Dear Manna Family,

I know that many folks are trying out new recipes during their extended time at home.

God has a great recipe for spiritual blessing that He wrote down for us in Psalm 1.

Psalm 1

Vs 1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

Vs 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he mediates day and night.

Vs 3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season,

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1 lists 3 things not to do, 2 things to do, and 3 results that will follow. A person blessed by God does not believe like the wicked, behave like the sinners, or belong with the scoffers.

Walk in the counsel of the wicked:

God’s people do not believe or follow wicked advice that contradicts God’s word. They guard their minds so that they are not influenced by persuasive deceit. Since they know the truth, they recognize lies, even rational lies.

Stand in the path of sinners:

God’s people are not intimate with, nor do they behave like people who love their sin and practice it regularly. They know that “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20. If your friends love to sin, they will teach you to sin. Key question: Who is influencing you?

Sit in the seat of scoffers:

God’s people are not comfortable and do not belong with people who mock and scorn God. A great deal of our contemporary culture today ridicules God and God’s people. When you watch mockers onscreen or in person, they teach you to doubt God. For many people, the seat of scoffers is the easy chair in front of the Big Screen inside their own homes.

Delights in the law of the LORD and in His law he meditates day and night:

God’s people love God’s word and are absorbed with it so they can extract every bit of spiritual nutrition from it. You don’t have to persuade me to eat berry cobbler; I love to eat it! How much we value God’s word is revealed by how much time we spend with it. There are three results that follow.

Like a tree firmly planted by streams of water:

This is a word picture of influence and stability. They are permanently secure because the foundation of their life is God’s eternal word. God’s word, like water, nourishes and sustains them, regardless of their environment.

Yields its fruit in its season:

This refers to abundant spiritual productivity.

Leaf does not wither, in whatever he does, he prospers:

This refers to enduring spiritual blessing. Knowing and obeying God’s word is the key ingredient in this recipe for a blessed life. When you follow God’s recipe, you will experience a blessed life no matter your circumstances.

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,

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”

By Isaac Watts

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” is a hymn based on Psalm 90, and is regarded by many to be the greatest hymn in the English language. It was written by Isaac Watts, who is generally considered to be the father of the English hymn.

The story is told that at age 16, Isaac complained to his father that what was sung in church was dull and profitless. His father replied, “Then write something better.” Watts took up his father’s challenge, and wrote over 700 hymns, many of which are still sung regularly.

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past” was written in 1714, shortly before the death of Queen Anne. It was a time a great anxiety in England over who would succeed to the throne after her death.

Psalm 90 was written by Moses probably during the time described in Numbers 20. Israel was nearing the end of their 40 years of wandering, and an entire generation had died in the desert because of their unbelief. Moses had been burying his fellow pilgrims for almost 40 years. His sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron, have both died, and Moses has been forbidden by God to enter into the Promised Land because of his disobedience. Moses is acutely conscious that human life on earth is very brief, in contrast to God’s eternal nature.

Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 90 reveals that God alone is our help, our hope, and our home. The last verse reads:

“O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,

Be Thou are guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.”

Listen to this hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”

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,

Lake Wobegon is the fictional town in central Minnesota that was created by Garrison Keillor in his Prairie Home Companion radio show. His description of this community has become a classic. Lake Wobegon is the place where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.”

This description has been called the Lake Wobegon Effect, because it reflects the human tendency to overestimate our own abilities. In other words, we think we’re better than we really are. Someone who thinks like this is a “Legend in their own mind.” In the Shrek movie series, Prince Charming, the guy with the big hair was an example of this syndrome.

The Lake Wobegon Effect is epidemic today. Most people see themselves through rose colored glasses. 93% of all drivers rate themselves as above average. Almost every employee thinks they are doing a great job. In a survey, 99% of the respondents believed that they were above average in getting along with other people……99%! The sad fact is that most people who think they are superior are lying...to themselves! We fall into this trap when we compare ourselves with others. Paul states the problem and the solution in

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Vs 3 For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

God says, “Don’t let the world press you into its mold.” The world’s mold is all about me, myself and I, pride and self-centeredness. The way to resist the pressure of the world, is to change the way we think. How we think determines how we act. The key to thinking like God thinks is to fill our minds with God’s thoughts. When we study God’s words, and then do what they say, the Holy Spirit teaches us to see life from God’s point of view. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to know God’s will, and the power to live it.

