SURVIVAL

February 26, 2011 By Pastor David Stone

Have you noticed–warnings are being sounded out from every direction. Nearly everyone is looking for a coming calamity. Some folks are taking every possible means to protect themselves, while others have their head in the clouds as though nothing bad could possibly happen. Both, I think, are wrong. I believe in being prepared as much as anyone–if you don’t believe me just try breaking in my house while I’m there, but it seems to me that some people have gone overboard. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

I just looked at a website called,”survivalseed.com”. It said,”For just $149.00 plus 15.00 shipping and handling (total $164.00), you can get enough seeds to plant a full acre survival garden!”. While there are some interesting things on this site I can’t help but feel that this is going to the extreme–that the ones who will profit the most are those who are selling the seeds. This site claims that this “New ‘Survival Seed Bank TM’ produces thousands of pounds of nutrient-dense food for pennies per pound—enough to feed friends and family forever!” That’s quite a claim. I’ll admit that I could be wrong about this, maybe everyone should plant such a garden. However, if things get so bad that our survival depends on having such a garden, wouldn’t armed guards be needed to protect it from thieves? We’ve seen numerous examples of riots and looting over much less serious matters. How bad do you think it would get if we had an actual nation wide shortage of food? I suspect it would be much worse than we can even imagine! We might very well live to see such a time, but I’m not so sure that we should worry about growing a garden. Most of us live in the city and we don’t even have an acre to grow such a garden. If such a food shortage ever occurs we would have to defend it with our lives. When people get to the point of starvation they will kill you without a second thought to get food. No, we need something more realible than “Survival seeds”, or a garden or a gun. We need God!

I’m all for being frugal, saving money, growing crops, canning food, etc., but all that alone won’t be enough to avert disaster. There is only one thing we can always rely on regardless of circumstances, and that is a right relationship with God. If that isn’t what it ought to be there is nothing on earth that will protect us. As a Christian you can rest your weary head upon the precious promise found in Matthew 6:33,”But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” I can live with that! It is not the size of my bank account, or the generousity of the church I pastor, or the state of my health, or the promises of the government to care for me that comforts me–no indeed. It is my faith in God’s promises that makes me feel safe and secure. He cannot lie. His promises are always true, His grace is always sufficent. That provides me with the peace I need to face an uncertain future.It will do the same for you. Think about it!

RECEIVING GOD’S GIFT

August 26, 2014 By Pastor David Stone

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”–Romans 6:23

Walter L. Wilson was trained as a medical doctor and practiced medicine for many years, but his greatest passion was pointing people to Jesus. Dr. Wilson told the story of how he used John 3:16 to lead a young boy to Christ. Stressing the importance of receiving the gift of eternal life Wilson asked, “Does the giving of a gift make it yours?” The boy answered, “You must take it if it is to become yours.” “True,” said Dr. Wilson, “and so Christ must be taken as God’s gift, if He is to become yours. I am a doctor,” he went on, “but I am not your doctor, am I?” “No,” said the boy. “Why not?” asked Wilson. “Because we never took you as our doctor,” the boy replied. “Very well, then, Jesus Christ is a Saviour, but He is not your Saviour unless you take Him. Will you do so now?” The boy did.

Our society likes to view all religions and beliefs as equal. We are told there are many paths to God. But that is not the message of the Bible, nor is it the message of Jesus Himself. He came into to the world to provide the only means of salvation that is acceptable to God and available to man. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

If Jesus is the only way to Heaven (and He is), then those of us who know this truth have a responsibility to share the good news with others and point them to the way of life. God’s plan is not for us to be saved alone but to bring others with us on the way to Heaven.( Daily in the Word)

Dear friend, have you received God’s glorious gift? He offers whosoever will the gift of eternal life. All that is necessary to receive it is for you to put your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior. God accepts all who accept His Son (Eph. 1:6). Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done God promised to forgive you and save you if you will receive His Son as your Savior. He offers you the gift of eternal life, will you receive it?

