“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” – Gal. 6:2

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,” – Phil. 1:3

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word of God..'” –Luke 4:4

There’s a story ( from Senior Living) about an old man who lived in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning, the grandfather would sit at the kitchen table and read from his worn-out Bible. Wanting to be just like his grandfather, the young boy would imitate him by reading his own Bible.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandfather, I try to read the Bible just like you, but I don’t understand it. When I do understand it, I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?”

The grandfather simply replied, “Son, take this old wicker coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, but the water leaked out of the basket before he could get back to the house. The grandfather sent him back three more times and told him to move faster each time. Every time, the frustrated boy returned with an empty basket.

Finally, out of breath, the young boy said to his grandfather, “See…it’s useless!”

The old man said, “Look at the basket. Instead of a dirty old wicker coal basket, it’s now clean. Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand it or remember everything you read, but when you do, it will change you from the inside out.”

As believers in Christ in a fallen world, you and I must saturate our hearts and minds with the Word of God every day. Just like the young boy above, it may seem that we can’t retain or comprehend everything we read. But remember that God uses His Word to change us from the inside out!

Make a commitment to the Lord to study His Word faithfully each day. And pray that He will use the Scripture to cleanse you and make you more like Jesus.

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

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” – Rom. 12:18

The nearer we draw to the heart of God the less taste we will have for controversy. The peace we know in God’s bosom is so sweet that it is but natural that we want to keep it unbroken to enjoy as fully and as long as possible. The Spirit-filled Christian is never a good fighter. He is at too many disadvantages. The enemy is always better at invective than he will allow himself to be. The devil has all the picturesque epithets, and his followers have no conscience about using them. The Christian is always more at home, blessing than he is opposing. He is, moreover, much thinner-skinned than his adversaries. He shrinks from an angry countenance and draws back from bitter words. They are symbols of a world he has long ago forsaken for the quiet of the kingdom of God where love and good will prevail. All this is in his favor, for it marks him out as a man in whom there is no hate and who earnestly desires to live at peace with all men. In spite of his sincere longing for peace, however, there will be times when he dare not allow himself to enjoy it. There are times when it is a sin to be at peace. There are circumstances when there is nothing to do but to stand up and vigorously oppose. To wink at iniquity for the sake of peace is not a proof of superior spirituality; it is rather a sign of a reprehensible timidity which dare not oppose sin for fear of the consequences. For it will cost us heavily to stand for the right when the wrong is in the majority, which is 100 percent of the time. – A W Tozer

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

MORNING MANNA            1-26-21

PERPETUAL PRAISE

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised– Psalm 113:3

As you know we are more prone to ask God for something than we are to thank Him for what we have, and we are more likely to thank God for what He has done than to praise Him for who He is. That just goes to show that even when we do something we should we often allow the good to crowd out the best. There is no higher occupation of the soul than to praise God – glorifying Him because of who He is. Nothing pleases  God more, nor benefits us greater than that.

Commenting on this verse an article from the Baptist Bible Hour says:

No matter where you come from, where you live, or where your life may take you, your purpose is the same — to praise the Lord in all you do, say, and think. From the place of the sunrise, to the horizon where it sets, God is worthy of adoration.

And he deserves our honor no matter the time of day or night. When we are commuting to work in the morning, changing diapers during the day, or doing homework at night we are to do all to the glory of our Savior. May never a day pass that we have not done something to consciously advance the fame of Jesus Christ.

But his name is also to be praised at every stage of life. If you are young and energetic, in the “morning” of your life, God is due your obedience and worship. If you are nearing the sunset of your life, then you have an increasingly powerful witness, as God more and more shows his strength in your weakness.

There is no place, no time, no stage in life in which our great concern should not be to bring glory to our Maker and Savior. Will you praise him right now, right here, in this time of your life and in the place that God has uniquely positioned you for his glory? 

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.