When we see ourselves from God’s point of view, we stop overestimating our own abilities. We stop comparing ourselves to other people and deceiving ourselves that we are superior. The ground at the foot of the cross is completely level; everyone equally needs the Savior. When we gaze at the cross we can see ourselves like God sees us. The Bible calls this sound judgement. Sound judgement comes from God’s word which gives us 20/20 vision. So, the cure for the Lake Wobegon Effect is immersing our minds in God’s word. This is a great time to take a long swim in the ocean of God’s word.

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,

In the early nineties Maren and I went snow skiing at Mammoth Mountain with some friends. After a day spent skiing we all got into the condo’s hot tub to soak our aching muscles. Our friends’ 8 year-old daughter dared me to jump out of the hot tub with her and roll in the nearby snowbank. Going from a soothing hot tub to an icy snowbank and back is a shock to your system. So, of course, we had to do it three times! Truth is sometimes like that snowbank; it shocks you, but it’s good for you.

Jeremiah the prophet had that experience. God had commanded Jeremiah to warn the nation of Judah that judgment was coming if they refused to repent. Jeremiah’s warnings were rejected and he was persecuted. You would think that God would encourage His obedient prophet with soothing words. Not so! In essence, God tells Jeremiah, “Fasten your seatbelt, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

Jeremiah 12: 5 If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,

Then how can you compete with horses?

If you fall down in a land of peace,

How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

God encourages Jeremiah by warning him that his troubles were going to get worse, not better. God compared the local opposition from Anathoth to doing battle with infantry footmen. God then warns Jeremiah that even greater opposition was going to come from the people of Jerusalem, which God compares to calvary horses. God asks Jeremiah, “If you are getting discouraged by a little hometown opposition, what will you do when the capital city of Jerusalem opposes you?” “If you are giving up in a land of peace, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?” The thicket of the Jordan River was well watered bottom land that supported dense underbrush, trees and shrubs. At that time, it was an ideal habitat for wild animals, including leopards and even lions.

God never encourages His people by sugarcoating the truth. God had already told Jeremiah the hard truth about his future when He called Jeremiah as a prophet.

Jeremiah 1: 17 “Now, gird up your loins, and arise, and speak to them all which I command you.

Vs 19 And they will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”

“When you obey God, those who hate God will fight against you, but you will win because God is with you.” Jesus promised us in

John 16: 33 “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Troubles and trials should not surprise us; Jesus promised us problems, but He also promised us His power and HIs presence. We can face a difficult future with confidence and courage, because Jesus has overcome the power of sin through the cross, and God has promised to be with us to deliver us.

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,

There is an old proverb that reads, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That’s surely true for me. I dearly miss face to face fellowship with God’s people. There is an old Joni Mitchell song from 1970 called "Big Yellow Taxi." One of the lines in the chorus reads: “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” Boy howdy, is that the truth. It is so easy to take for granted things that happen on a routine basis. Church is one of those things that happens every 7 days, and it’s easy to just show up and miss God’s everyday miracle of Christian fellowship. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. Koinonia means to “share in common” and it refers to Christian believers coming together in order to love and encourage each other.

Since the virus began spreading, we’ve been advised not to assemble in groups. Limiting our liberty for the benefit of others is a Biblical principle. So, at least for now, we limit our fellowship in order to help everyone stay healthy. However, God really did design us for face to face fellowship. The phone is fine, texting is convenient, screen to screen is good, but face to face is priceless.

King David captured some of this passion when he said in

Psalm 122: 1 I was glad when they said to me,

Let us go to the house of the LORD.

We can and we do worship God privately as individuals. However, God also designed us to publicly worship together as a family. David spent 10 years as a fugitive from Saul in the wilderness of southern Judah. There were long periods of time when he couldn’t worship in God’s house in Jerusalem. So when he had the opportunity to worship and fellowship with God’s people, he was thrilled!

The author of Hebrews tells us that fellowship is more than a personal privilege, fellowship is a divine responsibility.

Hebrews 10: 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

Vs 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.

Fellowship is not all about us, it’s about others. When we get together as a church family, worshipping Jesus is front and center. Worship is our vertical relationship with God.

However, we also interact with each other. Fellowship is our horizontal relationship with God’s people. God calls us to stimulate or urge each other on to love and good deeds. Monday through Saturday is hard, and by Sunday, we need our spiritual batteries recharged. When we meet together, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to strengthen and exhort each other to walk closer with Jesus. I’m looking forward to seeing you all face to face real soon!

