MORNING MANNA          11-18-24

Blogger Tim Challies wrote: Some of my favorite poems are those that pick up on one particularly important line and then repeat it throughout, thus consistently building upon a theme. This is the case with an old poem titled “When I Get to the End of the Way.” The poet looks forward to the end of her journey through life–to the end of her way. In one collection I’ve seen it attributed to H. Cole, in another to simply B. P. C., and in another Margaret Baker Culp. Either way, I hope you find it encouraging.

My life is a wearisome journey,
I’m sick with the dust and the heat,
The rays of the sun beat upon me,
The briars are wounding my feet.
But the city to which I am journeying,
Will more than my trials repay,
All the toils of the road will seem nothing,
When I get to the end of the way.

There are so many hills to climb upward,
I often am longing for rest,
But He who appoints me my pathway,
Knows just what is needful and best.
I know in his word he has promised,
That my strength shall be as my day,
And the toils of the road will seem nothing,
When I get to the end of the way.

He loves me too well to forsake me,
Or give me one trial too much,
All his people have been dearly purchased,
And Satan can never claim such.
By and by I shall see him and praise him,
In the city of unending day,
And the toils of the road will seem nothing,
When I get to the end of the way.

When the last feeble step has been taken,
And the gates of the city appear,
When the beautiful songs of the angels,
Float out on my listening ear.
When all that now seems so mysterious,
Shall be plain and as clear as the day,
Then the toils of the road will seem nothing,
As I get to the end of the way.

Though now I am footsore and weary,
I shall rest when I’m safely at home,
I know I’ll receive a glad welcome,
For the Savior himself has said Come.
So when I am weary in body,
And sinking in spirit I say,
All the toils of the road will seem nothing,
When I get to the end of the way.

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

MORNING MANNA             11-17-24

WE CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE

Nearly every Christian thinks about the song “Amazing Grace” when they hear the name of John Newton. However they have never read his “Letters” or articles. They have been a blessing to me and the following is an example. I hope it helps.- HDS

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”‭‭1 Cor.‭2‬:‭9‬ ‭

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

MORNING MANNA             11-16-24

WAKING UP IN HEAVEN

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Cor.5:8

It is wonderful that believers living upon the earth can have such blessed confidence as to face death without fear. They see heaven as all gain and no loss, the beginning rather than the end. Now if that is true of those yet bound to this planet, just think how those in heaven must feel! For us it is anticipation, for them it is actuality. They have entered into their inheritance and are present with the Lord. It doesn’t get any better than that!

As Christians we don’t fret about going to heaven, but some do fear the death experience itself. “Will it hurt?”, is the question most on our mind. God, however, has taken care of that also. As this story shows–for the child of God there is nothing to fear. Your dear departed loved one didn’t suffer and neither will you. Think about it like this:

Peter Marshall tells the story of a young boy about four years old who had a terminal disease. At first he was simply sick and in bed and didn’t understand his condition, but eventually he realized that he wasn’t going to get better and would never again play with his friends. One morning he asked his mother, “Am I going to die?” And she said, “Yes, dear.” “Mommy, what is death like? Will it hurt?” The mother ran out of the room to the kitchen and leaned against the refrigerator, her knuckles gripped white to keep from crying. She prayed and asked the Lord to give her an answer for her son. Suddenly, an idea came and she went back to his room and sat down on the bed. “Do you remember how you used to play outside all day and when you came inside at night you were so tired you just fell down on the couch and slept? In the morning you woke up in your own bed. During the night your father would come along and pick you up and carry you to your own bed. That’s what death is like. One night you lie down and go to sleep and your Heavenly Father picks you up and carries you to your own bed. In the morning when you wake up, you’re in your own room in heaven.” The little boy smiled and nodded. And several weeks later he died peacefully. That’s what death is like for the Christian. Satan’s hold is broken. The fear is taken away. Jesus came to break the bondage of death. Amen. HDS

For the Christian death is good-night down here and good-morning up there!

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, TX

MORNING MANNA           11-15-24

Unanswered Prayer 

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭

Sometimes we want answers and God isn’t talking. Sometimes we experience “needs” and God isn’t giving. How do you explain it? How can a loving God ignore our requests, crush our dreams, and strip us of our happiness? Should we really thank God for unanswered prayers? Yes–we should. Although we don’t understand His ways, He does all things well–even when He denies our desires. God’s answers are much wiser than our prayers and He loves us too much to let us have whatever we want. 

We need to learn to look at things as He does, the best we can. Our main desire should not be for comfort and cheer, but for Christ-like character, and that is what God is working to create in our life(Rom. 8:29). Contrary to what we think or desire, pain is often better for us than pleasure, loss is better than gain, and sorrow is better than joy in the plan God is working out in our lives. We often need the opposite of what we desire, we just don’t realize it. Sometimes we need disaster rather than deliverance, because that’s what it takes to make us humble and helpful.

 When God withholds what we desire it doesn’t mean He isn’t giving us what is best. God loves you just as much when He denies your request as He does when He grants it. So when it seems that the heavens are brass and God is deaf, take comfort in the fact that God knows what we need most and He gives us what is best. Trust Him instead of trying to understand Him, and thank Him for unanswered prayers!- HDS, 11-11-09

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA                11-14-24

FEELINGS AND FAITH

George Cutting said it well in his memorable tract Safety, Certainty and Enjoyment: “It’’s the blood that makes us safe; it’’s the Word that makes us sure.”– William MacDonald

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