MORNING MANNA           3-26-21

GROWING THROUGH ADVERSITY 

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.“- 2 Cor. 12:9-10

An article in Senior Living serves as a good illustration for our text today. The Lodgepole Pine trees covering large parts of Yellowstone National Park offer a powerful lesson in adversity.

The cones of the pine hang on the tree for years without falling to the ground and releasing their seed. In fact, even when the cone does fall, it often remains tightly closed.

So how have these reluctant trees grown to blanket the park with forests?

They’ve grown through adversity. When a forest fire rages, destroying all the trees in its path, the intense heat actually causes the Lodgepole Pine cones to burst open and finally release their seed. So out of devastation, these unique pines are often the first trees to produce new growth.

God never promises that we’ll escape adversity in life. But He does promise that He will hold you in the midst of every storm – and that through your struggle He will bring about something beautiful for His glory and your greatest good.

So whether you’re facing the dark clouds of tragedy or the struggles of everyday life, trust today that God loves you, He’s with you, and He can cultivate new life through your adversity. 

Ask God to help you trust in His plan for your life. Pray that you will stand strong through adversity, with your eyes on Christ.

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

MORNING MANNA            3-25-21

THE GIFT OF GRACE

“ But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. ”– Eph. 4:7

William MacDonald wrote, “We must always remember that whenever the Lord tells us to do something, He gives us the needed power. All His commands include His enablement, even when His commands are in the realm of the impossible.

Jethro said to Moses, “If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure”(Exodus 18:23). “The principle is that God assumes full responsibility for enabling His man to fulfill every task to which He has appointed him” (J. O. Sanders).

In His ministry the Lord Jesus met at least two men who were paralyzed (Matthew 9:6, John 5:9). On both occasions He told them to get up and carry their pad. As they exercised the will to obey, power flowed into their helpless limbs.

Peter sensed that if the Lord Jesus called him to come on the water, then he could walk on water. As soon as Jesus said “Come,” Peter went down out of the ship and walked on the water.

It is doubtful that the man with the withered hand could stretch it out; yet when our Lord told him to do it, he did and the hand was restored.

The idea of feeding 5000 with a few loaves and fishes is out of the question. But whenever Jesus said to the disciples, “Give them to eat,” the impossibility vanished.

Lazarus had lain in the grave for four days when Jesus called, “Lazarus, come forth.” The command was accompanied by the necessary power. Lazarus came forth.

We should appropriate this truth. When God leads us, we should never cop out with the plea that we can’t do it. If He tells us to do something, He will supply the power. It has been well said, “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God will not sustain you.”

It is equally true that when God orders something, He pays for what He orders. If we are sure of His leading, we need not worry about the finances. He will Provide.

The God who opened the Red Sea and the Jordan so that His people could pass over is the same today. He is still in the business of removing impossibilities when His people obey His will. He still supplies all needed grace to do whatever He commands. He still works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

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

MORNING MANNA.              3-24-21

DAILY GRACE

—as thy day, so shall thy strength be.–Deuteronomy 33:25 

The grace needed for a particulars trial does not come until the trouble comes. When it does come it is always sufficent for the occasion. That’s why we shouldn’t live in dread of the days ahead. Do not torture yourself by supposing that some difficulty or even death itself might overwhelm you. There will be grace enough for the emergency to come–when it gets here and not before.Think about it like this– Since grace is promised, tomorrows trials are already provided for in the mind of God. You haven’t received the grace yet because the need has not come. In order to keep us humble and dependent upon Him, God doesn’t give us a storehouse of grace. Instead He dishes out what is needed when it is needed, not before. This way we are forced to live in the awareness of our weakness and dependence upon our Father in heaven for our daily bread. At this moment some are suffering and able to survive only by taking it one day at a time. And they feel they are at their limit and can’t take anymore. But then “more” comes! However, along with the additional trials comes additional grace. Suddenly you find strength that did not exist before. You discover a supply of grace that, in the plan of God, was there all the time, just waiting for your moment of need. Cheer up, whatever this day holds for you, God has already measured out the exact amount of grace you will need. He has just been waiting for this very moment! As someone said–“Has it ever occured to you that nothing ever occured to God?” God is never surprised. He knows what we need before we need it and already promised to provide it. Have you noticed–the day is getting brighter already! – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E.
Humble, Tx. 77346

MORNING MANNA            3-23-21

Don’t Pick The Flowers

MORNING MANNA            3-22-21

DOING WHAT YOU CAN
“—-ye shall be witnesses unto me–” Acts 1:8

Sometimes not having a handicap is our greatest handicap. Being unhindered we waste our lives in the pursuit or things of no eternal value. Here’s a story I read several years ago from a pastor who said: “I was deeply moved the other day by something that I read in an old, undated book of missionary stories that I found on the back shelf of a dusty, used book shop in London. The author told of a loathsome leper, old and dying, who came to the leprosarium operated by the Methodists in China. Someone had told him that he would find room there, and he had come there to die. He was in the final stages of the disease, clad in nothing more that a bit of burlap tied around him by a string. He had not a relative in the world. But in the leprosarium he settled down in the room given him and began talking with the Chinese chaplain. After hearing the Gospel, he was asked if he wanted to become a Christian. “No,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because,” the poor man replied, “you say your Jesus died for me. He gave himself for me. I have nothing to give him in return for a gift like that.”

“Oh, he wants no gift except yourself.”

“But how could he possibly want an ill-smelling, rotten old leper like me? It can not be!”

But eventually the old leper was convinced, and he humbly asked Jesus Christ to come into his life as Savior and Lord. Then what did he do? He started limping from patient to patient, telling the good news——

But he had less than two years to live. Soon both of his feet dropped off, both of his eyes decayed from his head, and his life ebbed away. As he was dying, the chaplain came to his bedside for a final conversation. The old man felt badly that he had been converted so late in life. He worried that he had not done more. And when the chaplain leaned over to speak with him, the old fellow said this: “When I reach Father’s house, will Jesus blame me for not getting any more, or will he remember that I was just a rotten old leper? I only got fourteen.”

What did he mean? He meant that during his two years, he had won only fourteen souls for Christ. Fourteen souls! He only had twenty-four months, but he had been about his mission, side-by-side with the Bridegroom, doing what he could where he was.” What are you doing?

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.