Dear Manna Family, 

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “birds of a feather flock together.”  That’s one way of saying that people are attracted to people like themselves.  Even more importantly, it says that people in the flock behave like the flock.  This is the law of association, which states that over time, we become like the people we habitually associate with.   We need to choose our friends carefully, because their character and conduct will shape ours.  Our social environment doesn’t control us, but it does strongly influence us.  Just look at the powerful influence social media has on people’s behavior.

King Solomon illustrates this principle when he writes in   

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,

But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Walking with someone implies that you are traveling in the same direction and heading towards the same destination.  If you are close friends with someone who is making foolish life choices, you are also making foolish life choices.   When you hang out with foolish people, you wind up talking like they talk, thinking like they think and acting like they act.  The reality is, both wisdom and foolishness are contagious upon prolonged contact.  Since that’s true, then social distancing from foolish people is a wise decision.  Quarantine yourself as much as possible from wicked foolish people, otherwise you may be infected with their folly.

God commands us to habitually associate with God’s people.

Hebrews 10:24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

Vs 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

God’s people should spend quality time and quantity time with God’s people.  Our purpose is to encourage and exhort each other to love and good works.  Solomon tells us in

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron,

So one man sharpens another.

Think about sharpening a knife with a whetstone, a honing steel, or a grinding wheel.  Iron on iron contact produces friction and heat; and sometimes even sparks.  It takes friction to sharpen an edge, and minute amounts of metal are removed when you sharpen a blade.  Paradoxically, the most dangerous knives in your kitchen are the dull ones.  You have to apply more pressure to cut something, and that’s when accidents can happen.  A dull knife or scissors does not fulfill its purpose which is to cut precisely, easily and cleanly.  Sometimes the most dangerous people are the ones who are spiritually dull.

Solomon says that close contact with wise and Godly people will sharpen you and make you better.  You have to work harder to keep up with a diligent person.  Hanging out with spiritually lazy people will not grow you up, it will slow you down.  You will not be sharpened without close contact, and that implies honesty and accountability.  It also involves conviction of sin, and a willingness to repent and change direction.  Stay close to godly people who challenge your life by their character and their conduct.  We all need vulnerability and accountability to perform at our best.

The most important intimate contact in your life is Jesus Christ.  

Proverbs 18: 24 There is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Our number one relationship must always be with Jesus.  There is no better friend than Jesus.  The closer we walk with Jesus, the more time we spend with Him, the more like Him we will become.

Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’

Love and prayers, 

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, CA.

For more information, visit mannapodcast.com

Copyright 2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink -- All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

The American poet Ogden Nash once wrote; “Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them.” The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about money and debt. Perhaps the most succinct statement about debt is found in

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor,

And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

Debt is not forbidden in the Bible, but it is definitely discouraged.

The reality is, debt is dangerous. When you borrow, you are obligating yourself to the lender to pay the loan back, regardless of future circumstances. If you fail to pay the loan back, you have stolen the money, and are a thief. That’s why the text says, “the borrower becomes the lenders slave.” There used to be an old bumper sticker that read, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” That is a statement of bondage, not freedom. For several centuries in medieval Europe, people who were unable to pay their debts were incarcerated in a debtors’ prison where they would work off their debt in labor, sometimes for years. God commanded ancient Israel to celebrate the Year of Jubilee every 50 years. On that year, all debts were cancelled, and everyone began with a fresh slate. Today we have bankruptcy laws to help overly indebted people to either restructure or legally default on their debts.

Debt always presumes on the future, because we assume that we will have the ability to pay the debt back. The problem is, we don’t know the future. Our incomes may shrink or disappear, but the cost of the debt never goes away until it is paid back. Not all debt is created equal. Buying a house with a mortgage is very different than paying for a vacation with a credit card. The house itself is collateral for your mortgage, but the vacation has no enduring monetary value; just memories. Borrowing money to purchase a business that creates enough income to pay back the loan can be a very sound strategy.

Debt is very attractive because it allows us to enjoy benefits immediately and pay for those benefits in the future. Debt creates pleasure now and pain later. 189 million Americans have credit card debt, and the average number of credit cards is four. The average credit card balance per household was $8,398 as of 12/31/2019. The average interest cost per year was $1,162, which is more than a 13% interest rate. That’s painfully expensive!

