MORNING MANNA            2-13-24

Prayer, Thanksgiving, Praise
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”   (Philippians 4:6-7).

No care but all prayer. No anxiety but much joyful communion with God. Carry your desires to the LORD of your life, the guardian of your soul. Go to Him with two portions of prayer and one of fragrant praise. Do not pray doubtfully but thankfully. Consider that you have your petitions, and therefore thank God for His grace. He is giving you grace; give Him thanks, Hide nothing. Allow no want to lie rankling in your bosom; “make known your requests.” Run not to man. Go only to your God, the Father of Jesus, who loves you in Him.

This shall bring you God’s own peace. You shall not be able to understand the peace which you shall enjoy. It will enfold you in its infinite embrace. Heart and mind through Christ Jesus shall be steeped in a sea of rest. Come life or death, poverty, pain, slander, you shall dwell in Jesus above every rolling wind or darkening cloud. Will you not obey this dear command?

Yes, LORD, I do believe thee; but, I beseech thee, help mine unbelief. (From Faith’s Checkbook)

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church  

Humble,Tx

MORNING MANNA            2-12-24

COLOSSIANS

  This great letter from Paul is glorious and should be studied by everyone. Please take time to read the following by Warren Wiersbe then read the epistle itself.- HDS

“The message of this letter is greatly needed today. I hear too many voices telling me that I need something more than Jesus Christ—some exciting experience, some new doctrine, some addition to my Christian experience. But Paul affirms that what I need is appropriation of what I already have in Christ. ‘And ye are complete in Him.’ I also hear voices that want to judge me and rob me of the glorious liberty I have in Christ. How encouraging to hear Paul say: ‘Let no man beguile you, let no man spoil you, let no man judge you.’ The fullness of Christ is all that I need, and all man-made regulations and disciplines cannot replace the riches I have in God’s Son.”

“Paul was at that time a prisoner in Rome (Acts 21:17-28:31). He met a runaway slave named Onesimus, who belonged to Philemon, one of the leaders of the church in Colossae. Paul led Onesimus to Christ. He then wrote his letter to Philemon, asking his friend to forgive Onesimus and receive him back as a brother in Christ. About the same time, Epaphras showed up in Rome because he needed Paul’s help. Some new doctrines were being taught in Colossae and were invading the church and creating problems. So Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians in order to refute these heretical teachings and establish the truth of the Gospel.”

“Do we have any of this heresy today? Yes, we do; and it is just as deceptive and dangerous! When we make Jesus Christ and the Christian revelation only part of a total religious system or philosophy, we cease to give Him the preeminence. When we strive for ‘spiritual perfection’ or ‘spiritual fullness’ by means of formulas, disciplines, or rituals, we go backward instead of forward. Christian believers must beware of mixing their Christian faith with such alluring things as yoga, transcendental meditation, Oriental mysticism, and the like. We must also beware of ‘deeper life’ teachers who offer a system for victory and fullness that bypasses devotion to Jesus Christ. In all things, He must have the preeminence!” – Warren Wiersbe  

David Stone   

Lakeway Baptist Church  

Humble,Tx.

MORNING MANNA            2-11-24

WALKING WISELY 

Ephesians 5:15-17 says, “ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.“

This is a wonderful passage of Scripture to consider….. I want you to notice a few things about these verses as they pertain to how a person should walk and why he or she should walk in a wise manner.

First of all, there is a difference in how a Christian should live their lives as opposed to a nonbeliever. There is more to the Christian life than talk, and that is our walk….There is an old mountain expression that is used when someone would ask another person, “How is it going?” The reply is, “It is going the way it is headed!” which means, “Wherever I am walking in life is my destination.” If you are not consciously thinking about honoring Christ with your life, chances are you are not going to do it. A wise person knows where they are headed.

Second, the Bible talks about making the most of “your time.” Human beings love to measure time. We wear watches to tell us what time it is in the present, we read books to tell us about time in the past, we use calendars to make us aware of time in the future. It seems that “time” is endless. However, you and I have a certain amount of time allotted to us, and the Bible tells us to make the most “your time.” How are you going to use your time…. I pray that you walk in a manner pleasing to Jesus Christ, and make the most of what He has given you. Remember, don’t give in to sin. Think about! (Revised from an article by Vince Hefner)

David Stone      

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble,Tx

MORNING MANNA            2-10-24

LIVING FOR WHAT WILL LAST

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”.–Colossians 3:1-2

 What Paul says here is perfectly clear. There’s no reason for anyone to be confused about what they ought to do. But some people just don’t get it. They hear the truth and they know what good sound reasoning would say, but they simply don’t do it. Instead of putting it into practice they keep doing the same foolish things over and over again.Let’s face it, we know better than we do. Man’s lack of wisdom is obvious.

 J.C. Ryle warned about this many years ago. He said, “Oh, that men and women would learn to live with the awareness that one day they are going to die! Truly, it is waste of time to set our hearts on a dying world and its short-lived comforts and pleasures; and for the sake of momentary pleasures—-Here we are striving, laboring, exhausting ourselves about little things, and running here and there like ants on an anthill! And yet after a few years, we will all be gone–and another generation will take our place. Let us live for eternity! Let us seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness that can never be taken from us!” That’s the answer. But, will you act on it?

Were we wise we would heed what James said,”But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”(James 1:22). Those who do so will leave a legacy worth following.- HDS

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

MORNING MANNA            2-9-24

THE DANGER OF DELAY

“For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple (innocent) concerning evil.” -Romans 16:19

The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them.

A well-known author once told this story of an account he had with sea gulls: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. 

“I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

Think about it. That bird had the ability and a certain amount of time to fly away safely,yet it died due to delay. Even so it is with some people who become so attached to the things of this world that they can’t break away from it and are destroyed.

It even happens to Christians. Thus the warning in Heb.12:1” Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”.

Stop and think about the weights in your life- things that hinder from running the race set before you. When we discover the will of God we ought to do it without delay or debate. Delayed obedience is disobedience and that is dangerous. So what is it that you need to lay aside – let go of? Do it now! – HDS  

PRAYER PROMPTER:  We go down on our knees, or we go down to oblivion.

David Stone   

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble, Tx.