Sent by David Stone on Friday, February 20 at 7:19AM

MORNING MANNA              2-19-26
THE MASTER PAINTER

“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭

You might poke fun at me for this, but I find it quite relaxing to watch Bob Ross paint. One stroke of the brush at a time I start to see where he’s going with the forest, mountain, or stream. It is so easy to watch. However, all of the sudden, he will swipe a color across the canvas that doesn’t seem to fit, and you think he ruined a perfectly good painting in the works. Then we watch it get touched up and worked into a beautiful nice touch to the scenery.

Sometimes we watch the beauty of God, The Master Painter, at work in our lives, but along comes a swipe of His brush that is initially unpleasant and we think God made a mistake.

That must be how these Christians felt when Saul came along persecuting them. We can imagine some of them wondering why God allowed it to happen.

Just because something comes into our lives we’re not pleased with doesn’t mean God is no longer perfect. He always is! When we think God has forgotten us, He is faithfully taking care of us as He always has. Though we may not see what He is doing or understand it, He’s up to something bigger than we can understand, even in tough times.

Some things we won’t know about until we get to Heaven. There have been other events of life though which first brought a tear or a frown, but later a smile, after we recognized what God was doing.

May we remain faithful to God when we don’t understand how He is working. After God created in the first 6 days, he saw “it was very good”. He’s creating things in our lives right now, and we can trust it’s ultimately very good. Trust the Master Painter of life!

MORNING MANNA             2-18-26
EVERYTHING WE NEED

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ‭

When I stay away from home for a week during church camp, I make a list of everything I would like to take to supply my needs : Bible, clothes, fan, snacks, hygiene items, contact lenses, a certain blanket, aspirin, tums, ear plugs, etc.. One year I ran out of socks so I pack about 20 pair every year now. My goal is to have a supply of everything I believe I will use so I don’t have to leave the camp. After I pack everything and check it off my list, I feel like I have everything I need.

The process of Christian maturity helps us to recognize and experience that the Lord gives us spiritually everything we need for our lives within. We learn we don’t have to look at the situation around us to find peace. We become content whether we have a lot or a little, because our contentment doesn’t come by outward circumstances. It comes from The Person who lives within us. Jesus Christ has pardoned the Christian, made more promises to us than we will ever know in this life. He provides for us and protects us. Child of God, we have EVERYTHING WE NEED in Him!
Kenneth Preston 

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA               2-17-26

No pain, no gain.
Know pain, great gain.

“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 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭

For years I have read everything I could find written by George Matheson. The following is an example of why. 

He wrote “We commonly associate patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet there is a patience that I believe to be harder—the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: it is the power to work under stress; to have a great weight at your heart and still run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily tasks. It is a Christlike thing! The hardest thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in the sickbed but in the street.”

Why do we need endurance (ultimately supplied by God’s Spirit and His grace)? – “Is it not human nature that if something takes us a long time to complete, we are inclined to become impatient. Or if a journey is long, we are generally inclined to grow weary and loiter by the way. But if the road is long and dusty, we are to be patient. If the trial is severe, we are to be patient, and not allow our souls to be agitated. Sometimes the blessing we expect may be delayed, but we are to be patient in waiting for it. Sometimes our persecutions may be fierce indeed, but we are to be patient whilst we endure them. This grace is like the rivet that binds all the machinery together.

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

MORNING MANNA                2-16-26
GETTING ON TRACK
“I thought on my ways, And turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not To keep thy commandments.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119‬:‭59‬-‭60‬ ‭

We often talk about people “getting off track”. That phrase simply means that they are someplace they shouldn’t be. That pretty well describes humanity. Ever since Adam sinned man has been off track. And when a person is off track spiritually it is a sad and serious thing. In these verses, we see three things that are of great importance.

I. Reflection – “I thought on my ways”This is crucial. We must see ourselves as we really are, as God sees us! He says, “I thought on my ways”, not the ways of my neighbor – which many are prone to do. We are responsible for what we do, not what he does.

Therefore we ought to examine ourselves, and when we do we need to keep three things in mind. What should I be doing? What am I doing? What am I going to do? – Ignore my problem? – Blame someone else? – Excuse myself because of circumstances? – Content myself with being better than others? – Laugh about it?- Repent?

II. Repentance– “ And turned my feet unto thy testimonies”.There are two keywords in this phrase – “turned” and “unto”. That implies that we turn 180° not 90°. We turn from sin to God. That is what the world needs! Man is headed in the wrong direction which leads to destruction. Repentance, on the other hand, leads to deliverance. But as important as it is repentance Is an unpopular subject. People resent being told that they are wrong. As Paul said, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭

III. Righteousness– “I made haste and delayed not to keep Thy commandments”.Righteousness involves more than abstaining from evil. It involves the doing of good. Many people think only about the sins of commission. They never consider that we can sin by omission as well.

There are two sides to every track and you can get off either side, but you are still off track. If we are wise we will get back on track as soon as possible, as the writer said, “I made haste and delayed not”. We are. Ever off track when we are following Christ!

If you have never received Christ as your Savior you have never been on track. As  Isaiah 53:6 says, you are “astray”. Your only hope is to turn to Christ who is “the way, the truth, and the life”. – HDS

David Stone  
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble,TX