MORNING MANNA            1-21-23

LIVING LIKE YOU ARE LEAVING

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”- Heb. 9:27

MORNING MANNA                1-20-23

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 f.”(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! God’s Word helps you cope with difficulties, conquer depression, and complete your duties. Neglecting it causes disaster of one sort or another.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 

MORNING MANNA              1-19-23
A GREAT INVITATION

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20

Have you ever noticed that we tend to be impressed by the wrong things? For example–we usually give more thought to how bad the world is than we do to how good God is. No wonder we get depressed!Why don’t we focus on God? Can you think of anything more impressive than God? He is amazing in every way. However,the most amazing thing is not that we have an interest in God, but that He has an interest in us. Think about it–the great God who is in need of nothing invites us to invite Him into our life. Wow–now, that’s amazing! That’s grace!

The late Adrian Rogers said :Over and over again, people will ask me this question, “If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?” There’s never an easy answer to that question when someone is grieving or suffering, but God has taught me that the universe has a disease. And God cannot remove the pain until the last vestige of sin is gone. The worst thing that could happen to human beings would be for us to live in a world cursed by sin, and yet the world seem to be a paradise. We would never come to God. God has showered this world with immeasurable mercies. Focus today not on the suffering, but on the provision of God’s grace.  

Here’s the point–instead of trying to understand God we need to trust Him. And, we learn to do that by keeping our focus on Him rather than the world or self. As our knowledge of God increases so does our faith. We should not be surprised that there is so much sin and suffering in the world. We should be shocked that it’s not worse than it is. We should be amazed that God, who is holy, wants anything to do with us–because we are sinful. We have rebelled against God and violated His righteous standard. That leaves us undeserving of His favor. Remember, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.”(Lam.3:22).Keep your focus on the fact that we don’t deserve anything and you will be thankful for everything. Regardless of how bad it is, thank God that we don’t get what we deserve–it would be a lot worse!

Do you sense God knocking at the door of your heart, beckoning you give Him entrance, that He might fellowship with you? Do not delay–accept His invitation, open the door of your heart, let Him in, yield to His desires and you will experience the greatest blessing in life–the pleasure of His presence. Do it now!- HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA             1-18-23

THE PROTECTION OF PRAISE

“Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee”.- Deut.28:47–48

These verses are of great importance and I have made reference to them numerous times over the years. When I read the following in “Daily in the Word” this morning I felt compelled to use it as my article today.

“The Lord gives each of us far more than we deserve. His gracious love for us pours out blessings, not grudgingly but gladly. Again and again, we receive good things from our loving Father in Heaven. These blessings come not just occasionally but day after day. David wrote, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” (Psalm 68:19). Yet even with all of God’s bountiful blessings, we often are not grateful. Rather than filling our mouths with praise and guiding our lives with obedience, we gripe and complain about what we do not have and covet what others have.

But it get’s worse. When we do not appreciate God and His abundant blessings, it impacts the way we view Him. If we let our gratitude lapse, it will not be long before our outward behavior begins to reflect the evil in our hearts. That is why we are reminded, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2). The alternative to gratitude and obedience is servitude to sin. Once we have decided that we know better than God what we should have, or what we deserve, it is just a short step to violating His law in order to get it. All of the devil’s promises are based on lies. As John R. Rice said, “All Satan’s apples have worms.” Sin that we enter into seeking what we think will make us happy always ends in bitterness and disappointment. Rejoicing in gratitude protects us from great evil. Gratitude for God’s goodness guards our hearts against the allure of sin.”

That’s a lesson we should never forget!

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

THINK ABOUT IT             1-17-23

Having just read the following I felt it could be a help and a blessing to many. Hopefully you will be one of them.- HDS

By M R Conrad, Jan. 10, 2023

Asking Why

I often find myself asking the “why” questions. Why did the pandemic happen? Why did that person die so young? Why do I suffer with chronic health issues? Why did such a great door of opportunity for God’s work close? Why do I often not see the results I pray for in my ministry? Why? Why? Why?

Answering Why

God is sovereign and omniscient. He knows the reasons for all things. Our Heavenly Father could answer every “why” question we ask. Sometimes He does. 

However, sometimes the “why” lingers. God, in His infinite wisdom, may choose not to give a reason. Or maybe we miss the reason that’s staring in our faces. Whichever the case, the seemingly random frustrations or meaningless trials drag on. If we are not careful, we can become consumed with an unanswered “why”, our minds spinning in hamster wheels of futility. When the reasons we seek allude us, what should we do?

Replacing Why with What

We need to change our question. Don’t keep asking why. Ask what: “Lord, what would you have me to do?”

Living with the Unanswered “Why?”

So, can we live with the unanswered “why”? In the Lord’s strength, we can. As we learn to depend on Him, we can. While obeying His commands, we can. Seeking His will in the situation, we can. Leave the whys to God and ask what He would have you to do.

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.