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Hello Interactors,This week I’m coming to you from Kansas City. My plan was to avoid the hot and humid Midwest summer to visit family, but instead I’m battling a heat wave and soon a thunderstorm. It made me wish I’d done a post on weather maps.As a result, this week’s installment is a review of my spring posts on cartography as we approach the last week of the season. Next up is summer and the role the physical environment plays in the interaction of people and place. This spring I’ve chronicled the role various elements of map-making have played in the formation of the United States. Starting with an ancient history of cadastral mapping and how Thomas Jefferson took a page from the Egyptians and the Roman empire, then the progression of organized surveying for land capture across the country, and finally how maps serve as forms of persuasion, manipulation, and control.I’ll be back next week with the final post of the season.Now let’s go…back to April.01 : A Groma from Rome Finds a New HomeHow large scale precision cartography rose and fell with the Roman Empire, disappeared for centuries, and then re-emerged in the rise of a new empire.This post looks behind the origins of the neatly organized geometry that chop most of America into a Cartesian grid. Mapmaking’s history dates back to ancient times – as do the motivations behind them. While maps help us to better understand and interact with the world, they also help establish authority and control.https://interplace.io/p/a-groma-from-rome-finds-a-new-home02 : A Nation SquaredHow Thomas Jefferson's vision of a gridded nation squared with his desire for an interracial slave-free 'Continental America'.Jefferson had appointed Thomas Hutchins to be Geographer of the United States in 1781. In 1784 Jefferson was preparing for expansion west and was combing over Hutchins’ descriptions of what lie west of his beloved Virginia. Jefferson was dubious of Hutchins’ mapping facts and took it up with him in a personal correspondence. What follows is the unfolding of a cartography project of Roman scale. And the birth of an empire.https://interplace.io/p/a-nation-squared03 : Miami Priced, Ohio DicedFrom war veteran cronies scheming a land grab at a bar in Boston to the banks of the Ohio River with the threat of angry native resistors breathing down your neck.Thomas Jefferson had a vision of a neatly portioned empire, just as the globe was neatly partitioned into a grid of latitude and longitude lines. Sure he wanted land for farmers, but he also needed to extract property tax revenue to fill the newly formed government’s coffers that had been emptied by the Revolutionary war. The task of surveying and mapping fell on the shoulders of America’s first and only chief Geographer, Thomas Hutchins. Like most things in colonial America, it wasn’t easy.https://interplace.io/p/miami-priced-ohio-diced04 : Guns, God, and GoldA quest for wealth leads to pain through the crafting of a cartesian plane as war breaks out across the Ohio plains.This is the third in a series on the role surveying and cartography played in the establishment of the United States. It continues further west into Ohio in the lead up to the 1800s. The U.S. government needed money to fulfill their dreams of being a global superpower. And it all hinged on Jefferson’s plan to extract money from neatly surveyed squares of land occupied by sovereign Indigenous nations who had been here for thousands of years. They were not going to give in easily and they never will.https://interplace.io/p/guns-god-and-gold05 : Make Your Own Survey in Under a DayHow Thomas Jefferson’s vision of mapped agrarian squares was realized by farmers dividing their own shares.This wraps up the April series on the role large scale surveying played in determining how people of the United States of America interact with each other and the government. Jefferson had a vision for the country that combined his desire for agrarian expansion west and building an empire. It turned out to be easier for farmers to claim land than he could have imagined. https://interplace.io/p/make-your-own-survey-in-under-a-day06 : You Are What You MapHow triangles, topology, quadrangles, and cartography yield maps that can skew both messages and time.This branches into topography and the role western colonial expansion plays in the creation and articulation of our naturally occurring geography. Most of us are not very skilled at critiquing the role maps have played in shaping how we see the globe and the people on it. However, I’m optimistic that when we do we can better confront the boundaries that maps have created between people and place.https://interplace.io/p/you-are-what-you-map07 : The U.S. Census: Mapping a Sense of UsHow a Swedish Zoologist and the birth of census 'big data' led to American racism at the hands of statisticians and geographers.We’re learning every day just how embedded racism is in the workings of the American polity. This post is critical of America’s cadastral and topographic cartography past. It weaves together European scientific determinism, early ‘big data’ authoritarianism, and White supremist cartography.https://interplace.io/p/the-us-census-mapping-a-sense-of08 : Boomtown MapsA tip on a canoe leads to the rise of a Midwest metropolis as mapping goes social.Most of spring chronicled the spread of cadastral mapping across America. It was all part of Jefferson’s gridded agrarian vision. But by the middle of the 1800s immigrants started flooding in, the industrial age was taking hold, and cities became the thing to map. https://interplace.io/p/boomtown-maps09 : Winning Over the Windy City with WatercolorsShaping a crowded city of crime and pollution with a water soluble solution.Chicago was bursting at the seams at the turn of the century. People were stressed, companies were panicking, and something had to be done. They needed a plan; a map of a 20th century city. They needed someone to draw a picture, ease their minds, and persuade Chicago’s industrial elite.https://interplace.io/p/winning-over-the-windy-city-with10 : Maps as Logos; Atlases that ImposeCountries are branded with maps as their logos while national atlases sell their brand.The shape of national maps are no accident. They’re not even natural. They’ve been created with intent. Yes, they represent political boundaries, but they also sell a brand. Politics is where the brand of a country begins. And maps, like flags, can serve as logos.https://interplace.io/p/maps-as-logos-atlases-that-imposeIf you enjoy Interplace, please tell your friends! And don’t be shy about liking and commenting on my posts or podcasts. If you don’t like what you’re reading or would rather not comment publicly, please drop me a note. I’d love your feedback!Thanks to all of you that have supported me this far. It’s really exciting seeing the number of subscribers grow and the encouragement from many of you. Keep it up, spread the word, and thanks again for the love!Now, let’s check on that thunderstorm.Brad Subscribe at interplace.io

Hey Interactors!A mid-week surprise. I’m experimenting with recording select episodes for those who would rather listen than read. I recorded my final February post, WASPs and Weeds Gone Wild — Complete with amateur voice acting. 🙄It’s my first attempt at this kind of content, but I look forward to seeing where it goes. Let me know what you think!And If you haven’t already, please check out the other three February posts.Raccoons Destroyed My Lawn: “Some White folks have a way of arrogantly explaining away societal problems with clever theories, models, and proclamations. Guilty as charged…It’s time we look through our ‘socioscope’ and use math and complexity science to tell us what we’re seeing in our society. The more we understand how this virus within our socioeconomic and political system works, the sooner we’ll find a cure.” What the World Needs Now is Love:“We live in a world of plurality, but we know there’s common ground. Is it too much to ask that we all strive to be kind, compassionate, fair, and just? There is no place for meanness and nobody likes a bully. A human theory of love is needed, though we won’t understand it fully. We are malleable creatures who can adapt to change, so let change begin.”The Lone Star Is in a Frozen State: “In many ways, this story of Texas is a proxy for the story of the United States. A band of white dudes ‘discover’ land occupied by brown people and take it over. Neil deGrasse Tyson says you can explain U.S. history in six words, “Is this yours? It’s mine now!” Why? Because White settler colonialists want to bring their Black slaves, plant some crops, and start making some money. European colonial conquests of Indigenous occupied lands by white men has always been about empire building. The United States is no exception. “Thanks for all the support, Interactors! Spread the word! 🙏🏼Brad Subscribe at interplace.io

Dear Manna Family, Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” He was a man who understood the fourth commandment. Exodus 20: 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Vs 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, Vs 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Vs 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. People’s views of the Sabbath have changed dramatically over time. For generations, most of society literally stopped on Sundays, and everyone rested. We now live in a 24/7 world, and everyone expects everything to be available all the time. We believe that convenience is crucial, and so we justify round the clock work. We are reaping the consequences; sleep deprivation, as well as stress and health problems. God commanded His people to consciously remember the Sabbath day. It’s so easy to forget what God says when our busy schedules scream for our immediate attention. This command is defined as keeping one day in seven as holy to the LORD. Holy means to be ‘set apart for God.’ We keep the Sabbath day holy when we stop our regular work and rest. The word Sabbath literally means ‘to rest from work.’ God does command us to work for six days. Work means the regular occupational activity we do to earn a living. God’s people are called to be diligent and productive. However, God limits the amount of work that we are called to do. In God’s economy, more is not always better. If we can’t get our work done in six days, then we are probably doing more than God called us to do. If we trust God with the six days that we do work, we will be more productive than if we work seven days a week while depending on our own resources. This word rest does not mean complete inactivity, like a hibernating bear. It is a day when we stop our regular work so we can give to God what belongs to Him. Since 100% of our life belongs to Him, we should honor Him one day out of seven. The New Testament does not stipulate which day of the week to set aside for worship. Most Christians worship on Sunday, to celebrate the day the Christ rose from the dead. The authority for this command to rest comes from the example of God Himself. Genesis 2: 1-3 tells us that God rested on the seventh day, after He finished His work in the preceding six days. God did not rest because He got tired. Genesis 1: 31 says that “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” It seems as though God rested in order to enjoy what He had created. We humans need to rest so that we can enjoy Him, our Creator! The seventh day is the day we remember and worship God. Ray Prichard has said that the abiding principle of the fourth commandment is that we give God 1 day in 7, because 7 out of 7 days belong to Him. Keeping one day holy, reminds us Who is in control. It gives us the opportunity to say thank you to God for His blessings. It allows us to gain new strength for the challenges we will face in the next 6 days. Isaiah 40: 31…..says ‘those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength….’ Waiting on the LORD means stopping our own agendas. It means making time to listen for God for His guidance and strength. It means gaining God’s perspective and power for our lives. Sunday is a great day to do that. Remember, God designed us to “do life together!” Love and prayers, Brad ••• Subscribe to listen to this comprehensive, expository study of God’s word, taught by Brad Hannink. Manna meets at Valley Baptist Church, 4800 Fruitvale Ave., Bakersfield, California. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com. ©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family, Names are important, especially your own name. If someone mispronounces or misspells your name, it bothers you, because your name represents who you are. Your parents probably spent hours figuring out what name to give you. When you hear the name Abraham Lincoln, you think of wise, courageous, honest leadership. When you hear the name Adolph Hitler, you think of an evil tyrant who started wars, and caused millions of innocent deaths and untold suffering. There is a lot of power in a name, especially in God’s name. In the Ten Commandments, the third one reads, Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave Him unpunished who takes His name in vain. In the Bible, your name represented the essence of your character, identity and reputation. Solomon said that “a good name is more desirable than great riches.” Proverbs 22:1. If you had a good name, it meant there was already a foundation of good character and conduct in your life. God’s name represents everything He is. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said to pray to God the Father by saying “Hallowed be Thy Name.” Hallowed means holy, pure, revered, honored, and set apart as sacred. “Hallowed be Thy name” is the opposite of taking the name of the LORD in vain. In vain means lightly or casually. Instead of treating God with honor, it’s treating God with ‘informal unconcern.' It’s like writing a letter to the Governor asking for a pardon from a life sentence in prison, and then signing it, “casually yours.” Life in prison is not a casual matter. We treat God casually when we give him the leftovers of our schedules. ‘If there’s nothing else going on this Sunday……I might go to church.’ ‘I read my Bible last thing before bedtime……..if I can stay awake.’ When you take God seriously, your relationship with Him is the most important thing in your life. When an issue is really important, we say that it’s a heavy or weighty matter. When you treat God lightly; you’re not giving Him the honor He deserves. You wouldn’t address the Queen of England as “Lizzy,” or even “Elizabeth.” That’s taking her name in vain. You would say, “Your Majesty.” People take God’s name in vain when they use His name as a curse. Profanity is treating what is sacred with disrespect. When you say, “God damn you” you are praying that God will send that person to hell, and yet it often said with no thought that God Himself is listening. People take God’s name in vain when they use His name thoughtlessly. I once knew someone who said, “thank you Jesus” all the time. The problem was that it had become so routine, that it became meaningless. God’s name didn’t matter that much. People take God’s name in vain when they say, “God told me x or y,” and yet what they say contradicts what God has already said in scripture. That is putting your words in God’s mouth and lying about what God really said. God promises to punish those who treat Him casually. When King David brought the ark into Jerusalem, he brought it on an oxcart. God had commanded that the ark was only to be carried by the Levites. When the oxen stumbled, a man named Uzzah touched the ark to steady it, and God struck him dead. When you disobey God, you are treating Him lightly, and God always judges disobedience. God doesn’t treat people casually, and we shouldn’t treat Him casually either. Jesus took people so seriously, that He laid down His life on the cross for their sins. We should take God so seriously that we honor His Name by what we say and how we live. Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’ Love and prayers, Brad ••• Subscribe to listen to this comprehensive, expository study of God’s word, taught by Brad Hannink. Manna 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 are studying the Ten Commandments and today we are looking at the second commandment. Exodus 20:4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. Vs 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, Vs 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those how love Me and keep My commandments. The first commandment tells us who we worship, (God alone); the second commandment tells us how we worship, (No idols, no substitutes.) When Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, she wanted to know the location where people were supposed to worship God. Jesus told her that the real issue was not the geographical location of worship. The key issue is that God is a spirit, and He is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth. Any representation of God misrepresents God. You have heard the story about the little boy in Sunday school who was busy drawing a picture of God. When the teacher told him that no one knew what God looked like, he said, “They will when I finish my picture.” Many people create an image of God that suits their own sin nature. The god they create is ok with their white lies, potty mouth, and ‘X rated entertainment.’ This is idol worship; it’s not an idol on the shelf, it’s the idol in the self. We don’t get to define God as we see fit. God has told us Who He is and what He is like. Worshipping anything less than the God of the Bible is idolatry. This command to reject idol worship is repeated over and over again in the Bible. This command forbids the worship of any man-made religious images; made with your hands or created in your mind. The problem is that religious images direct our attention to the creation, not the Creator. People often say that statues, pictures, images and artwork remind them of God. The problem is that no matter how beautiful the image, it always degrades and distorts the glory of God. If someone told you they put a picture of a spider on their wall because the spider reminded them of you, you would be insulted. That’s exactly how God feels when we use images of him. For someone to say that looking at a statue helps them keep Jesus in mind, is like a man saying he goes out with other women to keep his wife in mind. God’s love is jealous and He hates it when we worship substitutes and not Him. We belong to God, and He is jealous to protect our love in the same way that a husband and wife are righteously jealous for each other’s love. Righteous jealousy is a passion to protect what is rightfully yours. Spouses should be zealous for each other’s affections and so should parents. I don’t want my children calling some other man ‘Dad.’ Love that does not care, is not love. God promises to punish idolators through the fourth generation, the great grandchildren. God never punishes innocent people. Each individual chooses to either worship God or reject Him, and then lives with the consequences. However, if grandpa hates God, it’s going to have a profoundly negative impact on his children and grandchildren. No one sins in isolation; our sin always harms other people. However, to those who faithfully love and obey God, God promises His loyal love to thousands of their descendants. God’s mercy is greater than His judgment. Remember, God designed us to “do life together!” Love and prayers, Brad ••• Subscribe to listen to this comprehensive, expository study of God’s word, taught by Brad Hannink. 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, There is a famous phrase in Alcohol Anonymous which says; “First things first.” Priorities are about what’s first, what’s most important. By definition, the most important thing in your life, the thing that trumps everything else, is your god. We’re in a series on the Ten Commandments and today we begin with the first one. Exodus 20:1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, Vs 2 “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Vs 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. So, who is this God who commands people to worship Him alone? This is the God who told Moses that His name was “I AM WHO I AM.” I AM is the eternally constant God who is self-existent and always present. This is almighty God who created everything. In Hebrew His name of God is Yahweh. In our English Bible, His name is LORD, with all the letters capitalized. This infinite God is also Israel’s personal God. He had just saved them out of slavery in Egypt through a series of divine miracles during the Exodus. His relationship with them came first; His rules for them came second. God’s laws are always an expression of His love. Now, God tells Israel, and us; Vs 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. This is the first and great commandment. When an expert in Jewish law asked Jesus what the greatest commandment in the law was, Jesus answered, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Matthew 22:35 This is a personal God who wants an exclusive love relationship with people. This command means that we are to value God more than anything or anyone else. Think of a pyramid of values. People value things in various orders of priority; money, sex, power and so forth. The first commandment says that on the pyramid of what we value, God must be at the apex, the very top. He must be the most important thing in our life. No other gods: everyone has a god. Whatever provides you with ultimate meaning and purpose in life is your god. The reality is that there is only one true God. However, people worship many false gods. A false god is anything that we elevate above the God of the Bible. The pagan peoples of that era were polytheistic. They worshipped many gods. They believed that each god had limited authority and power. They had a god for the home, another for the fields, the weather, warfare and so forth. A polytheist does not worship their gods because they love them. It’s not a love relationship, it’s a contract relationship. Their god is just a means to an end. If they wanted rain, they made sacrifices to the rain god in order to persuade them to give rain in order to grow their crops and feed their families. For many people, their god is themselves. The most important thing in their life is their own pleasure and comfort. If they think God can help them get what they want, they play “Let’s make a Deal.” They reduce God to their own human level. This is making yourself a god and refusing to worship the one true God. Before Me: ‘in opposition to Me,’ ‘in My presence,’ or ‘over against Me.' When you put anything before God, you declare war on God. The God of the Bible is unique. He is the Creator and Ruler over everything. He alone deserves our worship and love. 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, Every 2 years, Congress typically enacts between 4-6 million words of new legislation. And that’s just the Federal Government! Who determines which laws are correct or incorrect? Generally speaking, in democratic societies, majority rules. In less democratic societies, whoever has the gold and the guns makes the rules. In many societies, final decrees on right and wrong come from the highest legal court in that country. Ultimately, the power and value of a law depends on the Lawgiver. Human lawmakers are fallible, and some laws have to be repealed because they are flawed. God gave the Ten Commandments to reveal His absolute standard of right and wrong, and they will never be repealed! God gave His law to show people their sin, and to reveal their need for a Savior. (Romans 3:19-26). The Ten Commandments are like the mirror in your bathroom. The mirror shows you that your face needs washing, your hair needs combing, and your teeth need brushing. However, the mirror won’t wash your face, comb your hair, or brush your teeth. The mirror only reveals your problem, it can’t fix it. The central human problem is that people are sinners who are separated from holy God. Most people mistakenly believe that God will let them into heaven because they are ‘a good person.’ They believe that God grades on a curve and that they are above average. However, the Bible says that God’s standard is 100% moral perfection. If you have broken even one law in your entire life, you fail God’s entrance exam into heaven. God did not give the Ten Commandments so that we could get into heaven by keeping them, because no one except Jesus has ever kept them perfectly. Phil Williams once said, “The Law is the light that reveals how dirty the room is, not the broom that sweeps it clean.” God’s law shows us our sin problem. God provided the solution by sending His Son Jesus who kept God’s law perfectly and paid the penalty for our sin by dying in our place. The Ten Commandments were given by God to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai about 1440 B.C., three months after their exodus from Egypt. They have been the foundation of Jewish and Christian moral and legal codes ever since. The Ten Commandments are usually divided into two tables. The first four commands have to do with our vertical relationship with God. This is loving the LORD our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The last six commands have to do with our horizontal relationship with other people. This is loving our neighbor as ourself. If our vertical relationship with God is right, our horizontal relationship with people will also be right. Contrary to popular belief, the Ten Commandments give humans a great deal of freedom. There are only ten, not thousands. Two commands tell us to do something, and eight tell us not to do something. God loves us enough to say ‘no’ to things that would harm us. As parents we have all told our children ‘no’ in order to keep them safe. A negative law provides much more freedom than a positive law. When you tell your child not to play in the street, they are free to play anywhere else. Someone has said, “We are not saved by the Ten Commandments, but we are kept safe by them.” The Ten Commandments are like the guard rails on a bridge or freeway overpass. They keep us safe from dangers on the road as we journey through life. God gave them to us because He loves us and wants what is best for us. Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’ Love and prayers, Brad ••• Subscribe to listen to this comprehensive, expository study of God’s word, taught by Brad Hannink. 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, The God of the Bible is a God who loves. He is also a God who hates. God loves what is good and hates what is evil. Solomon writes in Proverbs 6:16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Vs 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, Vs 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, Vs 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. This is really strong language. Abomination: something that God loathes. God detests people who spread strife among brothers. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The inverse of that is, “Cursed are the troublemakers.” If the peace makers are blessed, then the peace-breakers are cursed. Proverbs 16:28 “A slanderer separates intimate friends.” Slander is saying things about another person that are not true with an intent to hurt them. Slander separates people and creates conflict. This is Satan’s goal. He wants to separate people from God, and from each other. ‘Divide and conquer by means of deception’ is Satan’s primary strategy for conquest. Jesus said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Luke 11:17. Someone who starts quarrels in their family is tearing down their house with their own hands. A family feud can destroy a family; a civil war can destroy a nation. And most wars begin with words. Words can calm a quarrel like oil on water, or they can detonate a disagreement into a wildfire that destroys everything in its path. God hates slander and gossip, because they create conflict between His children. Remember, God is a Father. Every parent hates it when their children fight with each other. When God’s family is fragmented, love loses, hate rules, and the world ridicules. Jesus said in John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Mutual love for one another is the strongest evidence that Christ lives inside us. We can choose to love others, because Jesus first loved us. In 1965, Hal David and Burt Bacharach wrote a song called, “What the world needs now, is love sweet love; It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.” That’s true; there seems to be permanent shortage of love in our world. Many people are literally starved for love. The love they really need is not human love. What people really need is God’s unconditional love. God created us to give and receive love. Sadly, sin has corrupted our hearts, and damaged our ability to love. Sin makes us selfish, but when we surrender our lives to Jesus, His love fills us so we can love others. When we love others, conflict is resolved and harmony results. Jesus was so big on harmonious relationships between people that He said, “If you come to worship God, and remember that your brother has something against you, first go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come back and worship God.” Matthew 5:23-24. Jesus said, don’t come to worship God, with broken relationships in your life that you are unwilling to reconcile. Reconcile first, and then come and worship God. The key to mending broken relationships is forgiveness and reconciliation. Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” I know that reconciliation takes two people, not just one. However, we should do whatever we can to promote reconciliation and peace. Be a peacemaker, not a peace-breaker, and God will smile. Remember, God designed us “to do life together!” Love and prayers, Brad ••• Subscribe to listen to this comprehensive, expository study of God’s word, taught by Brad Hannink. 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 are living in a time of extraordinary change and uncertainty. Unfortunately, some people are trying to manage their stress and anxiety by misusing drugs or alcohol. King Solomon warned against this behavior when he wrote in Proverbs 20: 1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise. Intoxication comes from the Latin word intoxicare which originally meant ‘to poison.’ Another definition of intoxication is an overpowering exhilaration in the mind or emotions; for example, “he was intoxicated with the thought of his upcoming promotion.” Today, intoxicated almost always means ‘under the influence' of alcohol or drugs. Intoxication is another word for drunkenness. It means that your mind is being affected by an external substance. People lose self control when they are intoxicated. Excessive alcohol first creates mental confusion and reduces inhibitions. People say and do things that they generally wouldn’t do if they were sober. A large percentage of arguments and fights on Friday and Saturday nights involve alcohol. Solomon warns that intoxication is foolish because it destroys your ability to think clearly and act wisely. The Bible does not condemn alcohol, but it does condemn drunkenness. Ephesians 5: 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. Whatever fills you is what controls you, and you are responsible for what you let into your life. If you choose to become intoxicated, you have chosen to put yourself under the control of a mind altering substance and the result is dissipation. Dissipation means depletion or excess. Being drunk does not focus your mind, it distracts, confuses and depletes your life and your resources. It does not add to your life, it takes away from your life. Something that dissipates, ultimately disappears. Habitual intoxication damages and ultimately destroys brain cells. The Bible does command us to be filled; not with wine, but with the Holy Spirit. Dwight Moody was planning to have an evangelistic campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated and inexperienced. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?" A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, “No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody.” When the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on you, it means that He owns you exclusively. You are filled 100% with the Holy Spirit. At one point in his career Dwight Moody was speaking to a large audience. He held up an empty glass and asked, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” One man shouted, “Suck it out with a pump!” Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After numerous other suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There”, he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by ‘sucking out a sin here and there,’ but by being filled with the Holy Spirit. When you are directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit, there is no room left in your life for sin. As a matter of fact, all victory over sin requires the Holy Spirit’s supernatural intervention. The good news, The Holy Spirit lives in God’s people and empowers them to overcome sin. Solomon tells us not to be under the influence of alcohol. Paul tells us to be under the influence of God the Holy Spirit. Everyday, each of us chooses who or what will influence and fill us. Choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember, God designed us to ‘do life together!’ Love and prayers, Brad ••• Subscribe to listen regularly. Manna is a comprehensive, expository class taught by Brad Hannink atV alley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, California. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com. ©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family, Have you ever noticed that change can create chaos? We recently had a new security system retrofitted in our home. Retrofitting means you take the old stuff out, drill holes, run new wires and so forth. It makes a mess. If you want to de-clutter your panty, you’ll first create more clutter by pulling everything out of the pantry so you can see what’s in there. It’s amazing what you can find in the back of a pantry! King Solomon says that some chaos is necessary for growth to occur. Proverbs 14: 4 Without oxen a stable stays clean, But you need a strong ox for a large harvest. An empty stable is tidy, but that’s only because nothing is living in it. The purpose of a stable is not to be spotlessly clean. A stable is designed to house animals that eat, sleep, work, and make manure. Sometimes our lives seem as messy as a stable full of animals. The principle is simple: if you want milk, you’re going to have manure. I have a number of friends who own dairies. Cows process a lot of hay in order to make milk. Everyone wants the milk, no wants the hay once it’s been processed by the cow. If you want a garden, you have to spade the soil and plant the seeds, water, fertilize, and pull the weeds, prune, fight the bugs, and finally harvest a crop. Work always creates waste; oxen produce manure; internal combustion engines radiate heat and carbon dioxide; and when we work hard we sweat. Change always creates some chaos. The more changes you make, the more chaos you create, at least initially. When you learn a new set of skills or a task, you will do that task badly in the beginning. Think about learning to play a musical instrument or learning a new sport or hobby. Someone once said, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” It takes deliberate practice over time to become proficient. In Solomon’s era, oxen were extremely valuable. Oxen were the tractors, the strongest source of pulling power. You couldn’t plow a field without them. Oxen supplied more energy, and enabled humans to multiply their work output. The more powerful your tools, the more work you can do. Years ago, Mike Rowe did a television series called Dirty Jobs. The jobs were dirty, smelly, and dangerous, but also necessary. If you want a civilized life, someone’s got to inspect the sewers and clean out the septic tank. Solomon says that cleaning out the stable was worth it because an ox could help produce a large harvest. Raising kids can be chaotic. New babies are precious, but they are messy. You need lots of diapers, diapy wipes, and a garden hose to keep them clean. When toddlers are learning to eat by themselves, they spill more than they eat, but that’s how they learn. When kids play, they get smelly and dirty. They drop things that break and it seems like the picking up and cleaning up will never end. And this is all before they get a drivers license! Spiritual growth is like physical growth. We are born again as spiritual babies, but God is committed to our maturity and productivity. As we spiritually grow, we mess up, we fail, we say and do things that do not honor God. But God’s love for us is relentless and He never gives up. God’s goal is for us to grow more like Jesus and He knows that growth is messy. No matter how messy your life is, remember that it’s God who is working in and through your mess to accomplish His good plans for you. If you want milk, you have to live with some manure. 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 in Bakersfield, California. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com. ©2018, 2019, & 2020 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved

