MORNING MANNA             3-11-26
OUR ALLY
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 

Many years ago I met the famous evangelist Hyman Appleman, a converted Jew from Russia, who preached revivals across America. He was said to be Billy Graham’s favorite preacher. As a young preacher I was deeply impressed by the power in which he preached. The other day I happened to run across a sermon he preached in 1941. Here is an excerpt of the sermon where he speaks of how the Holy Spirit empowers God’s servants to do His service: 

“His power is beyond human computation and measure. His wisdom is limitless. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He can take, He has taken the weakest vessel, the humblest tool, the poorest instrument, and wrought wonders with them. It was He who endowed Moses, enrolled Joshua, enabled Samuel, ennobled David, enlightened Isaiah, emancipated Daniel, encouraged Paul and Silas—. He is our Comforter also, ready to transform our lives into channels of blessings, making us mighty unto the pulling down of the strong holds of sin, unto the advancing and the upbuilding of the kingdom, unto the winning of multitudes of precious souls. Without Him we are helpless. With Him the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. He is the key to success, the secret of victory, the door to the impossible. The Holy Spirit is our ally.” 

Dear friend if we would keep these glorious truths in mind we would be a lot less prone to get discouraged in the face of difficulty. With the Holy Spirit as our Helper all things are possible and we have good reason to be encouraged. I can attest to that in many ways, but it really jumps out at me when just a few years after meeting him I was invited to preach in that same church. And now after all these years I can say God has brought me through every difficulty and supplied my every need. He can do the same for you! – HDS

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, TX

MORNING MANNA              3-10-26
ACCEPTED 
“to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭

One of the worst feelings in life is the feeling of being rejected. It is awful beyond description. Yet most of us have experienced it in some way. You can probably think of something that still lingers in your mind—a part in a school play, a place on the team, the cold shoulder from the “in crowd”, over looked for a promotion, etc.Things like that can hurt us deeply and can linger for years. 

But there’s something much worse than these things. Many people will be rejected by God (Matt. 7:21-23) and there is nothing worse than that. If you are unsaved you need to understand what a terrible state you are in. It doesn’t get any worse than being separated from God for eternity! But it doesn’t have to be that way!

 

The good news is that Jesus Christ made it possible for us to be “accepted”. The word “accepted” means “to peruse with grace, compass with favor, honor with blessings”, literally “be-graced”. We talk a lot about accepting God, but strictly speaking, salvation is God accepting us, not us accepting Him. 

So what causes God to accept us? The answer is “Christ”. He accepts us because of Christ. We can’t do anything to make ourselves acceptable to God, but by His grace we are “accepted in the beloved”. He does so “To the praise of the glory of his grace”—that is God’s explanation for why He saves us. Although we benefit immensely, the primary reason for salvation is the glory of God. 

Instead of thinking about the ways in which you have been rejected by man, focus on the glorious fact that God has accepted you. He accepts all who accept His Son!  – HDS, ( revised from 9/3/08)

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, TX

MORNING MANNA                3-9-26

THE WAY TO THE DAY

We all need reminders.  Right?  Most of us tend to forget and/or neglect things that are crucial.  Sometimes a simple, or even a silly, word can be used to remind us of important things.I love to write and I’m never without a pen.  Sometimes I think I can’t think without a pen and paper.  I probably jot down more notes than anyone you’ve ever seen. Even after all these years, I still write out all my sermon notes in long hand.  I just can’t seem to break the habit.

 The other day I was thinking about the importance of starting the day out right, so that we might walk with God.  In a few minutes I came up with an acrostic based on the word W A L K.  It serves to remind me of what I should do when I get out of bed in the morning.  Hopefully it will be of a benefit to you as well.

Worship – This is the way we should start every day, and every prayer.  We can’t expect anything to go right unless we put God first.  To walk with the Lord we must give God the first part of every day, the first day of the week, the first tenth of every dollar, and the first place in every decision. The “Lord’s Prayer” begins with these words – “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:19).  Our prayer and our life is out of order unless God is first.

Ask – Since we are to “Pray without ceasing” (I Thess.5:17) we should wake up praying.  We should go to sleep praying and get up praying.  We should start the day with praise and then move on to petition.  You never know what a day might hold – you better be prepared.  We aren’t ready to meet the demands of the day until we pause to pray.  Ask God for help!

Listen – It’s one thing for you to speak to God, it’s another thing for Him to speak to you.  I’m not talking about some eerie, unearthly voice, or a burning bush experience.  God speaks to us through His word and we aren’t prepared for the day until we’ve heard from our Lord.  Absolutely nothing can take the place of reading and studying the Bible.  We should have the attitude of Job, who said, “—I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”  (Job 23:12).

Keep – The Bible uses the word “Keep” many times and in many ways.  Each new day brings us duties we are to perform.  It’s not enough to just hear from God, ask for help, and worship God.  We are to be “doers of the word.”  The word “keep” reminds us of our duties for the day, our responsibilities.

  We should keep the commandments of God, the commission from the Lord, the chores we’ve been given, the commitments we’ve made, the connection with our loved ones, the convictions we’ve embraced, the confidence that comes from trusting God. WALK in this manner and you will have a good day.  Think about it!
                                                                – HDS, 7-10-25
David Stone  
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA                 3-7-26
GETTING WHAT WE NEED WHEN WE DON’T GET WHAT WE DESIRE 

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 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.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭

It’s obvious that things don’t always happen as we please or pray. But we can rest assured that whatever God plans or permits is better than the path we would have chosen. An example of this is found in the prayer of an unknown Confederate soldier.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for–but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I, among all men, am most richly blessed!
So am I –  HDS

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

MORNING MANNA                 3-6-26

DAILY GRACE

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

 The grace needed for a particular 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