MORNING MANNA             5-8-23

POWER OF PRAYER
“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

Professor Howard Hendricks told the following story: Years ago in a church in Dallas we were having trouble finding a teacher for a junior high boys class. The list of prospects had only one name — and when they told me who it was I said, “You’ve got to be kidding.” But I couldn’t have been more wrong about that young man. He took the class and revolutionized it. I was so impressed I invited him to my home for lunch and asked him the secret of his success. He pulled out a little black book. On each page he had a small picture of one of the boys, and under the boy’s name were comments like “having trouble in arithmetic,” or “comes to church against parents’ wishes,” or “would like to be a missionary some day, but doesn’t think he has what it takes.” “I pray over those pages every day,” he said, “and I can hardly wait to come to church each Sunday to see what God has been doing in their lives.” 

Do you pray for those around you? Do you pray for the other folks at work? Do you pray for the people you know who are going through hard times, even if it seems that they deserve it.

Think about it!

David Stone 

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA              5-7-23

IF ANY MAN WILL…….

“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself”. – John 7:17

I loved dear old Vance Havner. He had a way of making a point that would be hard to forget. His remarks related to this verse should cause us stop and think. He said……

“The battle is fought in the citadel of the will. We have intelligence, emotions, and will. We may not be able to understand with the intelligence or feel with the emotions as we would like, but we can take a stand in the will and be true to God, however all else may clamor.

Do not yield to confusion. Are you a man or a mob? Too many today do not have themselves in order and under command. Many a man is not a personality, he is a panic!

Of course, our poor wills, left unaided, are but cotton strings. But when we will the will of God He begins to work in us both to will and do of his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). We submit to His will: “Thy will be done.” Then we assert His will: “Thy will be done!” It is both passive and active. “Thy will be done” is not mere resignation to the inevitable, it is affirmation of the invincible. However little the intelligence may understand or emotion feel, we take our stand in the will yielded to His will.”

In light of that we need to remember that, “The will of God is always right, best, and safest”. Having received the Word of God we have no excuse for not knowing and doing the will of God. If we are to be like Jesus we must say, “.. not my will, but thine, be done.“(Luke 22:42).- HDS

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA                5-6-23 

WORSHIP CAN SET YOU FREE

 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed”.–Acts 16:25-26

Worship sets people free. How much do you worship? When do you worship? Are you able to worship when your circumstances are the very worst, your patience has failed and your confusion is maxed out? Do praise songs come to your mind at the most stressful times? We need to assess our ability to worship because worship will change our lives. We need to train ourselves to worship in all circumstances. 

Paul and Silas were beaten, thrown in the inner prison and their feet were fastened in stocks. They were probably in too much pain to sleep, so at midnight they broke out in worship. They did not have a worship leader, instruments, power point, or a radio to sing along to. They probably could not even tap their feet to keep the beat. Paul and Silas may not even have had good singing voices. But from the wellspring of their hearts, their mouths worshipped the Lord despite their circumstances. As a result, other prisoners listened to them and even better, everyone¹s chains were loosed. Worship set prisoners free. 

In many ways, you may feel like a prisoner. You may have habits that you cannot break, you may find yourself in circumstances that have not changed, you may feel that God isn¹t answering your prayers. What are you to do? Worship. Worship when you are sad, feel bad, and after you were mad. Worship every day, at work and at play, worship any way. Worship will change your life and if you sing loud enough for others to listen, your worship may set them free as well.( Copied from Morning Manna 10-23-10)

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA               5-5-23

SMALL POTATOES

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

MORNING MANNA             5-4-23

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