Sometimes, debt is the result of our unwillingness to delay gratification. We live in a culture that preaches, “buy now, pay later.” This often involves debt. Try this instead: “Pray now, buy later, and probably pay less.” God has promised to provide for our needs in His time, not necessarily our wants in our time. When we pray about a purchase, and patiently wait on the Lord, He may provide what we need without incurring debt; and our faith muscle gets stronger. However, not all debt occurs through our own choices. Sometimes, medical or other emergencies occur, and we wind up with debt through no choice of our own. In all cases, we need to pray for wisdom, obtain Godly counsel, and then put a plan in place to pay back the debt. There is an old phrase, “no debt, no danger!” The older I get, the more sense that makes.

Remember, God designed us to “do life together!”

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California.

Manna believes in doing life together. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

The first rule of life is that God is the origin and the owner of His creation. Therefore, He makes the rules by which His universe operates. One of His rules is the law of cause and effect. This law operates throughout God’s creation. Neither the universe nor your smart phone happened by accident; both had a cause. Your smart phone was caused by a great deal of intelligent effort by a great many people. We call this the law of giving and receiving, or in agricultural terms, the law of sowing and reaping.

There are three corollaries to the law of sowing and reaping. You reap or harvest what you plant, more than you plant, and later than you plant. When you plant wheat, you get what you plant; you get wheat, not corn. Furthermore, you usually get more wheat than you plant, since each wheat seed can produce a plant with multiple seeds. Lastly, you harvest later than you plant. Crops take time to grow; you have to wait several months before you harvest the wheat. King Solomon articulates this principle when he writes in

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD from your wealth

And from the first of all your produce;

Vs 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 11:24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,

And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.

Vs 25 The generous man will be prosperous,

And he who waters will himself be watered.

The God of the Bible is a giving God. He gives us life, a planet to live on, people to live with, and work to do. God gave us His word, and His Son Jesus who paid the death penalty for our sin, so we can experience eternal life with Him forever in heaven. Because we are made in His image and redeemed by His Son, God expects us to act like He acts. Because God is generous and gives, He commands us to give, and He rewards our faithfulness.

This promise of God is humanly counterintuitive. God promises that you will have more when you give it away, not when you hoard it. So less today creates more in the future. God compares giving to planting seeds in the ground. The more seeds you give to the soil in the spring, the more seeds you will harvest in the fall. Planting a seed requires faith; you put the seed in the ground where it dies. However, our faith is grounded in facts. For generations, we have seen farmers plant in the spring by faith, and harvest in the fall, so we know the law works. God says, when you honor Me and give, trusting Me to meet your needs, I will demonstrate My faithfulness and abundantly bless you.

Proverbs 19:17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD,

And He will repay him for his good deed.

God keeps accurate books, and no good deed done in God’s name for God’s glory will go unrewarded. God doesn’t promise when the harvest will come, or what it will look like, but He promises that it will come, and that it will be overflowing and abundant. The motive behind Biblical giving is not simply to get in return. God’s people give out of gratitude, because God has so generously given to them first. When we give out of gratitude, God promises take care of our needs. Most of all, when we obediently give, we experience greater intimacy with God Himself, which is the greatest blessing of all.

Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California.

Manna believes in doing life together. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

Getting angry can be like jumping into a powerful sports car, taking off at high speed and then discovering that the brakes don’t work. King Solomon writes in

Proverbs 14:29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding,

But he who is quick tempered exalts folly.

Vs 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

Notice that Proverbs does not condemn all anger; it commends the control of anger. Anger is a God given emotion that can be used for good or evil. If we are angry over injustice and evil, we agree with God who is also angry over sin. However most human anger is self-centered. Someone has ‘done us wrong,’ and we’re going to fix it ourselves…..on our terms!

A lady once came up to Billy Sunday and tried to rationalize her angry outbursts. “There’s nothing wrong with losing my temper,” she said. “I blow up and then it’s all over.” “So does a shotgun,” Sunday replied, “and look at the damage it leaves behind!”

