MORNING MANNA          1-7-22

When Imperfections Turn into Blessings

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10

Snowflakes are fascinating.. They come in all different shapes and sizes.  Some appear as delicate lace doilies others as shining stars.  Yet they all have their similarities. Each snowflake has six points, is made up of molecules of hydrogen and oxygen, and is symmetrical in shape.

But did you know that the ice that makes a snowflake collects around a particle of dust floating in the atmosphere? The tiny imperfection may be as small as 1/100,000 of a millimeter in size, but it has to exist for a snowflake to form!

In the same way, imperfections in life can often be the catalysts that cause something wonderful and beautiful to happen. A “foreign invader” that crashes into our lives—such as a terminal illness, an accident, or a heartbreak—can actually turn into a source of blessing.

As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:”

When you encounter obstacles in life, remember that they give you, as a believer, the chance to let God make something wonderful happen. If you are struggling with a difficult situation in your life, seek the Lord and wait for Him to create from it a beautiful blessing. Because I promise…if you’re looking for it…He will!

 Thank God that when hardships come, He makes something beautiful as a result! Pray that He would continue to transform your trials into blessings by surrounding you with His grace, love, and mercy. ( Senior Living)

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

MORNING MANNA            1-6-22

IF NOT US WHO?

“….ye shall be witnesses unto me “ – Acts 1:8

The animated classic A Charlie Brown Christmas airs on one of the major television networks every holiday season.  Now there’s even an app for your mobile device that’s built on the  Christmas special. But this almost didn’t happen. Tom Goodman explains that the show almost failed to see any air time when it was first proposed back in 1965.

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

MORNING MANNA            1-5-22

 A WONDERFUL GUARANTEE

“I will strengthen thee.” ( Isa. 41-10

When called to serve or to suffer, we take stock of our strength, and we find it to be less than we thought and less than we need. But let not our heart sink within us while we have such a word as this to fall back upon, for it guarantees us all that we can possibly need. God has strength omnipotent; that strength He can communicate to us; and His promise is that He will do so. He will be the food of our souls and the health of our hearts; and thus He will give us strength. There is no telling how much power God can put into a man. When divine strength comes, human weakness is no more a hindrance.

Do we not remember seasons of labor and trial in which we received such special strength that we wondered at ourselves? In the midst of danger we were calm, under bereavement we were resigned, in slander we were self-contained, and in sickness we were patient. The fact is that God gives unexpected strength when unusual trials come upon us, We rise out of our feeble selves. Cowards play the man, foolish ones have wisdom given them, and the silent receive in the self-same hour what they shall speak, My own weakness makes me shrink, but God’s promise makes me brave. Lord, strengthen me “according to thy word.”- Charles Spurgeon

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

MORNING MANNA          1-4-22

BELIEVING AND RECEIVING

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”- John 3:11-12

What Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter three is what the entire New Testament says, “If you will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will receive the gift of eternal life by being born again.” Nicodemus’ questions on new birth did not come from a lack of understanding, but rather from a lack of belief. Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, as He says to us all, “If you believe in Me, you will be born again.”

When you believe Jesus and receive eternal life – when you are born again – you will be different. When a child is born that child will bear the characteristics of two people: His mom and his dad. He has their nature. He has their looks. His personality will be somewhat of a combination of what they have brought him through conception. Likewise, when you are born again and God becomes your Father you will act like Him. You will walk like Him and live like Him. When you are born again, you are not born again as yourself. You are born as a new you. You are distinct from a person who doesn’t know Jesus and you are different from when you didn’t know Jesus.

Jesus sees everyone divided into two groups – people who have been born once and people who have been born twice. Make no mistake. Jesus made it clear. Whether or not you will see and enter into the Kingdom of God will depend on one thing – “How many times have you been born?”

Jesus was born physically so that we might be born spiritually. Just as He entered into an earthly family by a physical birth, we can only enter into His eternal family by a spiritual birth.

Dear Lord, I want to live my life in a way so that people can clearly see I am your child. Help me to live differently. Help me to live in a way that reflects your love and your image so that I might encourage others to want to be born again like I have been. In Jesus’ name, amen.- James Merritt

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

MORNING MANNA         1-3-22

DEATH AND DYING

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints”– Psalm 116:15

As we face the uncertainties of the new year, there is one thing feared by most people more than anything else, and that is death. They suppose it is the most dreadful thing they can imagine. But as Christians we should never think of it like that. God doesn’t.

 Lasserre Bradley, Jr. wrote, “From our perspective it is the greatest grief we can imagine; from God’s perspective it is the delight of His heart. From our perspective, it brings a sorrow that only heaven can erase; from God’s perspective, it brings a joy that only heaven can know.

How can the death of His people be so precious in the sight of the Lord? Doesn’t He care about the gaping wound that loved ones leave behind on earth? Is He not sensitive to the pains and anguish that usually precede our own death? Why would anything so grievous to us be so precious to God?

The answer, of course, is that God loves more, sees more, and wants more for us than we love, see, or want for ourselves or loved ones. God sees the majesty, sweetness, purity, and perfection of each glorified saint as they cross over from this cursed earth and put on the robes of Christ’s righteousness.

If we could see just how delightful heaven is, just how joyful we will be there, and just how overwhelmingly sweet it will be to live in the presence of Jesus Christ forever, we would doubtless find death as precious as God does.”

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