TRANSFORMING OUR FOES

November 29, 2015 By Pastor David Stone

“Love”–Matt.5:38-48

It must be the aim of a Christian to make his enemy lovely. It is not my supreme business to secure my safety, but to remove his ugliness. He may only annoy me, but he is destroying himself. He may injure my reputation; but far worse, he is blighting his own character. Therefore must I seek to remove the greater thing, the corrosive malady in his own soul. I must make it my purpose to recover his loveliness, and restore the lost likeness of the Lord.

And only love can make things lovely. Revenge can never do it. Even duty will fail in the gracious work. There is a final touch, a consummate bloom, to which duty can never attain, and which is only attainable by love. All love’s ministries are creative of loveliness. Wherever her finger rests, something exquisite is born. Love is a great magician: she transforms the desert into a garden, and she makes the wilderness blossom like the rose.

But where shall we get the love wherewith to make our enemy lovely? From the great Lover Himself. “We love, because He first loved us.” The great Lover will love love into us! And we, too, shall become fountains of love, for our Lord will open “rivers in the high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys.”–JJ H Jowett

YOUR _____ IS SHOWING

November 28, 2015 By Pastor David Stone

Back when most women wore skirts or dresses it was common to hear a husband say to his wife, “Your slip is showing”. Sometimes she would even asks, “Is my slip showing?” Point is that others can sometimes see what we can’t. That’s true of a ladies slip and of a person’s sin. And since we naturally tend to always put ourselves in the best possible light, sometimes it is helpful for someone to give us a different perspective, a more accurate picture of ourselves. Allow me to explain–

There are times when we have a bad attitude that is contrary to the image we try to project. In other words, we act one way and feel another. We are careful about the manner in which we act (we would be ashamed to act as we felt), but our bad attitude is showing. Sometimes that is on purpose– we want to send a signal that we are displeased, so we get in our verbal jabs or snide remarks– usually only to the extent that we can explain them away by saying, “I didn’t mean anything. I was just joking”. But at other times we aren’t even aware that our ill feelings are showing. We think nobody will notice– but they do.

Pastors can often see things that you don’t see, or things you think they don’t see. And your ___ is showing! You fill in the blank. It might be one thing for one person and something else for another. Whatever it is, whether you see it or not, “Your __ is showing!” I don’t mention it to embarrass or hurt you, but to help. If something doesn’t change you will end up hurting and/or embarrassing yourself. You will also hurt others and harm the church. I simply want to encourage you to make some changes before that happens. Even if you are successful in hiding your your bad attitude from others, God knows, and that makes it a serious problem. If your search comes up empty ask God to open your eyes. I’ve got a feeling that we all have something that needs to be fixed. Even as I write this, I am very much aware that I have faults that are obvious to others –so this isn’t all about you.

In 2 Cor. 6 Paul speaks about “Giving no offense in anything” (vs. 3) and “approving ourselves as the ministers of God“(vs. 4), and then he gives a list of things we need to do–one of which is “love unfeigned“(vs.6). That means without hypocrisy or disguise, but sincere. Rather than hiding hatred, etc. with lying lips, we need to confess our sins and purify our hearts and be kind one to another. The cost of not doing so is higher than you want to pay.

Believe me, having so many faults of my own, it isn’t easy or enjoyable to write this. But if you are a pastor or a parent, and you care about your flock or family, sometimes you have to do what you can to avert a disaster. If you think I’m talking about you there is a good chance that you are right. If your conscious is bothering you there is usually a reason for it and that constitutes a need to do something about it and that involves confession (1 John 1:9). The best advice I can give you is found in Eph. 4:31-31, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

I feel I need to close with this word of explanation. We could talk for an hour about all the good things in the church and there is a time for that, but there must also be a time when we talk about the negative. Prevention is better than cure, and that is my motivation in writing this. Depending on the circumstances– criticism and correction can be more valuable than commendations. Pretending all is well doesn’t make it so. If we ever get to the place where we see no room for improvement, nor have any desire to be better, we are in an awful condition. So I hope you will see this as something positive, rather than painful. Think about it. Someone is!

THANKSGIVING IS NEVER OUT OF SEASON

November 28, 2015 By Pastor David Stone

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Everything we enjoy, should be viewed as coming from the gracious and liberal hand of our sovereign God.

All was forfeited by our sin.

All that we receive is by His grace.

The providence that supplies us–is the wisdom, benevolence, and power of God in operation for us–as expressive of His infinite love and unmerited grace!

Our talents to provide supplies,
our opportunities to obtain them,
and our abilities to enjoy them,
–are alike from the Lord.

Every mercy increases our obligation–and deepens our debt to free grace!

Thanksgiving is never out of season, for we have always much to be grateful for.

We must view all things as . . .
arranged by His wisdom,
dependent on His will,
sanctified by His blessing,
according with His promises,
and flowing from His love!

—(James Smith)

“In every thing give thanks!” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

TRUSTING GOD’S WORD

November 27, 2015 By Pastor David Stone

“Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.” – Psalms 119:41-42

It is unsafe and improper to trust our feelings or fancies; to listen to suggestions, or judge by appearances; the Christian’s guide is God’s word, and this should be the object of his trust. If we cannot take God’s word and depend upon it, what can we trust?

It is true; on all necessary points plain; it has been tried and always found faithful. We should believe it, rely on it, plead it, expect its fulfilment, and comfort ourselves with it; especially when surrounded with difficulties, when in darkness or filled with forebodings, because God delays and our prayers are not answered.

Trusting in God’s faithful word will bring peace to the mind, experience to the soul, and deliverance in every time of trouble: if we trust God’s word we may be confident, for our supply is certain. Trusting a naked promise is difficult, but it is attainable, and truly desirable. The promise is God’s bond, and is intended to set our minds at rest; if we trust it calmly and implicitly, we shall enjoy peace, quietness, and confidence.

Trusting God’s word, we need fear no foe, or dread any trouble; all is safe, and safe for ever.(James Smith, 1840)

In Thee, O Lord, I put my trust:
Mighty and merciful, and just,
Thy faithful word I prove;
Thou canst, Thou wilt my helper be:
My confidence is all in Thee,
The faithful God of love.

The Remembrance of Gratitude

November 26, 2015 By Pastor David Stone

“And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”–Deuteronomy 6:10–12

In his 1923 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, President Calvin Coolidge wrote, “We will do well then to render thanks for the good that has come to us, and show by our actions that we have become stronger, wiser, and truer by the chastenings which have been imposed upon us. We will thus prepare ourselves for the part we must take in a world which forever needs the full measure of service. We have been a most favored people. We ought to be a most generous people. We have been a most blessed people. We ought to be a most thankful people.”

When we are blessed, there is a great danger that we will come to accept those blessings as the way things should be rather than realizing that we only have them because of the mercy and love of our Father in Heaven. The Israelites were warned that there was temptation lurking in the bounty they would find within the Promised Land—the temptation to forget that it was all because of God.

The cure to the sin of ingratitude begins with remembrance. It is not by accident that Moses reminded the Israelites of their deliverance from Egypt. If we remember that God’s grace brought us out of bondage to sin, we will not find it hard to be thankful.– by Dr. Paul Chappell

TRANSFORMING OUR FOES

YOUR _____ IS SHOWING

THANKSGIVING IS NEVER OUT OF SEASON

TRUSTING GOD’S WORD

The Remembrance of Gratitude

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