Sent by David Stone on Wednesday, August 31 at 9:10AM

MORNING MANNA            8-30-22

WORRY

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”-Phil.4;7

  When you worry, which do you worry about, what might happen or what might not happen? Whichever, turn it around, to relieve anxiety. That’s common advice in Scotland. For worriers, the Scots have a proverb: ” What may be, may not be”. 

  Speaking of the Scots, one of the most famous Scottish preachers was Ian Maclaren (1850-1907) who wrote the following:   ” What does your anxiety do? It does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but it does empty today of its strength. It does not make you escape the evil; it makes you unfit to cope with it when it comes. God gives us the power to bear all the sorrow of His making, but He does not guarantee to give us strength to bear the burdens of our own making such as worry induces“. 

  I’m glad to know that when I look up to God for help in a time of need He is looking down at me with total awareness of my situation. But I am even happier to know that He is with me and able to deliver me.-HDS

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx. 

MORNING MANNA            8-29-22

IT’S ALL FAITH

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.- Romans 4:1-5

Many people are willing to come to God on their own terms, but not on His. The world is filled with different religious systems whereby people try to gain acceptance in the eyes of God. It may be things they do or avoid doing, things they eat or don’t eat, things they value or find worthless, but the hope is the same—that somehow their own efforts will justify them before God. The problem is that all such efforts are doomed to failure. The only way to come to God that He will accept is the way that He has declared and provided—through His Son, Jesus Christ. All others paths lead to failure and eternity apart from Him.

The people of Capernaum came to hear Jesus, and they wanted to know how to be right with God. This is a worthy desire, but their focus was in the wrong place. “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:28-29). It is not whether we do works, but whether we believe that determines whether we are in God’s family or not. We cannot expect the best that we could do to measure up to His perfection. We must believe that the worst we could do is beyond the reach of His grace to forgive. It’s not about us, but about Him, and that is our hope.

 Faith in Jesus Christ and His free offer of salvation is the only way to eternal life.- Paul Chappell

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA         8-26-22
FRUIT FROM FAILURE
 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.” – (Psa. 37:23-24)

Someone called Peter “the apostle of failure”. That seems a bit harsh, but the fact remains that Peter was prone to fail. Aren’t we all? That’s why we ought to remember Proverbs 24:16 “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Everyone fails from time to time and that’s bad, but that’s not all. Believe it or not, good can come from it. That’s right! Although it would be better if we never failed, we need to realize that something positive can come out of it. We need to look for it. Generally we see only the bad in failure, but the truth is that God can use it for some good purpose. Let me give you just one example.

 Failure can make us aware of our weakness, and that can lead to a greater dependence upon God. Let’s face it–we all tend to get a bit cocky at times. We suppose we are better, smarter, or stronger than we really are. Failure brings our feet back down to the ground! You don’t hear much boasting from a kid who just got the stuffings knocked out of him by a neighborhood bully, and failure often transforms our attitude in the same way. So the next time you fail, learn from it, and look for some good to come out of it. Sometimes it takes a failure to make us aware of our weakness and to rid us of pride. Failure doesn’t have to be final. It can be the very thing that leads to success. But you have to trust God to get you up and keep you going. Confess your failure, do what you can to make it right, and look for the good that comes from it. – HDS

MORNING MANNA           8-25-22
FULL SURRENDER
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”–Romans 12:1

Let’s face it–we are seldom completely honest about our spiritual condition. We are prone to ignore the facts and stretch the truth, so as to put ourselves in the best possible light. Instead of singing “I surrender all”, some should be singing “I surrender some” or “I surrender nothing”. That would be more honest.

If we want to please God, experience His best and enjoy our relationship with Him, we must present ourselves as “a living sacrifice”. Only then can we be what He wants us to be. We would do well to meditate on these following words written many years ago by William Law:
“When it is the one ruling, never-ceasing desire of our hearts, that God may be the beginning and end, the reason and motive, the rule and measure, of our doing or not doing, from morning to night; then everywhere, whether speaking or silent, whether inwardly or outwardly employed, we are equally offered up to the eternal Spirit, have our life in Him and from Him, and are united to Him by that Spirit of Prayer which is the comfort, the support, the strength and security of the soul, travelling, by the help of God, through the vanity of time into the riches of eternity. Let us have no thought or care, but how to be wholly His devoted instruments; everywhere, and in everything, His adoring, joyful, and thankful servants.”

Paul wrote, “Be ye filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). And if we are we will “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16). This isn’t a one time event like salvation. We must surrender ourselves to God each and every day. If we aren’t under the Spirit’s control we are out of control and that always leads to trouble. – HDS