Welcome to Monthly Manna!

Monthly Manna - “A deeper walk for the serious disciple,” is a monthly teaching for Christians who desire the meat of God’s word. The material you’ll be receiving will challenge you to live life according to God’s standards. Monthly Manna will offer in-depth studies with principles extracted from the Bible that you can implement in your personal walk with Christ. As we develop and mature as Christians, we must wean ourselves from the milk, and begin feasting on the meat of God’s Word. You will also be taught the importance of being led by the Holy Spirit, who dwells within you, instead of allowing the flesh or carnal nature to lead you. Check out this teaching as an introduction that will get you familiar with Monthly Manna. May it bless, encourage, and challenge you to press on toward the mark.

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Beware of Murmuring

1 Corinthians 13:4-7,
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. NKJV

Beware of the poison that is contained in the desire to murmur. Murmuring is a deceptive plot of the enemy used to rob God’s people. Jesus told us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and do good to them that hate us. Love is a very tall order, especially when you live in sinful world of hate. The Lord prompted me to write this teaching to warn us about the pitfalls that are associated by murmuring. If, as Christians, we will choose to take the high road, and obey the commands of Christ, then He will give us the strength to stand against evil, and reward us for our faithfulness. However, if we allow our flesh nature to get the best of us, where we justify disobeying His Word, then we are on our own. As a result, the enemy will use the seductive power of murmuring to lure us into his trap, and cause us to fall prey to his schemes.

Paul warns us to stand, and to withstand in the evil day. We must put on the whole armor of God, so that we might be able to stand. It amazes me how much Christians murmur about the blessings that God has given to them. They don’t realize that murmuring is bringing a curse on those blessings. Here’s a key to understanding spiritual warfare. If we keep ourselves, the wicked one can’t touch us. He toys with our mind and emotions through other people’s sin and bad behavior against us; he’s hoping to get us to violate the Word of God. Once we fall into his deceptive web, it gives him the power over us to curse or to destroy the very blessings that God has given us.

Murmuring is more than just disagreement. God doesn’t deny you the privilege of an opinion, nor sharing that opinion with the one you disagree with. What the Lord doesn’t want us to do is take that privilege, and give it over into the enemy’s hands to curse us. You can disagree with your boss, but avoid taking your disagreement with him to fellow workers and customers. If he or she finds out that you have done this, it can cost you your job. You might feel better knowing that you voiced your concerns to others while you’re looking for another job.

Satan loves to divide Christian marriages and relationships through the poison of murmuring. It’s okay to have a difference of opinion when discussing certain issues in your marriage. It’s not okay to use your differences to go out to friends, and sow discord with them against your spouse… to win them over to your side.

Sometimes when people feel that someone in authority has wronged them, it somehow justifies their actions to operate against the principles of God’s Word. Anger, lust, and feeling wronged are three very effective weapons that Satan uses against Christians to justify wrong behavior. If we succumb to their power, it can, and will blind us to the devastation caused by them until it becomes too late.

1 Corinthians 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. KJV

Murmuring in the new covenant shows us that it does open the door for the enemy to destroy our lives. It allows the serpent to inject infectious venom into our hearts that can destroy our natural blessings, but left unrepentant can, and will adversely affect our spiritual health as well. If we refuse to love as Jesus commanded us in Matthew 5, but justify our wrong actions as a correct response, we aren’t following His example. In that same chapter, Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. (He doesn’t want us to only show love to those who love us.)

If you’re in a situation where you know that someone is doing you wrong give that care over to the Lord, and allow Him to fight your battle for you. This is only accomplished through prayer and obedience. We release situations and burdens to the Lord through our prayers and obedience to God’s principles during the conflict. As we obey, and continue to obey the Lord’s commands, especially when it hurts to do so, it invites God to stand on our behalf, and scatter our enemies from before us. The key is to continue to stand, and not give into the seduction of Satan to complain, or murmur.

Matthew 18:32-35  then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." NKJV  

The man in this story had been forgiven a very large debt by his master. You might think it would change his heart; that he would be more compassionate of others’ wrongs done to him, but not the case. Instead of forgiving his fellow servant of the little debt in comparison to his own, he had him placed in debtors’ prison until the entire debt was paid. Jesus uses this story to teach His disciples (us) about the importance of forgiveness. If we harbor unforgiveness against others, it opens the door for the enemy to torture, or torment us, and it won’t stop until we forgive.

If we allow the flesh nature to rule our hearts, we’re the ones who will suffer, but if we allow God’s Word to rule our hearts, then we will prosper. Being led by the Spirit, and not our flesh causes us to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace… It will seem very difficult at first, because you’re literally allowing the Word to crucify your right to vengeance. However, that pain will turn into joy once you pass through the dying process. It will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in your life, and others will be able to partake of God’s goodness in your life. In Christ you are blessed to be a blessing. It’s not always the easiest path, but it is ALWAYS a rewarding path. Now go out there and turn the world upside down for Jesus.

I shall not murmur,
Pastor Asa