Dear Manna Family, There are many things that money can buy; but for the most important things in life, money is the wrong currency. Money will buy a bed, but not sleep; Books, but not brains; Food but not appetite; Finery, but not beauty; A house, but not a home; Medicine, but not health; Luxuries, but not culture; Amusements, but not happiness; Religion, but not salvation; A passport to everywhere but heaven. We need to put money in perspective. When we buy a bed, we don’t really want the bed; what we really want is a good night’s sleep. We believe that if we only had enough money, we could buy just the right bed that would put us in dreamland for 8 hours. Money is not a good or a bad thing; it’s a tool, but it’s a tool that has limitations. We deceive ourselves when we believe that money is the universal solution to all life’s problems. That’s when greed kills contentment, and the love of money begins to consume our lives. King Solomon, one of the richest kings of his era, wrote in Proverbs 23:4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. Vs 5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. When you ask people how much money would be enough; the answer is almost always the same; ‘just a little bit more.’ Chasing money is like chasing your shadow; the more you grasp, the less you get. It’s like drinking salty ocean water, the more you drink, the thirstier you become. What we think we want is more; what we really need is enough. King Agur captures that thought beautifully when he writes in Proverbs 30:8 …Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, Vs 9 That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God. This is a prayer for contentment. It’s a prayer for neither more nor less than I need. “Feed me with the food that is my portion” is the same request as “give us this day our daily bread.” Both prayers acknowledge that God is the source and He determines our portion for each day. At Thanksgiving, we generally stuff ourselves with more than our portion for that day. Some people eat themselves right into a nap! Human nature often believes that more is better. The big question is, more of what? The real issue here is not the quantity of our earthly wealth; it’s the quality of our relationship with God. King Agur’s real concern is that too much or too little here on earth will harm his relationship with the LORD. And he acknowledges that only God knows how much or how little that is. “Too much” riches and success often deceives people into trusting earthly treasures and not the LORD. When wealth becomes our idol, we kick God to the curb, and then drive off into the sunset, ……..right over a cliff. However, poverty has its problems as well. King Agur doesn’t want poverty to tempt him to covet and steal. Too much money and he falls into pride; too little money and he falls into theft. Both harm his relationship with God. So he asks God to give him what he needs; and what he needs most of all is not earthly treasure, it’s the treasure of God Himself. The only way we will be content with whatever God chooses to provide, is when we value God Himself more than whatever He chooses to provide. 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, 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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

Dear Manna Family, One of the main attractions in Yellowstone National Park is a geyser named Old Faithful. It erupts about every 90 minutes or so. We are attracted to it because of its dependability and faithfulness. Faithfulness is the seventh virtue mentioned in Galatians 5:22. The Greek word for faith is “pistis” which refers to truthfulness, fidelity and honesty. Faithfulness describes someone who is trustworthy, reliable and dependable. It’s been said that “the greatest ability is dependability.” The God of the Bible is a faithful, dependable God. Lamentations 3:22 The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. Vs 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Since God is faithful and we represent Him on earth, we need to be faithful as well. I Corinthians 4:2 “Moreover it is required of stewards that one be found faithful.” A steward reliably manages what belongs to the owner…….for the benefit of the owner. The parable of the talents illustrates this principle of faithfulness. An owner is going on a long journey, and he entrusts three of his managers with some of his resources and commands them to be productive with them. The first two managers double the owner’s money. The owner tells them that since they have been faithful with a few things, he is going to put them in charge of many things. (Matthew 25:21). The third manager buries the owner’s money in the ground and gives it back to him when he returns from his journey. The owner is quite unhappy, takes the one talent away from him, and gives it to the one with the ten talents. (Matthew 25) Daniel is another example of faithful stewardship. Near the end of his life, Daniel was going to be appointed Prime Minister over the Persian Empire, when his political enemies conspired to destroy his career. They looked at his professional history trying to find past corruption, incompetence or poor judgment and found nothing. Daniel 6:4 “….they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Vs 5 Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.’” They flattered king Darius into signing a law that made it made it a capital crime to pray to anyone but the king himself for the next 30 days, and the king signed it. Vs 10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem) ; and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. He had been faithfully praying to God three times a day for decades and he remained faithful, even in the face of certain death in the lion’s den. You know the rest of the story. God delivered him from the lion’s den and gave him ongoing success. God owns everything and He entrusts every follower of Jesus with resources to manage for His kingdom. God has entrusted us with His p]-word, our salvation, health, heritage, personality, education, aptitudes, career, finances, relationships, circumstances, spiritual gifts and so forth. Be faithful in managing what you currently have, and the Holy Spirit will teach you to be faithful with more. ‘Dare to be a Daniel!’ 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 sometime use the phrase “Ladies and Gentlemen,” when addressing an audience. This invites an obvious question, exactly what is a gentle man or gentle woman? Today in our study on the Fruit of the Spirit, we’re looking at Galatians 5:23 at the virtue called gentleness. The Greek word for gentleness is often translated as meekness or humility. Meekness is not weakness; meekness is power under control, like a horse with a bit and bridle is under the control of their rider. A meek person is even tempered because they rule their own spirit and have their own passions under control. Gentle or meek means to be peaceful, tender, merciful, and courteous. A gentle person patiently endures offenses, instead of seeking revenge. The opposite of gentle is someone who is harsh and domineering. Power that is out of control is destructive. A bull in a china shop is not a picture of gentleness. Jesus, the ultimate model of gentle humility, invites us to come to Him and submit to Him. Matthew 11: 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Vs 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. Vs 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The God who created the universe uses His infinite power with gentleness, not cruelty. Even though the human race which He created rebelled against His rule, Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth to save sinners by laying down His life for their benefit. Jesus is God’s gentleness in action. Moses is a human example of meekness. Numbers 12: 3 Now the man Moses was very meek (very humble), more than any man who was on the face of the earth. Meekness was not a character trait that Moses was born with. As a matter of fact, he was a natural born hothead, a redheaded firebrand so to speak. When he was about 40, he saw an Egyptian beating a fellow Israelite. He looked both ways, and when he didn’t see any bystanders, he killed the Egyptian with his own two hands, and buried him in the sand. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two stone tablets in his hand and saw the golden calf that Israel was worshipping, the Bible says that his anger burned. He threw down the tablets and they shattered. (Exodus 32). Numbers 20 records that in the last year of his life, Moses grew angry with Israel’s perpetual disobedience, and struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded him. Moses had to learn gentleness and meekness, and God used sheep to teach him. Moses spent 40 years in the desert as a shepherd, and sheep do not respond to cruelty, but to gentleness. Moses then spent 40 years leading 2 million people through a wilderness without food or water, and that required humble dependence upon the LORD. The Holy Spirit designs difficult circumstances to make us humble and gentle like Jesus. Sometimes the Holy Spirit has to put our life in a vice (or a virus!), so we can’t get away while He chisels and sandpapers our life to make us more like Jesus. The process is painful, but the results will be beautiful! 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 apostle Peter once described Jesus using these words: You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good….. Acts 10:38. