MORNING MANNA            11-11-22

THINGS TO PUT AWAY

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking he put away from you, with all malice.” Esp. 4:32

Life brims with provocative situations that tempt a person to lose his temper. Perhaps you can identify with some of the following scenarios. A waiter spills hot coffee on you or makes you wait interminably for your food. You arrive home with your latest purchase only to find that the merchandise is defective. When you try to get a refund, the salesman is insolent. Or perhaps you have been given wrong information that causes you to miss your plane. The first week you have your new car, some careless driver puts a dent into the side of it. Then a store promises to deliver an appliance on a certain date. You stay home but no appliance arrives! Repeated delivery promises are broken. The clerk at the supermarket overcharges you, then is rude when you speak to him about it. Your neighbor hassles you over some minor squabble between her child and yours—and her child was obviously to blame. Another neighbor drives you up the wall with loud stereo music and wild parties. A fellow employee heckles you constantly, probably because of your Christian testimony. The computer makes an error on your monthly account, then in spite of your repeated protests by phone, the error reappears month after month. In your favorite sport, the referee makes a grossly bad call. Or the problem may be a clash of wills over TV programs in the living room of your home.

There is no way of avoiding some of these irritating situations. But for the believer, the important thing is how he reacts to them. The natural way is to explode in anger, to tell off the offender in a few well-chosen words. But when a Christian loses his temper, he loses his testimony also. There he stands, livid with rage, his eyes like piercing steel, his lips quivering. There is no way he can speak a word for the Lord Jesus. He is behaving like a man of the world. He is no longer a Bible but a libel.

The tragedy is that the person who has wronged him probably needs the Gospel. Perhaps his annoying behavior is because of some crisis in his personal life. If he were just shown love and consideration, he might be won over to the Savior.

Eruptions of temper have done much to nullify the witness of believers and to bring dishonor on the name of the Lord. A mad Christian is a poor advertisement for the faith.( William MacDonald)

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA            10-7-22

  “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”- John 1:14

Jesus calls those who believe in Him to follow Him – lIve a life of obedience. That tells us that not only do we live by Him and for Him, but with Him. Living in constant communion with Christ. Just the thought of Him being our Companion makes everyday exciting!

As important as His teachings are, He didn’t say follow my doctrines, but “Follow me”. That speaks of His desire for a personal relationship with us. Is that not a glorious thought, to think of the King of kings being willing to commune with lowly sinners such as us. We do more than follow a book, we follow a Person, the One who is the Word of God.

While we should obey the Bible we should do so in the light of who Jesus is and what He has done, not just because it is true. The Bible is important because it testifies to He who is the Living Word – the One to whom our life is to conform. Rather than following Him to get what we desire we follow Him to give Him what He demands, desires and deserves. He created all things and all things exist to glorify Him. That is the purpose for which we exist and if we spend our lives on anything else we are wasting it.- HDS

“Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!”

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

MORNING MANNA                10-6-22

SHINING SAINTS

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,”- (Phil 3:8)

 

    Shining is always costly. Light comes only at the cost of that which produces it. An unlit candle does no shining. Burning must come before shining. We cannot be of great use to others without cost to ourselves. Burning suggests suffering. We shrink from pain.

 

    We are apt to feel that we are doing the greatest good in the world when we are strong, and able for active duty, and when the heart and hands are full of kindly service.

 

    When we are called aside and can only suffer; when we are sick; when we are consumed with pain; when all our activities have been dropped, we feel that we are no longer of use, that we are not doing anything.

 

    But, if we are patient and submissive, it is almost certain that we are a greater blessing to the world in our time of suffering and pain than we were in the days when we thought we were doing the most of our work. We are burning now, and shining because we are burning.(Evening Thoughts)

Many want the glory without the cross, the shining without the burning, but crucifixion comes before coronation.–Streams in the Desert

“The glory of tomorrow is rooted in the drudgery of today.”

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

MORNING MANNA

MORNING MANNA            10-4-22

WATCH YOUR WORDS

“A fool uttereth all his mind–“-Proverbs 29:11

Just yesterday I said to someone, “ I shouldn’t have said that”. I wish that was the only time I’ve ever had to make that confession, but it’s not. And I suspect I’m not the only one who has done that.  

Nothing gets us into more trouble than the tongue! It can be used for something terrible or terrific. Sadly most folks use it in the former way. They just can’t seem to keep their mouths shut. How we use it depends on what is in the heart. That’s why some have called it “The barometer of the soul”. 

If there is an ounce of honesty in us we have to admit that we’ve said things we shouldn’t–things we’ve regretted. Right? But some folks just keep doing it again and again. They never seem to learn. 

It’s common to hear people say,”I’m thinking it, I might as well say it”, or “I’m the kind of person who says what he thinks”. Well, maybe you need to change what you’re thinking or maybe you’re not the kind of person you ought to be. I don’t doubt that these people are telling the truth, but why would they? Just because it’s true doesn’t mean they ought to say it – unless they are confessing their sin. It’s certainly not something they ought to brag about.

 

If this is a problem area in your life, you need to consider these scriptures:

Proverbs 10:19 “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.“

Proverbs 17:27-28 “ He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” -HDS

 DAVID STONE
LAKEWAY BAPTIST CHURCH
5801 FM 1960 E.
HUMBLE, TX. 77346