MORNING MANNA            3-13-24 

  REMEMBER, REPENT, REPEAT

“ Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”- Rev.2:4

Christians must ever be on guard against the erosion of their excitement and enchantment with Christ and the things of God, of their love for the Lord Jesus growing cold and stale, or of their passion for the eternal normalizing (Matt. 24:12)! It is a sad day when grace is no longer amazing. This was certainly a problem among the Ephesian Christians towards the end of the first century. In a letter to them, Christ takes issue with their lack of love for Him (Rev. 2:4). They were doing many good things. They were diligent in service, patient in suffering, and orthodox in doctrine (Rev. 2:2-3), but they were doing those good things without doing the truly greater thing which was to love Christ (1 Cor. 13:13). Over time their Christianity suffered from a creeping separateness from Christ. They were busy in the church falling out of love with Christ the head of the church. Routine and predictability marked their walk with God and their work from Christ. Things had to change.

In a series of three terse commands, the Lord Jesus seeks to reset and rekindle this dying relationship (Rev. 2:4-5). First, they needed to remember. Christ called this church to recall the very beginnings of grace and the charm of God’s love that once captured their hearts. Second, they needed to repent. Christ called this church to make an about face and leave the sloping path that was talking them further and further away from first love commitment to Christ. Having recalled what was once good they must immediately reject that which is less than the original good. Third, they needed to repeat. Christ called this church to replicate those early and extreme acts of devotion that often mark the first flush of love. He wants to see a honeymoon type love for God in action that is free, pure and reckless. 

Have your prayers become predictable, your worship joyless, your reading of Scripture stale? Is it all becoming old? Then it time to get back to a first love for the One who first loved us (1 John 4:19).- Philip De Courcy

Remember, Repent, and Repeat!

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

MORNING MANNA            3-12-24

THE CHAMBER CALLED PEACE

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”- John 14:27

John MacDuff called this “soothing music—-the lullaby of lullabies”. Then he explains:

MORNING MANNA              3-11-24

THE DAY OF SALVATION

“….Now is the day of salvation.” –  2 Corinthians 6:2

What an unspeakable mercy to live at such a period! We are poor, lost, ruined sinners; but this is the day when salvation is freely bestowed, without money and without price.

The Lord saves from the love, power, and consequences of sin: gives His Holy Spirit, writes His law in the heart, and directs our feet into the way of peace. He gives us Jesus, who is the Saviour; gives us grace, which conquers sin; and give us heaven, to enjoy when the journey of life is ended. This is the day in which He works deliverance for His people; He employs His power, His wisdom, His word, His providence, and His angels, for our deliverance.

What then shall we fear? Of whom shall we be afraid? Let us go to His throne, remembering that it is the day of salvation; let us plead for deliverance from all that mars our peace, prevents our enjoyment, or hinders us in our Christian course. Let there be no despondency, for this is a day of glad tidings; it is, “Believe, and be saved; pray, and be delivered; wait on the Lord, and He will strengthen your heart.” “By grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God.”—-James Smith, 1840

Salvation! O the joyful sound!
Tis pleasure to our ears!
A sovereign balm for every wound,
A cordial for our fears.

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”– 1 Corinthians 10:31

This same principle is applicable in all common actions and every day affairs. No single moment of our lives, no single action–ought to be taken outside of the sphere of this rule.
Our rising up and lying down,
the disposal of our time,
the spending of our money,
our social gatherings,
our conversations,
our recreations,
the way of conducting the affairs of our household,
the books we read,
buying and selling,
business transactions of various kinds–
all these, and a multitude of other suchlike matters, are all to be ordered under the daily guidance of this same principle. We are to do all to glorify Him who is . . .
  our Creator,
  our Savior
  our Preserver,
  our most loving Father.

Reader, beware of neglecting to exercise this universal principle in little things. Great occasions for serving God occur but seldom; lesser ones arise every moment. Little things are not to be despised. “He who despises little things, shall fall little by little.” Little omissions of duty, little acts of disobedience, as they may seem to us–may prove a great hindrance along our path. A few grains of dust, or a small insect in the eye, will often cause great pain and annoyance. A little stone in a horse’s foot will make it stumble again and again.

The Christian will find much the same thing from the indulgence of apparently trivial sins. They will . . .
  harass the mind,
  destroy the peace and comfort which he might enjoy,
  prove a stumbling-block to him as he endeavors to run the heavenly race.

MORNING MANNA          3-7-24  

THE WONDERS OF THE WORD

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law”.–Psalm 119:18

An elderly woman was living in Scotland in the worst kind of poverty. She had tattered clothes, a weathered house, and barely enough food to fill her stomach each day. Many years earlier, her son had come to America and had not returned to his native land. He had gone to make a way for himself and to provide a good life for his mother. But since that day, she had not seen him.

One day, a friend came to visit the mother. He said, “Does your son ever help you with expenses?”

Reluctantly she admitted, “No, but he writes me nice long letters and sends me interesting pictures.”

The visitor wanted to speak harshly of the man, but held back and instead asked, “May I see the pictures?”

The aged mother brought them out of the drawer, and to the friend’s amazement they were valuable bank notes. Through the years, she had been needlessly living in poverty. All the while she had in her possession everything she needed to live.

Many times, in our attempt to learn more about God’s Word, we skim over some of the most important things that could be valuable at that time in our lives. Unless we daily spend time in the Bible, it will be to us as it was to the mother in the story above—nothing but words or pictures that we can’t quite understand.

Most of us don’t realize the pile of gold sitting right in front of us found in Scripture. If we will just take some time every day to meditate on the truths, we will see its value.

 Morning Manna, 4-17-07

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church  

Humble,Tx