Slow to anger literally means long fused or long tempered. It denotes someone who is patient when wronged; someone who does not retaliate when mistreated. God, who is sinned against every day, describes Himself as being ‘slow to anger’ and ‘abounding in lovingkindness.’ We are called to act like God acts, and not retaliate when wronged. It’s better to control your anger than capture a city.

Anger tends to breed more anger and things can escalate quickly. In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game. But what happened that day was anything but routine. The Orioles’ John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third baseman. Within minutes, all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans, the conflict went from bad to worse. Someone set fire to the stands, and the entire ballpark burned to the ground. Not only that, but the fire spread to 107 other Boston buildings as well.

Anger is like a small fire that grows into an out of control wildfire and burns down everything in its path. The solution is to not light the fire in the first place. King Solomon writes in

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Vs 18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

But the slow to anger pacifies contention.

Gentleness is water on an emotional fire that cools it off and puts it out. Harsh words dump gasoline on the fire so that it explodes. One Biblical example of this is King Rehoboam, Solomon’s oldest son and heir to the throne. Rehoboam failed to heed his father’s advice. After Solomon’s death, the ten northern tribes came to Rehoboam and asked him to lighten their taxes and forced labor. Solomon’s older advisors told him to listen to their request, speak gently to them, and then the tribes would be loyal and serve him. Unfortunately, Rehoboam listened to his younger peer group, who advised him to harshly threaten them with even more taxes and forced labor. As a result, tempers flared, and the kingdom was split; the ten tribes in the north broke away from the 2 tribes in the south. A civil war was only narrowly averted. Harsh angry words divided an ancient kingdom, and today they are dividing marriages, families, churches, and even nations. Ask God to give you a longer fuse!

Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California.

Manna believes in doing life together. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family:

Mark Twain once said,

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

King Solomon, who wrote the book of Proverbs would agree. He wrote in

Proverbs 10:19 When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,

But he who restrains his lips is wise.

17:28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;

When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

Solomon says: the more words you speak, the higher the probability of sinning with your tongue. It’s easy to speak without thinking, and we all need to filter our words. Speaking unfiltered words is like drinking unfiltered water; they can create harm. All of us have said things we later regret. Words are like water going over a waterfall; once a word falls out of your mouth, it’s impossible to recall.

There is an old children’s rhyme; “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That’s not true, words are powerful. Words can harm, but words can also help. That is why managing our mouth is mandatory. Our problem is, the tongue is almost impossible to discipline.

James 3:2 says that “if anyone does not stumble in what they say, they are perfect, and able to control their entire body as well.” The easiest way to not stumble in what you say, is to simply say less, or maybe say nothing at all. Not every event requires my commentary! Believe it or not, there are more important things in the world than my opinion. Unfortunately, many people love to hear themselves talk, even when they don’t know what they are talking about. I was told as a youngster that God gave people two ears and one mouth, so we could listen twice as much as we talk. Excellent listeners are rare and valuable. Number one, we generally learn far more by listening than by talking. In addition, listening lets us engage our minds before we open our mouths. On a firing range, the proper sequence is, “ready, aim, fire!” Not, fire, aim, ready! Speaking without thinking is as dangerous as a cross eyed javelin thrower in a large crowd. Someone will probably get hurt.

Solomon’s father, king David, was aware of this danger and wrote in

Psalm 39:1 I said, “I will guard my ways,

That I may not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle,

While the wicked are in my presence.”

A muzzle is what we put over a dog’s mouth and jaws to prevent them from biting someone. It’s a graphic picture of how we should muzzle our mouth so that we don’t bite someone with our words. Today, we would say, “bite your tongue!” It’s shorthand for 'don’t say it, even if you really want to.’ We cannot speak and bite our tongue at the same time. One simple way to monitor your mouth is to make it habit to pray before you speak. Just waiting a few additional seconds can stop foolishness from falling out of your mouth. Besides, when you keep quiet, people will think that you are really wise!

Remember, God designed us to “do life together!”

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California.

Manna believes in doing life together. If you’re in need of prayer, email us your request at [email protected] and our class will be happy to add it to our prayer list. Members of Manna get together each week to pray for those on the prayer list.

For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

The historian Will Durant once wrote:

“Talk is cheap because the supply always exceeds the demand. One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do, and always a clever thing to say.”