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5: 22 and goodness is the sixth virtue mentioned. Goodness is active kindness. It is moral excellence and compassionate generosity that is revealed by actions. Goodness is doing what is right, because it’s right. God’s people should do good because their God is good. Galatians 6: 9 And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. Vs 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Doing good is not a one-time thing, it’s a lifetime thing, and it can be exhausting. Sometimes when our good deeds don’t seem to matter, it’s easy to give up. However, God calls us to keep on doing good as long as we can, because one day, our opportunity to do good will be over. An opportunity to do good is an occasion to demonstrate the love of Jesus to others and that can make a difference for all eternity. Tabitha is an example in the Bible of someone doing good. Acts 9: 36 Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas) ; this woman was full of good works and charitable deeds, which she did. Acts records that she died and her friends asked the apostle Peter to come, which he did. Vs 39 …..And when he had come, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was still with them. She is described as being “full of good deeds.” She did not do good occasionally; she was doing good deeds continually. God’s love was the wellspring of goodness in her life that overflowed into actions that blessed others. She was a seamstress and she used her skill to make clothes for people who most likely could not afford to pay for them. She literally put clothes on people. In that time, clothing was handmade and therefore expensive. Many people could only afford one set of clothing and people literarily wore their clothes until they wore out. Her legacy was far more than clothes. She had obviously blessed many people by her good deeds, and their sorrow testified to the value she had left behind. God described her life as “full of good works and charitable deeds.” That would be a pretty good epitaph for your life. Practically speaking, doing good is simply using whatever God has given you for the benefit of others in Jesus’ name. Dorcas was a seamstress and she used what she had. God has given all of us resources and skills that can bless others. The Holy Spirit will guide you in doing good with what God has already given you. All you have to do is ask. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 1969, Glen Campbell recorded a song titled, “Try a Little Kindness.” I recommend you try both the song, and the virtue it advocates. Kindness is the fifth virtue listed in the Fruit of the Spirt in Galatians 5: 22. The Greek word for kindness is “chrestotes.” The Greek word for old wine is “chrestos,” which means mild, pleasant and smooth. Kindness deals with others with in a mild, pleasant and tender manner. Kindness is compassion and friendliness towards others. A kind person is someone who adapts themselves to meet the needs of others. Jesus is kind and forgiving, and we are commanded to be kind and forgiving as well. Ephesians 4: 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Jesus adapted Himself to meet our needs by dying in our place so that God could forgive us. How much more should we, who have experienced God’s kindness, extend it to others. The Apostle Paul, who wrote these words, once experienced kindness….from strangers! Paul and his companions were sailing to Rome around mid November, A.D. 60, when they sailed into a typhoon and were shipwrecked on the island of Malta. All 275 passengers made it to shore alive, but since the waves had battered the ship into pieces, they were soaking wet and chilled to the bone. The people who lived on Malta showed them kindness. Acts 28: 2 And the natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. Vs 7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. Vs 10 And they also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed. Kindness is practical love in action; it is anticipating the needs of others and adjusting our lives to meet those needs. You didn’t need to do a survey to figure out what Paul’s group needed. They needed immediate warmth because they were soaking wet and cold. They also needed food and shelter, and these “strangers” met their needs with practical kindness. When they were ready to sail again, 3 months later in mid February, the people of Malta supplied everything they needed to travel to Rome. Meeting others’ needs with compassion is kindness. The Good Samaritan is another example of kindness in action. You know the story. A Jewish man traveling on an isolated road, is ambushed, beaten, robbed and left for dead by bandits. Two respected Jewish religious leaders come up, see him beaten and bloody by the side of the road, and walk on by. The Jews discriminated against the Samaritans because they were a mixed race of people who did not keep the Jewish Law. A Samaritan man rides by, sees this Jewish man in need, feels compassion, stops, cleans and bandages his wounds, puts him on his own donkey and takes him to the closest inn. He then pays the innkeeper to take care of him. Kindness meets others’ needs because Jesus met our needs. Don’t do a random act of kindness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you try a little kindness to everyone you meet. 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, I’m sure that we all have days where we can identify with the vulture who said to his friend, “Forget about patience, I’m just going to kill something!” We have been studying the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, and today’s virtue is patience. Patience or long suffering, is the fourth virtue listed after love, joy and peace. In this passage, the Greek word for patience is “makro thumia.” Makro thumia describes someone who pushes their anger far, far away. This is not being patient with difficult circumstances; it is being patient with difficult people. It literally means “long tempered” or having a “long fuse.” It refers to a person who has the power to retaliate, but instead exercises restraint. The God of the Bible is a patient God who describes Himself as being “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth…..” (Exodus 34: 6) The fact is that God has been slow to anger with the rebellious human race since the Garden of Eden. The Apostle Paul reminds Christians that they are to be patient with each other. Ephesians 4: 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, Vs 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, God calls us to be patient with others just like He has been patient with us. We offend God and we offend other people every day. God forgives us because He is patient, and we are called to do the same. Noah was man in the Bible who exemplified patience and endurance. Hebrews 11: 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. God told Noah that He was going to destroy the earth with a worldwide flood. However, God was going to preserve Noah and his family. God commanded Noah to build an ark, really a very large barge, and gave him the exact construction specifications. We know that God is patient, because He waited over 100 years before He sent the flood. We also know that Noah was patient, because it took him and his 3 sons over 100 years to build this massive boat. As they were building, 2 Peter 2: 5 tells us that they were also preaching righteousness and repentance to the watching world. It had never rained on earth before, and no one had never experienced a flood. However, by faith, Noah obeyed God, and patiently endured human opposition and rejection for…………..over 100 years. We know that the world ridiculed and rejected Noah’s preaching, because not one person responded after 100 years of building and preaching!! The only ones saved were the members of Noah’s own family. That’s 100 years of long suffering and it’s a good model for us. I’m sure that sometime this week, we will all have an opportunity to practice being patient! As we follow the Holy Spirit’s direction and depend on His power, He gives us patience and the ability to endure and not retaliate. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, We are living in a non-peaceful world. Waging war with words and weapons seems to be increasingly common. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Peace is the third virtue mentioned after love and joy. Peace is tranquility in the soul. It’s like the calm smooth surface of a lake as opposed to a hurricane storm surge. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. Shalom expresses the idea of wholeness and completeness. It refers to a sense of order that replaces chaos. The God of the Bible is the God of peace, and He has made peace possible for people. Before Christ, we were at war with God. Jesus Christ came to make peace by paying the penalty for our sin and satisfying God’s wrath. When we trust in Jesus’ payment for our sin, we are forgiven and experience peace with God. Forgiven people can experience the peace of God. The peace of God is an inner calm that is grounded in our saving relationship with Jesus. Philippians 4: 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Vs 7 And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. When we bring everything to God in prayer, we can stop being anxious. I Peter 5:7…..casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. This is the picture of continually rolling a heavy weight of worries off our shoulders onto God’s shoulders, and letting Him carry it. The peace of God comes through the Holy Spirit, and guards our hearts from fear. Those who have peace with God should make peace with people. Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The Apostle Peter is someone who experienced the supernatural peace of God in extremely difficult circumstances. Acts 12 records the persecution against the church by King Herod. In order to please the Jewish religious leaders, Herod had the apostle James beheaded, and also arrested Peter and put him in prison. The entire church was fervently praying for his deliverance. On the very night before Peter’s public execution, he was in prison, chained between two soldiers and guarded by 14 more. An angel entered his cell, and Peter was sleeping so soundly, that the angel had to strike his side in order to wake him. All the guards remained asleep, Peter’s chains fell off him, and the doors and gates opened by themselves as he followed the angel out of the prison and into freedom. It seems incredible that Peter could be sound asleep the night before his execution. You would think he would be anxious and awake on his last night on earth. However, Jesus had already promised Peter that he would live to an old age, and Peter was not yet old. Secondly, the church was fervently praying for Peter, and supernatural peace is one of the results of praying. Whatever our worries, we should do what the old hymn says and “Take it to the LORD in Prayer.” 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 song “Happy Days are Here Again!”, came out in November, 1929, ironically about the same time as the stock market crash. Happiness comes from the word happenstance, which means chance. Happy means that you are pleased with your current circumstances, which are changeable. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit. The first virtue listed in Galatians 5: 22 is love; today we’ll look at the second which is joy. Joy is deeper than happiness. Joy is not affected by changing circumstances. The Greek word for joy is chara, which means grace or gift; or charis, which means to rejoice. Joy is our response to God’s eternal gift of salvation, and the promise of heaven (Romans 5). Joy is a soul deep satisfaction in our relationship with God Himself. Our source of joy is ultimately the character God which never changes. Jesus is our example of joy, even in the face of suffering and death. Hebrews 12: 2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross…… It was the joy of obeying His Father, and the joy of heaven that enabled Jesus to endure suffering and death. We are commanded to follow Jesus’ example. Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice……in the Lord……always, again I will say, rejoice! This is a command, repeated twice, to be joyful all the time, in every circumstance. Notice that our joy is in the Lord, not in our changing circumstances. This verse was written by a man who understood suffering. When Paul and Silas preached in Philippi, they were arrested, beaten and imprisoned. Acts 16: 23 And when they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailor to guard them securely; Vs 24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and fastened their feet in the stocks. Vs 25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. They were beaten and bloody, in pain and in prison. You would think they would be moaning and complaining. However instead of complaining, they were singing………hymns of praise to God! Their joy was based on their relationship with Jesus, which not even pain could take away. We sing the Christmas Carol, “Joy to the World, the Lord has come……”. We have joy because Jesus invaded planet earth to set people free from sin and death. Our joy is eternal because Romans 8: 38-39 promises us that “nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our joy is based on the unstoppable love of God through Jesus. This supernatural joy attracts attention. When Paul and Silas were singing even when in prison, the other prisoners were listening. It is incomprehensible to the world that anyone could sing after being beaten bloody. Joy in the face of suffering is a witness to the world that God the Holy Spirit lives inside us. There is an old song, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the LORD has done.” When you write that list, you just might experience joy! 