MORNING MANNA           12-18-23

WHERE IS JOY?

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”Luke 2:10–11

Joy is found wherever Christ is present.

Where is there joy? People have been searching for joy throughout the ages. From the minute man set foot on the earth until today, people have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Here are a few places joy cannot be found:

In pleasure—Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. Yet he wrote, “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”

In military glory—Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, and said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”

So where is there true joy? The answer is found in our verses today, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” True joy is found in the promise of Christ!

Many times even as Christians we can work to attain joy. Joy is not found in possessions, material wealth, or social status. Joy is found in the heart of a new believer; in the life of a new soulwinner; in the smile of a faithful Christian. Joy is found wherever Christ is present.

If you want joy this time of year, you don’t have to buy the latest car as the commercials say. The way to have joy is to witness to someone you know, continue going to church, and start each day in God’s Word. Yes, there will be trials and difficult days, but with Jesus as your Saviour, there is always joy knowing He is with you.

– Daily in the Word

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church. 

Humble,Tx

MORNING MANNA            12-17-23

THE SON OF MAN

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”–Luke 19:10 

“For the Son of man—” That’s Christ!

At first glance this seems to be a title unbecoming of our Lord. After all, could this not be said of every man? We only see the signifiance of this title when we realize that it is the title He chose for Himself. Out of great humility He identifies Himself in terms of His humanity. Concerning His ancestry He is called the Son of Abraham and David. Concerning His maternity He is called the Son of Mary. Concerning religion He is called the Son over His own house. Concerning His deity He is called the Son of God. But, in regards to His humanity He calls Himself the Son of man.

 “—is come—”  That’s Christmas!

Throughout the ages, one prophet after another took up the harp of prophecy and assured their generation that the Messiah would come. But,each generation went to their grave without having seen this prophecy fulfilled. “But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Gal. 4:4-5) At long last it could be said, “the Son of man is come”. He came down from the adoration of angels to the abominations of earth, from the blessedness of heaven to the burdens of life, from the comfort of glory to the condemnation of men. Think about it–He came from delight to decadence, ecstasy to execution, glory to gloom, joy to jeers, majesty to misery, peace to pain, and nobility to nothingness. And He did it all for you!

“—to seek—”  That’s Compassson!

Although “there is none that seeketh after God” (Rom. 3:11), Christ came in search of man. Just as God came to Adam while he was hiding in the garden, He took the initiative to search us out and reveal Himself to us in the person of Christ. Just as Jesus came to the place where Zacchaeus was and called him, He is calling for you.

 “—and to save that which was lost.” That’s Conversion!

Jesus didn’t come to see the seven wonders of the world, or to reform corrupt governments, or to start a welfare program to feed the poor, or to heal man’s physical ailments. He came to meet man’s greatest need–“to save that which was lost.”

 The Son of God became the Son of man that the sons of men might become the sons of God. By nature we are all lost. We are sinners seperated from God and dead in our trespasses and sins. Yet Jesus came to save us–to give us life and reconcile us to God. That’s a love story without equal! This is the true Christmas story.  –HDS 

DAVID STONE
LAKEWAY BAPTIST CHURCH
5801 FM 1960 E.
HUMBLE, TX. 77346

MORNING MANNA             12-16-23

A FATHER’S LOVE – – – AND LOSS

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”–John 3:16

Dr. Thomas Dooley, the late missionary doctor in Laos, in his book entitled The Night They Burned the Mountain, tells the story of Laotian friends giving him a tiny Himalayan moon bear as a pet.  Dr. Dooley loved the cuddly ball of brown fur, so full of interesting antics.  While he was working on a cage for the animal, an old Chinese man walked by him. The man stopped, stared, and then began to sob as he stood before the cage. Dr. Dooley walked toward him, hoping to discover the reason for his tears.

The Chinese man told him how he and his son had once worked together on a commune in Red China. He reminded the doctor that laborers on the communes during harvest time were not allowed to have even one grain of rice for themselves, for it all belonged to the Republic. But his wife had become very sick with beriberi and malnutrition, and one day his son concealed a few handfuls of rice in his clothing to feed his starving mother. His act was discovered and the authorities decided to make a public example of the young boy.

