MORNING MANNA             4-12-23
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             4-8-23

 UP FROM THE GRAVE!

It all started so good—“very good” (Gen. 1:31). But Satan was determined to turn the garden into a graveyard. Man was created to live in fellowship with his Creator. God desired that man live in constant communion with Him. Doing so would bring perfect peace and abundant joy, such as could not be found in any other source. But sin changed all that, depriving man of what God intended.

Since sin entered the world life is a constant struggle—everything is now difficult. Nothing comes easy anymore.  Even the food we eat must be earned by the sweat- of- our brow. We live in a wicked world and we are weak. Instead of subduing the earth we find ourselves being brought into submission to it. That is not what God intended. So now, in our natural state, we are forced to live a life that is “of few days and full of trouble”(Job 14:1). And our prospect for the future is even worse. As sinners we face an eternity of separation from God. That’s the bad news!

The good news is that Jesus came to change all that. He came to redeem man and restore him to fellowship with God. To do this He had to suffer and die in our place. O, how amazing it is that He, who is without sin, would be made sin for us, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:21). That sounds too good to be true—but it is true! The proof that God is able and willing to do this is found in the resurrection of Christ. The fact that He lives sweeps away all doubt for those who trust him. They have a hope that goes beyond the grave!

The world, however, is always trying to pull us down and bury our hopes and dreams and joy beneath a deluge of difficulties. That’s exactly where some of you are at this very moment. Your joy is buried under an avalanche of adversities, and you feel you will never laugh again. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus came to raise our hopes and His resurrection proves He can. Because He was raised from the dead, He can raise you up out of the ash-heap of sin and restore you to fellowship with God. Why would anyone not trust a God like that?           ———HDS  4/12/09

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA             4-7-23
A REASON TO REPENT
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”–1 Corinthians 15:20

Pastor Greg Laurie writes: I read about a person who wrote the following to a local newspaper advice columnist: Dear Uticus, Our preacher said on Easter that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that His disciples nursed Him back to health.  What do you think?  Sincerely, Bewildered.

The columnist replied, “Dear Bewildered, Beat your preacher with a cat of nine tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross, hang him in the sun for six hours, run a spear through his heart, embalm him, put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours, and see what happens.  Sincerely, Uticus.”

What sets the Christian faith apart from all other beliefs and religious systems in this world?  It might come down to this: If you go to the tombs of any of the prophets on which world religions have been founded, you will find them occupied.  But if you go to the tomb of Jesus Christ, you will find it empty, because He is alive.  We serve a living Savior.

This is why the resurrection of Jesus is such an important message and also why it has been opposed so much throughout history.  The devil knows that the Resurrection spells his defeat.  He also knows that if you believe this great truth that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead, it can change your life.

Not only can it change your life, but putting your faith in Him also means that you will have a new, resurrected body someday.  As believers, we have this great hope that we, too, will live again.- HDS

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