Morning Manna

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 28:6–8 and Scripture’s radically different measure of a successful life. Solomon declares that integrity with poverty is better than wealth gained through crookedness, warns that our companions help shape who we become, and exposes the futility of profiting from another person’s desperation. This lesson examines why prosperity...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 28:3–5 and the progressive consequences of abandoning God’s standard. Solomon exposes oppression from those who should understand suffering, a culture that begins praising what God calls wicked, and the deeper problem beneath both: sin damages our ability to perceive moral reality correctly. This lesson reveals why what we appl...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart begin Proverbs 28 with verses 1–2 and Solomon’s powerful contrast between the instability produced by sin and the confidence that comes from righteousness. A guilty conscience can cause a person to flee when no one is pursuing, while the righteous can stand bold as a lion because their confidence rests in God. The same principle applies to nati...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart conclude Proverbs 27 with verses 25–27 and Solomon’s picture of faithful stewardship. The hay appears, the flock provides, and ultimately there is enough for everyone under the steward’s care. This lesson explores the partnership between diligent labor and God’s provision, the importance of tending the foundations that sustain what He has entru...

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart continue the Obedient Faith series with Israel’s march around Jericho. God deliberately chose a strategy that left no room for human strength, ingenuity, or military skill to claim the victory. For six days Israel marched in silence; on the seventh, they obeyed the command to shout—and the wall fell. This lesson reveals why...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:20–22 and three stubborn realities of the human heart: desire that is never satisfied, praise that exposes character, and folly that punishment alone cannot remove. Solomon shows that getting more cannot cure uncontrolled desire, applause can test us more severely than criticism, and external correction can restrain behavior...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:20–22 and three stubborn realities of the human heart: desire that is never satisfied, praise that exposes character, and folly that punishment alone cannot remove. Solomon shows that getting more cannot cure uncontrolled desire, applause can test us more severely than criticism, and external correction can restrain behavior...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:17–19 and three powerful pictures of how God develops His people through relationships and faithful service. Iron sharpens iron through necessary friction, the carefully tended fig tree rewards patient labor, and another person’s heart can become a mirror revealing our own. This lesson explores why genuine friends must somet...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:15–16 and Solomon’s sobering picture of a contentious spirit as the relentless dripping of a leaking roof. The danger is not one disagreement, but the accumulation of criticism, bitterness, and conflict that gradually destroys the peace God intended for the home. This lesson explains why hiding relational problems cannot hea...

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart begin a new three-part series, Obedient Faith, with Noah’s extraordinary response to God’s command to build an ark. Noah acted on God’s Word before there was visible evidence, enduring years of labor and ridicule while faithfully doing “according to all that God commanded him.” This lesson examines the faith required to obe...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:13–14 and two very different mistakes with the same underlying problem: good intentions operating without wisdom. Solomon warns against reckless financial entanglements and then shows how even a sincere blessing can become a curse when delivered at the wrong time and in the wrong manner. This lesson draws a crucial distincti...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:11–12, where Solomon connects the joy of seeing wisdom formed in the next generation with one of wisdom’s most practical abilities: recognizing danger before it becomes disaster. The prudent person notices warning signs and takes appropriate action, while the simple continue forward and suffer the consequences. This lesson e...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:9–10 and Solomon’s wisdom concerning the priceless value of faithful friendship. Heartfelt counsel from a true friend can refresh the soul more deeply than life’s finest pleasures, while a nearby friend becomes especially precious when calamity strikes. This lesson explores why genuine counsel must never be confused with fla...

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:7–8 and two dangers that can quietly weaken the Christian life: losing our spiritual appetite and wandering from the place God has given us. Solomon teaches that a satisfied soul can despise even honey, while genuine hunger can make bitter things sweet. He then pictures the vulnerability of a bird wandering from its nest. Th...

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart conclude their three-part series, Faith in the Dark Hours, with Jacob's all-night struggle at Peniel in Genesis 32:24–31. Alone, exhausted, and facing his greatest fear, Jacob discovered that the darkest night of his life became the place of his greatest transformation. This lesson reveals why God sometimes wrestles with Hi...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:5–6, where Solomon contrasts the loving honesty of a faithful friend with the hidden danger of flattering words. Open rebuke, when offered in love, is far more valuable than silent indifference, and the wounds of a trusted friend bring healing that empty praise never can. This lesson explores the biblical purpose of loving c...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 27:3–4, where Solomon weighs the crushing burden of a fool's wrath against an even greater danger: envy. While anger is loud and easily recognized, envy often works quietly beneath the surface, feeding on another person's blessings, success, and favor. Drawing from Scripture, Rick and Doc show why envy has fueled some of the Bi...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart begin their study of Proverbs 27 by examining Solomon's opening call to humility in verses 1–2. These timeless proverbs warn against two subtle forms of pride: presuming upon tomorrow and seeking our own praise today. While Scripture encourages wise planning and diligent labor, it reminds us that every future day rests in God's hands and that g...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart conclude their verse-by-verse study of Proverbs 26 by examining verses 27–28, where Solomon reveals the unbreakable moral order established by God. The one who digs a pit for another eventually falls into it, and the stone rolled against a neighbor returns upon the one who pushed it. The lesson also exposes the destructive power of the tongue,...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 26:20–22, where Solomon reveals the hidden fuel behind so many broken relationships: gossip, contention, and careless words. Just as a fire dies when no more wood is added, conflict begins to fade when whispers stop and rumors are no longer passed from person to person. This powerful study exposes the destructive work of the ta...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart continue their study of Proverbs 26 by examining verses 17–19, where Solomon warns against two destructive habits that damage relationships and communities: meddling in conflicts that do not belong to us and disguising hurtful deception as "just a joke." Through the vivid images of grabbing a wild dog by the ears and a madman hurling firebrands...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart continue their study of Proverbs 26 by examining Solomon's unforgettable portrait of the sluggard in verses 13–16. Why does the lazy man always seem to find a "lion in the street"? How can someone stay busy yet accomplish nothing? And why does laziness often end in self-deception? Through these vivid proverbs, Solomon exposes the progression fr...

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart begin a new three-part series, Faith in the Dark Hours, by exploring the remarkable faith of Paul and Silas in the Philippian prison. Beaten, chained, and locked in the darkest cell, they chose to pray and sing praises to God before any sign of deliverance appeared. Their worship became a testimony that transformed everyone...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 26:10–12, where Solomon brings his study of the fool to a sobering conclusion. These verses reveal God's sovereign rule over every life, expose the tragic pattern of returning to destructive sin like a dog to its vomit, and issue a startling warning that the person who is wise in his own eyes is in greater spiritual danger than...

In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine Proverbs 26:4–5, two verses that appear to contradict one another but together reveal one of Scripture's greatest lessons in discernment. Sometimes wisdom requires refusing to engage a fool; at other times it demands a careful response to prevent folly from misleading others. This study explores how to recognize the difference, why the...