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

Well over 50 years ago I read Spurgeon’s sermon,  “THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE”. Below is an excerpt of that message.

We seldom learn much except as it is beaten into us by the rod, in Christ’s school-house, under Madam Trouble.You, believer, have very special comfort in all your trouble.You have this sweet reflection- that there is no curse in your cross.The cross may be very heavy, especially while it is green, and our shoulders unused to carrying it; but remember, though there may be a ton-weight of sorrow in it, there is not a single ounce of the curse in it.

God does never punish his children in the sense of avenging justice. He chastens as a father does his child, but he does never punish his redeemed ones as a judge does a criminal. It would be unjust to exact punishment from redeemed souls since Christ has been punished in their place and stead. How shall the Lord punish twice for one offense? If Christ took my sins and stood as my substitute, then there is no wrath of God for me; and though my cup may be bitter, yet there cannot be a single drop of the wormwood of Almighty wrath in it. I may have to smart, but it will never be beneath the lictor’s rods of justice, but under the Parent’s rod of wisdom.

O Christian, how sweet this ought to be to you! A God of love inflicts our sorrows! He is as good when he chastens as when he caresses! There is no more wrath in his afflicting providences than in his deeds of bounty. God may seem unkind to unbelief, but faith can always see love in his heart.Strike, Lord, if you will, now that you have heard the Savior’s plea and justified our souls.

Consider everything that you have to suffer as the appointment of wisdom, ruled by love, and you will rejoice in all your tribulation, knowing that it shall reveal to you the loving-kindness and wisdom of your God.You have this comfort, that your trials work your lasting good by bringing you nearer and nearer to your God.

Some Christians have their trials in the shape of sickness.They drag about with them a diseased body all their lives; or they are suddenly cast upon the bed of sickness, and they toss to and fro by night and by day in pain and weariness.This is God’s medicine; and when God’s children have it,let them not think it is sent to kill them, but to heal them.

MORNING MANNA             12-27-24

THE END THAT IS NOT THE END

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”‭‭Heb. ‭9‬:‭27‬ 

‭In light of that verse, Tom Goodman wrote: “To be a truly happy person, one must contemplate death five times daily.” 

Five times a day she began to get a notification: “Don’t forget, you are going to die.” The reminders popped up on her phone randomly and unexpectedly. 

Just like death. 

By the fourth week with the app, she said she noticed her perspective on life changing. For example, nervous before a speech, her phone pinged. She looked down at the screen and the notification said, “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” And she thought, What’s a little public speaking next to the terrifying finality of my inevitable demise? Or, when she was at a friend’s wedding but distracted by a work deadline, she got the notification: “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” She decided to quit worrying about the deadline and enjoy the party. Often the WeCroak notice interrupted her while she was aimlessly scrolling through social media, which would provoke her to get engaged in something more meaningful. 

The last thing Jesus said to Simon Peter in the Gospel of John was how he was going to die. But it was the risen Christ who told him this. Jesus was on the other side of that experience himself, victoriously alive! Thus, our Lord’s reminder of our limited lives has a different quality to it when compared to other wisdom teachers. Every other wisdom tradition says you can live a more meaningful life by considering death. But Jesus says you can live a more meaningful life by considering eternity.

Peter knew his earthly life would have a bitter end and then he would rise to a forever joy with the Lord who loved him. That knowledge changed the way Peter made his decisions, chose his priorities, and faced his hardships. 

Note: In light of all that I want to say this – Can you imagine how horrible it would be if you never died? What if you had to go on and on with ever increasing weakness, pain, and suffering – never experiencing the joy of heaven? That would be like hell on earth. Thank God “to die is gain”(Phil.1:21). – HDS

David Stone 

Lakeway Baptist Church  

Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA               12-26-24

DROP THE DOUBT

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and, let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

When I say,”Peace is possible” I know that many will doubt what I say–after all, they doubt what God says, and therein lies the problem. The facts seem so contrary to their feelings that they find it difficult to believe otherwise. And their spirit of despondency is like a ball and chain, holding them back and dragging them down.

An unknown writer said it well: “There are weights which are not sins in themselves, but which become distractions and stumbling blocks in our Christian progress. One of the worst of these is despondency. The heavy heart is indeed a weight that will surely drag us down in our holiness and usefulness.

The failure of Israel to enter the land of promise began in murmuring—– Just a faint desire to complain and be discontented. This led on until it blossomed and ripened into rebellion and ruin. Let us give ourselves no liberty ever to doubt God or His love and faithfulness to us in everything and forever.

We can set our will against doubt just as we do against any other sin; and as we stand firm and refuse to doubt, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid and give us the faith of God and crown us with victory.

It is very easy to fall into the habit of doubting, fretting, and wondering if God has forsaken us and if after all our hopes are to end in failure. Let us refuse to be discouraged. Let us refuse to be unhappy. Let us ‘count it all joy’ when we cannot feel one emotion of happiness. Let us rejoice by faith, by resolution, by reckoning, and we shall surely find that God will make the reckoning real.–” 4-18-10

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

MORNING MANNA              12-25-24

4CHRIST THE KING

“When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:9–11

In 1739 Charles Wesley wrote a new poem to be sung at a Christmas service. He wanted to focus on the amazing news that the angels brought to the shepherds on the first Christmas night—that the baby born in Bethlehem was so much more than just another child. His original composition was later edited by George Whitefield until it took the form and the words that we know today as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord
Late in time behold Him come,
Off-spring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail, the incarnate deity
Pleased as Man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King!”

When the wise men reached Bethlehem, they acknowledged Jesus as being worthy of great respect, not only with the gifts they had brought but by kneeling down before Him. The expression they used in seeking Jesus, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2) is not normal. The child of a king is a prince at birth, not yet a king in his own right. However from the moment of His birth, Jesus was rightly recognized as the great King. He did not claim the rights and privileges of kingship, choosing instead to be born into a poor and humble family, but that lack of outward prestige did not change His true nature.  

We cannot properly celebrate Christmas without properly worshiping the Christ of Christmas.- Daily in the Word.

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,TX