MORNING MANNA                 11-23-24

“NOT NOW—HEREAFTER”

”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, 11-19-10 

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

MORNING MANNA             11-22-24

HOW IS YOUR DIET?

“—-I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” -Job 23:12 

I read about a fellow who bought a book on healthy living and set out to live a more healthy lifestyle. Immediately he threw out any food that wasn’t on the designated list. He stopped eating anything green, because he read that they were associated with certain diseases. He rejected anything grown in the ground because he feared that pesticides and other chemicals would affect his health. 

Although he didn’t have much of a selection he stuck to the rules stipulated in the diet. In a few weeks the man noticed a drastic drop in his energy level and other health related issues. In a state of confusion he went to the doctor. When the doc asked,”What do you eat each day?”, he explained his new diet. The doctor replied,”You cannot function on little or no food every day. You need food to feed your body.” 

The same thing is true spiritually. When you deprive yourself of the nourishment derived from God’s Word your spiritual health will suffer, and that can affect you adversely in every other way. You simply cannot neglect God’s Word and remain spiritually healthy. So, how is your diet? Do you regularly feed on God’s Word? Do you spend quality time alone with God, drawing upon His strength? If not, why don’t you stop what you’re doing and plan a course of action. Set a time when you be alone and prayerfully consider what portion of God’s Word you will study. Then stick with it. You will be glad you did!

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, TX

MORNING MANNA              11-21-24

STANDING ON THE SHORE

   As you stand on the shore of the ocean, looking out over the great expanse, you can’t tell where the sea ends and the sky begins. The view is breathtaking. It leaves you speechless. The surging of the mighty waves tells you that it is powerful. Just a glance tells you that it is mysterious. The sheer magnitude of it convinces you that there is far more than you can see with the natural eye.

   So it is with the love of God. As the song -writer said, it “is greater far than tongue or pen could ever tell”. His infinite love is beyond comprehension or description. His love is unconditional, everlasting, powerful, and transforming. It fills our mind with wonder and our heart with joy. It steadies our trembling hands as we grapple with the difficulties of life. It quickens our step as we walk the pathway of duty. It brightens our day when we are lonely and helps us along the way when we are weary.

   We compose sermons, songs, and poems about it, but when all is said and done we know the half has not been told. We know that we are merely standing on the shore and there is more, much more, that we cannot see. It is deeper, wider, longer, and more powerful than we can conceive. It, as Paul said, “passeth knowledge” ( Ephesians 3:19). But our lack of understanding doesn’t diminish from our enjoyment of God’s love, we marvel all the more. We benefit immensely although we are just standing on the shore! —HDS, 7-21-2007

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church  

Humble,Tx.

MORNING MANNA            11-20-24

Can All Religions Be True?
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬ ‭

A story is told about two men who lived in a small village and got into a terrible dispute that neither of them could resolve. So one night, the first man went to the town sage and told him his version of the story. When he was finished, the sage said, “You’re absolutely right.”

The next night, the second man went to the sage and told his side of the story. After he’d said his piece, the sage told him, “You’re absolutely right.”

When the second man left, the sage’s wife scolded her husband. “These two men told you different stories, and you told them both they were right. They can’t both be absolutely right!

”The sage turned to his wife and said, “You’re absolutely right.”

In this day and age, more and more people are choosing consensus over truth. Even many spiritual leaders today validate every system of belief as separate paths to God. But the reality is if two people say very opposite things about God, they can’t both be right!

Jesus is so different than any other spiritual leader. He didn’t come to show the way; He came to be the Way. Trust in Him alone.

Ask God to confirm in your heart that Jesus is the only way to the Father and thank Him for providing a way.- Senior Living

David Stone   

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA            11-19-24
DO YOU LOVE GOD?

Do you love God? Wait a minute–not so fast! I mean do you really love God? I don’t mean do you talk about it, or sing about it, or brag about it–do you do it? Next question–How do you know you love God? Because you say so? Because you “feel” it? Because you attend church, etc.? How do you know you love God? I’m not going to try to answer those questions for you, but I hope you will. I’m not looking for a confession to me and  I’m not making an accusation against you. I’m not even seeking an answer. I simply want you to think about this. 

Maybe another question will help. How important is this question? Jesus gave us the answer–“This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22:38). So, if we fail here here we have failed altogether. This is the most basic fundamental duty of man. It doesn’t get anymore important than this. This is the cure for the ills of society. When a person truly loves God it changes him and it shows. It impacts all of our relationships. Nothing else compares to the importance of loving God and nothing can compensate for a lack of it. You can be the most religious person on earth, but it’s all in vain if you don’t love God. You can heap up treasures until you have no more room to store your possessions, be listed in “Who’s Who?”, travel around the world seeing all the wonders, have your name up in lights, be admired by millions, and still not be a success. If you don’t love God your life can be described in one word chiseled on your tombstone-“FAILURE”. That tells it all. If you fail to love God you are a failure. It might be that none of this matters to you, you don’t feel the least bit interested in loving God. You aren’t concerned about what He thinks, but all that will change someday. Each of us are accountable to God. None of us can escape our responsibility to love Him.

What you do is your choice, but when you refuse to obey the first and great commandment you are making the worst decision of your life. You need to think about that.  HDS

David Stone 

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble, TX