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, It’s been estimated that throughout history, over 100 million love songs and poems have been written or recorded. As Tom Jones once sang, “Without love, I had nothing at all.” Galatians 5: 22-23 lists nine virtues as the fruit of the Spirit, and love is first on the list, because loving God and loving people are the foundation of the Christian life. This love is God’s love, and it is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13. God’s love is not an emotion, it is devotion. It is a decision to seek the best for others, and the devotion to sacrificially serve them. Jesus set an example of humble service when He washed the disciples’ dirty feet. The supreme example of love took place when Jesus died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. Before He went to the cross, He commanded His disciples to love like He loved. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. (John 13:34). What does that love look like? We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (I John 3: 16) Love is sacrificial because it requires putting others’ needs before our own. Sacrificial love is not natural for us, it is supernatural and it comes from God the Holy Spirit. Romans 5: 5 The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. So, the Holy Spirit fills us with God’s sacrificial love which we are to share with others. Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, is an example of sacrificial love. When he was 17 years old, Jacob’s sons sold their brother Joseph into Egypt as a slave because of jealousy. A regional famine then forces Jacob’s sons to go to Egypt and buy food. Unknown to them, their brother Joseph has become the Prime Minister of Egypt, and he recognizes them. He wants to reconcile his family, but he needs to know that their hearts have changed, so he arranges a test. He offers to keep their youngest brother Benjamin as a slave, and let the rest of his brothers go back home to their father. Judah then appeals to Joseph, and offers to give himself in exchange for his younger brother, Benjamin. Genesis 44: 33 “Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. Vs 34 For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest I see the evil that would overtake my father. Judah’s agape love for his father and his younger brother motivated him to sacrifice his own freedom for their benefit. Joseph now knows that their hearts have been changed and he reveals himself to them as their brother and invites them to move to Egypt, so he can provide for them. For the Christian, love is not an option or an emotion; it is a daily decision to love others like Jesus loves us. Today, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with Jesus’s love, and then watch how He will put people in your life who need to experience the love of Jesus through you! 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 1965 John Lennon wrote a song called “Help!” Part of the chorus reads, “Help me get my feet back on the ground, Won’t you please, please help me?” Jesus knows that we need help; supernatural help. So, God gave us the Holy Spirit who came to live inside us the moment we were saved. The Greek word for the Holy Spirit is Paraclete, which roughly means “One who comes alongside to help.” The night before He went to the cross, Jesus told His disciples John 14: 16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; Vs 17……He (will) abide with you and will be in you. The Holy Spirit is a gift from the Father who comes alongside us to help. Later on that same night, Jesus told His disciples how to access the Spirits help. John 15: 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. Vs 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing. To abide means to remain connected. The mission of a plant is to produce fruit. The life of a plant flows from the root through the branches and produces fruit. A disconnected branch is a dead branch that produces no fruit. In the same way that physical fruit is the result of the life of the plant, so the fruit of the Spirit is the result of the supernatural life of Jesus in the believer. In the same way that a branch bears fruit, but doesn’t produce fruit, so the fruit of the Spirit is not produced by us, but in us, through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s kind of like a lightbulb. We are the lightbulb, the Holy Spirit is the electricity, and as we stay connected to Him, His power flows through us and produces light. Galatians 5: 22-23 discusses the fruit of the Spirit. This is a representative list of nine attitudes that characterize a life that is connected to and controlled by the Holy Spirit. These nine virtues come as a package; we don’t get to pick and choose which ones we want. They are like a bouquet of living flowers that over time grows more beautiful with proper care. As these virtues grow in our lives, we become more like Jesus. These nine virtues can be divided into three groups. The first three qualities, love, joy and peace, focus upward on our relationship with God. The second three, patience, kindness and goodness, focus outward on our relationships with others. The last three, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, focus inward on our own private world. The fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirits’ presence and power in our lives. In the next several lessons, we’ll look at the nine flowers on this spiritual bouquet. We can’t produce spiritual fruit on our own. As we stay in step with the Holy Spirit, He grows our character more like Jesus. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, When I was a kid I used to watch caterpillars creating cocoons. And then, between 1-3 weeks later out came a butterfly or a moth, a creature vastly different than the caterpillar. This is a small picture of our Christian life. Before salvation we lived like a caterpillar, crawling around in sin. When Christ saved us, He gave us a new nature as different as a butterfly is to a caterpillar. Jesus used the term “born again” to describe the spiritual birth of our new nature. When we were born again, our old self died with Jesus on the cross. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…. So, we have a new life in Christ, but we still have what the Bible calls “the flesh.” The flesh is that part of our old nature that is attracted to sin and opposed to God. The flesh is the traitor inside us that is attracted to temptation outside us. It’s almost like a butterfly who wants to crawl on the ground like a caterpillar again. Warren Wiersbe illustrates this point by comparing sheep with pigs. It’s the nature of sheep to stay clean; it’s the nature of pigs to get dirty. It’s the nature of caterpillars to crawl; it’s the nature of butterflies to fly. Inside every Christian there is an ongoing battle between the flesh and the Spirit. Our flesh pulls us towards sin, like a pig, while the Spirit pulls us closer to Jesus, like a sheep. This tug of war inside us is one of the reasons why the Christian life is a struggle. Our new nature wants to do right, but we don’t have the power to do right by ourselves. The solution is found in Galatians 5: 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Vs. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Paul often uses the word walk as a metaphor for everyday life. Walking by the Spirit is like walking arm in arm with the Holy Spirit. It’s keeping in step with the Spirit, marching in step with the Spirit. It’s moving in the same direction at the same pace. Walking together implies an intimate relationship where there is constant communication. It also means power. Walking by the Spirit is like walking on a moving walkway in an airport. You can keep stepping, but the moving walkway under your feet has its own power source that propels you forward. When the flesh is in control, we become slaves to sin. When the Spirit is in control, we conquer sin through His power. Walking by the Spirit is very practical. 1. Trust in the Lord, and not yourself. 2. Read God’s word, and then do what it says. 3. Pray for God’s guidance, and then follow it. 4. Thank God every day for His faithfulness. When you walk by the Spirit, you will still battle sin, but you will win those battles through Him. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 ••• 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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 is a record of the extreme measures that God took throughout history in order to reconcile the human race to Himself. This world-wide Covid-19 pandemic is certainly an extreme event that God is using to draw people to Himself. Today we want to look at the book of Jonah which may be one of the greatest illustrations of John 3:16 that is recorded in the Old Testament. This book demonstrates that the God of the Bible loves the whole world, even the enemies of God’s own people. God called Jonah to pronounce judgement on Israel’s enemies, the Assyrian Empire. Miraculously, the entire capital city of Nineveh, about 500,000 people, repented, and God graciously held back His judgment for another 150 years. Instead of being thrilled, Jonah became bitter because God showed mercy toward the people that he hated. Jonah 3:10 When God saw their deeds that they turned away from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. 4:1 But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. Vs 2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Vs 3 “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” When God called Jonah to go to Nineveh Jonah tried to run away from God. Jonah is an illustration of the proverb, “you can run, but you can’t hide.” God sent a storm and a great fish after Jonah in order to get His disobedient prophet to Nineveh. Jonah was not afraid that Nineveh would reject God, he was afraid that God would accept Nineveh, which is exactly what happened. When Jonah preached, Nineveh repented, God forgave them, and Jonah became angry because God showed mercy to Israel’s enemies. Jonah really thought that God should love who he loved and hate who he hated. He forgot that God’s purpose in blessing Israel was so that they would be a blessing to others by telling them about their gracious God. We often forget how much God loves people, even the ones we don’t love. God loves people enough to do extreme things to bring them to Himself; things like allowing a global pandemic. People are now reconsidering their lives, and some are more open to discuss spiritual realities. Some people may only come to Christ and go to heaven……….because of this virus. Let’s ask God to help us see people like He sees them, and love them like He loves them. We have been saved so that we can tell others how to be saved as well. After all, God loves them just like He loves 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, Many people are asking why we are experiencing a global pandemic. The reality is, we don’t know why. What we do know is that God is never the author of evil, but God does work all things for His glory and His children’s good, even bad things. 