“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”1 Cor. 15:1–4

The message of the gospel is not just the cross—it is also the empty tomb. As we celebrate the resurrection on Easter, we are commemorating the ultimate triumph of God’s plan over all the powers of evil that Satan could muster. It was not for lack of effort on the part of the enemy that Jesus arose. The empty tomb proves that there is no force—human or demonic—which could bind Jesus Christ. They could place a huge stone in front of the door and post guards outside, but they could not stop Life from bursting forth. They could spread false stories to obscure the truth, but this fact remains at the core of our faith: He is risen indeed.

R. A. Torrey said, “This was the glad tidings, first, that Christ died for our sins and made atonement; and second, that He rose again. The crucifixion loses its meaning without the resurrection. Without the resurrection, the death of Christ was only the heroic death of a noble martyr. With the resurrection, it is the atoning death of the Son of God. It shows that death to be of sufficient value to cover all our sins, for it was the sacrifice of the Son of God. In it we have an all-sufficient ground for knowing that the blackest sin is atoned for. Disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christian faith is vain.”- Dr. Paul Chappell

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

MORNING MANNA          4-16-22

EASTER IS ESSENTIAL

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

1 Corinthians 15:14-17

While He was with the disciples, Jesus told them what was coming in the future. But they did not really grasp the implication of His teaching until later. When the angels met the women at the empty tomb, they told them to remind the disciples of what Jesus had said. “But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you” (Mark 16:7). The resurrection is essential, and just as much a part of God’s plan of salvation as the cross is. There is no hope of Heaven if Jesus did not rise from the dead. But He did. And as we celebrate that victory over the grave, we are reminded of our certain future with Him in Heaven.

J. C. Ryle said that the resurrection “is the crowning proof that He has paid the debt which He undertook to pay on our behalf, won the battle which He fought to deliver us from hell, and is accepted as our Surety and our Substitute by our Father in heaven. Had He never come forth from the prison of the grave, how could we ever have been sure that our ransom had been fully paid? Had He never risen from His conflict with the last enemy, how could we have felt confident that He has overcome death, and him that had the power of death, that is, the devil? The resurrection is our certainty that we will have the eternal life Jesus purchased for us. – Copied

David Stone

Lakeway. Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA          4-15-22

GOOD OR EVIL?

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil”– 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

The standard by which we are to accept or reject every idea, emotion, or opportunity is whether it is “good” or “evil.” No middle ground is mentioned.

How do we know what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong? The only infallible benchmark we have is God’s Word, the Bible. We can not make decisions based upon our feelings at the moment, the advice or rationale of others, or society’s changing ideas of what is acceptable.

Nor are we to make decisions only after “trying out” all our options. We are not told to “experiment with everything” but to prove (test) all things. Experience, emphatically, is not the best teacher. Instruction is. And in the Bible we find the instruction we need regarding how we are to live, what priorities we are to hold, and how we are to view the world around us.

Once we have applied God’s Word to any particular issue in our lives, we are then told to whole-heartedly pursue the indicated course of action. If a thing is good, we are to “hold fast” to it, not substituting or selling it for anything. If it is evil, we are to “abstain” from it, not sampling or teasing with it in small doses.

Do you have a decision to make? Test it by the touchstone of God’s Word, and then cling to the good and right path, abstaining from even the appearance or possibility of evil.- Baptist Bible Hour

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

MORNING MANNA            4-14-22

HE ROSE AGAIN

“He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”—1 Cor. 15:4

Haddon Robinson told the following story.In the days after the French Revolution, a man tried to start a new religion that he believed was superior to Christianity. But he was disappointed at his lack of success. He revealed his frustration to a clergyman and asked what he could do.

The clergyman replied that it was no easy task to begin a new religion—so difficult that he had nothing to suggest. But after a moment’s reflection, he said, “There’s one plan that you might want to consider. Why don’t you get yourself crucified and rise again the third day?”

The firm foundation of the Christian faith is an empty tomb. The New Testament declares that the death of Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. But how can anyone know for sure that Christ’s crucifixion was acceptable to God? It doesn’t matter much what we think of the death of Jesus; what matters is what God thinks about it.

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

MORNING MANNA          4-12-22

NOURISHING FRIENDSHIPS

“And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”- 1 Samuel 18:1

The world-renowned psychologist, Sigmund Freud, died at the age of 83, a bitter and disillusioned man. Though he was one of the most influential thinkers of our time, Freud had little compassion for the common person.

In 1918, he wrote, “I have found little that is good about human beings on the whole. In my experience most of them are trash, no matter whether they publicly subscribe to this or that ethical doctrine or to none at all” (Veritas Reconsidered, p. 36).

As a result of his bitterness toward humanity, Freud died friendless. Many of his loyal followers had even abandoned him, not out of psychological disagreements, but because they were disillusioned with how bitter he had become.

Apart from your relationship with Christ, your relationships with people are some of the most valuable commodities you’ll ever have. Yet many, as they grow older, tend to become like Freud: bitter, angry, and cynical toward others.

But as you grow in your faith, you can be the exact opposite as the joy of the Lord overcomes your life more and more every day. So nourish your friendships and keep people close. They’re some of the most important things you can have in life!

Pray that God would surround you with good friends with whom you can share life and the love of Christ! (Senior Living)

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