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

Throughout history man has been searching for something. He wants a high of some sort– something to make him feel good. However they might describe it, the one thing everyone wants is satisfaction. People will travel from one end of the earth to the other, spend every penny they have, deplete themselves of energy, and neglect their most pressing duty trying to find something that satisfies.

Christians should know better, but they don’t always do better. They sometimes long for something to such an extent that  causes them to lose their focus and leave their duty. They give more thought to the pursuit of pleasure, or the solving of a problem, etc. than they do to the delights of being a child of God. They waste their time searching for something to satisfy when they already have something far better than anything they could ever find. Think about it.

No one on earth is blessed so much as Christians. It is inexcusable that we act as though we have been abused by our heavenly Father. It is sad that we misrepresent Him by complaining, as though He has mistreated us.

God is the God of all grace. And we, being the object of His affection, should be overwhelmed by the exceeding greatness of His undying love, and thankful for His tender mercies. Our praise and thanksgiving should never cease. With every fiber of our being we should express our love for the One who loved us even “while we were yet sinners” (Rom. 5:8). Being aware of His exceeding great and precious promises we should never be discouraged or disgruntled– regardless of our circumstances. We are enabled to that only by finding our greatest delight in pleasing Christ. Fixing our focus on Him keeps us from failing (Heb. 12:2-3).
The search for satisfaction doesn’t come to an end until we come to the Savior. He satisfies the longing soul as nothing else can. Then our concern is to please the One who satisfies us.–HDS

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

TRANSFORMED

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” – Rom.12:2

Conformity to this wicked world is a curse upon Christianity. We are in the world, for a good reason, but not of the world, and should not be like the world. However, it is a sad fact that today there is almost no difference in the behavior of those who profess to be Christians and those who don’t. And that destroys our effectiveness as witnesses to the world.

For this to change there must be a renewing of the mind. F. B. Meyer said, “This is not matter for emotion or ecstasy, but of bringing our minds into close and constant contact with the truth as contained in the Holy Scripture — as day by day you steep your mind in God’s word, without you realizing it, you will become transfigured.”

The order of this is beholding, becoming, and beaming as lights in a sin-darkened world. Before we can reflect the Son of God we must receive the word of God. Looking unto Jesus (Heb.12:2) leads to becoming like Him, and a light to others.

Jesus described this process when He said “Abide in me” (John 15:4,7). It is through continuous communion with Christ that we become like Christ. The key to us becoming what He demands and we desire is found in these words, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:70). May God help you see your need of transformation and to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom12:1).–HDS

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

THE REST OF THE STORY

I loved to listen to Paul Harvey, especially when he told “the rest of the story.” Life is full of mysteries and we’re all curious – to put it mildly. Things happen that simply don’t seem to make sense. This is especially true when it involves suffering or a death that seems premature.

We know God is good and we believe He is in control of everything, but we often question what He allows. We know He promised that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, but they seem counter-productive to His plans for our life, and we ask “Why?” We want an explanation and God isn’t talking. But He will! It’s just a matter of time.

Someday He will give us the rest of the story. I know this is so because I John 3:2 says “—it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” In other words, when He appears all else will become apparent to us. Being like Him will give us all the answers. He will tie up all the loose ends, fill in all the pieces of the puzzle, answer our questions and explain the purpose of His plan. While we will shout for joy at the greatness of His providence, we will be silent as to complaints. We will see that He has done all things well. We will be amazed as we see how God orchestrated the events of our lives so as to work out His eternal purpose. We shall forever praise Him, singing “Worthy is the Lamb!”.– HDS

“We’ll talk it over in the bye and bye.

I’ll ask the reasons – He’ll tell me why,

When we talk it over in the bye and bye.”

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

WHEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND

“—who hath made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or deaf or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the LORD?”— Ex. 4:11

I’ll never forget the first time I read that verse. It stopped me in my tracks! I was a new Christian and was shocked that such things could be attributed to God. Yet there it was in the very word of God, and that was just the beginning. There are numerous verses that say basically the same thing. It’s as though God is saying, I’ve got big shoulders put it all on me.

Many are surprised to learn that the Bible ascribes our afflictions to God. He either allows or appoints, permits or plans everything. Nothing is by accident. That doesn’t mean God is the author or cause of sin. It simply, seriously, reveals that He is sovereign. He controls all things. He doesn’t cause sin, but he allows it, and rightly so. Made in His image and commanded to love, man has the God-given ability to choose one path or another.

We don’t always know what is best for ourselves, so we are blessed that God intervenes and gives us what is needed, although it’s not always what we desire. And knowing God– we don’t have to know the reason. Just knowing there is a reason is enough for those whose faith is in God. Having the assurance of Romans 8:28 we should never complain about our lot in life. That promise gives us confidence in God’s concern, comfort in our trials, and courage to face the future. The certainty of it lifts us out of the pit of depression and puts delight in our heart.- HDS

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

SEASONED SPEECH

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” – Co.4:6

It would be interesting to know what sin is most common. Whatever it is, I suspect that disobedience to this command would be in the top ten. We just don’t do well when it comes to controlling the tongue. And the strange thing is that we don’t seem to think it’s a big deal. Many feel at liberty to say whatever they want, and some even brag about doing so – such is the fool.

It’s noteworthy that it was said of Jesus, “All bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luke 4:22). On another occasion it was said, “Never a man spake like this man” (John 7:46).

I’m amazed at the amount of references to our words that are found in the Bible. Several are found in Proverbs. On a positive note they are likened unto refreshing water 10:11), silver (10:20), food (10:21), medicine (12:18), and a tree of life (15:4). Prov.18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” On the negative side James likens the tongue to “fire, a world of iniquity” (Ja.3:6), “an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (Ja.3:8). For good or bad, words are exceedingly powerful. We ought to take care in what we say and how we say it.

Our text tells us our speech should “be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” “Grace” indicates that our words should be gracious. The phrase “seasoned with salt” suggest that our words should be fresh, tasteful, pure, honest, palatable, savory. Just as food is better when seasoned with salt our words are to be pleasant or appealing rather than offensive.

Why is there such little regard for how our words will affect others? It’s because of a problem within. Our speech reveals what is in our heart (Matt.15:17-19). Notice also that our speech should meet needs – “that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (also see I Pet.3:15). May God help us to say those things that are helpful rather than harmful. Let us say with David “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue! I will keep my mouth with a bridle…” (Ps.39:1).- HDS

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