Monday, 12 October 2026

His Plan Is Bigger Than Our Plans Fresh Manna by Pastor Tim Burt

Fresh Manna with Pastor Tim Burt 
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Greetings and thank you for reading. I pray that Fresh Manna is a blessing to you and helps you launch your day in the Lord. If you are blessed by what you read, please share it with a friend. There is a link in this box and  at the bottom of each devotional that says:  "Forward this email to a friend." Click on it, and put in their email and it will go to them. Thanks in advance for sharing! God bless you and thanks again for reading!

His Plan Is Bigger Than Our Plans

October 12, 2026
by Timothy Burt

When I was growing up, there was a silly kind of one-upmanship that seemed to run throughout childhood. You’d hear kids say things like, “My dad is bigger than your dad!” or “My brother is stronger than your brother!” Whatever someone else had, you wanted yours to be bigger or better. Looking back, it makes me laugh because it was such a childish way of thinking. But there’s a version of that statement that is absolutely true and worth remembering throughout our entire lives: God’s plan is bigger than our plan.

“You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21 NLT

We all make plans. We plan our days, our careers, our finances, our families, our vacations, and our futures. We think about what we want to accomplish and how we would like things to turn out. There’s nothing wrong with that. God gave us the ability to think, dream, prepare, and plan. But Proverbs 19:21 reminds us that all our plans are taking place within something much bigger—the purposes of God.

God cares deeply about every area of our lives. Jesus taught us that our Heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask Him. He cares about our families, our work, our health, our relationships, our provision, our decisions, and even the seemingly small concerns that occupy our thoughts. We should pray about those things and seek His help and direction in them. But sometimes we can become so focused on asking God to bless our plans that we forget to ask how our plans might fit into His.

God has had a plan from the beginning, and the Bible reveals it from Genesis to Revelation. Sin separated mankind from God, but God’s plan was to redeem us and restore us to Himself. That plan ultimately unfolded through Jesus Christ—His birth, His life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. God’s great purpose is that people would come to know Him, receive His grace, experience salvation through Jesus, and ultimately spend eternity with Him. When we understand that, we begin to see our own lives differently.

The greatest example of God’s plan superseding human expectations is the cross. The disciples had plans and expectations for Jesus. They believed He was the Messiah, but they didn’t fully understand how God’s plan would unfold. When Jesus was arrested and crucified, it appeared that everything had gone terribly wrong. Their hopes seemed shattered. Yet what looked like the destruction of their plans was actually the fulfillment of God’s.

The cross wasn’t a tragic interruption in God’s plan. The cross was the plan. Through what initially looked like defeat came the greatest victory mankind has ever known. Jesus paid the price for our sins and opened the door for anyone who believes in Him to receive forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. That should help us when our own plans don’t unfold exactly as we expected.

There have been times in my life when I’ve prayed, planned, and believed something should happen a particular way, only to watch God redirect things. Looking back later, I could often see that His direction was better than mine. And sometimes I discovered something even more important: His redirection wasn’t only about me. God was positioning me to influence, encourage, help, or share Jesus with someone else. That’s part of seeing the bigger picture.

Our lives aren’t simply about God helping us accomplish everything we want to accomplish. We are participants in what He wants to accomplish. Every relationship, opportunity, gift, resource, open door, and even some unexpected interruptions can become part of God’s greater purpose of bringing His love and grace to people.

This doesn’t mean we stop making plans. It means we make them with a surrendered heart. We pray, “Lord, this is what I’m thinking. This is what I’m hoping for. This is the direction I believe I should go. But above everything else, I want Your purpose to prevail.”

When we learn to live that way, we begin to look at life differently. An interruption might be a divine appointment. A closed door might be God’s protection or redirection. An unexpected opportunity might be an assignment. Even a difficult season might become something God uses to develop us so that someday we can strengthen someone else.

God cares about our plans. He wants to lead us, help us, provide for us, and bless us. But our plans work best when we remember that they fit inside something infinitely larger—His plan. Maybe that childhood saying wasn’t entirely useless after all. There’s one version of it I hope we never outgrow: God’s plan is bigger than my plan. And when my plans are surrendered to His, I can trust that the One who sees the entire picture knows exactly what He is doing.

