MORNING MANNA                9-12-24

IN THE DARK?

“I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.”- Psalm 6:6

 It’s early morning, still dark outside, and even darker within your heart. All seems doom and gloom. You haven’t hardly slept a wink, you’re tired, your bones ache, and your heart hurts even more. There is no hope in sight. You feel as though you are trapped in a giant vice that is slowly squeezing the life out of you. It seems that the day will never break and relief will never come.

 That is somewhat the way that David felt as he penned the words of his song. But, out of the depths of his despair he prayed for deliverance and, although still hurting, he was confident that God would help. He said,”The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.”(Psalm 6:9) Dear friend, the same God is now watching over you. 

The centuries have rolled by and the circumstances are now different, but God hasn’t changed. He knows, He cares, and He can help. Don’t give up. Hope is on the horizon. As sure as the sun will rise, you can count on God to bring light into your darkness. Trust Him–Please! I’m not saying that God will give you what you desire or that things will turn out exactly as you would like. I don’t know your future, nor mine, but I do know God. I know His grace is sufficent and His ear is open to your prayer. He might not change your situation, but He will change you. Believe it or not, you will laugh again. As David said, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”(Psalm 30:5). Whether this will be the day or whether it is a month away I don’t know, but one glad morning the sorrow will end. The sunshine of His grace will break through and banish the darkness that engulfs your soul, and the joy will return–it’s just a matter of time! It’s not by accident that you are reading this. Divine providence brought you to this place and God isn’t through yet. Just wait patiently on the Lord.—HDS 6-17-10

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

MORNING MANNA               9-10-24

SOMETHING TO BE REMEMBERED

“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 ‭12‬:‭9‬ ‭

As we face another day, one thing we can count on is this— we will have to deal with some difficult people. I don’t need to explain that–everyone knows exactly what I mean. As Christians we are commanded to love the unlovely, and that’s not easy. Still we are not exempt from our duty. But how? Perhaps it will help if we remember what we once were.Again and again, Paul reminded his readers of what they were before they were saved. We tend to forget that, don’t we? Yet as sinful as we were, God loved us and Christ died for us. How then can we withhold kindness from others? But for the grace of God we would be the offending party. Sinful people are to be pitied, not hated and despised. Consider this:

“John Newton wrote what is probably the most famous hymn in the world, Amazing Grace. Before his conversation he was a wicked man, making his living as a slave trader—taking people from Africa and selling them into a lifetime of bondage. When Newton was saved, he was completely transformed by God’s grace. But through his later years of serving God as a changed man, he never forgot the kind of man he once had been. Newton wrote, “By nature I was too blind to know Him, too proud to trust Him, too obstinate to serve Him, too base-minded to love Him.”

There is a danger that faces those who have been saved for a number of years. Sometimes we forget how desperately we needed God’s grace. Even those of us who grew up in Christian homes and were saved early in life still had no hope of salvation apart from God’s grace. We should never forget the incredible debt that was paid for our salvation and the free gift that was offered us through no merit or work of our own.

But we also need God’s grace for our daily lives as believers. Just as we could not save ourselves, we cannot live a consecrated Christian life in our own power. The world, the flesh, and the devil work against us constantly. Only the grace of God gives us the strength to be overcomers. The power of grace is something we must never forget.-HDS, 5-29-12

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

MORNING MANNA                9-9-24
THE MOST IMPORTANT IMPERATIVE
Nothing ever written or said by man is more important than this one thing—“ye must be born again“–John 3:7. The fact that these words were spoken by Jesus Christ tells us this is important, true, and deserving of our attention. When He speaks we ought to listen. We should listen not only because of the speaker, but also because of the subject.

The Lord was speaking about a spiritual birth–what every man needs most. By nature we are spiritually dead—separated from God, condemned and without hope. The new birth reconciles us to God and we receive eternal life. It makes the difference between heaven and hell, so it makes no sense that we refuse  to listen. It is essential that we understand exactly what the new birth is.

Jesus clearly taught that the new birth is a work of God, not an accomplishment of man. It is the impartation of spiritual life by the power of the Holy Spirit to all who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. Those who receive Him are accepted by God because their sins are forgiven on His behalf . When He died on the cross He paid our sin debt. He was raised from the dead for our justification. By His grace, salvation is offered as a gift to all who are willing to trust Him. You can do that! All it takes is simple child-like faith to receive the greatest gift possible. We aren’t saved because we give up certain sins, do good deeds, or contribute to worthy causes. It is a gift, not a wage or reward. Although secured at great cost to God it cost you nothing.

Being a gift salvation is received, not earned. We are saved by grace not goodness, mercy not merit, atonement not attainment, believing not behaving. Adding to the wonder of this is the fact that God is willing to save “whosoever“– anyone and everyone who truly believes. Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, you can be forgiven, cleansed, accepted by God, delivered from wrath, and adopted into God’s family. In Christ, God has provided exactly what you need and everything you need. And for you it is all free—paid for for by the precious blood of Jesus!

Seeing that God cannot lie, why would you—
reject such an offer?
deny the importance of the matter?
consider anything else as an option?
turn away such a gracious gift?
wait until a later date?
expect Christians to remain silent?
resist or resent the efforts of those pointing you to Christ?

Salvation is by far the greatest gift a person can ever receive, the most delightful discovery they ever make, the most important thing in life, the most exciting experience you can have, the most valuable thing you can possess, the surest thing on earth, the greatest miracle ever. How can you expect a person who has received such a wonderful gift to remain silent about it? The fact that they desire to tell you how much God cares is an evidence that they care about you. This could be the greatest day of your life if you are willing to trust God to do as He promised. If you are confused please contact a Christian. They would be delighted to help.-HDS, 5-13-15

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

MORNING MANNA               9-7-24
THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT
“—- the God of all comfort.” 2 Corinthians 1:3

Of all the names and titles assigned to God this has to be one of the most lovely and cheering. The very thought of it cheers our heart because sooner or later we all need comfort. We live in a troublesome world where we face many trials, tribulations and temptations. But we can be made cheerful and courageous by being confident that God comforts His children. He is not just ever aware of our needs, He is completely capable and forever faithful in meeting them. How can we not be cheered by a fact so glorious as that?

Take careful note of the little word,”all”. It is big in meaning. It reminds us that there are no limitations nor exceptions. God is the sole and sufficient source of our comfort. God is always up to the task, no matter what the circumstances might be. Of that truth we must be convinced. We are never at liberty to say God has lied, failed or deceived us. The comfort He promises He will provide. But, that isn’t always automatic. We must appropriate what God makes available if we are to experience what He desires and we need.

The chief way we do this is through His Word. It informs our mind, increases our faith,and inspires our heart.It is designed to give us the hope of help or the help of hope– however you want to look at it. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”–Romans 15:4. Out of many years of experience and observation I can tell you with certainty that God comforts His children.- HDS, 10-30-12

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