MORNING MANNA             6-21-23

DESIRING GOD’S WORD

“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”- 1 Peter 2:1-5 

Anyone who has ever been around a little baby knows that they are insistent when they think it is time to be fed. They don’t care if it is the middle of the night, the middle of a meal, the middle of a conversation, or the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. They want food with an intense longing, and they want it right now. Everything else pales into insignificance until they get fed. That is how much we are to desire the Word of God. We should long to read it, to hear it preached and taught, and to hide it in our hearts. Whether we have been saved for weeks or years or decades, we should still be hungry.

One of the things that can easily derail a Christian, especially one who has been saved for a longer period of time, is the fallacy that we have reached the point where we no longer need to feed our hearts and minds with the Bible. Jesus warned about the danger of losing our appetite for the things of God and the Word of God. “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25). We need to maintain the intensity of our appetite for the Bible. There are always new things to learn if we approach the Word of God seeking His direction and purpose for our lives.A Christian who has lost desire for the Word of God is headed for spiritual disaster. – Daily in the Word

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA             6-20-23

EVERLASTING LIFE 

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him “– John 3:36

I recently read these well written thoughts by an unknown writer the is well worth your consideration,

“None of us like to think about death. In fact, many of us engage in a life-long effort to drown out, escape, or otherwise ignore the obvious: death is all around us, and we ourselves are getting closer to death every day.

Our natural inclination is to find creative ways to save ourselves from this inevitable end. We may exercise religiously, diet regularly, dress fashionably…but, while these things may temporarily make us feel better about our situation, they do not even begin to solve the actual problem. Our grandest schemes to “save” ourselves perpetually end up in ruins around our feet.

The Bible tells us that as long as we are seeking to save ourselves, we will never even see what real life is all about. And as long as we postpone submission to Christ and his claims upon our lives, the only assurance we have is that God’s wrath is continually on us.

The call of the gospel, then, is to give up our fool-hardy pursuit of self-salvation and look to Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And those who believe on the Son, we are promised, have everlasting life. Think of it! Not just escaping hell, not merely overcoming death, not only enjoying life here and now — but the everlasting bliss of perfect worship in the presence of our perfect Savior Jesus.”

Knowing who we are and what we have in Christ should cause all complaints about being deprived of the things we desire to cease. In Christ we have everything we need and far more than we deserve. – HDS

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA                  6-19-23

TRUSTING THROUGH TROUBLE

Most Christians are familiar with the story of Jim Elliot, but many fail to consider the remarkable woman to whom he was married. Here is just a bit of her story as told by Dr. Bob Griffin:

Along with four other women, Elisabeth Elliot waited by a short-wave radio for what must have seemed like an eternity, listening for a message from their husbands, who had taken a flight into hostile Indian territory.  The young couples had been trying to reach the Auca Indians in Ecuador with the gospel.

When no message was received, a search party was sent out after the men, and eventually the dreadful  truth was discovered.  The young missionaries were found lying face-down in the river, killed by the
poisoned lances of the Indians.

This terrible happening had not been on Elisabeth’s agenda.  She and her husband Jim had been looking forward to a missionary career together.  Now her whole world had crashed around her.

Elisabeth discovered she had a choice.  She could resign herself to the situation and return home with her young daughter, or she could ask the Lord, “In what redemptive way can You use this?”  Elisabeth chose to trust God to do something positive with the negatives.  And she decided to become part of the action.

She and her young daughter, and Rachel Saint (Nate Saint’s sister) bravely set off into the jungle and found the tribe that had killed Jim and Nate.  The women were well received, and allowed to make their home among the Indians.  After the Bible was translated and the gospel shared, many in the tribe turned to Christ.

Later, Nate and Marge Saint’s daughter Kathie was baptized in the river where her daddy had died.  Truly God had used that particular situation in a redemptive way!

God wants US to buy up the opportunities that come our way as we learn to TRUST HIM and to use the troubles as a springboard for action.

Trusting God brings a certain element of hope to our hearts – a confident expectation that all is not lost and that there IS something redeemable in the most awful situations.  This trust is a tenacious spiritual insistence that God can be trusted, not only to be totally and thoroughly aware of our dilemmas, but also to be in control, and already taking eternal measures to work out His eternal purposes! 

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

MORNING MANNA            6-17-23

A MAN OF FAITH

“…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” – Joshua 24:15b

Joshua was a great leader, not only by giving good admonition but by his example. He told the people of Israel that, if they were not going to serve the Lord, it really didn’t matter which false god they chose because one was just as bad as the other. But his public declaration was this: my decision is made, my mind is set, my house will serve the Lord. Sometimes fathers fail to make such a bold declaration and so leave their family struggling without the benefit of a committed leader.

We see from Joshua’s life, both before and after this bold proclamation, that these were not just words that he spoke — this was a commitment that he lived. Much can be learned from this single-minded man of God.

When he was sent to spy out the land of Canaan, he and Caleb were the two who came back not only with a positive report about the land, but expressing confidence that with God’s help they could possess it. He was not overcome by the influence of the majority report, the popular opinion, the “common” sense. He stood firm by his convictions. He was faithful and stable as a leader. He relied on God’s promises and continually encouraged the people.

Joshua also showed concern for the next generation. He had the Israelites set up twelve stones as a memorial when they crossed Jordan so that, when questions would be asked about their meaning, parents could tell their children about God’s great power in rolling back the waters. And Joshua served faithfully to the end. He did not bow out claiming he had already done his part earlier in life; he served till he died at 110 years old.

Let us learn from his life of faithful service to make a commitment without wavering, to put God first in all things, and to draw strength from his promises. As for Joshua, and his house, they boldly served the Lord. Will this be your determination, as well?- Baptist Bible Hour

David Stone   

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.