Proverbs 16:3 NIV “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”

Prayer: Father, thank You for caring about every detail of my life. Give me wisdom as I make plans, but help me never become so focused on what I want that I lose sight of what You want. Help me see my life as part of Your greater purpose. When You redirect me, give me faith to trust You. Use my life, my gifts, my relationships, and my opportunities to help others experience Your love and the saving grace of Jesus Christ. May Your purpose always prevail in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Friday, 9 October 2026

The Kind of Person People Want Around Fresh Manna by Pastor Tim Burt

Fresh Manna with Pastor Tim Burt 
Tim Logo  
A Note from Pastor Tim
Greetings and thank you for reading. I pray that Fresh Manna is a blessing to you and helps you launch your day in the Lord. If you are blessed by what you read, please share it with a friend. There is a link in this box and  at the bottom of each devotional that says:  "Forward this email to a friend." Click on it, and put in their email and it will go to them. Thanks in advance for sharing! God bless you and thanks again for reading! 

The Kind of Person People Want Around

October 9, 2026
by Timothy Burt
 

Proverbs 22:11 NLT. “Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the king as a friend.”

Have you ever noticed that there are certain people you simply enjoy being around? They aren’t necessarily the funniest, the smartest, or the most successful people in the room. There is just something about them that makes you feel comfortable. They’re sincere. They’re kind. They listen. They don’t constantly criticize others or turn every conversation toward themselves. When they speak, there is a graciousness about their words that makes you glad you spent time with them.

Proverbs 22:11 gives us a glimpse into why that kind of person is so attractive. It says, “Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the king as a friend.” I love the way God connects these two qualities: a pure heart and gracious speech. One is inward, and the other is outward, but they are intimately connected. What is consistently in our heart eventually finds its way out through our mouth.

Jesus taught this very principle when He said, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” Matthew 12:34 NLT. Our words are often a window into what has been going on inside us. When our heart becomes filled with irritation, jealousy, pride, bitterness, or offense, sooner or later our words reveal it. But when we continually allow God to work in our heart—helping us forgive, love, encourage, and think the best of others—our speech begins to reflect that as well.

That doesn’t mean gracious people never speak difficult truths. Jesus certainly did. Gracious speech isn’t avoiding truth; it’s learning how to speak truth with the right heart and in the right way. There is a tremendous difference between correcting someone because you want to help them and correcting someone because you want to put them in their place. The words might even sound similar, but the heart behind them can be completely different.

I’ve learned over the years that people remember how you make them feel. They remember whether you encouraged them or embarrassed them, whether you listened or dismissed them, whether your words built them up or continually tore them down. That’s why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 NIV.

Then Proverbs gives us this fascinating result: “…will have the king as a friend.” In Solomon’s world, having the king as your friend represented extraordinary favor and access. The principle is that character opens doors. People in positions of responsibility value trustworthy people. They appreciate people whose motives are clean and whose words are thoughtful. Gracious people become the kind of people others want around them.

This isn’t about manipulating people so they’ll like us. Quite the opposite. It’s about allowing God to develop something genuine within us. A pure heart isn’t a technique. Gracious speech isn’t flattery. They are qualities of character that develop as we walk closely with God.

And here’s a simple challenge worth thinking about today: What do people usually receive after spending time with me? Do they walk away encouraged? Respected? Strengthened? Loved? Or do they often hear criticism, complaining, gossip, or negativity?

David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a loyal spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NLT. That’s a wonderful prayer because it begins in the right place—the heart. When God continually works on what’s inside us, what comes out of us begins to change.

A pure heart produces gracious words. Gracious words strengthen relationships. And over a lifetime, those two qualities can open doors and build friendships that talent, position, and achievement never could.

Proverbs 16:24 NLT - “Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, create in me a pure heart and help my words to always be filled with grace. Help me to speak in ways that encourage, strengthen, and bring life to others. Let my character and conversation reflect You everywhere I go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Wednesday, 7 October 2026

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His Plan Is Bigger Than Our Plans Fresh Manna by Pastor Tim Burt

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