SALVATION IS FOR SINNERS

November 5, 2014 By Pastor David Stone

When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly – Romans 5:6

Salvation is for the helpless, the powerless, the needy. If Christ had waited until people were good enough, strong enough, or willing enough to be saved, he would never have come.

This is the first lesson of salvation, which must be learned—- you are not saved because of who you are or what you’ve done; you are saved in spite of who you are and what you’ve done.

You can no more earn God’s favor, even now, than lift Mount Everest and carry it on your shoulders. You are without strength; you are ungodly.

But the good news is that Christ died for the ungodly! Christ did not die for those who had done enough good works, or gone to church enough, or given enough money. Christ died for the ungodly, the undeserving, those who are spiritual paupers in the marketplace of salvation.

And Christ came in due time. His birth was no accident, his life was not mere happenstance, and his death was not without purpose. God knew before man sinned in the garden that he would need saving, and he sent his Son to pay, by his cross, our otherwise unplayable debt.

What about you? Do you see yourself as ungodly and without strength, or are you still trusting in your own goodness to save you? If you do see the filthiness of your heart and habits, that you are guilty before a holy God, then know this: Christ died for the ungodly.
Do not hesitate to embrace the salvation that God planned for his people to enjoy in Christ.(Baptist Bible Hour)

BIG & BAD?

August 23, 2012 By Pastor David Stone

The following article was written by Bro. Fred Scott, a member of Lakeway Baptist Church. What he has to say should be given serious consideration–especially in the light of the upcoming election.

Big & bad?

Sheer speculation of course, but, in certain countries in this hemisphere, election results have been declared null and void because the party in power refused to relinquish the office of president/dictator. On that note;

What if; elections were set aside due to an eminent threat; martial law declared and enforced by an all-volunteer mercenary armed forces. (the definition of “Mercenary” is a paid-for-services soldier) it is unfortunate that the concept of citizen-soldier was abandoned in the later part of the twentieth century after being the manner of staffing our military since 1775. When you go to an army-for-hire, what you may wind up with is an army that is loyal only to the check writer, not the COUNTRY.

I would hate to see a scenario like that appear in this country, but ever since 9-11, our country has been gearing toward looking at civilians as the enemy. (Review the “Homeland Security Act”) it is downright scary to think that such a thing could come about, but with those who seem bent on controlling every aspect of our lives, economy, health-care, etc., it does not seem too far-fetched.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a “conspiracy theorist” nutcase, but I can see where the grasp of unlimited power can so intoxicate, that whatever the intentions, the primary one could be to hold on to that power at all costs.

I hope all this is totally wrong. I hope that no kind of action would ever be taken against our average citizen for exercising his constitutional rights of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, the right to peaceably assemble, the right to redress for wrongs committed, etc., yet I fear that inroads have already been made toward that end. Notice the furor brought about by MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS when the founder of Chik-fil-a, a PRIVATE COMPANY, PRIVATELY OWNED, dared to speak up about what his RELIGIOUS BELIEFS are.

A set-up job? YES UNDOUBTEDLY. He didn’t call a press conference to announce he was against gay marriage. He was BAITED into stating what they KNEW his beliefs were, as a professing Christian and Southern Baptist. (You think they expected him to LIE? Just because they would have?) He answered by first stating these were his PERSONAL BELIEFS, and they turned that into a very PUBLIC condemnation, as if he had been out campaigning to cancel all civil rights for gays.

Who says the media doesn’t MAKE (up) the news.

The conclusion is as easy as drawing a line between the dots on a comics page puzzle. YOU WILL BE CONDEMNED FOR WHAT YOU THINK; FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE; FOR WHAT YOU SAY; NO MATTER WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS, IF YOU FAIL TO ADOPT THE PARTY APPROVED POSITION.

It is indeed a slippery slope that once begun, becomes easier to descend and harder to climb out of.

Can anyone see a parallel to the former Soviet Union under Stalin? To the communists regimes in Red China, Cambodia, North Korea, Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, and even back as far as the Fascist dictatorships of WWII.

If you value your life, you won’t speak out, because even your children will be coaxed into turning you in.

Yes, it is indeed a scary thing. I feel like we all need to pray constantly, because God is our only hope of saving the country that most Americans love, and only a few seem to recognize the danger.

BURDENS AND BLESSINGS

November 4, 2014 By Pastor David Stone

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed : lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” –Psalm 61:2

One of the saddest funerals I ever preached was that of a teen age boy in our church who had been killed in a car wreck. This was the text for my message on that day. After the service we met at the parents house and the father asked me to take a walk with him. After walking around farm for a while he started crying and said, “Brother Stone, I have been so busy taking care of all this that I never took time to stop and smell the roses. I should have spent more time with my son and now it’s too late”. What do you say to a man in such grief? I simply reminded him of the words of this text. We can’t change the past, but in God we can find the strength to keep going. In God we reason for hope in the future. God not only will help us, He will use the bad for some good.

