WHY ARE YOU A FRIEND?
“ A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”— Prov. 18:24

I recently noticed a question that caught my attention– “Why are you friends with your friends?” I suspect that’s something most people have never really thought about. If they did some would discover that they have the wrong motive. They make friends for what they can get rather than what they can give. They seek a benefit rather than being a blessing. True friendship can be costly–“ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13).

Friends are wonderful and needed by all, but to have friends we must show ourselves friendly (Prov. 18:24). You can’t keep your head in the clouds and others at arms length and expect people to chase you down. To have friends we must be a friend. However, having a friend isn’t the most important thing– if the relationship is all about what others can do for you. Motive matters! We should desire and develop friendships so as to minister to others, not to be ministered to. And when we give what we would like to get we gain what we desire.

Just as we love the Lord because He first loved us, others will love us when we love them first. To do that we should need no other motivation than the Lord’s concern for us and His command to us– “… that ye love one another.” (John 15:17).–HDS

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

GIVE THANKS
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”— 1 Thess. 5:18
Do you care about God’s will? Will you do God’s will–regardless of what it is? As you know, the subject of God’s will is mentioned throughout the Bible and in some way in nearly every sermon. Pastors generally leave no doubt regarding the importance of God’s will and most church members could make a list of things that constitute the will of God. But I wonder how many would think to mention thanksgiving on their list. Although everyone knows we ought to be thankful we don’t think about it as much as we should. Not only do we not think of it as much as we should we don’t always think of it as we should.
Most people think of thanksgiving as something nice to do or something that would make life more enjoyable, but not as a serious command. Yet there it is, crystal clear, in our text–“for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”. Take note of that word “you”–it applies to you just as much as those to whom Paul wrote.
The unthankful Christian is a disobedient Christian, which puts him in dangerous territory. We have no more right to ignore this command than we do to disobey any other. And make sure you understand the command. Notice the exact wording. It says “give thanks“. Those words come from a Greek verb implying action. It means more than being grateful. It demands that we express it, show ourselves as grateful. This means we should put into words what we feel in our heart. Whether in sermon, song, testimony, or prayer we are to state what is in our heart. “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that it, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name”. (Heb. 13:15). Since God is good to all, all the time, there is never a reason or a season to not be thankful! For the saints there should never be a second of silence when our Savior is not being thanked for the exceeding greatness of His grace. — HDS

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

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.“–Col. 3:15
One of man’s biggest problems is extreme expectations, yet it is seldom seen as a problem. Thus we have a nation of spoiled brats with an entitlement mentality. The foolish notion that we are worthy and ought to hold ourselves in high esteem and love ourselves sets us up for a fall. With that attitude you can never be content. It is the expectation of nothing that gives us grounds for gratitude. When we know we deserve nothing and we  expect nothing we are thrilled by every blessing and tolerant of every burden. When we don’t deserve anything we pleased with everything and complain about nothing. Complaints cease because gratitude doesn’t grumble.
Naturally there are times when problems and pain distorts our reasoning and distracts us from our responsibilities, but if we stop and think it will cause us to give thanks. That’s why it can be beneficial to sing “Count Your Blessings”. Pay special attention to this part of that song– “When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed. When you are discouraged thinking all is lost”. To lose all would be horrible and cause for despair– if it was true, but it isn’t. For the Christian all is never lost! So finish the verse—“Count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done”. Indeed it will. So think!–HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

TIME FOR THANKSGIVING
“Giving thanks for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ“.–Eph. 5:20
It’s common to hear or say, “It’s almost time for Thanksgiving”, and of course we know it is a reference to Thanksgiving Day, which is fine. But there are times when some folks seem to take the same approach to thanksgiving itself, which is far from fine.
With many things there is a time for them and also a time when they are not appropriate or needed. There is meal-time, bed-time, fun-time, etc., but these are not things we do all the time. However, there is never a time when it’s not time for thanksgiving. Even under the worst of times we need to be mindful of our blessings and thankful for them. In fact it might be more important then than any other time because it will encourage us. It will also keep us from complaining. We don’t grumble about things we’re grateful for.
However, the importance of thanksgiving goes beyond how it benefits us. It is a matter of honoring God and that makes it of utmost importance. Failure to give thanks is a chief characteristic of unregenerate men ( Rom. 1:21). Thanksgiving is one of the evidences of being a Spirit-filled believer (Eph. 5:18), which is in fact the only way we can be truly thankful “always for all things“. Considering the grace of God there is never an excuse for being unthankful because God is good all the time!.–HDS

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

TRULY THANKFUL
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”– Eph. 5:20
There are many ways in which we judge, measure, of determine a person’s character, but I doubt that there is anything better than that of true thanksgiving. A genuine grateful heart is centered on God and a truly thankful heart expresses trust in God, seeing that it is focused on Him. And this is what it takes for us to be contented regardless of circumstances as God commands.
Finding such people is rare, and when we do they are to be commended. However, we ought to do more that just admire or honor them, we should emulate their example. We should strive to be like them because they are doing what God demands from all of us. Mark it down, an ungrateful person is an ungodly person. And we do not fulfill our obligation by just acknowledging it by setting aside a day for it.
None of us can relieve our responsibility by merely observing a national holiday once a year. We should be grateful and express it in thanksgiving every day of the year. Even the biggest ingrate can muster up enough gratitude of a sort to enjoy a day filled with food, family, friends and fellowship. But there is nothing praise worthy about that. It is the person who is truly thankful everyday regardless of the circumstances who pleases the Lord.
However, rather than using thanksgiving as the standard by which we measure others let us use it to examine ourselves. If it is lacking that is a sure sign that all is not well in our life. It is impossible to find a Spirit-filled Christian who isn’t thankful. The Spirit of God produces what the Word of God demands, which in this case is “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”.  So what is the verdict concerning you? Have you taken the time to look at your life in the light of God’s Word? Are you honest enough to face the facts about yourself? Are you truly thankful? Think about it!–HDS

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