MORNING MANNA             5-13-23

STRIVING TO PLEASE HIM

“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”- II Corinthians 5:9

In the first part of this chapter, Paul speaks of the promise of Heaven and the hope of eternal life. He also says that while we are here, we have been given the earnest of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. One day, we will be with God in Heaven, but now He is with us on earth. 

In this context, we have our text verse that says, “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” The phrase “accepted of him” is not indicating that He might reject us as His children, or that our salvation is uncertain. The words “accepted of him” mean that He would be pleased with us. We want to be pleasing to our Master. Whether present in this world or present with the Lord, we are STRIVING TO PLEASE HIM. Our past is behind us, our present is provided for, and our future is secure. Therefore, whether we are here or in Heaven, we want to be “accepted of him.” We want God to be pleased with our lives. A child of God, who is living by faith and has his affection on things above, is interested in pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ. We know there have been many times when we have not been pleasing to Him, but our aim in life is to please Him. We ought to consider what it is that our Savior approves of and what He would definitely not be pleased with. 

Obviously, a person could never be pleasing to God if he is unsaved or living in the energy of his flesh. We are also sure that we are not pleasing to God if we are indulging in sinful and carnal practices, or living in sin. If we are not obeying His commandments, He will not be pleased with us. When we are not living by faith, it is not pleasing to the Lord. We are plainly told in the Scripture that it is impossible to please Him without faith. The verse that follows our text introduces the subject of the judgment seat of Christ. When we get to Heaven, we all will stand before the Lord and give an account for the way we have lived our lives. Paul had this appointment in mind when he spoke of being “accepted of him.” 

When we see Him in Heaven, when our eyes behold our great God and Savior, we want Him to be pleased with the way we have lived for Him and served Him. We want to hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).- Thomas Smith

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA             5-12-23

STRIVING TO PLEASE HIM

“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”- 2 Cor.5:9

In the first part of this chapter, Paul speaks of the promise of Heaven and the hope of eternal life. He also says that while we are here, we have been given the earnest of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. One day, we will be with God in Heaven, but now He is with us on earth. 

In this context, we have our text verse that says, “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” The phrase “accepted of him” is not indicating that He might reject us as His children, or that our salvation is uncertain. The words “accepted of him” mean that He would be pleased with us. We want to be pleasing to our Master. Whether present in this world or present with the Lord, we are STRIVING TO PLEASE HIM. Our past is behind us, our present is provided for, and our future is secure. Therefore, whether we are here or in Heaven, we want to be “accepted of him.” We want God to be pleased with our lives. A child of God, who is living by faith and has his affection on things above, is interested in pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ. We know there have been many times when we have not been pleasing to Him, but our aim in life is to please Him. We ought to consider what it is that our Savior approves of and what He would definitely not be pleased with.

Obviously, a person could never be pleasing to God if he is unsaved or living in the energy of his flesh. We are also sure that we are not pleasing to God if we are indulging in sinful and carnal practices, or living in sin. If we are not obeying His commandments, He will not be pleased with us. When we are not living by faith, it is not pleasing to the Lord. We are plainly told in the Scripture that it is impossible to please Him without faith. The verse that follows our text introduces the subject of the judgment seat of Christ. When we get to Heaven, we all will stand before the Lord and give an account for the way we have lived our lives. Paul had this appointment in mind when he spoke of being “accepted of him.” 

When we see Him in Heaven, when our eyes behold our great God and Savior, we want Him to be pleased with the way we have lived for Him and served Him. We want to hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).- Thomas Smith

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA              5-11-23

A GOOD MINISTER

“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.“—1 Timothy 4:6 

Of all the men who have lived since Christ, Paul is the man I would most like to sit at his feet and learn from. Imagine that! There would be no falling asleep in that class, that’s for sure. 

Here in our text we find Paul advising Timothy. Actually he is providing instruction for all believers, because every child of God is to be “a good minister”(servant). There are a lot of church members doing nothing, but there are no members with nothing to do. We all have our assignments. How well we do them depends on whether or not we are “nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine”. Sadly too many are under-nourished. 

Here’s the point. The late Ray Stedman said,”What do you feed on daily? What do you put in your mind? What is your habitual input in your life? The sports pages, perhaps? Soap operas? The Dow Jones Averages? TV movies? Best-seller novels? If any of these things are your daily diet, then I can guarantee you will be a spiritually undernourished servant of Jesus Christ, because the apostle makes clear that what you feed on is what is going to determine how effective you become.”

 He is right, but please don’t misunderstand this. I’m not talking about entirely eliminating all of these things, as though they were sinful. I’m talking about regulating, not removing things. Even sinless things can become sinful when they distract us from our duty.

 For the Christian nothing is more important than the teachings of God’s Word. It is our “daily bread”. We should feel like Job, who said,”I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”(Job 23:12). To be a good servant we must discover God’s will and do it. To be a good servant you must first be a good student. Are you? The learning is for the living! It’s my prayer that you will feed on the Word and follow God’s will. That will make you “a good minister of Jesus Christ.”- HDS, 11-14-10 

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

MORNING MANNA             5-10-23

IN THE DARK?I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.–Psalm 6:6 

It’s early morning, still dark outside, and even darker within your heart. All seems doom and gloom. You haven’t hardly slept a wink, you’re tired, your bones ache, and your heart hurts even more. There is no hope in sight. You feel as though you are trapped in a giant vice that is slowly squeezing the life out of you. It seems that the day will never break and relief will never come. That is somewhat the way that David felt as he penned the words of his song. But, out of the depths of his despair he prayed for deliverance and, although still hurting, he was confident that God would help. He said,”The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.”(Psalm 6:9) Dear friend, the same God is now watching over you. The centuries have rolled by and the circumstances are now different, but God hasn’t changed. He knows, He cares, and He can help. Don’t give up. Hope is on the horizon. As sure as the sun will rise, you can count on God to bring light into your darkness. Trust Him–Please! I’m not saying that God will give you what you desire or that things will turn out exactly as you would like. I don’t know your future, nor mine, but I do know God. I know His grace is sufficent and His ear is open to your prayer. He might not change your situation, but He will change you. Believe it or not, you will laugh again. As David said, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”(Psalm 30:5). Whether this will be the day or whether it is a month away I don’t know, but one glad morning the sorrow will end. The sunshine of His grace will break through and banish the darkness that engulfs your soul, and the joy will return–it’s just a matter of time! It’s not by accident that you are reading this. Divine providence brought you to this place and God isn’t through yet. Just wait patiently on the Lord.—HDS 
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E.
Humble, Tx. 77346