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. 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, & - 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. 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, 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. 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, 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. 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 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. 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 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, 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. 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