107 Coldren Street, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15904, United States
Pastor's Corner
To Our Dear Belmont Family,
Then said the Lord unto Moses, behold I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will wake in my law, or not. Exodus 16:4
Mana From Heaven
I've been thinking a lot about Mana lately. It seems to me that God is giving us the same blessing, in a different way, like He gave ancient Israel. As a church we have certainly seen God’s continual blessing on us. As a person I’ve seen the same. Israel grew weary of the continual daily blessing of Mana. Even though it sustained their life and provided their daily needs, they complained and wanted more. When they got greedy and gathered more than they needed it rotted and stunk. I think there’s many lessons for us in Mana.
Myself, when I take the daily blessings of God for granite, I sometimes have an expectation that I somehow deserve the blessing. Jeremiah tells us our heart is wicked and not to trust it. When our heart believes we’re good enough to deserve God’s blessing, pride can sneak in. Pride we are told goes before a fall. Many good people have succumbed to the power of pride and have fallen.
Jesus prayed to give us this day our daily bread, no more no less. Our fallen nature wants it all now. I know myself if I got everything I wanted now, I'd forget the miracle of daily Mana.
As a church we have been extremely blessed by God. It’s absolutely essential that we always know that the blessings come from God. Yes, God blesses the faithfulness of His people, but the blessing comes from God.
After Jesus prayed for daily bread, He prayed a model of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the key to blessing. From my heart, if in some way I've said or done something I didn’t mean to, please I pray forgive me. I pray that’s your heart also. If we do, I believe the blessings of Mana will continue to fall.
Believing in Mana,
Pastor Tom and Sherri
