MORNING MANNA          5-23-22

JESUS OUR EXAMPLE

“He laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”– 1 John 3:16

John 3:16 famously declares the love of God, the giving of His Son, and His purpose that whoever believes on His Son will have everlasting life. But 1 John 3:16 takes this truth a step further.

It is true, John says, that genuine love, perfect love is seen in the death of Jesus Christ for us. From this, however, we are meant to learn that genuine love is a sacrificial love.

You see, John explains, not only did the Father give His Son for us, but the Son gave Himself for us! He laid down his life for us. This was not cosmic or divine child abuse, as some have suggested. The cross of Christ is the ultimate display of the perfect and united love of both the Father and the Son.

Such love, though, is meant, not only to save us from hell in the future, but also to deliver us from selfishness and vanity right now. As we look at Jesus on the cross, His sacrificial love for us should lead us to lay down our lives for each other. In fact, John says, the cross makes us indebted (“we ought”) to love each other.

How has Jesus’ love affected you? Does it lead you to more self-absorption or to sacrificial service? Christ’s love for us includes His love for others, and so our love for Him must include a love for others, as well. ( Baptist Bible Hour)

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

MORNING MANNA         5-22-22

MORNING MANNA            5-21-22

CAN THINE HEART ENDURE

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.“— Rom 8:26

Much that perplexes us in our Christian experience is but the answer to our prayers. We pray for patience, and our Father sends those who tax us to the utmost; for “tribulation worketh patience.”

We pray for submission, and God sends sufferings; for “we learn obedience by the things we suffer.”

We pray for unselfishness, and God gives us opportunities to sacrifice ourselves by thinking on the things of others, and by laying down our lives for the brethren.

We pray for strength and humility, and some messenger of Satan torments us until we lie in the dust crying for its removal.

We pray, “Lord, increase our faith,” and money takes wings; or the children are alarmingly ill; or a servant comes who is careless, extravagant, untidy or slow, or some hitherto unknown trial calls for an increase of faith along a line where we have not needed to exercise much faith before.

We pray for the Lamb-life, and are given a portion of lowly service, or we are injured and must seek no redress; for “he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and…opened not his mouth.”

We pray for gentleness, and there comes a perfect storm of temptation to harshness and irritability. We pray for quietness, and every nerve is strung to the utmost tension, so that looking to Him we may learn that when He giveth quietness, no one can make trouble.

We pray for love, and God sends peculiar suffering and puts us with apparently unlovely people, and lets them say things which rasp the nerves and lacerate the heart; for love suffereth long and is kind, love is not impolite, love is not provoked. Love beareth all things, believeth, hopeth and endureth, love never faileth. 

We pray for likeness to Jesus, and the answer is, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” “Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong?” “Are ye able?”

The way to peace and victory is to accept every circumstance, every trial, straight from the hand of a loving Father; and to live up in the heavenly places, above the clouds, in the very presence of the Throne, and to look down from the Glory upon our environment as lovingly and divinely appointed.- Author unknown

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

MORNING MANNA             5-20-22

THE SCHOOL OF SUFFERING

“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

Everyone has sorrows and a good number of people hate it, and would do almost anything to avoid them. Some even think that being good or doing good will aid in the escape of them. But it never does. Often the best people have the worst problems. Being a Christian, even a “good” one, does not exempt us from grief. We can, however, be transformed in our trials by trusting Christ. It’s true. God doesn’t want us to just endure our sorrows. He wants us to understand that there can be a blessing in them–a blessing that only comes if we accept them in love and with trust. 

Misery has a mission. Pain has a purpose. Even when we are chastised,“it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.“(Hebrews 12:11) If we could see the end result there would be no complaint. But not seeing is all a part of the learning process. We walk by faith, not by sight. 

God doesn’t want us to waste our sorrows. Although we dread them and shrink back from them, we are assured by His word that He will use them for some good. Indeed, there are some things we can never learn except through the school of suffering. It’s often the case that God wants us to ascend to some new height in life, where we’ve never been before, and the only way to get there is through strain and pain. Were there no obstacles and opposition there would be no opportunity. We often get the best things out of the worst things. Just as the rush needs the mire the saints need the fire. As Job said,“when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.“(Job 23:10). Instead of cursing your trials, trust God to use them to produce some glorious good. The good might not be of a personal nature, nor a present blessing, but someday in some way God will do exactly as He promised–good will come from them. Remember the old song that says,”We’ll understand it better bye and bye”? It’s true! Someday the course will be over. You will graduate with honors and an experience that will pay eternal dividends. Then you will say, “It was worth it all”.— HDS

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