“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matt. 10:28

Several years ago a traffic officer gave a ticket to a woman in Brooklyn. And when the officer handed it to her through the window, she snapped it out of his hands and said, “You can go straight to Hell!” Well, because of her behavior the officer took the woman to court. A few days later they both appeared before the judge and he dismissed the officer’s complaint about her language. The judge said, and I quote, “It wasn’t a command, or a wish, but a statement of fact, for going to Hell is a possibility.”

Hell is indeed a possibility, and it is a certainty for all who fail to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. Your choice determines your destiny. It is either heaven or hell, there is no half-way house, and no second chances. Without Christ you are one heart beat and one breath away from hell. Yet the split second that you place your trust in Christ you are forgiven of your sins, saved eternally, and assured of heaven. What will you choose? – HDS

“There is a dreadful Hell,
     And everlasting pains;
     There sinners must with devils dwell,
     In darkness, fire and chains!”

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

“…..now is the day of salvation”. – 2 Cor. 6:2

It’s common to hear people ask “What day is this?”. They are usually enquiring about the day of the week or month, but there are designations for other days that are often mentioned– birthday, the Lord’s day, Presidents day, Valentine day, etc. But there is one day that stands head and shoulders above all others–“the day of salvation“. Regardless of what other day it might be, the day of salvation is the greatest day of our life.

The grace of God has made this day possible and the goodness of God draws us to it (Rom. 2:4). Due to the sacrifice of Christ this could be the day of salvation for whosoever will believe. It is the day when our sins are forgiven, spiritual life is imparted, we are reconciled to God, accepted by God, peace is imparted, hope is secured, and heaven is assured. It is no wonder that Paul says, “behold“. He is calling for our attention, and nothing deserves our attention more than this. Even if a man gains the whole world he loses all if he loses his own soul.

Notice also that “behold” is followed by “now“– “now is the day of salvation“. That sets before us an open door of opportunity, but there is no promise of tomorrow. Regardless of what else is going on in your life “now” is the time to be saved. Being offered something so glorious why would you want to delay another day– or even another second? Seize the moment! Receive the gift. Experience salvation. Rejoice with gladness. Rest in peace. This day could be your day of greatest delight.

No greater invitation has ever been given. No greater opportunity has ever come. But there is more to it than that. God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” ( Acts 17:30). You will either repent and receive Christ as your Redeemed or live in rebellion and suffer the results. You will either be saved or separated from God for eternity. The choice is yours. And you should make it “now” . There is no promise of tomorrow. Delay is dangerous and can be deadly. The “acceptable time” will not last forever. It is God, not we, who sets the terms and time. Don’t waste the day of grace!- HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

The Technique of the Towel

“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. “- John 13:14.
Our Lord steps from magnificence to meniality: “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands…began to wash the disciples’ feet.” From sublimity to service!
In the early days of Communism one leader wanted to admit all who accepted the theory and purposes of the movement. Lenin insisted that only those who were so devoted as to be willing to do the most menial tasks be received. “Fewer but better” was his motto. He said, “Give me one hundred fanatics rather than a thousand indifferent followers.”
“The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Considering how we have to coax and beg church members to do a few things for our Lord, we can easily see how we are loaded down with excess baggage, nominal disciples who agree in theory but have never learned our Saviour’s technique of the towel.
The average church member would do well to look in his concordance and see how many columns it takes to list all the “serve,” “servant,” “service” references. We come to church to sit but will not go out to serve. ( Vance Havner)
We are not saved so we can just sit, soak, and sour. The saints are called to serve the Savior. We are either serving or sinning! – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

WHY WONDER?

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.“- Gal. 6:7
Sometimes I wonder why we wonder. We hear people say, ” I wonder___?”, when it should be no wonder at all. The law of sowing and reaping teaches us that certain things are to be expected. If we sow corn we don’t expect wheat, and we don’t look for apples in a vineyard. Why then do we forget that choices have consequences? When we are disobedient to God we can expect difficulty to follow. Being a Christian doesn’t mean we can sin without suffering for it. To the contrary, Heb. 13:6 says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”
“Be not deceived” Paul says about the matter. It is foolish to know we have sinned against God and then say, “I wonder why this happened to me?”. Anyone ought to be able to figure that out. It should be no mystery that God chastens us when we sin. Only a fool would stick his hand in the fire the second time expecting to not get burned. Rather than wondering about the after affects of sin we ought to confess it.
Somehow we get the idea that as long as we avoid certain sins it is no big deal if we engage in others. But, while the consequences of some sins are more severe than others, all sins are serious. Danger can come in many forms– disobedience, dishonesty, discontent, disrespect, even doubt. And no one sins successfully. A Christian’s sin doesn’t destroy his relationship with God, but it can destroy everything else. And it usually affects someone else as well.
Why do you wonder about something that is no wonder? If you intentionally shot yourself in the foot would you wonder why there is a hole in your foot? Of course not. It’s common to hear people ask “Why do bad things happen to good people?”. The answer is “Because ‘good’ people aren’t always good”. When a child of God steps out of the will of God he can expect action from God. Although afflictions can come for other reasons, correction is one of the main causes. That being the case, we can eliminate some of the hardships from our lives. Notice, Paul said, “Be not” which means we have a choice and some control in what happens to us. It’s our responsibility to make wise choices. Don’t blame God or someone else for what you bring on yourself.- HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”- 1 Peter 4:10

   Woodrow Wilson was on his whistle-stop train tour of the U.S. when he was President of the United States. The train stopped in Billings, Montana. As was custom, he was standing at the rear of the last railroad car speaking to a crowd from the platform.
   Two little boys elbowed their way through the crowd to get close to the President. One of them offered Mr. Wilson a small American flag, which he gladly accepted. The other didn’t have a flag, so he reached down in his pocket, took out a dime, and offered it to the President. Wilson reached down, took the dime, and thanked the little fellow.
   Five years later, Woodrow Wilson died. As his wife was going through his personal effects, she stumbled across that dime – wrapped in a piece of paper and tucked in the President’s wallet. He treasured that small gift so much that he kept it with him at all times.
   That’s how God feels about you. He treasures even what you feel like is the most meager display of love – a simple word of thanks or act of service. That’s because the heart behind your gift of service is far more important than the gift itself. Don’t ever believe you have nothing to give to God. He loves your faithful service – no matter how big or small! Ask God how you can serve Him in both large and small ways today. ( Senior Living)

Many make the mistake of not doing anything because they can’t do some thing they want to do. Others don’t do anything because Satan has convinced them that their efforts will be in vain. And, some won’t do a little because they can’t do a lot. We need to learn to do what we can with what we have. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346