“But he (Elijah) himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” – 1 Kings 19:4
Just as storms are an inevitable part of the weather cycle trials are a part of life (Job 14:1). We can’t escape the storms and we shouldn’t expect to escape the trials. The fact is you are either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or going into a storm. Anyway you look at it you can expect stormy weather and troubles in life. Everyone is facing something they would rather not experience, but they must. The only choice they have is how they will respond.

Troublesome times are not only difficult and  discouraging, they are dangerous. One of the biggest dangers is that we are prone to make mistakes that make matters worse – our problem produces more problems. This can happen in several ways. Here’s some of the most common:

— Depression. Make no mistake about it this is no minor matter. Depression not only makes life difficult, it can put us in great danger.
— Withdrawal. Depressed people tend to crawl in their shell and shut others out. Rather than be with their friends they would rather curl up in a fetal position, suck their thumb, and cry. I’m not making fun of them- we’ve all felt that way. Often the thing we want least is what we need most– being with people.
— Bitterness. In times of trouble we often feel that life is unfair. We believe we deserve more, bigger, and better, and we get bitter when we don’t get it..
— Jealousy / Envy. Peeking out of our dark pit of depression we see others prospering and enjoying life and we feel short-changed. “That ought to be me” we tell ourselves.
— Fearfulness. With a problem looming over us we begin to imagine problems that don’t exist – every cloud looks like a storm cloud. Our reasoning is impaired to the point that we think there is a snake under every rock, a monster around every corner, etc.
— Foolish choices. In trying to get out of our problem we often made decisions that cause us to run headlong into another– a worse problem.
— Distraction from duty. We become so preoccupied with our problem that we focus on our problem rather than our purpose in life. We allow our difficulty to make us derlict in our duty– and feel justified in doing so.( see 1 Kings 19)
— Self-centeredness. Blinded by our bitterness we start thinking we are the only one with a problem. Rather than considering what others are going through our focus is turned inward. Although we don’t know it, we could help ourselves by helping others, but we are more concerned about getting than we are about giving. It’s true that sometimes our problem is so great that it prevents us from rendering aid to others, but no problem should ever blind us to the fact that we all have problems. God help us to pray for one another and do what we can when we can– and do it cheerfully as unto the Lord. — HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“……be ye thankful.”– Col. 3:15
Don’t you find it strange that every year around Thanksgiving Day we preachers spend so much time urging people to be thankful? I know it’s expected and it just seems reasonable, and to an extent that is true. But some things ought to be natural. For the Christian the giving of thanks ought to be as natural as breathing. If a person can’t breathe something is wrong, and if you find it difficult to express your gratitude to God something is surely wrong spiritually. This is not a problem you are at liberty to ignore. Ingratitude is not only unlawful, it is also unreasonable. When from God we have received everything and to God we owe everything how can we not be thankful? Even when things are at their worst we have reason to give God our best, and in all things we are to be thankful.

In Christ we have more blessings than can be numbered, all of which are undeserved. We have riches beyond compare and assurance from God, who cannot lie, that all our needs will be supplied. How can we fail to give thanks? But why do some folks have such a hard time expressing their gratitude? Seems strange to me that preachers and song leaders go wild trying to pump people up emotionally to get them in a worship mood. If that’s what it takes I think it’s worthless. It might make them feel better but it doesn’t impress God. Motive matters to God. If what we do is merely out of a sense of duty it isn’t enough. It must be out of love and with a cheerful heart and for God’s glory. That gets God’s attention and brings us blessings!– HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

GREAT LOVE

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: ….”- 1 John 3:16
D. L. Moody said, “I once heard of a father who had a prodigal boy, and the boy had sent his mother down to the grave with a broken heart. One evening the boy started out as usual to spend the night in drinking and gambling, and his old father, as he was leaving, said, “My son, I want to ask a favor of you to-night. You have not spent an evening with me since your mother died. Now, won’t you gratify your old father by staying at home with him?” “No,” said the young man, “it is lonely here, and there is nothing to interest me, and I am going out.” And the old man prayed and wept, and at last said, “My boy, you are just killing me as you have killed your mother. These hairs are growing white, and you are sending me, too, to the grave.” Still the boy would not stay, and the old man said, “If you are determined to go to ruin, you must go over this old body to-night. I cannot resist you. You are stronger than I, but if you go out, you must go over this body.” And he laid himself down before the door, and that son walked over the form of his father; trampled the love of his father  under foot, and went out.”
Even so, have you ever thought about how it grieves God when you reject Christ who laid down His life for you? Those who refuse Him trample underfoot the precious blood of the Son of God, blood that was shed for your sins. Of all the horrible things a person can do this is the worst! It is the damming sin that leads to eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.– HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“…haters of God..“–Rom. 1:30
What a shocking thought! The uninformed might suppose that this refers to a very small class of extraordinarily vile sinners, but it goes far beyond that. They are unaware of the fact that the natural man is an enemy to God. Were that not the case there would be no need for a Redeemer and reconciliation. The fact is, “the carnal mind is enmity against God..” (Rom. 8:7). That is a terrible position to be in, but those who hate God are there by their own choice.

Although God has given such a revelation of Himself that we are “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20), the willful sinner would rather create a god in his own image rather than be controlled by the God who created him. Having the freedom to receive or to reject God, you could say, he opts to vote God out and become his own god– “worshiping the creature more than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). In this we see the root of man’s problem, the reason for his condemnation, and the record of his folly in a nut shell.

Such sinners might love religion, but they loathe the Redeemer. They hate God who is holy and say in their heart “We will not have Him rule over us”. They would rather bow down to a blind idol made of stone than the living all-seeing God. Their carnal hearts are so corrupt that they enjoy and embrace the very things that destroy them, rather than the life-giving God who loves them. Although God “commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30), they continue on as enemies in their rebellion against Him which leads to their ruin.

Indeed, the God hater has voted God out– self sits on the throne, misery fills his days, sin marks his ways, and he lives as a slave to his own lusts. Not until the end, when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord, will he realize that he cast a losing vote. What about you? How will you vote? “Choose you this day whom ye will serve..“(Josh. 24:15). I’m voting for Jesus!  –HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”– Prov. 14:34

In his book “Quest For Character” Chuck Swindoll wrote: Sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947 book Family and Civilization, recorded his keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied.
 *Marriage loses its sacredness…is frequently broken by divorce.
 *Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.
 *Feminist movements abound.
 *Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general.
 *Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion.
 *Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities.
 *Growing desire for and acceptance of adultery.
 *Increasing interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes. 

Obviously we never learn! This serves to remind us that human nature never changes and man’s needs never vary. We keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. It seems that our only hope is a crisis that is severe enough to turn us back to the old paths where we enjoy a time of prosperity until we are spoiled and then– well you know the rest. In all this we see our constant need of God. The problem is that we lose sight of it over and over again, as they did in the days of the Judges. What fools we are.- HDS

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