HEARING AIDS FOR BELIEVERS

February 22, 2011 By Pastor David Stone

Some articles are interesting, fun, and/or inspirational to read, but offer little by way of practical value. Such, however, is not the case with this article written by Jim Elliff:

Let’s face it-sometimes it is hard to get much out of the sermon or teaching you receive in your church. While some of the blame often lies at the feet of the presenter, it is still the obligation of the listener to scratch for something nourishing for the soul.

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Here are some hearing aids:

1. Sleep more. Not during the meeting, of course, but the night before. This takes some planning. It is especially difficult with youth, who use Saturday night as an opportunity to stay up as late as possible.

2. Take notes. Buy a small notebook with a sturdy back, and don’t forget to bring a pen or pencil. Your notes may be imperfect, but they do help a sluggish mind. Don’t let your note taking make the session purely academic. Sermons are to be “experienced.” I like to put the subject in a circle in the middle of the page and draw lines out from the circle to other points, etc. But everyone has their own style.

3. Bring your Bible. It is difficult to follow the preacher’s line of thought when you don’t have the whole text of his message, including the surrounding context, in front of you. Pew Bibles are sometimes useful, but using your own Bible means that you can underline as you need to, and write notes in the margin.

4. Sit closer. Almost without exception, the best listeners are in the front. There are some valid reasons to be in the back, needless to say, but it is usually true that sitting in the back impedes our listening.

5. Minimize distractions. If you are sitting where there is a lot of movement around you, find a better place. If your kids are noisy and seek your attention, then “divide and conquer” by asking a relative or friend to sit with you. Prepare a way for the little ones to “draw” what they are learning from the sermon. And make sure they go to the bathroom prior to the meeting. Nothing breaks concentration, for listeners as well as the preacher, like the Sunday shuffle to the restroom.

6. Ask questions. In a typical session, this will likely have to be done following the meeting. For instance, you might ask: “Pastor, I did not understand what you meant by the phrase ‘sanctification is by faith.’ Would you please explain that again to me?”

7. Discuss the problem. Express to a pastor or leader that you are having trouble listening and would like to improve. Ask for suggestions. Perhaps this will cause the leader to be alert to your need and to improve communication, or you might discover some better way to connect to his style of speaking.

Some people sleep each and every time the Word is preached. The preacher opens his Bible; the member closes his eyes—every time! Others don’t sleep, but they have nomadic minds and never concentrate. Years of this will leave you spiritually destitute. There has never been a truly spiritual person who could not somehow lock his or her mind on the truth.

Jesus said, “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” (Luke 8:18).

In other words, if you do not “take heed how you listen” even what you seem to have in terms of understanding will be taken away from you, revealing that you never truly understood or knew God at all.

One person hears all he can and, though it might not be all he would like, it still makes him stronger. The other person sleeps or mentally escapes and experiences spiritual atrophy or even eternal loss.

Nobody likes to be told, “Get a hearing aid.” But I say, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear!” (Mt. 13:9).

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

August 25, 2014 By Pastor David Stone

I recently heard one of our members say, “I know —- is —-, but I love —- anyway”. That’s great, and that’s what unconditional love is all about–loving one another in spite of their faults. That should characterize every Christian. Without such love there is no evidence that we are true believers. Without it relationships are ruined, families are fractured, friendships fail, and churches are crippled.

When love is lacking sin is flourishing, needs are growing, divisions are multiplying, people are suffering and joy is absent. Love is the power that draws us together and the glue that holds us together. It makes a household a home, a church a family, and all of society a better place to live. With love nearly all things are possible. Without it nothing works as it should. Until you love unconditionally you will never, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”.(Matt. 5:44). That command is a tall order and nothing short of genuine love can suffice. With it we cannot fail. Without it we cannot succeed.

