MORNING MANNA                1-14-26
PLANNING TO MEET YOUR GOAL

“Prepare thy work without, And make it fit for thyself in the field; And afterwards build thine house.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭24‬:‭27‬

A friend spoke of looking forward to retirement and enjoying a lot of fishing. His retired friends laughed and told him it doesn’t turn out that way. You end up getting so busy that all the fishing you would like to do just doesn’t take place. He responded “Oh yes it will! I have planned out where I’m going to fish, when I’m going to go, who I’m going to go with, and what I’m going to use for bait.”

People have talked about many good things to implement into their lives this year. That’s great! For great success in carrying them out, we should take a tip from the fisherman by planning just how we are going to do it.

For example,

If we say we want to read the Bible more, follow that up with :
-Which book of the Bible?
-What time of day will I read?
-How much will I read daily?

Maybe we want to tell others about Jesus more. If so it would help to :
– Pray every morning for opportunities.
– Carry a pocket sized Bible
– Grab some witnessing tracts at Church on our way out the door.
– Be sensitive to our surroundings so we don’t miss the divine appointments the Lord sets up for us

While we set up these goals, let’s set up the plan to meet these goals, and depend on the Lord to bless it.
Kenneth Preston

 Lakeway Baptist Church 

 Humble, TX

MORNING MANNA                    1-13-26
WHICH MINDSET SHALL WE MODEL?

The world is advertising a mindset to model and directing a way of thinking today and many are giving in. Exalt yourself, make it comfortable for you, avoid sacrifice, feed self importance, protect your environment, make sure you’re recognized, you deserve a life of ease, etc.. If you don’t get extra benefits, then murmur, complain, develop discontentment, and make comparisons until you get what you’ve decided you deserve.

Maybe we are shaking our heads in agreement at the obvious, repulsive, outward signs of this in the world.

We must all be careful though and undergo self examination. It creeps in without us realizing it. When we vent about the job, go on and on about what displeases us, and become put out by any unhappiness, then entitlement is seeping into the cracks of our mindset. We’re not demanding the “me life” with no shame as others, but the disease of selfishness and discontentment is tiptoeing its way into our thinking.

Let us beware because this is a mindset that never brings satisfaction or joy. It’s a “never enough” attitude that is opposite of the greatest mindset and most magnificent model displayed by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Opposite of the entitlement mentality movement, our Lord modeled this :

“who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭8

Jesus, The greatest and the highest of Heaven, took on humanity and modeled humility. He took the low road on His earthly path. He’s God, but did not take a stand for His rights as God. Our Lord accepted limitations. Our Savior suffered for our sake.

He not only featured this mindset, but calls those who belong to Him to follow it.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬ ‭

As we do, we are welcomed to the blessings of contentment, satisfaction, and joy!

WHICH MINDSET SHALL WE MODEL?

MORNING MANNA                1-12-26
GOD’S TOOLS

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”‭‭Psalm‬ ‭34‬:‭19‬ ‭

Years ago I became a friend of the widow of Warren Wiesbe’s pastor. The following message is from a set of Bro. Wiesbe’s notes I got from her before they were published in books. Since we all have troubles you would do well to consider what he said about God’s tools.

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (v. 19). The psalmist does not say, “I thought the Lord kept us out of afflictions. I thought that if I read my Bible every day and prayed and tried to obey His will, I would never have any afflictions.” Instead, he says that we will face many afflictions.

Why do we have afflictions in our lives? We have some afflictions simply because we are human. They are just a part of human life. We get older, and our bodies begin to run down. Not every sickness, every accident or every problem we face comes because God is angry at us or is disciplining us. They may just be a part of life.

We also have afflictions because Satan is against us. He’d love to destroy us. Or, afflictions may come because we have disobeyed the Lord. I’m glad for those; I’m glad that God loves me enough to “spank” me when I’ve disobeyed Him.

But often, afflictions are God’s tools for helping us grow. We don’t really grow until we’ve been through the furnace, through the storm or through the battle. God is not raising hothouse plants that shrivel when the hot wind blows on them. No, He wants to raise mature sons and daughters, and that’s why we have afflictions. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (v. 19). He doesn’t keep us out of them. He delivers us from them. Sometimes He changes the circumstances. Sometimes He changes us. The real secret of deliverance is not the circumstance around you but the faith within you. Expect affliction, but trust God for deliverance.

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, TX

MORNING MANNA                 1-10-26
LET ME HOLD THE DOOR FOR YOU 

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬

What do we do when someone is going through a difficulty we have never experienced? We can probably all relate on the feeling of inadequacy to bear their burden or be of any kind of help. That’s just not true though.

The following quote was found on the wall at the complimentary coffee bar at the hospital :
“Let me hold the door for you.
I may never have walked in your shoes,
but I can see your soles are worn,
and your strength is torn,
under the weight of a story,
I have never lived before.
Let me hold the door for you.
After all you have walked through,
it’s the least I can do.”

I don’t know anything about the author, Morgan Harper Nichols, but she makes a beautiful point in poetry.

We come to learn that we don’t have to be able to relate to another’s trouble, or do, or say just the right thing. Just be there, offer to get them a cup of coffee, run their errand for them, listen, or hold the door for them, and that will make the most amazing difference in how another endures their burden. Our presence with a hurting one is powerful.

Maybe someone is coming to our mind right now. If that is the case, we should go, knock on their door, ring their phone, or mail them a letter. We won’t regret following through and “holding the door for someone today.

”Kenneth Preston

 Lakeway Baptist Church

 Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA               1-9-26
Mindful of THAT Country 

“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭16‬ ‭

If we stopped to think about one thing lacking in Christianity today, it might be the lack of conversation about Heaven. If we’re not talking about Heaven, then we’re not focused on Heaven. If we’re not focused on Heaven, how would we say we are inspired about Heaven?

We can always learn from the heroes of the faith here in Hebrews 11. They desired a better country.

In 1649, 35 year old Richard Baxter had the same desire. As a result he wrote the following words :

“It hath pleased our Father to open his counsel, and to let us know the very intent of his heart, and to acquaint us with the eternal extent of his love; and all this that our joy may be full, and we might live as the heirs of such a kingdom. And shall we now overlook all, as if he had revealed no such matter? Shall we live in earthly cares and sorrows, as if we knew of no such thing? And rejoice no more in these discoveries, than if the Lord had never written it? O that our hearts were as high as our hopes, and our hopes as high as these infallible promises.”

Great questions! We need to answer them, and ask ourselves: Is anything lacking in our life today? It may be that we need to be Mindful of THAT Country!

Colossians 3:2 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”Kenneth Preston

 
Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,TX