He was imprisoned in a cage, not unlike the one that Dr. Dooley had built for his pet bear, and the cage was placed in the center of the city. It was so small that the boy could not move or even sit up straight. The man went on to say:

His mother and I were forced to watch, she from one side of the square and I from the other. But the guards would not allow us to go near him. Day after day, as we looked on, my boy died slowly under the broiling sun, with nothing to eat or drink, covered with filth and flies. It was good when the guards pronounced him dead.

The prolonged tragedy in this story is that the father was not allowed to save his son. He was forced to sit helplessly by and watch the horror unfold, and the image would remain with him the rest of his life.

When I read this story, the crucifixion of Christ immediately came to mind.    What an amazing thought . . . God the Father could have stepped in at any moment to save His Son from the agony of the cross, but He chose to allow His death. Unlike the Chinese father in Dooley’s story, our Heavenly Father could have sent a legion of angels to rescue His Son, bringing judgment upon those who sought His life; yet He willinglystood by and watched the abomination unfold.

Why? Because He loves you so much that He freely offered His Son . . . for your sins and mine.

Take a moment to think upon the horror of Calvary. In humble contemplation, praise the Father for His amazing love that caused Him to choose to sacrifice His son on your behalf.

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

MORNING MANNA             12-15-23  

 TEMPTING GOD

   “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”- Matt.4:7

What does it mean to tempt the Lord? Is it something of which we can be guilty?

The children of Israel tempted the Lord when they complained about the lack of water in the wilderness. In saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” they doubted not only His divine presence but His providential care for them as well.

Satan tempted the Lord when he challenged Him to jump down from the peak of the Temple (Lu. 4:9-12). Jesus would have tempted God the Father if He had done so, because He would have been performing a stunt, something that was outside the Father’s will.

The Pharisees tempted the Lord when they asked Him if it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. They thought that no matter how He answered, He would alienate either the Romans or those Jews who were violently anti-Roman.

Sapphira tempted the Spirit of the Lord by pretending to give the total proceeds from a sale of property to the Lord, when actually she held back some for herself.

Peter told the council at Jerusalem that it would be tempting God to put Gentile believers under the law, a yoke that the Jewish people themselves had not been able to bear.

To tempt God is “to see how much one can get away with before He judges; it means to presume on Him, to see if He will perform His Word, or to stretch Him to the limits of judgment. We tempt God when we murmur or complain, because we are, in effect, doubting His presence, power or goodness. We are saying that He doesn’t know our circumstances, He doesn’t care, or He isn’t able to deliver us.

We tempt God when we needlessly expose ourselves to danger and expect Him to rescue us. Every so often we read of misguided believers who handle poisonous snakes and die as a result. Their reasoning was that God had promised safety in “They shall take up serpents.” But this was intended to justify our performing miracles only when they are necessary in carrying out His will in and through us.

We tempt God when we lie to Him, and we do this when we profess greater dedication, sacrifice and commitment than we actually intend to deliver. Just as the Pharisees tempted Christ by their hypocrisy, so we tempt Him by ours.

Finally, we tempt the Lord whenever we remove ourselves from the sphere of His will for us and act in self-will.

It is an astounding thing that a creature should ever desire or dare to tempt his Creator, or that a sinner should thus insult his Savior!-William MacDonald   

David Stone   

Lakeway Baptist Church    

Humble, Tx

MORNING MANNA              12-14-23

WHEN AND THEN

“When thou passest through the waters…they shall not overflow thee” (Isa. 43:2).

God does not open paths for us in advance of our coming. He does not promise help before help is needed. He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them. Yet when we are on the edge of our need, God’s hand is stretched out.

Many people forget this, and are forever worrying about difficulties which they foresee in the future. They expect that God is going to make the way plain and open before them, miles and miles ahead; whereas He has promised to do it only step by step as they may need. You must get to the waters and into their floods before you can claim the promise. Many people dread death, and lament that they have not “dying grace.” Of course, they will not have dying grace when they are in good health, in the midst of life’s duties, with death far in advance. Why should they have it then? Grace for duty is what they need then, living grace; then dying grace when they come to die. — Morning Manna, 2007

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church  

Humble,Tx