“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.”- (Ps. 91:15). 
D. L. Moddy admittedly had many short comings, but God used him in a mighty way. His comments on this verse reveals why. He wrote:

 First, “I will deliver.” When God called Moses to go down into Egypt to deliver the children of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, in all the world there wasn’t a man who, humanly speaking, was less qualified than Moses. He had made the attempt once before to deliver the children of Israel, and he began by delivering one man. He failed in that, and killed an Egyptian, and had to run off into the desert, and stay there forty years. He had tried to deliver the Hebrews in his own way, he was working in his own strength and doing it in the energy of the flesh. He had all the wisdom of the Egyptians, but that didn’t help him. He had to be taken back into Horeb, and kept there forty years in the school of God, before God could trust him to deliver the children of Israel in God’s way. Then God came to him and said, “I have come down to deliver,” and when God worked through Moses three million were delivered as easy as I can turn my hand over. God could do it. It was no trouble when God came on the scene.

 Learn the lesson. If we want to be delivered, from every inward and outward foe, we must look to a higher source than ourselves. We cannot do it in our own strength.
 
When we do what we can, to do as we should, God does what we can’t. I know He does because for more than half-a-century I have been living prayer by prayer, and He has never failed!– HDS
 
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

WHOLEHEARTEDNESS
“And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”- 2 Chron. 31:21.
It is a fact that many go mournfully through life in a halfhearted fashion. They drag through the day as though it would be a crime to be happy. They do what they must, on a good day, and no more. Life for them is a burden rather than a blessing. If that describes you, please consider what F. B. Meyer wrote many years ago:

“The man who does his business with all his heart, is sure to prosper. To put your heart into your work is like genius manipulating common materials, till their worth becomes priceless, just because of what has been put into it.

 The heart stands for the emotions and affections. What the furnace is to the factory or steamship, that the heart is in the economy of our nature. It is a great thing to love our life work, to have an aim that kindles us whenever we think of it. Those who are so happily circumstanced, cannot be sufficiently thankful. But what of those who are bound to a work which they did not choose and do not like, who find their daily toil irksome and distasteful is there any help for them? Can they possibly learn to do such work from their hearts? Certainly: because of Him who set it, and for whom it may be done.

 Love performs the most onerous duties with all its heart, if they conduce to the comfort and help of those whom it loves more than itself. Does not a mother or wife perform tasks from which the hireling would shrink? She does them with all her heart, not considering for a moment the loathesomeness and hardness of the demand. So if we look at our life work as God appointed; if we realize that He has fixed it for us, who determined the orbits of the stars; if we can hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Do this for Me ” there is no further thought of hardship or distaste. Remember to do all your life work for Jesus; do all in his name and for his glory; ask Him to fill your heart with submissive, loyal obedience, and you will find that when you introduce the personal element of Christ service into the meanest acts, they will glisten like a piece of gold tapestry.”

If we did what we should, as we should, when we should it would put delight in the day, sunshine in the soap suds, and joy in our job. He who goes the extra mile, does more than what’s expected of him, and whistles while he works seldom finds cause for complaint. He is happy to be helpful, blessed by blessing.— HDS

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

“But take heed lest by any means this liberty of your’s become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.”-– 1 Cor. 8:9
“Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”1 Cor. 8:13

Far too often the only time we care about how we affect others is when we are seeking their attention and praise, rather than how we might be creating a problem. In many cases the greatest hindrance to a church comes from within rather than from without. Members do things without any consideration for how it might have a negative affect on others. They become a stumblingblock rather than a stepping-stone. Drop outs in a church are common and more often than not it is due to another member of the church.

Some are hurt by the actions of another– whether in word or deed. It is a fact that we often say or do things that are a grief to others. Rather than displaying love we demonstrate a lack of concern for the welfare of others.

Sometimes others are hindered by our attitude. As Frances Ridley Havergal wrote– “ How sad.. that we may hinder without word or act. Wrong feeling is more infectious that wrongdoing, especially the various phases of ill temper, such as gloominess, touchiness, irritability. Do we not know how catching these are?”. It’s true! Many services are spoiled by someone’s attitude. They are a wet-blanket to the whole congregation. Their sour spirit produces a cloud of gloom over everyone.

We ought to be helpers rather than hinders. At this very moment, no doubt, there are people seriously considering leaving their church because of other members. Should they be strong enough to not do so? Of course they should. They ought to ignore the attitude and actions of others. They are in no way justified in leaving. But the offending party should realize that they are an offense and clean up their act! It’s strange how many times the offending party criticizes the “weaker brother” when in truth they are the cause of it. Seems to me the weaker of the two is the one who thinks himself to be the strongest. Have you ever thought about what a horrible sin it is to be a stumblingblock to others? “But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.” ( 1 Cor. 8:12). Please think about it! Be blameless. — HDS

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

MOTIVE MATTERS
“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”-– Col. 3:23

If confession is good for the soul, I’m about to do myself a world of good. During the course of my ministry there have been times when I did things only because I was the pastor. It was expected of me and the right thing to do. I did it although I didn’t really want to, and had I not been the pastor I probably wouldn’t have done it. Others couldn’t tell, but God and I knew the truth. Yes, I’m ashamed of myself, but I would be more ashamed if I pretended it never happened.

There have been times when I’ve dealt with unpleasant people, refrained from saying something, done a good deed, and resisted resigning just because I was the pastor– not because I wanted to. I did the right thing, but I had the wrong motive. I’m glad I did what was right, but I wish I had done so for the right reason. Don’t misunderstand, doing something because you are the pastor is a good motive — there are certain expectations associated with the office, but there is a higher motive. I should have been compelled by love rather than a job description, or the opinion of others. I’ve tried to learn from my failures and improve my attitude, but I would be lying if I said I’ve totally mastered my motives. I’m still working on me and it’s a lifetime project.

I can’t change the past, but I hope my failure in this area will help me succeed in another.  Hopefully my failure will help me to be more patient and understanding with folks who fail to do what they should. Sometimes what they do is no worse than what I would have done had I not been the pastor. This also makes me more thankful for those who do what they should even though they are not a pastor. They simply do it out of love for the Lord, which is what we all should do. The fact that we are Christians should motive us to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reason. We ought to do what we do out of love, for God’s glory, and with joy. God help us– it ain’t always easy! – HDS
 
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

WHY LIVE?
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”– Phil. 1:21

Life is a precious gift from God. Given the option to live or die just about everyone would choose life. Why? Why do you want to live? Answer these questions–

What do you want to do with your life?
What should you do with your life?
What will you do with you life”
Those are interesting and important questions. When the first and third are answered correctly with the correct answer to the second question we can expect great things. By the way, how did you answer the second question? Do you know what you should do with your life?  We seem to be good at telling others what they should do, but not so good when it comes to self. Do you know how you should spend your life?

So how do we determine what we should do? What is the high and lofty goal that we strive for? And what standard do we use to measure our choice? If we are wrong we will end up spending our life on that which is worthless. The answer cannot come merely from within, nor even from those around us. We must go to the highest authority, the wisest source, safest place. There is one thing that meets all those requirements, and that’s the Bible. Only the Word of God can reveal the will of God. God isn’t trying to confuse you. His desire is to instruct you in the way you should go. The key to you understanding His word is found in John 7:17 “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” Read the Bible with a readiness to do the will of God and you will know what you ought to do.

Once you discover the main thing make all your other decisions in the light of that and in most cases you won’t be confused about the other things. The main thing for every Christian is to glorify God through Christ-like living. Anything that interferes with that is off limits.- HDS

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