MORNING MANNA            12- 13 -21

A GLORIOUS FACT

“I am the Lord’s.”  Isaiah 44:5

Not only because He has chosen me…in Jesus His beloved Son; nor merely because I am redeemed from among men, by the precious blood of Immanuel; but also because I have surrendered myself up into the Lord’s hand, with all I have and am, to be taught by His Spirit, ruled by His word, supplied by His providence, and devoted to His praise. The Lord claimed me, and I was enabled to acknowledge the claim; He has a right to me, and that right should never be forgotten by me. Am I tempted to sin? To murmur? To despond? Let this be my preservative, “I AM THE LORD’S.” How base, ungrateful, and wicked for me to yield to sin; for me to complain of any of His dispensations; or for me to doubt His goodness or His grace. I am the Lord’s for life; I shall be the Lord’s in death; and then (O delightful thought!) I shall be the Lord’s for evermore. He will guide me by His counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. I have only to aim at His glory, walk by His word, and live at His throne, until He takes me to Himself. My only business on earth is to please God, and my heaven will be to enjoy Him forever. Blessed truth, “I am the Lord’s!” (James Smith, 1840)

Jesus, Thy boundless love to me
No thought can reach no tongue declare;
O knit my thankful heart to Thee,
And reign without a rival there!

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

MORNING MANNA          12-12-21

TAKING SIDES

“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”- Ex. 32:26

“How long halt ye between two opinions! If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”— 1Ki 18:21.

Moses and Elijah uttered practically the same call, which is always being spoken to each fresh generation. As soon as we can think for ourselves, we are accosted by the challenge of the Divine Voice- Art thou for Me or against Me? Which side dost thou take? From the lips of our blessed Lord comes the additional challenge, which compels us to face the alternative as one that may not be trifled with or put aside: “He that is not with Me is against Me.“

How long halt ye between two opinions? We must take one side or the other. When the division-bell rings in the House of Commons, the Ayes must go to the right and the Noes to the left. A man must choose which he will take! If Jehovah, If Baal, We cannot be neutral without being stultified.

Who, then, is prepared to take sides, and to come out to Christ, without the camp, bearing His reproach? (Heb 13:13). To be on the Lord’s side is to acknowledge Him as our King as well as Saviour. It is to render to Him our reverence, obedience, love and devotion. It is to abandon all refuges and resorts to our own works and ways, and to strive for heart, mind, and life to be assimilated to His will and character. This is what our Saviour expects and asks of each of us! We are to belong wholly to God, to give Him all that we are capable of giving, to choose His cause, and to find in Him the beginning and ending, the first and last.

Jesus Christ possesses an unimpeachable and absolute right over us–the right of Creator, “it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves”; the right of Benefactor, not only in the realm of temporal but of spiritual existence; the right of Redeemer, and this is the greatest claim of all.

Our decision demands declaration. Christ will not have His followers live in secret. In the days in which we live, when there are so many temptations to compromise between the disciples of Jesus and the votaries of the world, there is overwhelming reason why we should take His side. And in that great day, He will take our side and acknowledge us before His Father and the Holy Angels!

O Lord, we acknowledge Thy dominion over us; our life, our death, our soul and body, all belong to Thee. Grant that we may willingly consecrate them all to Thee, and use them in Thy service. AMEN.- F B Meyer

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”- Josh. 24:15

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

MORNING MANNA             12-11-21

THE POWER OF THE WORD

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” —Psalms 119:11 

Noted Bible teacher E. Schuyler English told about a Bible distributor, Michael Billester, who visited a small town in Poland shortly before World War II. Billester gave a Bible to a villager, who was converted after reading it. The new believer then passed the book on to others. This cycle of conversions and sharing of faith continued until 200 people had become believers through that one Bible!

When Billester returned to Poland in 1940, this group of Christians met together for a worship service where he was to preach the Word of God. It was usually his custom to ask for testimonies, but this time Billester suggested that several in the congregation stand and recite verses of Scripture.

One man stood and said, “Perhaps we have misunderstood your request. Do you mean verses or chapters?”

These Polish villagers had not memorized a few select verses of the Bible, but instead whole chapters and books. Thirteen people knew Matthew, Luke, and half of Genesis. And another person had committed the entire book of Psalms to memory. That single copy of the Bible given by Billester to the one new believer had certainly done its work.

In this story, transformed lives bore witness to the power of the Word of God. Are you passionate about learning and memorizing God’s Word? Are you sharing what you know with those who do not know Jesus? 1 John 2:5 says, “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.” Determine today to hide the Word of God in your heart and pass along its truth to those you come in contact with each day.

Ask the Lord to open your heart to His Word so that you can hold tightly to its truth. Pray that He would give you opportunities to share the Bible with others. – Senior Living

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

MORNING MANNA           12-10-21

GOD NEVER FAILS

“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. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.” – Psalm 37:23-26

David certainly lived an eventful life. Again and again he saw God at work to fulfill the promises He had made. Yet God’s goodness and His faithfulness did not mean things were easy. Looking back after many years, David could see how even when things had been at their very worst, God had still been there to help him. In his autobiography describing the miraculous ways God had provided for the orphans under his care, George Müller wrote, “The Lord in His faithfulness helped us. Help was never more truly needed, nor did the help of the Lord ever come more obviously from Himself—His timing could not have been better. Praise the Lord for His goodness! Praise Him that He helped us trust in Him in this trying hour.”

No Christian has ever been abandoned by God. Every Christian goes through trials and difficulties. But those are not in any way evidence that God has failed us or broken His promises. God never forsakes His children. He knows all that is coming before it happens, and nothing touches our lives that has not first passed through His hands. God’s plans for us often can only be understood when we are able to look back on what happened. But no matter whether it is what we would call a good day or a bad day, we can and should trust Him. God was just as faithful to David when he was running for his life as He was when David was defeating Goliath. He never fails to give us what He knows is best. No matter what today may bring, God is in control and He will never let you down. (Daily in the Word)

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

MORNING MANNA           12-9-21

The “All” of Belief

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9:23)

Our unbelief is the greatest hindrance in our way; in fact, there is no other real difficulty as to our spiritual progress and prosperity. The Lord can do everything; but when He makes a rule that according to our faith so shall it be unto us, our unbelief ties the hands of His omnipotence.

Yes, the confederacies of evil shall be scattered if we can but believe. Despised truth shall lift its head if we will but have confidence in the God of truth. We can bear our load of trouble or pass uninjured through the waves of distress if we can gird our loins with the girdle of peace, that girdle which is buckled on by the hands of trust.

What can we not believe? Is everything possible except believing in God? Yet He is always true; why do we not believe in Him? He is always faithful to His word; why can we not trust Him? When we are in a right state of heart, faith costs no effort: it is then as natural for us to rely upon God as for a child to trust his father.

The worst of it is that we can believe God about everything except the present pressing trial. This is folly. Come, my soul, shake off such sinfulness, and trust thy God with the load, the labor, the longing of this present. This done, all is done.- Charles Spurgeon

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