Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

God has a master plan for our life. He has had a master plan for every human being that has ever lived on planet earth. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” People often say things like, Well if this is God’s master plan, He apparently doesn’t have a clue about what He’s doing! That always makes me cringe when people say something this arrogant, but they are simply ignorant of the things of God and I understand where they are coming from.   

The world is dark. People think God should manipulate all things, stop all evil, and make everything good. But if He did, we wouldn’t be free. We’d be robots never able to make our own choices.  We wouldn’t have the option of choosing love or hate, forgiveness or bitterness, serving one another or being narcissistic. Some would respond great! But they would only say that because they don’t understand how that would have changed life. Angels don’t have the choices we have. They were not created like us. They have to do what God directs them to. God’s word says that we have it better! In our next life we will be ruling over the angels of God. We get to pick good over darkness and love over hate. God lets us make our own choices but helps us understand the wrong choices hurt us and mankind. And for this reason, we live in a dark world. We’ve created this dark world―not God! He gives every individual the opportunity to seek and experience Him.  I know that could raise a thousand questions but He would answer them for you one-by-one if you sought Him regarding it through His word and prayer. Right now, you may not fully understand how but it’s still the truth!

So getting back to God’s master plan, He has always had one for you. He knows and has always known what His plan for you is. It’s His desire that we seek Him and learn to follow His Word and ways. It is through obedience to His Word and through prayer, that He leads us in His plan for our life. He never reveals all of it to us, but instead, directs our steps so that it unfolds around us day-by-day as we live for Him. He also directs our heart by placing godly desires within us that draw us down the road toward His will. Psalm 37:4 (NLT2) says, “Take delight in the LORD, and he Hill give you your heart’s desires.”

Regarding God’s master plan, one of the most mind-blowing truths that is impossible for people to wrap their minds around, is that God has had a plan for every single person that has lived on this planet before He ever created the world.  That thought is mind-blowing but true! And that plan was about us discovering Jesus and what He did for us, leading us to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We see this in Ephesians 1:4 (NLT2) says, “Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.” Think about that! Meditate on this verse. God always wanted you to find and discover Jesus. It is part of His master plan for you! He has been trying to influence―not manipulate that to happen in your life since the minute you were born! You have to read this verse over and over until this truth becomes a revelation to you!  But Pastor Tim, what about the part of being holy and without fault. I’ve never been able to achieve that no matter how much I want to! How could I possibly be without fault in God’s eyes?   

We become “without fault” through the precious blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for each one of us. It is because of what Jesus did, we become blameless in God’s eyes, not because of our own holiness! We strive for holiness but none of us can ever perfectly get to that place. We needed Jesus to do it for us! We aren’t holy and blameless in our own eyes but that helps us work on it throughout our lifetime. We are holy in blameless in His eyes and that’s His doing for our sakes. Talk about love! That’s the depth of His love and where His master plan for our life begins! 

There is much more to tell you but if I continued, this would be too long for a Fresh Manna and so I’ll continue with Part Two next time.  

For today, just meditate on this incomprehensible love that God makes us holy and blameless in His sight so that we can live our life for Him knowing just how imperfect we are! What a love that is!  Next time, Part Two… 

In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt 

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