Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Dear Friend,

If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning.

Message: One of the greatest puzzles of life is how strongly a person will believe that some philosophy or way of life is absolutely and universally correct, simply because it makes sense to him or her. People kill each other by the millions, absolutely convinced about the universal truth of communism, or the right of their race or tribe to dominate, or one of a hundred philosophical or political systems. Our minds and intelligence are so limited, and our viewpoints are so narrow, and yet we are convinced of our ability to know some absolute truth. We are amazed and infuriated when others disagree. Jesus teaches the law from a scroll outdoors In this short passage, Paul warns us about becoming captive to ideas. We must, of course, live in the world. Nothing in the Bible forbids us from voting, or believing that democracy or socialism or something else is a better form of government, or that slow drivers should stay to the right or that people should keep their front lawn mowed. Should we spank our children? Should people eat meat? Put people in jail for smoking pot? We have to answer a lot of questions for ourselves, and most people probably would say that they have a philosophy about various aspects of life; but this is not what Paul is talking about when he speaks of “being taken captive by a hollow and deceptive philosophy.” What is important to recognize, as stated in this passage, is that we must not become captive to our thoughts and opinions, to the point that we ignore some basic truth or commandment that comes from God. For example, “Love thy neighbor as thyself” is a rule that most Christians would agree is a universal, God-given truth. Yet, how often will we ignore this actual truth, and hate someone—even wish them dead— because they hold some 'hollow and deceptive philosophy' that disagrees with our own hollow and deceptive philosophy? If it is in the Bible, it is true. If it is not in the Bible, it is something less than “true,” in the ultimate sense. We cannot put something in the Bible just because we like it, and if it is in the Bible, we cannot ignore it or “interpret” it out of existence. John Calvin put well: “When God closes His holy mouth, I will desist from inquiry.”