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,

More and more people seem to be getting bored with their limited daily routines, because of the virus. It’s been said that “variety is the spice of life,” and right now, life seems pretty basic.

When Israel was traveling through the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan, God graciously gave them food from heaven. That was a blessing, since there’s not a lot of food in the desert. The Bible describes this food in

Exodus 16: 31 The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.

Vs 35 The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they come to an inhabited land.

Numbers 11: 9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

This was God’s provision for Israel and they ate it 3 times a day, 7 days a week, for 40 years! It didn’t take Israel very long to complain about it.

Numbers 11: 4b “Who will give us meat to eat?

Vs 5 We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,

Vs 6 but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”

The routine food was getting to Israel. They complained about God’s food and craved the food of Egypt where they had been slaves. They missed the miracle of God’s provision. They didn’t have to plant seeds, pull weeds, water plants, cultivate or harvest. All they had to do was just step outside their tent and pick the manna up off the ground. And yet, they were ungrateful to God, and began to whine and complain. So God sent them quail and…..a plague, (Numbers 11), to discipline them.

It is so easy to complain. However, the circumstances we are in can be a blessing and not a burden…..if we see them from God’s point of view. God gave Israel the daily food He knew they needed when they were in the wilderness. Today, God is also giving us what we need during this corona virus. Moses reminded the nation why God gave them manna.

Deuteronomy 8: 16 In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.

God was teaching Israel to depend on Him alone. He was also teaching them to be grateful for whatever God provided. When I was a child growing up on the farm, whatever momma cooked is what you ate, and you didn’t complain about it, because that’s all there was to eat. Today, God is using this pandemic, among other things, to teach us depend on Him alone, and to be grateful for everything He provides. Maybe more manna and less spice is what we really need right now.

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,

Pandemics can create fear because they are invisible and often deadly. Joshua had the experience of fighting a largely unknown enemy in Canaan. Joshua and Israel have just crossed over the Jordan River, and they are now facing their first battle in Canaan. When Joshua went on a reconnaissance mission to plan the attack against the walled city of Jericho, he encountered far more than he bargained for!

Joshua 5: 13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

Vs 14 And he said, “No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”

Vs 15 And the captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua was no armchair general; he personally went to the front lines to gather intelligence. Joshua saw what he thought was an armed soldier, and he immediately advanced towards this potential threat and demanded, “Are you for us or against us?” In wartime, neutrality is seldom tolerated; you are either friend or foe.

This man didn’t answer Joshua’s question; He simply identified Himself as the “captain of the host of the LORD.” This was none other than the LORD Jesus Christ in pre-incarnate form. Here is a fundamental principle that we should never forget. God never comes in and takes sides, God always comes in and takes over. Once Joshua recognized that he was face to face with God, He bowed in humility and asked God for directions, because he knew that he was not in charge, God was. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln once said, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” The only proper response in the presence of the LORD is humility and worship. God then told Joshua that the battle plan to conquer Jericho was to march around the city for seven days, and then the walls would fall down flat. Humanly speaking, that was impossible, but with God, nothing is impossible. (Luke 1:37). There is an old hymn tune:

“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.”

Today, Covid-19 is an enemy because it harms and kills people. God, our commanding general, has plans for His people, plans for this virus, and plans for His world. God uses all things, including pandemics, to shape His world, and that includes us. God’s purpose for this virus is beyond our understanding, but just like Jericho, God’s plans will surely come to pass. Like Joshua, we need to ask Him to lead, and commit ourselves to follow His lead.

Remember that 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,

One of the most comforting passages in the Bible is found in the book of Jeremiah. God had told Judah through Jeremiah and other prophets that they would surely be conquered and exiled if they refused to turn away from their wicked ways. They not only refused to repent, they persecuted Jeremiah for telling them the truth.

So God called Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to invade Judah, and he invaded them three times; in 605, 597 and 586 B.C. In 597, about 3,000 Jews were carried away to Babylon, (Jeremiah 52:28), and God instructed Jeremiah to write them a letter of encouragement. God told them to live as normal a life as possible while they were enslaved in a foreign country. God even commanded them to pray for their captors, because if it went well with Babylon, it would go well with them.