King Solomon, a very wise man once wrote:

Proverbs 18:13 He who gives an answer before he hears,

It is folly and shame to him.

15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

In medicine, as well as in life, diagnosis should always precede prescription. This implies careful listening and thinking to make sure you understand the problem, before you prescribe a solution. Listening to a person, is like tuning into a radio station. For best results, you can only listen to one station at a time. This is true for people as well. Effective listening requires a one track mindset, not a multitasking mindset.

‘Ponder how to answer’ means to think carefully, to appraise the situation, to reflect and contemplate before speaking or acting. Pondering takes time, and we live in a ‘hurry up’ world. Chuck Swindoll tells about the time when his schedule was very tight and as a result his entire family felt very rushed. One night his daughter Colleen said, “’Daddy, I wanna tell you something, and I’ll tell you really fast.’ Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered, ‘Honey, you can tell me—and you don’t have to tell me really fast; say it slowly.’ I’ll never forget her answer, ‘Then listen slowly.’” True confessions; I do not listen slowly very well at all.

Steven Covey writes that one habit of effective people is that they seek to understand before being understood. This means listening before speaking. It means taking the time to truly understand the issues before you comment on them. There are many classes on public speaking, very few on effective listening. Few things are more obnoxious than a talk show where multiple people are all talking over the top of each other in louder and louder voices. Solomon says that the wicked literally pour out whatever is inside them without filtering it. There is limited thought or care in their choice of words. They are not interested in others, but only in hearing their own opinions.

By way of contrast, Solomon writes,

25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver

Is a word spoken in right circumstances.

Vs 12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold

Is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

15:23 A man has joy in an apt answer,

And how delightful is a timely word!

An apt answer is a suitable answer. It is the one that is most appropriate given the current situation. It’s the right word at the right time to the right person for the right reason. It meets the need of the moment, which implies taking the time to understand what the real need of the moment is!

Consider the benefits of using fewer, not more words. The Ten Commandments without commentary contains 79 words, depending on the translation. The Lord’s Prayer is 66 words long. The Gettysburg Address is 272 words. George Washington’s second inaugural address is only 130 words long. European regulations on the growing of farm produce are about 32,000 words.

Using more words versus using fewer words is like the difference between throwing a handful of sand at a target versus aiming at the target with a bow and a single arrow. When we listen slowly and ponder before we speak, we will be able to say only what needs to be said, and nothing more. The very best way to say the right thing at the right time is to ask God for wisdom, before you speak.

Remembers, God designed us to ‘do life together!’

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

In 1973, the band Bachman Turner Overdrive recorded a song whose chorus reads;

"I’ll be takin’ care of business, every day,

Takin’ care of business, every way,

I’ve been takin’ care of business, it’s all mine,

Takin’ care of business and working overtime."

King Solomon emphasized the importance of takin’ care of business when he wrote in

Proverbs 27:23 Know well the condition of your flocks,

And pay attention to your herds.

Vs 24 For riches are not forever,

Nor does a crown endure to all generations.

Ancient Israel was an agricultural society and pastoring animals was a large part of their economy. A good shepherd or herdsman spent 24/7 with their animals. They knew each animal by name and their individual needs. They knew their status, because they were always on site. There is no such thing as an effective absentee shepherd. Animals require daily ‘hands on’ care. It’s kind of like parenting. We cannot parent well without being present…..every single day. Our children need careful attention every single day if they are going to thrive. Same with our marriages, our friendships, our jobs, our health, our finances, our service to God and others.

The character trait Solomon is highlighting here is diligence. We cannot be effective in fulfilling our responsibilities unless we are diligent. Diligence is careful attention and constant activity in pursuit of a specific purpose. Whatever task we are called to do, we need to make every effort to complete it on time, with excellence.

Diligence is taking good care of whatever business God has entrusted to us. Generally speaking, what we care for grows, and what we neglect deteriorates and dies. As Solomon says, riches don’t automatically grow; they require attention. Even the position of king is not forever; you have to pay attention, or you could lose it. More than a few kings and dictators have been deposed due to a lapse of diligence.