2 Chronicles 5-7 records the time when King Solomon and the nation of Israel dedicated the temple and themselves to the LORD. God came to Solomon and told him in 2 Chronicles 7 Vs 13 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, Vs 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. The presumption here is that God’s own children have disobeyed Him. God is a Father who loves His children enough to discipline them. The goal of God’s discipline is to train His children so they will know and do what is right, and stop doing what is wrong. God gives Solomon three examples of His discipline that are designed to turn His people away from their sin and back to God. First, God can stop the rain, which means crop failure and hunger. Second, God can send locust hordes to devour existing crops which also means hunger. Third, God can send pestilence or infectious diseases upon people. All three are acts of loving correction, designed to teach God’s people to turn away from sin. God says, when My people sin and I discipline them, restoring our relationship depends on My people doing four things. First, God’s people must humble themselves. God is the king, and I am His servant: the only way to come to God is on your knees. Second, God’s people must pray. Prayer says “God, I need you, I trust You, You are in control, and I will obey You.” Third, God says, seek My face. This refers to an intimate love relationship with someone, like a spouse or a child. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is the central purpose of life. Fourth, God commands His own people to turn from their wicked ways. This is repentance; turn back from sin and turn towards God. This passage is not describing the sins of people who don’t know God. God says that His own people must reject their wicked ways and turn back to Him. If God’s people do these four things, then God promises to do three things. First, God will hear from heaven, and respond to our prayer for forgiveness. Second, God will forgive their sin. When we turn away from our sin and cry out to God, He is faithful to forgive us. Third, God will heal their land. God says, “when My people repent and get right with Me, then I will heal their land.” One of the clearest teachings of the Bible is that obedience to God brings blessings, and disobedience brings discipline. I don’t know why the corona virus came when it did. I do know that God is calling His own people to humble themselves, pray, love Him more than anything else, and turn away from their sin and turn back to God. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, How do you feel when someone interrupts you, especially when you are deeply involved in an important activity? Jesus found Himself in that situation regularly. People in crisis never asked Jesus if it was a convenient time for Him to help them. They routinely interrupted Him with their emergencies. One example of this occurs in Mark 5. Jesus has just healed a demoniac on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. When He sails back to Galilee on the west side, He is mobbed by people who desperately need His help. Now He is interrupted. Vs 22 And one of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and upon seeing Him, fell at His feet, Vs 23 and entreated Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, that she may get well and live.” Vs 24 And He went off with him, and a great multitude was following Him and pressing in on Him. Jesus prioritized this little girl’s need over the needs of the multitude, and He goes with Jairus to heal his daughter, when He is interrupted………again! Vs 25 And a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, Vs 26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse, Vs 27 after hearing about Jesus, came up in the crowd behind Him, and touched His cloak— Vs 28 For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I shall get well.” This woman doesn’t talk to Jesus, she just touches His robe. She believes that He has the power to heal her, and she is healed……..immediately. After she tells Him why she touched Him, He blesses her. But this incident took time. Jairus’s friends now tell him that his daughter has just died, so he doesn’t need to bother Jesus any longer. Vs 36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” After being interrupted for the second time, Jesus goes to Jairus’s house and raises his daughter from the dead. Many times, Jesus ministered to needy people who interrupted Him. Actually, people in need were the reason Jesus came to earth. What we see as interruptions, Jesus sees as divine appointments. When our plans get interrupted, we should view that interruption as God putting HIs appointments into our calendar. God modifies our schedules every day, because He has eternal plans for us that go beyond our earthly plans. At the time, I’m sure Jairus must have thought, “If only Jesus would not have been interrupted, He could have saved my daughter from dying.” He didn’t see that Jesus’ plan was to raise her from the dead, a far greater miracle. This coronavirus pandemic may have interrupted your plans, but it never interrupts God’s plan for you. God has divine appointments already on your calendar. So, when you plan your day, leave some white space for God’s surprises. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, My bride Maren suggested this verse as a suitable theme for a blog, and I agree, even though I am convicted when I read it. I Thessalonians 5:18 “……. in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” One short sentence, really only a four-word command with a ten-word explanation. The scope is what is staggering; “give thanks……in everything.” How can you possibly give thanks for everything, when there is so much suffering and evil in our world? Our culture says, give thanks for comfortable, convenient circumstances, and complain about them when they’re not. Notice that the scripture says, “give thanks in everything,” it does not say “give thanks for everything.” Clearly God does not command us to give thanks for evil. If you get diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, you don’t give thanks for the disease that will probably kill you. You can, however, give thanks in every circumstance, even death, not because of the circumstance, but because of our God who rules over every circumstance, including death. This command to “give thanks in everything” depends completely on the sovereignty of God. If God is not in control of His world, then despair is the appropriate response, not thanksgiving. So, why does God command His people to give thanks in everything? In short, thanksgiving exalts God to the place of honor that He deserves. Thanksgiving acknowledges that God is the center and the source of everything. We give thanks to God because of who He is and what He has done. We give Him thanks because nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8: 38-39). We thank Him because He adopted us into His family. (Romans 8: 15-17). We thank God that He uses everything to shape us like Jesus, even bad things. (Romans 8: 29). We give God thanks because He is a good and generous God who gave us eternal life through the death of His own Son. Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things. God is the creator of all things and He shares abundantly with His creation. The biggest impediment to thanksgiving is self-centeredness. Pride says, “God owes me good things because I deserve them, so why should I give thanks?” Humility says, “I deserve nothing, but our good God supplies whatever He knows I need, and He deserves my thanksgiving.” There is an old song, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the LORD has done.” This is a great season to a make a list of God’s blessings, and then thank Him every day; especially for what He is doing in a global pandemic! 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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: Have you ever gone camping? The nation of Israel once went on a camping trip……with God! It was only supposed to be a short trip from Egypt to Canaan, but their disobedience turned it into a camping trip that lasted 40 years! And the people didn’t even get to choose their campsites; God did. God led His people by means of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Numbers 9: 17 And whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. Vs 22 Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, staying above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they did set out. Vs 23 At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out; Every morning, they would look to see whether the cloud had lifted up from over the tent. If it had, they packed up, because today was a travel day. On travel days, their job was simple, follow the cloud. When it moved, they moved, when it stopped, they stopped and set up camp. If the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they didn’t have to pack up and travel that day…….but they might have to tomorrow……or not. God didn’t issue a calendar with travel days and rest days already marked out. He didn’t publish a map of the travel route with campsites already reserved. They just had to follow the cloud, one day at a time. I wonder what people did on the days they didn’t travel? Most days were probably routine like gathering water, firewood, and preparing manna for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Manna was pretty bland so there were probably a lot of manna recipes being shared! They probably did the laundry, home schooled the kids, cleaned up the tent, and talked with their neighbors. Sounds like us today. Most of us are “camping out” at home now due to the coronavirus. We’re not exactly sure when the “stay at home” orders will be lifted. I know that many of us are ready to “break camp” and get moving. We know that God has plans for us every day, whether it’s a camp day or a travel day. Just like Israel followed the cloud, God commands us to keep “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith...” Hebrews 12: 2. Today, we are not guided by a cloud on the outside, but by the Spirit of Jesus on the inside. “Camping out” at home is a great time to get to know Jesus better. We can study God’s word, pray, and share the love of Jesus with others. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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; As a result of the current pandemic, we have been told to “shelter in place.” This a nice way of saying, “stay off the streets and stay home.” One of the outcomes of “staying home” is a simpler lifestyle. We now have fewer options available to us. Not being able to gather in groups eliminates a lot of activities. This gives us an opportunity to practice contentment. Paradoxically, the more options we have, the easier it is to become discontented, because we are more aware of what we do not have. A lot of advertising is specifically designed to make us feel discontented with what we currently have, so we will be tempted to buy whatever “they” are selling. Satan, the master of deception, persuaded Eve that the perfect Garden of Eden was not good enough, because God had told her not to eat from only one tree! Imagine being discontented in the Garden of Eden. In 1976, a typical supermarket in the United States carried 9,000 items. Today, your average supermarket carries 39,500 items. I wonder how we managed to get by with only 9,000 items? Some people today get by with no grocery store at all. Just sayin’! The good news is contentment can be learned. The apostle Paul said in Philippians 4: 11 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. Vs 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. Vs 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Contentment is not natural; discontentment is the norm. Parents know that children usually want the one toy that some other child has; kind of like some adults. The discontented person is usually asking God for something else instead of thanking God for what they already have. The contented person is not defined by what they have, but by who they are, and whose they are. Here’s a definition of contentment: Contentment is the state of being satisfied with God Himself, and whatever He chooses to provide. We can always be satisfied with God, because God is always good, and whatever He provides is exactly what we need. When Paul and Silas were beaten and bloody for preaching the gospel in Philippi, they were thrown in prison and chained to wooden stocks that immobilized them. They responded by singing praises to God. They didn’t sing because of the pain, they sang because Jesus was with them in their pain. Paul said, “Through the power of Christ in me, I can do all things, even be content when suffering for Jesus’ sake.” The corona virus quarantine is a great opportunity for us to practice contentment. Now that you know, do! 