MORNING MANNA               8-26-24

CONFESSING OUR SINS

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. —1 John 1:9 

Confession of sin can be very very difficult–especially when you have a reputation to uphold, or an office to maintain, or a marriage to save, or a job to keep, or money to lose, etc. It is usually the last thing we want to do.

 People are eaten up with envy, jaded with jealousy, blighted with bitterness, consumed with covetousness, frozen by fear, polluted by pride, afflicted by appetite, etc., yet they would never admit it. Although it’s obvious to others, ruining relationships, corrupting their character, hurting their happiness, and souring their spirit, they refuse to to repent. 

It would be so simple and it is so serious and there is so much at stake that you would think everyone would do it, but few do. Instead, they use every excuse imaginable to keep from dealing with it and blame everyone possible for it. They imagine that it wouldn’t make anything better, or that people won’t forgive, or that they won’t be able to stop, or that they have plenty of time, or that someone else should take the first step. It’s a fool’s game, but they play it without fear. 
There is so much at stake that we ought to confess our sins as quickly as possible, as sincerely as we can, and as completely as is necessary. We ought to do it without hesitation, reservation, argument, or question. Why would you wait? How long will you wait? What might you lose while you wait? All the while, as you entertain sin in your life you deprive yourself of blessings. Whatever the price you must pay by confessing your sins it is not as much as the cost of not doing so. No one sins successfully. 

We ought to be forever thankful that forgiveness is possible. We don’t deserve the least of God’s favor, yet he forgives and restores. He does so only because of the sacrifice of Christ, His own dear Son. Once we have established a relationship with God by trusting Christ as our Savior, we ought to maintain our fellowship with God by confessing our sins–all of them, right now! Doing so will bring peace into your heart and blessing into your life. Make this day a turning point in your life by confessing every known sin.- HDS, 4-2-11 

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

MORNING MANNA                8-24-24
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION
“—-Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”- Genesis 18:25

MORNING MANNA              8-23-24

MORNING MANNA              8-22-24

TONGUE TROUBLE

“The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself”.–Ecc. 10:12

 Did you hear about the woman who was arrested for causing an accident while talking on her cell phone? She was given a ticket for DWI—driving while intalksicated! OK, I’ll admit it, that’s corny! But, here’s something that’s not so funny–we often cause a lot of problems and hurt a lot of people by the words we speak. 

Remember the old saying,”Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me!”? Well, that’s a lie. Words can hurt us deeply. Far too often we say things that hurt others, and ultimately hurts us. And, God holds us accountable for our thoughts, words and actions. We best be careful. That being the case, we need to think before we speak. We need to consider the truthfulness of what we say, the thought that prompted it, the tone of our voice, and the trouble it might cause.

Our Christian testimony is at stake.  The Bible says,”Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”(Col. 4:6). It would do you good to spend much time studying this verse and others directly related to it, wringing out every drop of truth possible, considering the meaning of every word, and prayerfully examining your life in its light. Notice the word “alway”–it means exactly what it says, whether in private or public, whether at work or at play, whether with friend or foe. It speaks of our manner of life regardless of circumstances. O what a difference it would make in our lives, and that of others, if we would just practice this one simple command. Sadly too many of us get out of control and say things we shouldn’t, doing irreparable damage. We hurt others, lose their respect, destroy our testimony, and invite God to take corrective measures.

Solomon said,”A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”(Proverbs 25:11). In other words it is something beautiful, as opposed to the ugliness of improper speech. If you want to make a lasting good impression,”Let your speech be always with grace–“. You will be remembered for the right reason.-HDS, 2-26-11

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

MORNING MANNA                8-21-24
ESCAPE FROM EMPTINESS
“And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭11‬