1. WHAT GOD SENT (Exodus 16:14-15).
     There's a great picture of how God sends His messages to us in our word today. Look in Exodus 16:14. God's ancient people were traveling through the wilderness in need of food. And God supplied their need by sending this miracle food called manna - which interestingly enough in Hebrew means "What is it?"

Exodus 16:14-15

"And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist (knew) not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat."

2. WHAT GOD SAID (Exodus 16:19-21).
     God through Moses begins to give them some very important ground rules concerning the food that He had given them in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:19-21

"And Moses said, Let no man leave (part) of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left (part) of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth (angry) with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed (became) hot, it melted."

Some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots (the Bible says) and began to smell."

3. WHAT WE NEED.
     In the Bible God's Word is called honey (Psalm 19:10); it's called bread (Matthew 4:4); it's called milk (1 Peter 2:2); it's called water (Ephesians 5:26); and it's called meat (1 Corinthians 3:2). The Word of God is spiritual food.

     A. Get Our Daily Food. In the New Testament, manna is used to symbolize spiritual food from God. And the "collection" principle is still the same - pick up fresh food each new day. Yesterday's messages from God are not good enough for today. He's got fresh manna, fresh messages, for the needs of this fresh new day. As Lamentations 3:23 says, "they are new every morning." Some days your mail from God will give you new perspective on what's going on in your life . . . other days it will correct you and help you to get back on the right path. The Lord's prayer does not say give us our yearly, monthly or even weekly bread. It says, "Give us this day our daily bread!"We need this spiritual food every day.

     B. Turn Off Other Messages for a While. You will have to want God's messages enough to turn off some other messages for a little while - your television, the Internet, the newspaper, your music - all of which can end up stealing all or most of our time with God. If you'll open God's Word with the eagerness and anticipation of someone who is checking their e-mail, I can guarantee you will always have mail . . . holy mail . . . life-changing mail . . . messages from the God of the universe to your heart. Will you answer today's messages just for you? I close with" You Got Mail"

     One of Rabbi Ben Jochai's pupils once asked him, "Why didn't the Lord give enough manna to Israel for a year, all at one time? Why did he have to give it to them every day?" The teacher said, "I will answer you with a parable or story. Once there was a king who had a son. Each year he would pay his son a yearly allowance of money. As time went on the relationship between the father and son grew bad and they became distant, not talking to each other. Finally, the day that the allowance was due was the only day of the year when the father ever saw his son.

     So the king changed his plan and gave his son day by day that amount that was needed for that day; and then the son visited his father every morning. As time went back their relationship healed and became close again. How he needed his father's unbroken love, companionship, wisdom, and giving!"

by Charles Ross
LINKS TO . . . Other Bible Messages Genesis Esther Daniel Philippians James Complete Discipleship Topics