MORNING MANNA           7-29-22

KEEP YOUR FORK

“To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,”– 1 Pet. 1:4

I often mention that “For the Christian the best is yet to come”. Here is an old story from an unknown source that reminds of that:

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things “in order,” she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favourite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

“There’s one more thing,” she said excitedly.

“What’s that?” came the pastor’s reply.

“This is very important,” the woman continued. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”

The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. “That surprises you, doesn’t it?” the woman asked.

“Well, to be honest, I’m puzzled by the request,” said the pastor.

The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners I always remember that when the dishes were cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming… like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and of substance! So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, ‘What’s with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork… the best is yet to come.’

The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She knew that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman’s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favourite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, “What’s with the fork?” And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come.

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA        7-28-22

EXCUSES

“—-they are without excuse.”–Romans 1:20 (read vs.18-24)

Do you remember the song that says “Excuses, excuses, you hear them every day.”? We sure do! Several years ago a famous actor filed for bankruptcy. After making millions he was flat broke. He blamed it on “fast women and slow horses.” Another “entertainer” became famous for saying,”The devil made me do it.”

The excuses go on and on. This isn’t anything new. Man has been making excuses since the first man. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. And so the story goes. We just keep blaming others and ,sadly, most people don’t see the need to stop. Making excuses seems to be in our system.

Excuses are foolish–we are each responsible for our actions. Excuses get easier and easier–we end up deceiving ourselves. Excuses are dangerous–they keep us from dealing with the real problem. Even God can’t help the person who keeps making excuses. Until we see ourselves as God sees us we don’t stand a chance of getting things right. We simply have to get honest about our condition and stop making excuses.

Man’s ultimate folly is that, although he knows there is a God, he refuses to recognize Him as such. The creature denies his Creator. That explains why the world is in its present sinful condition. Instead of embracing the truth he suppresses it and makes excuses. But God says,”they are without excuse.”

Maybe it’s time you got honest about your life and stopped making excuses. Things won’t get any better until you do. – HDS

As someone said, “An excuse is the skin of reason stuffed with a lie”

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA         7-27-22

DIE CLIMBING

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 3:14 

“He died climbing” is inscribed on a monument erected to an Alpine guide, who perished when attempting to reach the top of a mountain. In that tribute we see a reminder of what our attitude should be. We should be looking upward, pressing onward, and climbing higher. We should always press on in the pathway of duty.

“He died climbing” could be said of numerous Christians who refused to quit, who pressed on in the face of great difficulties and danger. Rather than give up many became martyrs for Christ sake. We read their stories and marvel, but we ought to do more than that—we need to follow their example.

Let us not be one of those who became content and stopped pressing on — as though we had gone as far as we needed to go. Neither let us be in the camp of those who became fearful and ceased to go on because of the danger. Our life is in God’s hands whether we be sitting on the plain or inching our way up the steep mountain side, hanging on by our fingertips. If our cause is noble and our motive pure we have nothing to fear. All is well.

Fear belongs to those who quit climbing. Indeed, the way may be rough and tough, even painful, but we are never at liberty to stop. Press on dear pilgrim! The prize will be worth the pain. One day you will stand on the summit and look back on your journey and realize that had you stopped you would have missed the best. Keep climbing until that day when it can be said of you,”He died climbing.” It will be worth it all!

“I’m pressing on the upward way”

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

MORNING MANNA            7-26-22

DON’T STOP
“But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.”– 2 Thess. 3:13

The following was written by my dear friend, Bro. Larry Jones, who is with the Lord now. What he said is greatly needed in these difficult days in which we live.

“In the history of the early church we read about resistance in every venture. There was resistance from spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12), from wicked people (II Thessalonians 3:2), from difficult circumstances (2 Corinthians 11:25-28), and, mentioned in the context of this verse, from those among the early Christians who drained resources without producing anything.

All resistance creates its own kind of frustration, but resistance from within, from those who are supposed to be working toward the same goals, seems to weigh heaviest on many people. And that is what Paul was writing about in this chapter.
A church that is doing the work of Christ on earth is involved in good things. It isf you labor for accolades and praise from people then people can easily discourage you. Lay up treasures in heaven.

If you are healthy and able, make sure you are contributing to the overall goals and being a help, not a drain on resources without contributing your share and then some.

Pace yourself, make it your goal to continue in this good work for a lifetime.

Push through the hard times and the resistance. Don’t let up, make your life count.”

You can read more from Bro.Larry by going to his “Follow the Light Blog”. It will be time well spent.-HDS

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

MORNING MANNA

“WHAT?” Not “WHEN?

”“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”- Rom. 8:28

Under the pressure of severe trials we tend to ask, “When shall I get out of this?” or “How shall I get out of this?” But those are the wrong questions. A better question is, “What shall I get out of this?” But even then we do not always find an immediate answer.  That’s OK!  We don’t always need an answer.  We just need to believe that God will use the experience for some good reason as He has promised in Romans 8:28.

If Job had followed the counsel of his wife it would have made matters worse.  Thankfully he refused to give up his faith and remained faithful.

Anyone can give up and complain when life gets difficult, but they pay a high price for doing so.  Someone said, “If Columbus had turned back, nobody would have blamed him, but nobody would have remembered him either.  If you want to be memorable, sometimes you have to be miserable.”

As believers we are called to live by faith.  To do that we must accept what God allows and do what He demands, regardless of cost, circumstances, or consequences; believing that He is working out His perfect plan in ways we cannot always understand.- HDS

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