MORNING MANNA            11-18-23

PROFESSION AND PRACTICE

“Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” John 11:40 

Our profession and practice are not always in agreement–we are human and we fail. But, we should never use that to excuse our failures. We must keep the ideal before us and strive to be the best we can be.

MORNING MANNA            11-16-23

HIS HANDS

It’s strange how the words of a song stick in your mind–even for many long years. As I was thinking about the “terrible times” in which we live, I was reminded of that old song that says,”He’s got the whole world in His hands”. We need to think about that! 

The fact of the matter is that sometimes it seems that everything is whirling madly out of control. Admit it–sometimes you feel that God has forgotten all about you. It seems that He either doesn’t know, doesn’t care, or can’t help. We know we shouldn’t feel that way, but we do. Right? That’s when we need to get back to the facts, rather than following our feelings. To do that we must get into the Word and get the Word in us. Here’s a fact that ought to help you–“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”(Isa. 49:16). Isn’t that great! 

God not only has the “wind and the rain” and “the little bitty baby” in His powerful hands, He is constantly mindful of us. Think about it dear friend–we are on His mind and in His hands! The failures of the past, the frustrations of the present, and the fearful prospects of tomorrow are all in His hands. By the way–things are never out of control when they are in His hands! If you still feel a bit apprehensive go get your Bible and read Psalms 139:1-10. It ends with these words–“Even there (wherever that might be) shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” No wonder we sing “Safe am I”. God knows–He cares and He can help. —  HDS

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx 

MORNING MANNA             11-15-23  

 THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE  

 The Psalmist said of God,“For with thee is the fountain of life”(Psalms 36:9). There is in that statement far more than our mind can comprehend. He is the source of all that is good.“In Him we live,and move,and have our being”.He has all we need and gives all we have.And,He does so because of grace–no one is earning their way with God. He gives because He is our Father and He desires to give even more than what we allow Him to give, yet we “limit the Holy One of Israel”.   We fail to appropriate what is available simply because of our mis-conceptions about God. In our mind, we drag Him down to our level and suppose that He is either unable or unwilling to provide what we need–what fools we are! We forget that He is the Infinite Fountain of life, love, liberty,and all good things. We forget, as Octavius Winslow wrote, “That the heavier the demand we make upon God, the more we shall receive, and that the oftener we come, the more are we welcome.  That we cannot ask too much.  That our sin and His dishonor are, that we ask so little.  We forget that He is glorified in giving; and that the more grace He metes out to His people, the richer the revenue of praise which He receives in return.  —the heart that gave Jesus will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly.”    When you feel barren and dry, overwhelmed, and fearful that you might perish, remember He “is the fountain of life.” —HDS 

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

MORNING MANNA           11-13-23

PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”- James 5:16

Pastor BobGriffin said, “As my young grandson and I were nearing the McDonald’s, we slowly worked past a multi-car accident. Usually when we see something terrible like that or hear sirens or see “helpers” racing by with lights flashing, I’ve reminded him to say a prayer for whoever might be hurt.  But today he brought it up without me saying a word and started to pray. From the back seat I heard his earnest voice: “Dear God, please don’t let those cars block the entrance to McDonald’s. Amen.”

We laugh at that childish prayer, but we are often just as guilty. Although we pray, we do not always pray for the things that should matter most. It’s common for us to pray for ourselves, but not for others. When we do pray for others it is usually just a quick mention of their name without earnest or specifics. We mention them just enough to say that we prayed for them.

God help us to pray for others the same way we would want them to pray for us. After all, we are told “Look not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of others”. (Phil. 2:4). 

Perhaps it would help if we remembered this recipe for joy – Jesus first. Others second.Yourself last. – HDS

David Stone    

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble, Tx 

MORNING MANNA             11-11-23

THE SIN OF PLOWING“An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.”–Proverbs 21:4

There’s a lot of debate about what’s right and what’s wrong. Of course if you are one of those who do not believe in absolute truth you will always be confused. There’s not much I can say to help a person like that. But for those of us who believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God right and wrong can easily be defined–or can it be? The answer is “Yes” and “No”.
 
We can determine what is right by discovering what is lawful according to God’s Word, and we need to spend more time doing that. Our society is in serious trouble simply because people have ignored God’s laws. Our only hope for a bright future is a return to the precepts and principles of God’s Word.
 
But there’s another matter that is seldom given much thought. Not only must our action be lawful, our motive must be right. If the action is wrong no motive can make it right. Sincerity doesn’t sanctify sin. On the other hand, if our action is right and our motive is wrong it becomes sinful. Motive matters to God.
 
It is for this reason that an unsaved person cannot please God. People say of their kind unsaved neighbor,”They aren’t saved, but they have a good heart.” But that’s miles from the truth. The heart of their problem is the problem of their heart. Their action might be helpful to others, but their heart is unbelieving, proud, selfish, and void of love for God. That makes their “good” deed a bad thing. They plow the ground and plant the seed with the hope that the sunshine and rain will be provided so as to insure a good crop, yet they reject the very God that makes it happen.
 
Our text tells us that “the plowing of the wicked is sin”. That seems shocking to some folks–after all, plowing is not unlawful. To the contrary it is necessary and hard work is commendable. But our text categorizes it as sin, right along with things such as “an high look, and a proud heart”. Beyond this, the Bible also tells us that even his religious actions are sinful. Proverbs 15:8 says,”The sacrifices of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord—.”
 
All this puts the natural man in a bad situation. He can do nothing to satisfy the demands of a righteous God and he stands condemned before God. What an awful thought! Talk all you want about being saved by “good works”, but it sheer folly. You can’t even plow your field without sinning against God. Thankfully Christ has made it possible for us to be reconcilied to God, by faith in His shed blood. As a result everything we do, including the plowing of a field, that is done for God’s glory is rewarded. All of life takes on a new meaning.- HDS
 
David Stone  
Lakeway Baptist Church.  
5801 FM 1960 E.
Humble, TX. 77346