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, If you have ever felt that your life was being turned upside down, then this story is for you. This story took place in Persia, between 483-473 B.C. After 70 years in captivity, a small number of Jews went back to Israel to rebuild the temple and reclaim the Promised Land. However, most Jews chose to remain in Persia. A Jewish maiden named Esther has been crowned queen after a national beauty pageant. The wicked Prime Minister of Persia named Haman has plotted to slaughter all the Jews in Persia and steal their wealth. Esther’s uncle Mordecai has gotten wind of his plot and appeals to Esther to go into the king and plead for mercy for the Jewish people. Esther tells him that Persian law dictates that whoever enters the king’s presence without being summoned is subject to immediate death, unless the king extends the royal scepter to them. Mordecai tells her in Esther 4: 14 “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” Vs 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. Vs 16 And thus I will go into the king, which is not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish.” God’s name is never mentioned in the book of Esther, but His fingerprints are everywhere. The book of Esther is filled with “coincidences” that the Bible calls “providence.” Providence is God’s sovereign rule over His universe as He controls everything in order accomplish His eternal purposes. In this passage, Esther realizes that she did not become queen by accident. God had arranged for her to become queen at precisely the right time, so that God could work through her to save the Jewish people from genocide. For three days, Esther fasted and prayed for God to move the king’s heart and give her favor in his eyes. At the end of three days, she went into the king, even though it might cost her life. In our own lives, God has placed us exactly where He wants us to be in this dangerous global pandemic. Just like Esther, God has plans for each of us to accomplish even while we are largely at home. As we read God’s word and pray, He will guide us one day at a time. Our job is to follow His directions. God’s plan is not just for us to “shelter in place” in order to “survive” a pandemic. He wants us to be a spiritual blessing to others. Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, As a result of the pandemic, many people around the world have been operating in “stay at home” mode now for several weeks. This is a great time to mediate on God’s word. In the 23rd Psalm, David, the shepherd king said, Psalm 23: 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. Vs 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; The Bible often likens people to sheep and God as their shepherd. The well-being of every sheep is completely dependent upon the care of the shepherd. The LORD means Master or Ruler, the One who controls all things. David said, the LORD is My shepherd, my personal shepherd. I belong to My shepherd; He owns me, and He knows My name. I have a relationship with my shepherd and as a result...I shall not want: My shepherd cares for me, He provides exactly what I need when I need it. Sometimes what I need is to stop and lie down. Sheep usually forage and graze early in the morning and late afternoon. In the middle of the day, they like to find a shady spot to lie down and rest. Sheep are ruminants which means they chew their cud. They regurgitate the food that they swallowed that morning and chew it a second time. This helps them extract the maximum nutrition from it. Ruminating sheep are a word picture of Christians who meditate on God’s word. Sheep chew their cud several hours every day, and in the same way, chewing on God’s word requires time. God’s word is our spiritual food and our lives depend on it. We are commanded to hear God’s word, (Jeremiah 3: 15), read God’s word, (Deuteronomy 17: 19), study God’s word, (Proverbs 2:1-5), memorize God’s word, (Psalm 119:11) and meditate on God’s word. (Joshua 1:8). When you mediate, it’s helpful to focus your thoughts on a specific passage of scripture. Mediate means to ponder, muse, and reflect on what God’s word says, what it means, and how we can apply it to your life. Always begin by asking God to open your mind to what He wants you to know and do. It’s helpful to read the passage several times out loud. Consider writing it out, underlining key words and ideas, and taking notes on what it says. The whole point of meditation is obedient action. God commanded Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night………….so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it…”Joshua 1:8 Sometimes we don’t want to be quiet and take time to meditate on God’s word. We would rather be going and doing. Among many other things, God is using a tiny virus to encourage His people to slow down and savor the flavor of His wonderful word. Don’t miss this opportunity to chew on 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, Years ago, Lynn Anderson sang a song that began, “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden, Along with the sunshine, there’s gotta be a little rain some time.” That’s true; life is good, but it’s not easy. Here on earth, the only place you can live “happily ever after” is in fairy tales. For the Christian there is a land of “happily ever after,” and it’s called heaven. The road to “happily ever after” is not a smooth freeway. God wants His children to grow up spiritually. The path to spiritual maturity is often a rocky road, a narrow steep path with unexpected twists and turns. God knows that many times, earthly adversity can produce eternal advantages. From God’s perspective, adversity can be “miracle grow” for our soul. James 1: 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, Vs 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Vs 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Earthly troubles and trials are God’s exercise program that He uses to grow us to maturity. Our physical muscles and our faith muscles both require resistance in order to grow stronger. God uses trials is to shape us like Jesus. Growing Christlike character is the goal, problems are one of the processes God uses to achieve that goal. The book of James says that trials are inevitable; no one escapes them. It says when you encounter trials, not if you encounter trials. Various trials means that trials are not only inevitable, they are multiple and unpredictable. God does not have a predictable workout routine for our faith muscles. Various trials means different kinds of trials at different times in our lives. Problems take us into God’s gymnasium where our “trust and obey” muscles get a workout. James says, when you have a head on collision with a problem, add up all the reasons to be joyful. We can be joyful, not because of the problem itself, but because of the character development God produces in us as a result of going through the problem. God does have a workout sequence for us to follow in His spiritual gymnasium. Trials stress test our faith and if we don’t quit, they produce endurance. Life is a marathon, not a sprint, and the only way to finish anything is to never quit. Everything God does in our lives is designed to shape us more and more like Jesus. The name Christian literarily means, “follower of Christ.” So, when troubles and trials come knocking at your door, keep following Jesus. And then put your “gym clothes” on; you’re going to have a workout! 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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, Every winter we have the trees in our yard pruned. Pruning is essential for the health and production of fruit bearing plants. Pruning is also necessary for the health of God’s people. Jesus talked about pruning and fruit bearing in John 15. John 15:1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Vs 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit. Vs 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Vs 4 Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. The whole point of a vineyard is to produce a good crop of high-quality grapes. Proper pruning is required for the vines to produce quality grapes. Pruning removes about 90% of the previous year’s woody growth. If the branches are not pruned back, they will produce more grape clusters than can be ripened into maturity. Pruning gets rid of non-essentials, like excess wood and leaves, so that energy can be put into what is essential, like grapes. God the Father does the pruning in the lives of His people, because He wants them to bear more fruit. Our culture wastes a great deal of time and treasure on the trivial, on the non-eternal. Pruning is God cutting away the non-essentials from of our lives, so we can focus our energy on producing spiritual fruit that will last forever in heaven. God uses His Word, His Spirit, and circumstances to do spiritual surgery in our lives. (Hebrews 4:12). Pruning is painful, but it is an act of love. Hebrews 4:6 For whom the LORD loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives. Hebrews 12: 10 He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. Just like our heavenly Father, we discipline our own children and train them to do what is right, because we love them. We want them to grow up and mature into Godly adults. Spiritual fruit is growing more like Christ, experiencing more fruit of the Spirit in our lives, and making disciples for Jesus. (Romans 8: 29, Galatians 5: 22-23, Matthew 28: 19). Spiritual maturity and making disciples does not come from our own self effort. It comes from abiding in the vine. Jesus said that He is the vine and we are the branches. The branches must remain connected to the vine for life to flow from the vine through the branches in order to produce fruit. A disconnected branch is a dead branch which produces nothing. Abiding means remaining intimately connected with Jesus through obedience to what He says. John 15: 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love… (cf also I John 3:24) So, our job is to remain connected to Christ through obedience. It’s God’s prerogative to prune from our lives whatever hinders our relationship with His Son. The result is that we grow in spiritual maturity and make disciples for Jesus. 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 mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com 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

Welcome to the Southern Rogue Podcast. This podcast features entrepreneurs, business owners, and change makers. With the idea of experience sharing in mind, I wanted the conversations to be real and unedited. Ask yourself - What is your purpose? What are your goals? What is your why? On this week’s episode, I sit down with Brad Bald, an attorney at Row Title in Nashville. Brad is not only an attorney, but he hosts his own podcast show with his brother Brendan, called the Bald Brothers Podcast. We had a great conversation that included the importance of patience, building relationships, and staying true to who you are.  Check out the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts or iTunes and follow us on Instagram at the Southern Rogue Podcast for more.  Want to know more about Brad? Subscribe to the Bald Brothers Podcast on iTunes or thebaldbrotherspodcast.com and learn more about Brad at rowtitle.com or on Instagram at @bradbald22.