MORNING MANNA           8-13-22

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH

“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. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

In the mid-1700s, a shipload of migrants landed on the northwest coast of America. Their first year, they established a site on which they’d build their town. The second year, they elected a town government. The third year, the town government made the decision to build a road stretching five miles westward into the wilderness.

In the fourth year, the townspeople tried to overthrow their own government because they believed building a road five miles into the wilderness was a waste of money. The very same people who saw thousands of miles across an ocean and overcame hardships to get there couldn’t see five miles down the road!

Many Christians are a lot like those townspeople. They reach a point in their walk with Christ and think they have no further to go. It’s like they’ve become close enough with God to be comfortable, so they go into “maintenance mode” and stop moving forward.

Our comfort in Christ comes from the fact that through faith, we’re firmly planted in Him. But as we grow and mature, we surrender daily as we are transformed more and more into His image. Don’t be content in yesterday’s spiritual growth. Move continually forward in your faith and surrender your life to Christ day by day!

Ask God to show you how to surrender each day to Him so you’ll continue growing in Christ.- Senior Living

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

MORNING MANNA          8-12-22

BEAUTY IN YOUR BROKENNESS

Have you ever heard of Kintsugi bowls? In fifteenth-century Japan, a family wouldn’t throw out precious pottery when it was broken. They would bring the pieces to an artisan trained to put the family heirloom back together with gold-dusted lacquer. The Japanese word “Kintsugi” means “golden joinery.”

David Brooks wrote about the ancient bowls: “They look like they have golden veins running through them, making them more beautiful and more valuable than they were in their original condition. There’s a dimension of depth to them. You sense the original life they had, the rupture, and then the way they were so beautifully healed. And of course they stand as a metaphor for the people, families, and societies we all know who have endured their own ruptures and come back beautiful, vulnerable, and whole in their broken places.”
 
Then Brooks added, “I don’t know about you, but I feel a great hunger right now for timeless pieces like these.”
 
The night before the cross, Jesus predicted he would soon be arrested and all the apostles would abandon him. Simon boasted that he never would, but he did. While warming himself with the enemies of Jesus by a charcoal fire (John 18:18), Simon had three opportunities to take his stand for Jesus. On each occasion, Simon denied his association with him.
 
After the resurrection, Simon sat with the risen Christ by another charcoal fire (John 21:9). And there Jesus cancelled out Peter’s three denials by giving him a chance to make three new affirmations of his love for Jesus.
 
Years later, in 1 Peter 5:10, the Big Fisherman wrote, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” How could Peter assure us of that? Because he had experienced it himself.   
Jesus is the true and greater Kintsugi master. He does not discard broken disciples. He repairs us in a way that even our once-fractured places become beautiful.
 
Read about Simon Peter’s restoration in John 21:1-17 and let it give you hope that Jesus wants to restore you, too! ( Tom Goodman)

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

MORNING MANNA           8-11-22

THE DANGER OF DELAY

”(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”– 2 Cor. 6:2

MORNING MANNA          8-10-22

Nothing to Do But Pray

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”- 1 Pet. 4:19

For Lorraine Fusco, it may have seemed that her useful days on earth were behind her. Cancer struck at the base of her brain and traveled down her spine, paralyzing her completely. Tubes were used to feed her and help her breathe. The only voluntary movement she could make was to open and shut her eyes and mouth.

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

MORNING MANNA          8-9-22

GROWING OLDER BUT GETTING WISER

” For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16

    A new member of the bridge club showed up one afternoon wearing a beautiful gold locket. Another player approached her and said, “That’s such a lovely piece. Do you keep a memento in it?”

    “Yes,” the woman answered. “It’s a piece of my husband’s hair I keep to help me remember.”

    “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the player replied. “How long ago did he pass away?”

    The newcomer quipped, “Pass away? Oh, he’s still alive. It’s his hair that’s gone!”

    Someone once said, “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.” And with so much focus today on doing whatever it takes to stay young, many people completely miss out on a biblical understanding of what it means to age. They miss the fact that their gray hairs, baldness, wrinkles, and aches all have a purpose in the plan of God.

    So what is the right biblical understanding of aging? Well, as we see in today’s passage, aging is a lifelong tradeoff of the physical for the spiritual. Young people may have more physical vitality, but are usually less mature spiritually. As we get older, however, we may lose our physical strength, but we grow spiritually and become more equipped to invest in others’ lives.

    Be willing to make that tradeoff. Don’t despise growing older. Instead, embrace your aging as a sign that while you may lose physical vigor, you’re growing each day in your spiritual strength!

    Pray and ask God to give you a right understanding of aging as a lifelong tradeoff for something much better than physical strength.( Senior Living)

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