Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - You've Got Mail - #4332

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

It used to be that if you had a message to get through to someone, you left that message on their voice mail to get their attention. Then fax machines came along and a fax was a more dynamic way to communicate your message and have it noticed. Then along came e-mail and introduced an even more dynamic way to get through. Now it's not uncommon for e-mailers to check their computer several times a day - eagerly wanting to know, "Has someone tried to reach me? What did they have to say?" And many e-mailers hope to hear that little voice from their computer that raises their expectations. It says, "You've got mail."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You've Got Mail."

Actually, you've got mail every day - mail from Almighty God Himself! God's messages are, of course, communicated in His Book, the Bible. You may say, "Yeah, but that's not new information." Well, on the one hand, God's messages in the Bible are timeless information - always there, as true today as they were the day He authored them. But, on the other hand, God's messages are always breaking news, too, because your situation is different today.

God's Holy Spirit, who knows all about the Bible and who knows all about you, will miraculously use one of God's messages to change how you see your situation, and it may even change the situation! Timeless information that is breaking news for your situation.

Yes, you've got mail from God. But, like any message you might receive through e-mail, you'll never get the message if you don't check in to see what God has to say today. So many days have been so unnecessarily confusing, so unnecessarily messed up because you didn't pick up your mail from God.

There's a great picture of how God sends His messages to us in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 16:14 . God's ancient people were traveling through the wilderness in need of food. And God supplied their need by sending this miracle food called manna - which interestingly enough in Hebrew means, "What is it?" Well, the Bible says, "When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, 'What is it?'"

"Moses said to them, 'This is what the Lord has commanded: Each one is to gather as much as he needs ... No one is to keep any of it until morning.' However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots," the Bible says, "and began to smell." Now, in the New Testament, manna is used to symbolize spiritual food from God. And the "collection" principle is still the same - pick up a fresh batch each new day. Yesterday's messages from God won't do for today. He's got fresh manna, fresh messages, for the needs of this fresh new day.

Some days your mail from God will give you perspective on what's going on in your life. Other days it will give you a corrective to steer you back on course from a detour. But it's daily bread! You'll have to want God's messages enough to turn off some other messages for a little while - your television, the Internet, the newspaper, your music - all of which can end up stealing all or most of your time with God.

If you'll open God's Word with the eagerness and anticipation of someone who is checking their e-mail, I can guarantee you will always have mail - holy mail, life-changing mail - messages from the God of the universe to your heart.