MORNING MANNA                 11-18-25
SEEK THE LORD

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭12‬-‭13‬

This word from the Lord given through the prophet Jeremiah went out to the Lord’s  people in captivity in Babylon. Why did God allow this trouble and bondage in the lives of His very own people. It wasn’t for the reason of wanting to harm them. He had a good reason for the difficulties he allowed in their lives, and it’s for the same reason He allows them today.

God wants us to seek Him in a greater way. He’s leading us to a new level of closeness with Him when trouble comes. He uses the trouble to guide us to seek His presence. The Lord knows how to show us that He is all we need. If He must do this by allowing some problems, He will.

He’s not angry with us. He wants the best for us. God still wants to implement His plan into our lives even when we’re turned from Him doing things according to our own plan.

May we see in our tough circumstances that the Lord is using these things to draw us closer to Him.- Kenneth Preston 

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA                    11-17-25

FEAR OR A SOUND MIND ?

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭

Would you say your life is governed by fear or a sound mind?

We quickly conclude that people who aren’t serving the Lord are being rebellious, but that isn’t always true. Fear is a factor in this as well. When an opportunity to serve is presented, thoughts immediately take place. Thoughts such as :
“The people wouldn’t want to hear me sing.”
“I wouldn’t be a good Sunday School teacher.”
“What if I mess up in the sound booth?”
“Our security team at church needs a better man than me.”

God has not given us these thoughts. These are responses that come from a spirit of fear.

Those responses need to be replaced with :
“God has given me a voice and I believe He wants me to use it to sing for Him.”
“If God is leading me to teach this Sunday School class He will help me to learn His word and effectively teach His people.”
“The sound booth could use a helping hand and they can teach me how to assist them.”
“If God would like to use me to be another set of eyes to protect the church, then I want to be a part of our security team.”

These are responses from a sound mind.

We have constant fearful and doubtful thoughts come to our mind. We must quickly replace those thoughts with good ones based on the word of God. We need to fill our mind with the word of God, allow it to control our thinking, and practice replacing wrong thoughts with right thoughts. We must practice a sound mind with every thought so we don’t stay buried in a do nothing attitude because of a spirit of fear.

Let’s pick up God’s word today knowing it’s going to change our way of thinking for the better. It just might lead to service in a lifelong ministry!

FEAR OR A SOUND MIND ?
Kenneth Preston
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, TX

MORNING MANNA                  11-15-25

HEAR HIM
“While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬ ‭

The following words were written in 1840 by James Smith: “Jesus speaks to us in His word; He tells us all His mind; and the Father commands us to hear Him. He speaks to us on a variety of subjects; He instructs, exhorts, warns, directs, and comforts. He always speaks in love. Every word is intended to do us good. Let us then take up His word and say, “I will hear what God the Lord will speak.” How much better this than to listen to Satan, unbelief, carnal reason, or men. Let us believe what He says, for He speaks truth; expect what He promises, for He intends to bestow; practise what He commands, for His ways are peace; and abstain from what He prohibits, for it is sure to be injurious. Hear Him, and plead His word in prayer. Hear Him, and oppose what He says, to fear, Satan, and appearances. Hear Him, and compare all doctrines with His word. Hear Jesus everyday, give Him your attention at least for a few minutes; you can hear nothing better than what He speaks; no one that has a greater claim upon your attention. Hearing Jesus with attention, prayer, and faith, will prevent a great number of real evils.”

What Smith said about what Jesus says deserves our attention. It reminds us of how greatly we are blessed when we listen to Jesus. If your life isn’t what it should be and you want it to change for the better listen to Jesus! If you love, trust, and obey Him He will transform your life! –  HDS

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA                   11-14-25

YOUR MISSION 

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx

MORNING MANNA                  11-13-25      
A DEATH WISH
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers”. – 1 Kings 19:4

Sometimes you see things that are so shocking that all you can think to say is “Really?” You find it difficult to believe that it actually happened. That’s the way I feel when I read  1 Kings 19:4. It’s hard to believe that a man like that would do something like this. But there you have it— straight from God’s own word. It really happened. Elijah was so discouraged that he desired death — or so he said.

Keep in mind that this was right after the incident on Mt. Carmel. Put all the pieces together and you see why he was distraught. There was the friction with his foes, feelings of fear, futility, and fatigue. The wicked queen Jezebel issued an order to have Elijah executed, and he is running for his life. Finally out of exhaustion he collapsed under a juniper tree and prayed to die. What a sad sight!

This is another case of how we ought to thank God for unanswered prayers. Although he felt it was all over, God wasn’t through with him yet. God had other plans for him and he lived to do great things. And think about this — rather than dying he missed death altogether when God snatched him from the earth! God always gives the best to those who leave the choice up to Him! We should be so wise.

While millions pray each day to live, there are many troubled souls desiring to die. At this very moment some of you might be so tired of the struggle that you prefer death over life. While it is indeed true that, for the believer, to die is gain it is not for you to decide when death should come. That’s God’s business. Until the appointed time we ought to be found at our post doing our duty and trusting God’s grace to get us through the difficulties. If you are still alive there is something worth living for- something more important than your relief. We have no right to resent and reject what God has planned for us. To desire anything different than His will is to wish for the worst. Don’t do it!

Although I wrote this a few years ago (5-21-20) I have a strong feeling that there is someone reading this today who needs to think about it! They might not desire death but they feel like giving up on their duties due to difficulties. Don’t do it! – HDS

David Stone  
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble’TX