MORNING MANNA. 2/7/20

February 7, 2020 By Pastor David Stone

“Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?”– Jeremiah 23:29

What is needed for the cold spirit and the hard heart? A consuming fire and a hard-hitting hammer. And that is exactly what God says that His word is.

Perhaps you have experienced the warming radiance and the resistance-shattering power of God’s Word. When it is preached, when it is read, when it is sung it is nothing less than the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.

Recognizing this kinetic energy that is contained in the pages of God’s Word, do you take full advantage of this spiritual weapon? Do you strap it on before every battle? Do you ignite your heart with it daily? Do you read it to your children? Do you share it with your friends? Is it your answer to life’s problems, your retreat when you are under attack, your offense against Satan’s dominion?

When the Word of God comes with the Spirit of God to the hearts of God’s people, there is unspeakable, other-worldly power at work. It is an uncontrollable spiritual fire, it is a perfectly weighted hammer in the hand of the great Sculptor. May it defend you today, may it inspire you today, may it engulf you today, may it shape you today. – The Baptist Hour

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

MORNING MANNA 2/6/20

February 6, 2020 By Pastor David Stone

“Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” – Acts 20:31
I introduced my message last Sunday morning by saying, “When you have 8 children, 37 grandkids, several great grandchildren, and a church full of people you care about, someone you love is always in a storm of some sort”. Then I added, “It hurts to see them hurt”. In light of that I want to say, I am deeply concerned about the direction some folks are headed. They might not admit it, they might not even be aware of it, but I see it well.

I can remember when they joined the church and I recall their excitement and commitment. You knew you could count on them to support the church in every way. But then things began to deteriorate. They began to miss services, ignore special activities, lose their zeal, and change their countenance. You can tell things aren’t right but you don’t know exactly what’s wrong. You wonder if you have offended them, or if they are at odds with other members, or going through some difficulty, or if some sin has taken control of their life. You just don’t know and they won’t talk. Slowly, like a slow leak in a tire, you watch their spiritual life deflate. You wonder, pray, and keep hoping things will change, but they don’t.

As a pastor I’ve seen it before and I know it’s not going to end well unless something changes. It literally breaks your heart (although they might think you don’t know or don’t care). Every pastor knows exactly what I’m talking about. And they are overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness as they watch people headed for disaster, seemingly without a care in the world. You might think you can stray away from God and just go so far, but there is more to it than that. Once you leave you can end up in a place you never thought you would be. As you’ve heard, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay”.

Could it be that someone reading this article today is headed in that direction right now? Is it you? You know what I said is true of, yet you keep resisting, ignoring the warnings, and refusing to get things right. I just want you to know that your situation doesn’t go unnoticed and that others care about you. Whatever is wrong can be made right and that could save you a world of heartache. Don’t wait until you’ve done something you can’t undo. It’s time for action. There will never be a better time than now to get back on track. As I’ve quoted George Truett so many times, “God’s will is always right, best, and safest”. That’s true. Do whatever you must and get there. Please! – HDS

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

MORNING MANNA 2/5/20

February 5, 2020 By Pastor David Stone

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” – John 15:5

Having repented and received Christ as our Lord and Savior we are saved–but we are not yet sinless! That day will come because we are “in Christ”, but not until we are “with Christ”. Until then, as greatly as we desire to be like Christ, perfection eludes us. We all fail more than we should. Although we are new creatures in Christ we are far from like Him. We fail many times and in many ways, and there is always a reason.

Sometimes it is because we lag behind the Lord. At other times we impatiently run ahead of Him. And sometimes we actually turn away from the Lord. But in all cases, as different as the details might be, we get away from Him, and that is the cause of our failure–something we need to avoid at all cost. This is cause for serious thought.

Accepting Christ is the only way to salvation (John 14:6) and abiding in Christ is the only way to success (John 15:4-7). He who is our only hope of heaven is also our Helper until we get there, and help is something we all need–all the time. We are so very weak that without Him we can do nothing. That fact ought to humble us. In and of ourselves we have nothing of which to boast. The only good in any person is Christ. And for that we ought to be eternally thankful.

Let us then love Him with all our heart, serve Him with all our strength, glorify Him in all that we do, give to Him all our devotion, trust Him for all our needs, and find our pleasure in pleasing Him. Do these things and you will not fail. In the doing of these things we will be able to keep going and growing regardless of the circumstances. HDS (revised from 8/1/15)

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

MORNING MANNA 2/4/20

February 4, 2020 By Pastor David Stone

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” – Eph. 5:16

What do you think of when you think of something sacred? Perhaps you think about the Holy Bible, or the Lord’s Day, or worship, or Christian Hymns. But have you ever thought of time as something sacred? Or to put it another way, the sacredness of opportunity? That’s exactly what Paul is speaking about in our text. He is telling us to buy up opportunity.

Time marches on, or as the old proverb says, “time waits for no man”. That’s true. I never expected to live as long as I have, but by the grace of God here we are, all in different stages of life, in the year of 2020. And none of us have any idea how much time we have left. Every day is a precious gift from God and we ought to use it wisely. There are two Greek words translated “time”. One has the idea of hour upon hour and day after day – the duration of time. The other, which is used in this verse, has to do with a definite portion of time – a time when something should happen, “the time” as we might say. It’s the same word that that is translated “opportunity” in Gal.6:10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” The idea is that we should make use of every opportunity.

We make a serious mistake when we treat our opportunities with disrespect. Those moments are sacred and should be treated as such. They are divinely ordained appointments for which we are responsible. Don’t misunderstand – that doesn’t mean that we are to be working every moment. There is a time to labor and a time to rest and both are important – both are sacred in the sense that God expects both from us. As we go through life God sets before us opportunities to work, to worship, and to witness, let us walk wisely by doing what God decreed. – HDS

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

MORNING MANNA 2/3/20

February 3, 2020 By Pastor David Stone

“For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” – 1 Cor. 1:11-13

After 53 years in the ministry I have witnessed the danger and destruction of dissension in a church. I can tell you from experience that it is seldom due to doctrinal issues. Most of the time is due to a difference in personality or preferences. This story in Senior Living describes it well —

A man and his wife were walking through a park in Miami one afternoon when they saw a Cuban family enjoying a picnic. The family was tossing scraps of bread to a raccoon and saying repeatedly, “Oye, chico, ven aca” (Come here, boy!).

The man thought for a moment and laughed. He confessed to his wife that his first reaction was, “That’s silly. Raccoons don’t speak Spanish!”

Whatever our background, it’s our nature to see the world through our own experiences. This can sometimes create a problem when well-meaning people from different backgrounds try to resolve conflict, each carrying his or her own assumptions for how the world “should” work.

When we look at much of the disunity in our churches today, this has been the crux of the issue: People from different ages, races, and backgrounds come together with their own ideas of how Christianity works. But the truth is that these ideas are just that… ideas. They’re preferences based on our own life experiences.

To have unity in our churches, we as members must submit our preferences to a simple question: What is the best way to carry out the Great Commandment of loving God and loving people? So instead of just fighting for what seems right to you, question your own assumptions and be part of the conversation for how to move forward in unity!

Ask God to help you see your opinions on non-biblical matters as secondary to unity in the Body of Christ.

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

MORNING MANNA. 2/7/20

MORNING MANNA 2/6/20

MORNING MANNA 2/5/20

MORNING MANNA 2/4/20

MORNING MANNA 2/3/20

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