But where does such love come from? It comes from us first loving God– the first and great commandment. In loving Him above all else we are enabled to love others as we love ourselves. All this is made possible because God first loved us. Considering God’s great love for us, we never have a reason to not love Him or others. We might not like another person’s ways, but we ought to love them–faults and all. If we fail it is due to our relationship with God, not the shortcomings of others. Unconditional love depends on our character, not the other persons conduct.

But, as much as we need such love we cannot create it ourselves. Will power isn’t that powerful. To get love we have to go to the source, which is God. No amount of human effort is ever enough. If the benefits are big enough we might treat people as though we love them, but we don’t. We tolerate them and treat them kindly because it works to our advantage. The real test comes when there is an offense of some kind. Unconditional love doesn’t stop because someone fails. That doesn’t mean we pretend that nothing happened. It means we love them regardless of what happens.

It is unconditional love that impresses hearts, changes lives, builds relationships, keeps marriages together, and makes churches successful. Nothing else on earth is so powerful. Convincing others that we love them unconditionally can change them when nothing else can. Now if we could just see our need, rather than the other person’s need, and love people as Jesus did we could make a major difference in the world. Let us pray earnestly for God to fill us with such love.

STRENGTH THROUGH WEAKNESS

February 18, 2011 By Pastor David Stone

—for when I am weak, then am I strong.–2 Corinthians 12:10

Soon after receiving Christ as my Savior I surrender to preach and began reading everything I could about preachers. One of the first books I read was the biography of Charles Spurgeon. I couldn’t put it down. His story amazed me, and the older I get the more amazed I am.

Spurgeon has been called “The Prince of Preachers”. He is read by more preachers than any other man. I am amazed by his great abilities and accomplishments. But the thing that amazes me most is that he was able to do all those things in spite of great adversity. Sadly it is that part of his life that many people are not aware of.

Spurgeon suffered from gout, rheumatism and Bright’s disease. He spent about one third of his last 22 years out of the pulpit suffering or convalescing. Then there was the depression which he battled from the time he was 24. He said, “My spirits were sunken so low that I could weep by the hour like a child, and yet I know not what I wept for”. He considered this to be his “worst feature” and was ashamed of it. Add to that the fact that his wife was in ill health, the pressure of pastoring the world’s largest church, running an orphanage, and the critics who hounded him continually and you wonder how he was able to do anything. Yet he remained faithful to the end and left behind 63 volumes of sermons–the largest set of books by a single author in the history of Christianity. Yet, I suspect that some churches today would have fired him for missing so much time from the pulpit. Thankfully his folks realized what a treasure they had for a pastor and supported him throughout his ministry.

So when I tell you that I am amazed by Charles Spurgeon you can see why. Maybe you’re thinking, “Wow! There’s no telling what he might have accomplished had he been healthy and not had all these problems”. I suppose you can look at it that way, but I tend to think that he would not have accomplished half of what he did had he been completely free from these problems. Our problem is that we don’t realize that the things working against us are actually working for us. Listen to what Spurgeon told his students–“I dare say the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness—if some men, that I know of could only be favoured with a month of rheumatism, it would, by God’s grace mellow them marvelously”.

It would take many hours to explore this subject in depth, but it is not my purpose to study the life of Spurgeon. My only purpose is to help you see that there is hope, that our burdens can make us better rather than bitter, that God can help you and use you regardless of how severe your trials might be. The worst thing that happens in your life might be the best thing for the Kingdom of God. If you don’t believe it just look at the record preserved for us in history. Spurgeon is just one example. History teaches us that those who have been used the most by God have also suffered the most. They could have never been what they were without it. And there is no better example of that than Paul who said,”when I am weak, then I am strong”.

When problems knock you off your feet and drive you to your knees, you are then in the best position to be used of God. Think about it!

SURVIVAL

RECEIVING GOD’S GIFT

HEARING AIDS FOR BELIEVERS

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

STRENGTH THROUGH WEAKNESS

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