MORNING MANNA                5-1-25

CHRIST NOT FAITH

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ 

Salvation comes “through faith”, but some have erred by putting their faith in faith, rather than in Christ. Rather than trust the work of Christ on Calvary, they depend on their choice to save them. That is no better than wishful thinking– it won’t get you to heaven. Some sad souls know nothing about the person and work of Christ yet they profess to be Christians because from among all the religions they have made that their choice. But saving faith is based on Christ, not confidence in our choice. Believing you are a millionaire doesn’t make you one, nor does faith in faith make you a believer in Christ.

Horatius Bonar wrote:”Faith is not our saviour. It was not faith that was born at Bethlehem and died on Golgotha for us. It was not faith that loved us, and gave itself for us; that bore our sins in its own body on the tree; that died and rose again for our sins. Faith is one thing, the Saviour is another. Faith is one thing, and the cross is another. Let us not confound them, nor ascribe to a poor, imperfect act of man, that which belongs exclusively to the Son of the Living God.”

Jesus made that clear when He said,”I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬. When Christ is the object of our faith it is not a matter of whether our faith is perfect in every way, it is enough to provide eternal life. It is Christ, not confidence, that is our Savior. He saves all those who put their faith in the sacrifice He made for them on the cross. Believing He will do as He promised gives us assurance of salvation. He can’t lie and He never fails. If you haven’t, I pray you will trust Him today. Doing so will put an end to your doubt and confusion. – HDS

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

MORNING MANNA                    4-30-25
FLOWERS AT YOUR FEET
“God—giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”– 1 Tim. 6:17

Someone, wiser than most, wrote, “Stretching out his hand to catch the stars—man forgets the flowers at his feet–so beautiful, so fragrant, so multitudious and so various”. That writer was smart enough to realize that great joy can be found in the simple things of life– if we but focus on them.

The problem is that the stars twinkle, gold glitters, praise feeds our ego, and these things can distract us from “the flowers at our feet”. That’s why so many are attracted to the “greener grass” on the other side of the fence. We would be better off to consider what God has placed at our feet— gifts to make us glad.

Dear friend, there are blessing all around us, precious treasures, priceless gifts from God–ignore them not! The patter of little feet running through the house, the embrace of a loved one, the kiss from your spouse, the smile of a friend, a beautiful sunset, these are common, but of great value. Life wouldn’t be the same without them. Slow down, look around, learn to enjoy the flowers at your feet.

Several years ago, after I conducted the funeral service of a teenage boy killed in a car wreck, we met at the parents home for a meal. After we had eaten the father asked me to take a walk with him. As we walked around the farm he started crying and said, “Bro. Stone I’ve been so busy making a living that I never took time to enjoy what I had and now it’s too late. I’m going to stop and smell the roses from now on.” We all need to do that. Paul said, “God—giveth us richly all things to enjoy”(1 Tim. 6:17). Learn to enjoy the flowers at your feet and you’ll never be unhappy a day of your life.- HDS

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

MORNING MANNA                  4-29-25
COUNT IT ALL JOY
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” James 1:2-3

It sounds unreasonable and impossible, but as believers we are commanded to “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations”. We see the reason for this only if we consider the result— “the trying of your faith worketh patience”. Your calamity can create Christian character. God gives this command because He knows, given a choice, we would never choose the road that leads to difficulty and pain. We want ease and comfort. We would take the easy route and miss out on the benefit that can only come from hard trials. So, God lets us know that we have a responsibility to “count it all joy”. He doesn’t ask our permission before He allows these things to come into our lives. He knows we need them and He appoints or allows them without any invitation. And He expects us to receive them without complaint.

Although our trials aren’t pleasant, knowing that God has a reason for them, a reason in our best interest, we should do as He commands– “count it all joy”. But, I must warn you, this isn’t easy— you’re going to need help. The good news is that the same God who allows these things to come and commands us to count it all joy, also enables us to do it. Although it seems unreasonable and impossible, His grace will be sufficient. When we put Him first and yield ourselves to His control He enables us to do what we never could do on our own.

Whether we succeed at this or not depends on what we consider to be most important. Warren Wiersbe wrote: “Our values determine our evaluations. If we value comfort more than character, then trials will upset us. If we value the material and physical more than the spiritual, we will not be able to ‘count it all joy!’. If we live only for the present and forget about the future, the trials will make us bitter, not better”.

So the question is— what do you value most? If glorifying God by being conformed to the image of Christ is your greatest desire, as it should be, then you will consider your trials to be friends rather than foes. You will be able to rejoice because you see them as the means to the end. You know that the experience may be grievous, but the end will be glorious! – HDS

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

Queen Victoria stopped one day at a paper-mill near Windsor Castle, and was shown through it by the foreman. He did not know who she was, as she was alone and was plainly dressed. The queen was intensely interested in every process of the paper-maker’s art. She was conducted at last to a place where a number of rag-pickers were emptying out the dirty rags which they had gathered from the gutters and alleys of the great city. There was a large pile of these filthy, blackened rags, which looked as if they never could be made clean. The queen asked the foreman what he would do with these. To her amazement, he told her that he would make them into the finest, whitest paper.

When the queen had gone, the foreman learned who she was. Some days after, there was received at the palace–a package of the purest, most delicate paper, having the queen’s likeness stamped upon it, with a note from the foreman of the mill, telling her that this paper was made from the very rags she had seen on her visit!

In the same way, the Holy Spirit takes human lives, ruined and blackened by sin–makes them whiter than snow, and stamps upon them the holy image of Jesus!

No life is hopeless in its ruin, which the transforming grace of God renews.

God can take the most sin-soiled soul, and give to it radiant beauty!- J.R. Miller

MORNING MANNA                4-26-25
DON’T QUIT
Words are powerful! Over the years I’ve been blessed and encouraged by many poems, songs, etc. I wish people today would spend more time reading things that are helpful. Too often folks get discouraged and quit, not because of the severity of their problem, but because they take no steps to help themselves. Please, take time to encourage yourself by reading good literature. It cannot take the place of the Bible, but can be helpful when life is hard. 
These simple words of Winston Churchhill inspired a nation and millions since: “Never give up!” If the truth were known something inspired him. Who knows it might have been this little poem by an unknown writer that I have kept pasted in my Bible for many years. You’ve probably heard it, but it might be helpful to read it again: 

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!

 

My dear friend, that’s good advice. Regardless of the nature of your problem, the power of your enemy, the odds against you, the obstacles before you, the failures behind you, the injustices toward you, or the pain within you –Don’t quit!  – HDS

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