WHY DID GOD BLESS AMERICA?
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”-– Acts 17:26

We sing “God bless America”, and for good reason– we need His blessings. Without His blessings we would struggle, suffer, and eventually perish. It’s easy to think of reasons why we sing and pray ‘God bless America”. But have you ever thought about why God has blessed America? It’s an undeniable fact God has blessed America, but “Why?”.

It was not without reason that God raised up our nation, preserved her and blessed all these years. Looking at the precepts, principles, and promises of God’s Word I believe we can see why He blessed us. God blessed America because we have—

— Shown the greatness of His power and brought Him glory.
    As we look at American history and think about all those who helped make America great we give them credit for doing so, but the greater praise belongs to God. It was He who made America great!

— Stood for Christian values.
    Because of its Biblical foundation and trust in God the Lord has been pleased to bless us. Our testimony has shown the world that God’s will is right, best, and safest.

— Shared with those in need.
    No other nation has shown such love, compassion, and generosity as America. Not only have we taken care of our own, we have responded to the needs of others around the world. That’s no small matter in God’s sight.

— Supported Israel.
    More than any other Israel has found a friend in America. And we have been blessed as a result– just like God promised (Gen. 12:3; Jer. 30:6).

— Spread the gospel.
    No nation on earth has been so instrumental in spreading the gospel of Christ throughout the earth as has America. Our churches have sent more missionaries into the world than any other, and that     was the intent of our forefathers.

Now if we truly desire and expect God to bless America in the future we must get back to what caused Him to bless us in the first place. Think about it! — HDS

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

JUDGE NOT
“Judge not, that ye be not judged…. “- Matt. 7:1
While this verse is often misunderstood and misused, it is also one of the most ignored verses in the Bible. Most people pay no heed to the warning, and that creates confusion and conflict. We could eliminate a lot of tension and strife if we understood the danger of misunderstanding others. Many times we assume we know what a person should or shouldn’t do when we don’t. Or, to look at it another way, we assume that we know what a person can or can’t do. We often assume they could if they would, but they can’t or shouldn’t–and we don’t understand why.
If a person had both legs amputated we could understand why he can’t walk, and we wouldn’t expect him to so. We certainly wouldn’t rebuke him for not doing so. But suppose a person, who appears perfectly healthy, has a brain tumor that affects his motor skills and prevents him from walking. It would be easy for others , based on appearance, to misjudge him. Some might accuse him of being lazy or unconcerned when that’s not the case at all. And, by the way, he doesn’t owe it to you to divulge the nature of his problem.
There could be 1001 examples of what I’m talking about, but the point is — things are not always as they appear to be and our assumptions are sometimes wrong. If you are going to make an assumption why don’t you assume the best– that there is a good reason for what appears to be a fault or failure with the person. Why do we refuse to give people the benefit of the doubt rather than thinking the worst about them? Isn’t that what we would want them to do to us? What makes you think you are wise enough to judge them fairly? How do you know you have all the facts?
Have you ever thought about how others are affected by your unfair judgment and what great harm it might cause? I’ve seen relationships destroyed, families ripped apart, and churches split all because people persisted in judging others unfairly. As Christians we ought to be better than that. If we would stop imposing unfair expectations on others the world would be a lot better place to live. Think about it!– HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

MY LORD
“Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;”– Psa. 16:1-2
Here is prayer and a proclamation. This is a psalm of delight, a song with no mention of trials and tribulation. And in the first two verses we see why it is so. It can be summed up in these words, “Thou art my Lord”. Everything else rests upon that foundational truth. And that fact colors our thinking about everything else– thus he says, “I will bless the LORD” (vs.7).
Because He is our Lord we have great obligations. James Smith put it like this- “Your will is my law. Your precepts are my directory. Your commandments are my guide. I look to You alone for strength in every time of need. I walk by Your word, with a view to please You. I take You to be my Alpha and Omega, my first and last, my all in all! I renounce all other objects of worship. ‘ O Lord, our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we honor!” May we all have the same attitude.
Because He is our Lord we also have great expectations. These are not something we impose upon Him, but things inspired by Him through His “exceeding great and precious promises“. As to the nature and number of these expectations they cover every area of life from the cradle to the grave- and beyond. We live in hope because we have His promise of help. That’s why the Psalmist went on to say, “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope” ( vs 8-9). Those who “set the LORD always before” them, are “Looking unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:2), always find help, happiness, and hope. Knowing the One who created and controls the universe, the One who loves us and gave His Son, is our Lord gives us blessed assurance that all is well. –HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

BOTH LORD AND CHRIST
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”– Acts 2:36
Of all things we need to know this is at the top of the list. Jesus is ” both Lord and Christ”. He is both Master and Messiah. He has both the authority and the anointing. He is our Ruler and Redeemer.
We often hear people talk about “making Jesus Lord”, but they are a little late to the party– that has already been done, in fact it has always been so! He is Lord of all whether you acknowledge it or not. The Word of God proclaims it is so and proves it is so. The only question is whether or not you will surrender to His Lordship. Most don’t and won’t. Judas refused. Pilate refused. Countless others refuse. But what about you? Have you submitted to His authority and trusted His saving grace? Where is the evidence?
He has been given a name above every name and invested with absolute authority ( Phil. 2:9 ) and every person must eventually answer to Him because “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31). As someone said, “He is the ‘ Inevitable Man’. There is no way you can avoid Him”. Indeed it is true! He is Lord of all and all who refuse to acknowledge that fact are living in rebellion against Him. Acts 17:30 says He “commandeth all men every where to repent:”. Have you? Will you? You can reject Him now, but you will recognize Him later. The time is coming, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:10-11)– HDS 
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

A PRICELESS PROMISE

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” – Matt. 6:33

I recently started a message by asking “Are you concerned about your future?” Then the next week I alluded to that question again. Well, I’m not through yet – “Are you concerned about your future?” If we’re honest we will all answer in the affirmative. While we might not be looking miles down the road, we are probably wondering about tomorrow – or maybe ever later today. Thankfully this is a subject our Lord addresses in Matt. 6:34, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.“. That gives us good reason to not be anxious.

Here we find one of our Lord’s most precious promises. It’s a promise that will calm those who are distraught, cheer those who are depressed, and give courage to those who feel defeated. It is a promise that nobody but God could make. But it is conditional.

Before we can claim the promise we must meet the condition, which is – “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Do that and everything else falls into place. We can rest assured that God, who cannot lie, will keep His commitments to those who meet His conditions. Those who care for the things of God will be cared for by God who gives them the things they need. This is a priceless promise in that it can produce perfect peace for perplexed people. If we ever discovered that God’s will is best, even if there was no promise of a reward for obedience, we would gladly comply. So, knowing that we will be rewarded for submitting to His will should make us all the more willing to do so. As the old song says, “It pays to serve Jesus”. It really does! – HDS

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