years ago. I had messed up my life so terribly that I couldn’t imagine it ever being redeemed and restored to what He has restored it to today. And this weekend was like the cherry on top.

When I turned my life over to Jesus at the age of 24 years old, I would have served Him forever just because of what He did for me – dieing for me and restoring me sinless before His Father. He never had to do another thing. But, that isn’t how He is. He wanted to not only redeem us back to God but restore to us what the devil had stolen from our years of ignorance, rebellion, and wrong choices. That is the magnitude of His love. I saw that in His word and Renee and I have believed in every word of His promises every day of our lives. God would do things that would be beyond what we could ever imagine or do for ourselves. That is His grace. That was His promise to us. We’ve stood on it and had faith and trust in His love and today we stand in awe of it all!

God’s covenant of promised blessing to Abraham and his future seed reaches all the way into our lives today through that faith. Galatians 3:14 says, ”God redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

The promises of blessing to God’s children abound throughout the Bible. What are some of those promises? Deut 28:3-8 is just one place that reveals many of them!

[3] You will be blessed in your towns and in the country. (Wherever you live) [4] You will be blessed with many children and productive fields. You will be blessed with fertile herds and flocks. (God will bless you in your body and in what you put your hand to in your livelihood.) [6] You will be blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going. [7] “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! [8] “The Lord will bless everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.

Now Renee and I aren’t farmers and this vernacular might not seem to quite match up with how we produce our livelihood, but you are smart enough to figure out what God is promising to all of us! God wants to supernaturally bless us. Promises like these cry out to us – “Only believe.” We have and continue to and consequently stand in awe as we see them manifest in our lives! And this is why we are so filled and overflowing with thankfulness to Him today.

Psalm 138:2 (NLT) “I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
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