Turning Point magazine related this story: “In November 2004, two North Carolina buddies, Dale Beatty and John Gallina, were wounded when their vehicle hit an anti-tank mine in Iraq. John received severe head and back injuries. Dale lost both legs below the knee. Neither man let their injuries stop them. Returning home, they formed an organization to provide accessible housing solutions for disabled veterans. Their story has widely appeared in the media, and they’ve been called part of “the new greatest generation.” Their slogan: “When hearts come together, great things happen.”

We can’t always control what happens to us, but we are responsible for our response. It takes time to work through painful and injurious episodes in life; but nothing is wasted in the providence of God. He knows how to take every burden and bring from it a blessing. Obstacles are stepping stones, not roadblocks.

In times of loss, it’s necessary to grieve, process the pain, ask questions, and allow ourselves to cycle through natural human emotions. But all the while, we can cry to the Lord. When overwhelmed, we can pray, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

We may not be able to rejoice about our circumstances, but we can rejoice in the Lord, and that gives us remarkable strength. God can make life not only bearable, but also a blessing.

THE TIPPING POINT

August 22, 2012 By Pastor David Stone

I just noticed an article that caught my attention. The headline said,”What Hollywood is saying about—-“. My first thought was,”Who cares?”. Then it hit me– millions care. And that’s a serious problem. Literally millions of people are attuned to what is being said in Hollywood. You could call it,”Hero worship”. It’s bad enough that these entertainers make millions doing what they do, it is worse that it gives them a platform to influence so many people in the wrong way.

To listen to these people, and I suggest that you don’t, you would think they are experts on the subject of which they’re speaking, when in realty they are usually, immoral half-wits who do not deserve a listening ear. Just like in their profession they are acting— acting as though they are experts, pretending to be what they’re not. It is so bad that you can pretty well bank on the fact that if the Hollywood crowd is for it, we ought to be against it. They are wrong about just about everything. Of course they aren’t alone.

I was watching a game show the other day where one family of four or five was pitted against another family of the same number. As I listened to the questions and answers I was amazed at the stupidity of the participants. It was unbelievable! “Dumb and dumber” was what came to my mind. Now if the extent of the problem stopped with game shows it wouldn’t be a big deal, but it doesn’t end there. We have a national epidemic of stupidity. People are blinded by the god of this world. And to make it worse they are being fed a steady diet of folly from fools in Hollywood—their idols.

Question–“do you ever look around and wonder how it can be that Americans have put such inept people in positions of leadership and have voted to do things that literally destroy our nation?”. We do things that are not only contrary to what the Bible teaches, but contrary to commonsense. Then we complain about the out-come and/or blame others for the way things are. Dumb and —Oh well, you know the rest.

I fear we have reached the tipping point on the scales of good judgment. When a ship is listing to one side, taking on water, it finally reaches a point of no return and sinks. I fear that we are close to the tipping point. In other words, patients are running the asylum, prisoners are running the prison. And it would be funny were it not so serious that many of them claim to be the intellectual elite, and that the rest of us are just right-wing nut cases. One of my questions to that crowd is this—“How is it working?”. Their answer of course is that we are holding them back and the problems could be solved if we gave them total control. I’ve heard that song before, but things aren’t gong so well there either. How many people do you know who are trying to get into Russia, or Cuba, or Venezuela? Yeah, that’s what I thought! Why then do you allow others to take you down a path that always ends in destruction? Does that make sense?

I don’t know if the tide can be turned or not, but I do know that hard times are ahead if it isn’t. The “Good old days” are gone forever, and only God knows what the future holds. The best we can do is the best we can do. If we do any less we deserve what we get. The challenge is great and only time will tell if we are up to it.

I know, you get tired of hearing negative stuff like this. I understand–I get tired of writing stuff like this. But I suspect our troops get tired of going off to war, but sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done rather than what you enjoy doing. When there’s a job to be done, the question isn’t “Will it be fun and easy?”, but “What do I do?”. Safety demands vigilance, so we must be forever alert and active.

LIMITING GOD

November 3, 2014 By Pastor David Stone

“They limited the Holy One of Israel.” – Psalms 78:41

This was Israel’s sin, and has it not often been ours? Our God is the Holy One, and will do what is the most for His glory; He is the Holy One of Israel, and will therefore consult His people’s welfare.

We must not limit His wisdom, for it is infinite; we must not limit His power, for it is omnipotent; we must not limit His mercy, for it is as high as heaven and deep as hell; we must not limit Him to time, for He will display His sovereignty. He will not be tied to walk by our rules, or be bound to keep our time; but He will perform His word, honour our faith, and reward them that diligently seek Him.

However tried, beware of limiting the Holy One of Israel; say not “It is too difficult, or it is too far gone;” this was the fault of Martha and Mary, but Jesus convinced them that they were wrong. Rather say with Jonathan, “It may be that the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few;” Jonathan honoured the Lord by trusting Him, and the Lord by giving him a victory over the enemies of Israel.

Exercise unlimited confidence in God, for He will fulfil every promise that He has made.

Wide as the world is His command,
Vast as eternity His love:
Firm as a rock His truth shall stand,
When rolling years shall cease to move. — James Smith, 1840

SALVATION IS FOR SINNERS

BIG & BAD?

BURDENS AND BLESSINGS

THE TIPPING POINT

LIMITING GOD

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