讀經：出埃及記十六章11至24節
May. 6，2004
以色列人在曠野飄流的期間，神供應食物給他們的方式，實在十分奇妙。你有沒有想過，在整整的四十年，以色列人每晚睡覺的時候，他們的帳棚之中都沒有留下任何食物？然而，到每天清晨，神卻預備了食物供他們收取。
神只供應他們當天的食物，除了安息日例外。他們若想把食物留到明天，食物就會變壞(20節)。神所賜的嗎哪好像種子般細小，他們要吃飽，就要相當辛苦地彎身拾取足夠的分量。而且，他們要每天早晨出外收取，否則當日頭發熱，嗎哪就會溶化。(21節)
這件事對我們今天有甚麼屬靈的教訓呢？神已經賜下祂的話語──聖經──作為我們每天的靈糧，等待我們去收取。然而，除非我們願意花時間去尋求和細讀神的話語，否則，我們便不能吸收當中的「營養」。耶利米先知曾說：「我得著你的言語就當食物吃了；你的言語是我心中的歡喜快樂。」(耶十五16)
百姓每天起來的第一件事，就是要去收取嗎哪，否則它就會溶化。對信徒來說，每天早晨先收取靈糧，以免其他事情霸佔我們的心思和時間，也是最明智的做法。
我們很容易會讓其他事情佔用了我們親近主的時間；但神的心意卻始終如一。祂希望我們每天先花時間去享用靈糧，然後才有充足的力量去面對世界的各種挑戰。但願我們都在主面前立志，每天起來的第一件事，就是去收取神為我們所預備的靈糧。
某位知名佈道家的座右銘：「先吃靈糧，後吃早餐。」
DOING GOD'S WILL IN GOD'S WAY
Day 6 , 2004
Bible Reading: Exodus 16:11-24
It was marvellous how God provided food for the Children of Israel during their time in the wilderness. Do you realise that every night for forty years, the whole camp went to bed without any food left in their tents? Yet every morning there was God's provision waiting to be gathered.
It was a daily provision, except on the Sabbath. If they tried to keep the food any longer, it went bad (v.20). Yet it must have been hard work gathering that manna. It was like small seeds and they had to pick it up from the ground, almost a gallon per person per day. Yet this was God's way of providing for them.
It also had to be gathered early in the morning (v.21). When the sun grew hot, it melted away.
What are the spiritual lessons in this story for us today? God has provided spiritual food for us in his book, the Bible. It is there waiting for us to take it. But food from the Word of God only comes as we are willing to spend time digging into it. What did Jeremiah say? (Jeremiah 16:16). 'Thy words were found and I did eat them. Thy words became for me a joy and the delight from the heat.'
The manna had to be gathered first thing every morning, or it would melt away. The best time to look for spiritual food is in the morning, before everything else crowds out both time and desire.
It is so easy to let other things take the place of our time with the Lord and his Word. But God's plan is still the same. He wants us to find daily bread to strengthen our souls. He wants us to do this each morning so that we will be spiritually filled before we face the day and the world outside. Can we say today with a fresh determination: 'Lord, I want this daily bread and I will try to put you first day by day!'?
MOTTO OF A WELL-KNOWN EVANGELIST:
'No Bible, no breakfast'