MORNING MANNA           11-12-21

HE CARES

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.“- 1 Pet. 5:7

Most of you have read this and heard this numerous times, but when your problems pile up sky high and your pain torments you, your family disappoints you and your friends forsake you, it might seem that no one cares. You might even feel that God has forgotten about you. You feel all alone as you struggle with a situation that seems impossible. 

It’s then that you must remember that we walk by faith, not by sight. Appearances can be deceiving and without God in the picture we are sure to fail. To get God in the picture we must turn to the Word of God, the foundation of our faith. When we turn to God’s infallible word in search of hope we can do so with confidence because we know it is true. And based upon that fact we can build our faith and renew our hope, and destroy our fears.

God has given us many precious promises upon which we can rely, and we know that He cannot lie (Tit. 1:2). But there is no path to peace for those who don’t know the promises or those who refuse to believe them. 

On the other hand, if we truly believe the Bible and that God cares for us and, contrary to how it seems, that He will provide for us, we will have a peace that passeth all understanding. God has given us all we need to survive our situation and profit from our problems. Therefore we ought to do as He commands – “casting all your care upon him.”

I can’t do it for you and God won’t force you to do it. It is your choice. You can continue to struggle under your heavy burdens or you can, by faith, cast them upon the Lord. Perhaps you’re saying, “Preacher, I don’t know how to do that”. If that’s the case I leave you with this advice from Phil. 4:6-7 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”. “Looking unto Jesus” ( Heb.12:2) changes the way we look at everything else. – HDS

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

MORNING MANNA            11-11-21

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

MORNING MANNA           11-10-21

MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM

“ And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”- Matt. 24:12

One of the laws that operates in the physical realm is that things tend to lose momentum or unwind or burn out. That is not a scientific statement of the law, but it gives the general idea.

We are told, for instance, that the sun is burning at a furious rate, and that although it can continue for a long time, its time-span is declining.

Bodies age, die and return to dust. A pendulum set in motion by hand slows down and then stops. We wind a clock or watch and soon it needs to be rewound. Hot water cools off to room temperature. Metals tarnish and grow dim. Colors fade. Nothing lasts indefinitely and there is no perpetual motion. Change and decay affect everything.

The world itself grows old. Speaking of the heavens and the earth, the Scripture says, “They shall perish; but thou (God’s Son) remainest: and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed”.

Unfortunately there seems to be a similar principle in the spiritual realm. It is true of individuals, churches, movements and institutions.

Even if a person begins the Christian life brilliantly, there is always the danger of zeal abating, of power subsiding and of vision ebbing. We grow weary, complacent, cold and old.

The same is true of churches. Many have started on the crest of a great movement of the Holy Spirit. The fire continues to burn brightly for years. Then decline sets in. The church leaves its first love. The honeymoon is over. Evangelistic fervor gives way to routine services. Doctrinal purity may be sacrificed for a worthless unity. At last an empty building is a silent witness that the glory has departed.

Movements and institutions are subject to decay. They may start off as mighty evangelistic outreaches, then become so engrossed in social work that the Gospel is largely neglected. Or they may begin with the enthusiasm and spontaneity of the Spirit, then lapse into cold ritual and formality. We need to guard against spiritual decline. We need to experience what Norman Grubb calls continuous revival. We need to “maintain the spiritual glow.”- William MacDonald

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

MORNING MANNA            11-9-21

The Magnitude of Grace

My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Our weakness should be prized as making room for divine strength. We might never have known the power of grace if we had not felt the weakness of nature. Blessed be the Lord for the thorn in the flesh, and the messenger of Satan, when they drive us to the strength of God.

This is a precious word from our Lord’s own lip. It has made the writer laugh for joy. God’s grace enough for me! I should think it is. Is not the sky enough for the bird and the ocean enough for the fish? The All-Sufficient is sufficient for my largest want. He who is sufficient for earth and heaven is certainly able to meet the case of one poor worm like me.

Let us, then, fall back upon our God and His grace. If He does not remove our grief, He will enable us to bear it. His strength shall be poured into us till the worm shall thresh the mountains, and nothing shall be victor over all the high and mighty ones. It is better for us to have God’s strength than our own; for if we were a thousand times as strong as we are, it would amount to nothing in the face of the enemy; and if we could be weaker than we are, which is scarcely possible, yet we could do all things through Christ.- Charles Spurgeon

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

MORNING MANNA          11-8-21

COMMITMENT THAT COUNTS
“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”– Psalms 37:5

This is one of my favorite psalms. It is a prime example of why the Psalms are so helpful and loved. In these troublesome times in which we live you ought to spend much time reading and studying every word and phrase in this Psalm. And in light of what it says you ought to do as it commands – “Commit thy way unto the LORD”.

Considering God’s goodness and greatness He is worthy of our love, trust, and obedience. He demands and deserves our total devotion. Therefore we ought to commit ourselves completely to Him regardless of circumstances, cost, or consequences. And we should do so without any hesitation, reservation, limitation, or question.

That’s the only way we can cope with this corrupt cruel world in which we live. We can rely upon God’s precepts and rest upon His precious promises – knowing that He cannot err or lie. Our focus should be on faithfully following God throughout life. Choosing any other course doesn’t make sense.

In this Psalm God sets before us an abundance of delightful possibilities. But we must respond to what He has revealed if we are to possess what He promised. Refusing to do so leaves only us to blame. To ignore such priceless treasure is foolish. Would a starving man reject bread? Why then would you refuse to partake of what God alone can provide?

Each promise is like a gold nugget with which you can purchase peace for your troubled heart. Those who commit their way to the Lord can cease from struggling and “Wait on the LORD, and keep his way” (vs. 34), and watch God work – doing things they thought were impossible. And they do it simply “because they trust him” ( vs. 40). Do you? – HDS

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