MORNING MANNA             6-16-23

GOLD FROM GRIEF

Do you ever wonder why life is so difficult and painful, and why God doesn’t come quickly to your rescue? Why do good people suffer, while the wicked seem to prosper?

Alan Redpath explains it this way: ” Gold is poured into the furance because it is gold and has to be refined; you do not put rubbish into that kind of furance. Corn is threshed because it is corn, but you do not bother to do that with weeds. A diamond of exceptional beauty and quality is going to undergo far more cutting than any other stone because the owner desires more of its beauty.”

If God is doing a painful work in your life, that you don’t understand, trust Him! As Job said, ” But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” ( Job 23:10 ). When we acknowledge that God is aware of our problem, adequate to use it for good, and available when we need Him most it gives us a perfect peace – even when life seems less than perfect.- HDS

David Stone

 Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA              6-15-23

THE WRATH OF GOD

“ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;”- Rom.1:18

Here is a subject that is greatly misunderstood. Some are so foolish that they accuse God of being unfair regarding the fate us the unsaved. But in the following William McDonald give a clear explanation of the subject. He said:

“The wrath of God is His fierce anger and retributive punishment directed against unrepentant sinners in time and in eternity. A. W. Pink has pointed out that it is as much a divine perfection as is His faithfulness, power and mercy. We need make no apology for it.

In pondering the wrath of God, there are a few facts we should keep in mind.

There is no conflict between God’s love and His wrath. True love punishes sin, rebellion and disobedience.

If men refuse God’s love, what is left but His wrath? There are only two eternal abodes, heaven and hell. If men refuse heaven, they thereby choose hell.

God did not create hell for men, but for the devil and his angels. The Lord does not desire the death of the wicked. But there is no alternative for the Christ-rejecter.

Judgment is spoken of as God’s strange work. The suggestion is that He prefers to show mercy.

There is no vindictiveness or spite in God’s wrath. It is righteous wrath, without any stain of sin.

The wrath of God is an attribute we are not called to imitate. It is peculiarly His in the sense that He alone can exercise it with absolute justice. Thus Paul writes to the Romans, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’”.

The Christian is called on to display righteous anger, but it must be righteous. It must not overflow into sinful wrath. And it should be exercised only when God’s honor is at stake, never in self-defense or self-justification.

If we really believe in the wrath of God, it should move us out to share the Gospel with those who are still on the broad road that leads to destruction. And when we preach the wrath of God, it should be with tears of compassion.”

Remember this.” The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”-2 Pet.3:9 – HDS

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA             6-14-23

GOD’S TOOLS

Psalm 34:19-22

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (v. 19). 

The psalmist does not say, “I thought the Lord kept us out of afflictions. I thought that if I read my Bible every day and prayed and tried to obey His will, I would never have any afflictions.” Instead, he says that we will face many afflictions.

Why do we have afflictions in our lives? We have some afflictions simply because we are human. They are just a part of human life. We get older, and our bodies begin to run down. Not every sickness, every accident or every problem we face comes because God is angry at us or is disciplining us. They may just be a part of life.

We also have afflictions because Satan is against us. He’d love to destroy us. Or, afflictions may come because we have disobeyed the Lord. I’m glad for those; I’m glad that God loves me enough to “spank” me when I’ve disobeyed Him.

But often, afflictions are God’s tools for helping us grow. We don’t really grow until we’ve been through the furnace, through the storm or through the battle. God is not raising hothouse plants that shrivel when the hot wind blows on them. No, He wants to raise mature sons and daughters, and that’s why we have afflictions. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (v. 19). He doesn’t keep us out of them. He delivers us from them. Sometimes He changes the circumstances. Sometimes He changes us. The real secret of deliverance is not the circumstance around you but the faith within you. Expect affliction, but trust God for deliverance.- Warren Wiersbe

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA                6-12-23

Groaning with Grief

”For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travileth in pain together until now.”-Romans 8:22 

We are constantly bombarded with bad news, from the media and contact with others. As Paul said, we live in perilous times. Some folks would have us to believe that the planet is on the verge of total destruction. And that’s all they can think about. That kind of talk gets depressing. So, what are the facts?

 The Bible tells us “the whole creation groaneth and travileth in pain”. This suffering includes all of creation. Even God’s children are not exempt. We all suffer. Life is tough for everyone. Right now some of you feel you are drowning in a sea of sorrow. Some suffer to such an extent that they wonder if they can make it through another day.

 So, what is the cause of all this? In a word it is “sin”. We live in a fallen world that has been affected by sin, consquently all of creation suffers and we groan. Oh how we groan! 

The good news is that it won’t always be this way. Although it is bitter now, there is a better day coming. Our grief will give way to glory, burdens to blessings, drugery to delight, and pain to pleasure. Paul tells us our afflictions are “but for a moment” and “worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Hang on Christian—the best is yet to come! 

Some might be wondering if the future blessings can out weigh the present burdens? Indeed they can when you are talking about what God provides. When we stand before the Lord we will have no complaints. Our reward will be more than ample to satisfy us forever. It is this hope that helps us get through the tough times. Life will always be a challenge because there are things we can’t create, change, control., or comprehend. But we can learn to be content by placing our confidence in Christ.- HDS

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