Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Renee and I learned a very valuable lesson when we sold our first home. It was our first house—a wonderful but small house that we lived in for 14 years. When our family grew to six in size and the children’s bodies grew bigger, we ran out of room. We put our house up for sale and began the quest of looking for a new one.

Before we could sell our  home, we had local code requirements we had to meet. The housing inspector came to inspect it and made a list of everything that had to be fixed before it could be sold. The list had about ten items that had to be brought to code. We had to spend some money and knock off each task on the fix list. Then we were advised by the realtor to spruce up some areas of the house to make it more sellable. It definitely took some finances and sweat equity. When we were done, we thought Wow, this place looks and feels a lot better. Well the house sold quickly and so we only got to live in it for one more month. We left that house thinking, We put money and a whole lot of sweat into that house—all for someone else. They were really minor renovations that we could have done years ago and enjoyed for ourselves. Lesson learned! We’ll never do that again. It was crazy that we put up with all those little inconveniences for so long when it only took a week to fix them all! Insanity!

God knows how much we need spiritual renovation. And the truth is, with God’s help, we can make those little fixes. Satan tries to amplify them in our mind and make them seem impossible. Most aren’t big and the grace of God is supernatural to help! God is ready and willing to help us make them now! God wants us to experience spiritual renovation day-by-day. That is what 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV) says! “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

This is a verse to meditate on. The Holy Spirit will bring deeper insight if you do. It’s important to note that the cost of not experiencing a daily renovation in your heart —“being renewed day by day,” is that you will lose heart. You will get discouraged, become apathetic and lethargic, and learn to live with stupid thoughts, habits, and destructive behaviors that erode the blessed life God wants you to experience. Between personal health, relationships, the workplace, the bad news of the world, and the persecution that comes from being a vibrant Christian, discouragement finds its way into our lives. That’s why we need to be “inwardly renewed day by day.”

Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) says, “For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires…” The Word of God sorts through all the tangled mess of our minds and gets down to the nitty-gritty. It exposes wrong thoughts and attitudes and brings right thinking and promise to us. Psalms 19:7 says, “Gods Word and precepts are perfect, reviving – bring new life to the soul.” That’s what we need to be inwardly renovated – “new life to the soul.” God’s Word always has the power to renovate and renew us from the inside out. Psalm 19:8 (NIV) says, “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. “

With giving your life to Christ, comes a precious promise that says God will make everything in your life new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is
gone; a new life has begun!” God will not override your own free will to renovate you. You’ll have to make that decision for yourself. But, God is there ready to help you and His word speaks life, power, and promise into your life to supply the spiritual strength to do so. Your temperament, your attitudes, your thinking and behaviors are ready for you to begin that transformation. Don’t wait. Begin now and enjoy the benefits early on of a better you through Christ Jesus!

Jeremiah 31:3-4 (NIV) “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt…”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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Published by Pastor Tim Burt
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