“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭29‬-‭31‬ ‭

We all need strength. Life is tough, our enemies are many and mighty, our duties are difficult, and the flesh is frail—we need strength! Fortunately God promises and provides what we need. One of the most precious of God’s many promises is found in Isaiah 40:29-31.

In the face of our grievous problems we see God’s glorious promise and gracious provision of strength. Those who “wait upon the Lord”–submissively, prayerfully, attentively, and expectantly, “shall renew their strength”. The result is three-fold. Those who exchange their weakness for God’s strength shall:

1. “mount up with wings as eagles”. They are enabled to rise above the circumstances, do the impossible, and meet the extra-ordinary!
2. “run and not be weary”–enabled to fulfill their crucial duties, the obligations that call for diligence and haste.
3. “walk, and not faint’–enabled to bear up under the daily grind or ordinary usual things of life.

It is for this reason the the famous missionary Hudson Taylor said,” God’s work, done in God’s way, by those in God’s will, never lack God’s supply”. Dear friend you might not be a famous missionary, but if you are a child of God in the will God you can rest assured that God will give you the strength to conquer your enemies, cope with your trials, and complete your duties. He who is able will enable you–so much so that you will not lack any good thing! As the storms rage around you, calm your trembling soul by resting upon His “exceeding great and precious promises”. They will not fail you!- HDS, 11-5-12

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

MORNING MANNA                       2-19-25
THE TREASURE IN TRIALS
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficent for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 

Make no mistake about it–this will be a difficult day for some folks! Different people will face different difficulties: poor health, loss of goods, domestic difficulties, separation from a loved one, the loss of a loved one, temptation, failure, sin, difficult duties, etc. Numerous things bring us pain. And that threatens our peace and joy. These painful experiences cause us to cry out to God for help–that’s when we find sustaining grace! 
It is at this point that we discover the treasure of our trials. Although the pain remains, we find grace for our grief. We discover the presence of God in our problem, and out of our weakness we receive strength for the struggle. 

That’s what happened with the apostle Paul. And his God is your God–and He has not changed! Mark it down–He will be there in your hour of need just as He was with the aged apostle in his affliction. 

God’s promise to the prophet Isaiah may be claimed by all of God’s obedient children–“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10 Rest assured that God’s grace will be sufficent for whatever you face. He will not fail you! 11-24-12

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

MORNING MANNA               2-18-25
THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT
“—- the God of all comfort.” 2 Corinthians 1:3

Of all the names and titles assigned to God this has to be one of the most lovely and cheering. The very thought of it cheers our heart because sooner or later we all need comfort. We live in a troublesome world where we face many trials, tribulations and temptations. But we can be made cheerful and courageous by being confident that God comforts His children. He is not just ever aware of our needs, He is completely capable and forever faithful in meeting them. How can we not be cheered by a fact so glorious as that?

Take careful note of the little word,”all”. It is big in meaning. It reminds us that there are no limitations nor exceptions. God is the sole and sufficient source of our comfort. God is always up to the task, no matter what the circumstances might be. Of that truth we must be convinced. We are never at liberty to say God has lied, failed or deceived us. The comfort He promises He will provide. But, that isn’t always automatic. We must appropriate what God makes available if we are to experience what He desires and we need.

The chief way we do this is through His Word. It informs our mind, increases our faith,and inspires our heart.It is designed to give us the hope of help or the help of hope– however you want to look at it. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”–Romans 15:4. Out of many years of experience and observation I can tell you with certainty that God comforts His children.- HDS, 10-30-12

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

“Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” John 13:7 

Although the Lord was speaking to Peter, He just as well could be speaking to all of us. Things happen that we don’t understand, and we often complain. We ask,”Why this?”, “Why me?”, “Why now?”. We believe the cup of our circumstances should have been less bitter, the gravity of our trials less severe, the road of our life less rough, the days of our journey less dreary. Our complaint seems reasonable–to us.

 If this describes you, take this as a censure from the Lord and stop complaining. We should trust Him rather than question Him. However, we should also think of this as a word of consolation. The promise “thou shalt know hereafter” should encourage us. Our trials are not without purpose. Everything happens for a reason. The revelation will reveal the reason and, believe it or not, will lead to our rejoicing, because we will see that He does all things well. 

Another factor is this–“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”(Ecc.3:1). Some of you have been living with mysteries since childhood and you wonder why a God of love would allow horrible and painful things to happen. Could not an all-powerful God have intervened and stopped it? Would not a loving God have prevented it? Why didn’t He? We don’t know–“not now”, and God isn’t talking. For some reason, a good reason, God is content to leave us confused, but only for the time being. You see, God has a plan, and He also gives us a promise–“thou shalt know hereafter”. 

As difficult and unpleasant as it might be we must wait. What else can you do? We must wait until the dark clouds have rolled away and the sunshine of God’s promise reveals the reason why. “Be patient” is the command (James 5:7). Why shouldn’t we? 

Would you criticize the artist when he is only half-finished with his picture, or the sculptor when he is still in the process of molding the clay, or the poet before he has finished arranging the words of his composition? Why then do we criticize God? His work in our life isn’t finished and it’s unfair to condemn Him while He is yet at work. In His own good time He will lift the veil so that we can see. In that day we will sit at His feet and, with great joy, listen as He explains the deep things of God. There will be no complaints then–there should be none now. 

However, in some instances we won’t have to wait until the dawn of eternity breaks. There are times when when the mysteries are unravelled before our very eyes, while we yet walk upon the earth. One such case was that of Jacob, who once said,”all these things are against me”(Gen. 42:36), only to later discover that those “things” were actually working for him, leading him to an abundance of provision. Dear friend those “things” that trouble you are actually working for you also. To see how, we have to wait until “hereafter”. –HDS 

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

MORNING MANNA         2/15/25

THE DAY OF SALVATION

“…..now is the day of salvation”. – 2 Cor. 6:2

It’s common to hear people ask “What day is this?”. They are usually enquiring about the day of the week or month, but there are designations for other days that are often mentioned– birthday, the Lord’s day, Presidents day, Valentine day, etc. But there is one day that stands head and shoulders above all others–“the day of salvation“. Regardless of what other day it might be, the day of salvation is the greatest day of our life.

The grace of God has made this day possible and the goodness of God draws us to it (Rom. 2:4). Due to the sacrifice of Christ this could be the day of salvation for whosoever will believe. It is the day when our sins are forgiven, spiritual life is imparted, we are reconciled to God, accepted by God, peace is imparted, hope is secured, and heaven is assured. It is no wonder that Paul says, “behold“. He is calling for our attention, and nothing deserves our attention more than this. Even if a man gains the whole world he loses all if he loses his own soul.

Notice also that “behold” is followed by “now“– “now is the day of salvation“. That sets before us an open door of opportunity, but there is no promise of tomorrow. Regardless of what else is going on in your life “now” is the time to be saved. Being offered something so glorious why would you want to delay another day– or even another second? Seize the moment! Receive the gift. Experience salvation. Rejoice with gladness. Rest in peace. This day could be your day of greatest delight.

No greater invitation has ever been given. No greater opportunity has ever come. But there is more to it than that. God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” ( Acts 17:30). You will either repent and receive Christ as your Redeemed or live in rebellion and suffer the results. You will either be saved or separated from God for eternity. The choice is yours. And you should make it “now” . There is no promise of tomorrow. Delay is dangerous and can be deadly. The “acceptable time” will not last forever. It is God, not we, who sets the terms and time. Don’t waste the day of grace!- HDS

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