Diligence is being disciplined with the details of life. We cannot care for what we do not measure. And we cannot measure without paying attention. Without proper care, herd animals get sick, wander off and get lost, are killed by predators, or starve due to poor diets. Without constant care, the only thing a garden will grow is weeds. The same is true of every area of our lives. Whether it’s our physical or spiritual health, our relationships with family and friends, our careers, or our finances, we must be diligent or they will deteriorate. The opposite of diligence is negligence. If we neglect our homes, the maintenance needs pile up. If we neglect our health, sooner or later we pay the price in illness. If we neglect our work, we might be asked to find another job. If we take our friends for granted, our friendships will suffer.

We know that David was a diligent shepherd, even as a youth. He cared enough about his father’s sheep that he risked his life to fight off lions and bears who tried to destroy the flock. He learned diligence from sheep, so he would be a diligent king. We expect diligence in others. We expect that our surgeon will be diligent when we’re under anesthesia. We expect schools to be diligent when we entrust our children to them. God expects us to be diligent as well. Whatever God has entrusted to you, make sure you are ‘takin’ care of business.’

Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California.

Manna believes in doing life together. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

Proverbs is a book of practical wisdom; it tells us how to live a successful life in a broken world. One character quality that is required for successful living is diligence. Solomon, the author of Proverbs commands the lazy person in

Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard,

Observe her ways and be wise,

Vs 7 Which having no chief,

Officer or ruler,

Vs 8 Prepares her food in the summer,

And gathers her provision in the harvest.

Diligence is careful attention and constant effort in the pursuit of a specific purpose. It’s being responsible and reliable in completing a task on time and with excellence. The Bible commends diligence, and criticizes its opposite, slothfulness. Sluggard or slothful means lazy, sleepy, slow moving, idle and inactive. A slothful person is allergic to work and addicted to rest. Their desire for ease is stronger than their desire to obey God

Solomon says to the sluggard; observe the ant and do likewise. Ants are diligent. Ants are always moving with purpose and speed in a definite direction. How many of you have ever seen a lazy ant? No one has to tell ants what to do; they do not require supervision in order to do a job. Ants work hard and work smart. They are either headed away from the colony to forage for food or fight enemies, or they are headed back to the colony with food or dead enemies. They have foresight; they begin to gather food in the summer so they have full larders by winter. There is an old farm saying, “Make hay when the sun shines, make haste when it doesn’t.”

The opposite of the ant is the sluggard or the sloth. The sloth of the rain forest mostly just hangs upside down from tree branches high in the air. They pretty much just eat leaves all day and sleep. They are so stationary that moss actually grows on their back. When they do move, it is extremely slow. Solomon warns the lazy person

Vs 9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you rise from your sleep

Vs 10 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest”

Vs 11 And your poverty will come in like a vagabond,

And your need like an armed man.

The story is told of an old mountaineer and his wife who were sitting in front of their fireplace just whiling away the time one evening. After a long silence, his wife said, “Jed, I think it’s raining. Why don’t you go outside and see. The old mountaineer continued to gaze into the fire, sighed and then said, “Aw, Ma, why don’t we just call in the dog, and see if he’s wet.”

Slothful people often excuse their behavior. ‘I’ve only hit the snooze button 4 times, I’m just taking an extra 10 minutes for my lunch break, I’m only a few minutes late for work every day.’ A little laziness every day adds up to a lot of undone work. Sooner or later, that could cost someone their job. Many people would love to live on “Easy Street.”

In 1933, Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer wrote a song called “Lazybones”. Lazybones, sleepin’ in the sun; how you ‘spect to get your day’s work done? Lazybones, loafin’ all the day; how you ‘spect to make a dime that way? Laziness is easy in the present, but the ultimate consequence of sloth is starvation. Whatever you do, do it with diligence!

Remember, God designed us to “do life together!”

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California.

For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

Professor Howard Hendricks once said that there are about 100 leaders profiled in the Bible, and two thirds of them did not finish well. It’s shocking that 67 out of 100 leaders in the Bible flunked out! King Asa of Judah is an example of a man who started well but stumbled before the finish line. He forgot that life is a marathon. He also forgot Yogi Berra’s proverb; “It ain’t over, ’til it’s over!”