God then promised to bring them back to their land….at the end of seventy years!

Vs 10 For thus says the LORD, “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Vs 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Vs 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Vs 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Vs 14 And I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and I will restore your fortunes and will gather from all the places where I have driven you, and I will bring you back to the land from where I sent you into exile.”

God’s promise to bring Israel back to the land came to pass right on schedule, but it largely impacted the next generation of Israelites. Many Israelites exiled in Babylon died there. They didn’t experience the fulfillment of God’s promise, but their children did. God determines when and how His promises are fulfilled.

This virus has certainly changed our plans. However, God’s plans for His people are good plans that will surely come to pass. Part of God’s plan was to bring Israel back to their land. Even more important that Israel’s physical homecoming was their spiritual homecoming. They had wandered far away from God, but they had refused to return to God. Now, they were enslaved, because of their sin. Sin always enslaves people. You know, hardships have a way of opening our eyes to what is important. God promised His people that if they would seek after God will all their heart, they would surely find Him and He would restore their relationship with Him. This promise is for us today as well. Regardless of our physical or spiritual situation, if humbly seek after God with all our hearts, we will find Him waiting for us with arms wide open.

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 Bible tells us that God is always present. However, many people go through life without being aware of God’s presence. Two men in the Bible who had this experience were Samson and Jacob. Samson was not aware that God had left him, and Jacob didn’t know that God had visited him.

Before he was born, Samson was called by God to be a judge and a deliverer for Israel. He was a Nazarite who was set apart for God’s special service, and he was forbidden to drink alcohol or cut his hair as a sign of his dedication to God. The Holy Spirit gave him supernatural physical strength to deliver Israel from the Philistines. For most of his adult life, Samson disobeyed God, and used his power to satisfy his own lusts. Finally God had enough, and when Delilah cut off his hair, the Holy Spirit left him.

Judges 16:19 And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair, Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him.

Vs 20 Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.”

But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

Vs 21 Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes…

Samson thought that his great strength belonged to him, so he could live independent of God. His disobedience had so broken his fellowship with God, that when God left him, he didn’t even know it.

Jacob had the opposite experience. When Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau, God visited Jacob in a dream, and promised to be with him. Jacob didn’t recognize that it was God, until he woke up.

Genesis 28: 15 “And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Vs 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Vs 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

Jacob had the right response. As soon as he understood that it was God who had visited him, he set up a pillar, poured oil on it as an act of worship and promised to follow God. (vs 18-22). The proper response to the presence of God is always worship and obedience.

Both Samson and Jacob teach us that constant awareness of God’s presence is crucial. If your spouse or child moved out of your home, and you didn’t discover they were gone for 2 weeks, we’d say your relationship with them was not very important. God is working in our lives every day, and most of the time, we are not aware of His presence. Let’s make our relationship with Him our number one priority.

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 global pandemic has resulted in more social isolation than many of us have ever experienced. There is a silver lining in this however. When we are less involved with people, we have more time to spend alone with God. If you really want to get to know someone, you have to spend time alone with them. The same is true of our relationship with Jesus.

A good example of this is John the Baptist. Before His birth, God ordained him to be the herald for the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. In order to prepare him for his role, God called him into the wilderness. When we are alone in the desert, the noise of the culture fades, and we can hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1: 80 And the child, [John], continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

We are not told anything about his desert experience except that he grew strong in spirit. The desert is not a place of multiple choices or creature comforts. The desert is mostly a simple, hard and unforgiving place. You don’t shape the desert, the desert shapes you. In the desert,

John learned to depend on God alone, because there was no one else available. In the desert, John learned to listen to God, because there was no one else to talk with. In the desert, John learned to see the world from God’s point of view. John was not filled with the culture; he was filled with the Holy Spirit. And in God’s perfect time, John brought God’s powerful message to the nation.

Matthew 3: 1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

Vs 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

John the Baptist preached a message of disruption and radical change. “It’s time to repent of the sin that is separating you from God.”

This virus has thrown many of our normal routines in disarray and to some degree isolated us in a “social desert.” We now have an opportunity to unplug from the speed and noise of our culture and reevaluate our spiritual priorities. During this time in the “desert” we need to say to God what the young boy Samuel did, “Speak, LORD, for your servant in listening.” (I Samuel 3:10). I wonder what God would say to us, if we actually became quiet enough to listen.

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

Love and Prayers,

Brad

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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