It has been the distinctive aim, and the sincere desire of my ministry — to make known and to endear the Savior to your hearts. 

Oh, how worthy is He . . .
  of your most exalted conceptions,
  of your most implicit confidence,
  of your most self-denying service,
  of your most fervent love!

When He could give you no more — and the fathomless depths of His love, and the boundless resources of His grace, would not be satisfied by giving you less — He gave you Himself! 

Robed in your nature,
oppressed with your sorrows,
laden with your curse,
wounded for your transgressions,
and slain for your sins —
He gave His entire self for you! 

His redeeming work now finished — He is perpetually engaged in meting out blessings to His people, from the exhaustless treasures of His love! He constantly woos your affection — invites your grief — and bids you to come with your daily trials to His sympathy, and with your hourly guilt to His blood. You cannot in your drafts upon Christ’s fullness, be too covetous; nor in your expectations of supply, be too extravagant! You may fail, as, alas! the most of us do, in making too little of Christ — but you cannot fail, in making too much of Him!

It is utterly impossible to know Christ, and not become inspired with a desire . . .
  to love Him supremely,
  to serve Him devotedly,
  to resemble Him closely,
  to glorify Him faithfully here,
  and to enjoy Him fully hereafter!

MORNING MANNA             10-18-24

Surrounded By The Enemy

“–we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”-Romans 8:37

 If we truly understood who we are in Christ it would change our views about everything. Sadly, some don’t. Fortunately a few do. Most certainly all should.It would make a big difference in how we look at the challenges in life.

 During World War II General Creighton Abrams and his troops were surrounded by the enemy to the east, west, north, south. General Abrams said,”Gentlemen, for the first time in the history of this campaign, we are now in a position to attack the enemy in any direction.” 

Wouldn’t it be great if we all had that attitude? Far too often we bemoan the fact that many things are against us without ever considering that God is “for us”( Romans 8:31). It’s true, we should not ignore reality–we do have enemies, but we need to see the big picture. 

As Christians we have every right, and even a responsibility, to maintain a positive attitude. Forget about all that is against you and focus on the One who is for you. He is all powerful and He cares about you. He can defeat every foe, meet every need, and solve any problem–trust Him. as John said, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”(1 John 4:4).HDS, 1-23-09

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,TX

THE PEARL NECKLACE

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with
her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening
white pearls in a pink foil box. “Oh please, Mommy, can I have them?
Please, Mommy, please?”

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked
back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. “A
dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them, I’ll
think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money
to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might
get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17
pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went
to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten
cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at
last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She
wore them everywhere-Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time
she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother
said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he
would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.

One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me?”

“Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess – the white horse from
my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you
gave me. She’s my favorite.”

“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night.” And he brushed her
cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s Daddy asked again, “Do you
love me?”

“Daddy, you know I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new
one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow
blanket that matches her sleeper.”

“That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you.” And
as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with
her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was
trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

“What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?”

Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And
when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little
quiver, she finally said, “Here, Daddy. It’s for you.”

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with
one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached
into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine
pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just
waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine
treasure. –Author Unknown

David Stone 

 Lakeway Baptist Church

 Humble,TX

MORNING MANNA          10-15-24 

 WORK AND WORSHIP

“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.”‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭22‬:‭19‬ 

People will stand in long lines this summer waiting for their turn to ride a roller coaster. After perhaps an hour or more, they will get their three minutes of thrill–or terror, as the case may be. At the end of the ride, some will immediately go back to the line and wait to ride again. 

Amusement parks employ people whose responsibility it is to “test ride” the rides. Every day begins with hurtling along the tracks. No lines, just get in and go. What an enviable job! How great it must be to get to do that every day. For these workers, however, the roller coaster ride is just that–work. The thrill is gone; the ride is routine. 

This happens in ministry also. We get so used to going to church, teaching Sunday school, singing in the choir, that ministry becomes a routine.

Worship was important to David, so he wanted to build the place that would be the center of worship. He made preparations for the temple to be built, assembling the workers and materials.

But worship is more than a building. It is an issue of the heart. To the workers David gave this additional instruction: “Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God” (22:19). The work of our hands is important, but so is the worship of our hearts. The things we do must not become so routine that we lose the thrill of serving God.- Morning Manna, 5-25-07 

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble,TX