Asa began well by cleansing Judah of idol worship and encouraging people to seek the LORD. God gave Judah ten years of peace from their enemies. King Asa wisely used that time to build fortified cities to prepare for future attacks. Sure enough, after ten years, the Ethiopians invaded Judah with an army of 1 million soldiers. That’s a problem, and problems test your faith, and reveal who you trust. King Asa and Judah acknowledge that they are helpless, and ask God to save them……..so that God’s name will be vindicated. God gives Judah a great victory.

God’s prophet Azariah meets them after the victory. He gives them encouragement…….and a warning.

2 Chronicles 15:2…….the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

This is a conditional promise; if you do this, God will do this. Asa and Judah renew their covenant with the LORD and restore the temple worship. God gives Judah another 25 years of peace. Peace and prosperity seem to be permanent.

However, after 25 years of peace, Judah is invaded by their fellow Jews in northern Israel! Instead of seeking the LORD for help, Asa steals the gold and silver vessels out of God’s temple and bribes the nation Aram to invade Israel. It worked: Israel stopped the invasion of Judah. From a political perspective this was brilliant. From a spiritual perspective, it was a disaster. Asa now values gold more than God; he trusts in his own understanding more than God’s. 25 years of peace and prosperity have produced pride.

Hananai, a prophet of God confronts Asa and tells him, “God wanted to destroy Aram’s army, and you made peace with God’s enemy. From now on, you will not have peace, you will have wars.” Instead of repenting at God’s rebuke, Asa becomes enraged and throws Hananai in prison. If you don’t like the message, silence the messenger. However, God has ways to speak to you even when you refuse to listen. Three years later, Asa became severely diseased in his feet. Asa has another opportunity to trust God and he flunks this test as well. He does not trust God for help, he trusts in his physicians, and dies 2 years later.

Lessons:

Every problem in life is an opportunity to exercise faith in God.

This virus is not the last faith test we will experience in this life.

To finish life well; spend alone time with Jesus every day, read His word and do what it says, pray for guidance and then follow it, fellowship with God’s people, not Satan’s people.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6 )…….none of us are smart enough to live life without following God.

When you fix your eyes on Jesus and stay focused on the finish line, you will end well.

Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••

Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California.

For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family,

We live in a world that seems out of control. Peaceful protests exhibit self-control, but rioting reveals a lack of self-control. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5: 22-23, and the last virtue mentioned is self-control or self-discipline.

Self-control is mastering our thoughts and actions. It’s disciplining our desires so they don’t lead us into sin. Self-control enables us to say no to temptation. For the Christian, self-control is Spirit control.

James 4: 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

We must first submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit. Then we will have the supernatural power to successfully resist sin and Satan. The apostle Paul practiced self-discipline himself as he records in

I Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

Vs 25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Vs 27 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;

Vs 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Discipline is doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you like it or not.

Joseph was a person who exercised self-control in the face of temptation. Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers into Egypt. Joseph became successful because God was with him, and caused whatever he did to prosper. His master’s wife propositioned him repeatedly, but he refused to listen or even be near her. One day she arranged for all the men to be away from the house, so she could seduce him.

Genesis 39: 12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.

Joseph refused to be dominated by his desires. He had already surrendered himself to the LORD, and he now resisted sexual temptation by fleeing, not fighting.

David, in his early years, is another example of self-control. At twelve years old, David had been anointed the future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. King Saul knew this and spent ten years trying to kill him. David and 600 of his followers were living as fugitives from Saul in the wilderness of southern Judah. On one occasion, Saul and his army were camping near David’s hideout. During the night David and his cousin Abishai went down to Saul’s camp, when everyone is fast asleep. They walk right into the center of the camp where King Saul is sleeping. Abishai, begs David for the chance to kill Saul, so David can become king immediately.

I Samuel 26: 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be without guilt.

Self-discipline means submitting to the Holy Spirit instead of taking matters into our own hands. Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus promised His disciples,

Acts 1: 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

Every Christian already has God the Holy Spirit living inside them. Right now, we have the power to overcome sin and Satan. The key is to stay in step with the Spirit moment by moment. As we do that, we will sin less and become more like Jesus. Enjoy your journey!

Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’

Love and prayers,

Brad

•••Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life.

Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com.

©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved