THINK ABOUT IT

A WORLD ON THE BRINK

By Kevin Schmaltz,   2-27-22

It’s worse than anyone is saying, and we all know it.

Humanly speaking, this world is at the most dangerous moment since the Black Plague or maybe even the Great Flood.

Exaggerating? No.

I am not an alarmist, it is just where we are. Worldwide nuclear powers are aligning with and against one another in an allied/axis arrangement not seen since World War 2. Only fools do not believe that Putin is serious about his nuclear threats. We are on the brink of a nuclear war. World leaders are speaking out, but with a sense of incredulous shock.

Germany has finally gotten serious and decided that it needs now to spend some money on self-defense after leaning on the US for its security for years. Other nations seem to be responding but it does seem a bit late in the game. Any nuclear interaction between nations, even if geographically isolated, will have a significant impact on the entire planet.

It is an apocalyptic moment—I did not say the Apocalypse, but an apocalyptic moment.  The Four Horsemen of Revelation will be a real judgmental sequence that will fall upon this planet someday, but it is also a sequence that has been repeated throughout history—a conqueror rises (white horse), war ensues (red horse), followed by famine as crops and livelihoods are destroyed (black horse), which culminates in much death (pale horse).

How should God’s people respond?

Trust in the Lord God Who created heaven and earth and will reign one day.

We do not put our trust in human governments or personal safety. Our bodies and lives can be hurt, but our souls are eternal and the sovereign God of eternity controls this time as well as the eternal. He will hold us fast. While understanding the gravity of this moment, we do not live in fear of it. Greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world.

Do not get tunnel vision.

The possessions and troubles of this present time seem to pale in the gravity of the present situation. Was it just a week or so ago that we were still arguing about masks? John Kerry’s concern about the world taking its eyes off of the climate problem because of the threat of a nuclear war is just—well—out of touch with any kind of reality. Tunnel vision is when you get so obsessed with one issue or controversy that you do not see anything else, and things that are much more important.

We must look at the big picture, and the big picture brings the most important question to mind. How do we honor our Lord at this moment?

Look at the souls around you.

People are afraid. They are at their wit’s end. God brings people, nations, even a world to its knees so it will look to Him, but God’s people must be willing to speak up in that moment of greatest need. This is not the time to be silent, this is the time to reach out with the truth and share the love of Christ. This is a moment of opportunity.

Pray for your leaders.

I know very few Christian leaders who view the present US leadership favorably. Regardless of how we got here, and regardless of who our present leaders are, we need to pray for them. We are commanded to do so. We need to pray that God will open their eyes and change their hearts. We must pray that God will use them as instruments for good and not for evil. We must pray that God will give them divine wisdom and show us mercy.

This world deserves the impending judgment that seems to be on the horizon. It has denied the God who created it all.  Shown no gratitude for His blessings and received His love with disdain and cruelty.

But maybe, just maybe, if God’s people repent and turn to Him in obedience maybe He will draw the hearts of the lost.

It may be that peace negotiations succeed, cooler heads prevail, Russia stops its aggression, and we all go back to life as normal. But if it does happen, it does not mean that this moment was not as dangerous as we have imagined. It will simply be that by God’s mercy we dodged the bullet this time.

Our prayer meetings should be full this week—and we should be praying, not just chatting.

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

MORNING MANNA        3-17-22

“And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” – Luke 16:9-12

When R. A. Torrey was head of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, his calendar was packed. He had meetings across the country and around the world, When he was at home, his days were filled with administration and appointments. Once Torrey found himself facing a deadline to leave town when he realized that he had not picked up his clothes from the cleaners. There were several young men in the office at the time, but only one of them was willing to help the evangelist by performing such a menial task. That man was James M. Gray, who would later himself be the head of the Moody Bible Institute.

God is not looking for people who are only interested in doing work that seems big or important. God is looking for people who will do whatever He places in front of them. Anyone who has been in church for a length of time knows that there are some jobs which are easy to fill and others which require numerous requests and encouragement. If a job is in front of you, go ahead and do it, no matter what size it is. As you follow that practice, you will find God’s approval. People who are looking for fame or attention or praise will not remain faithful unless the task continues to produce those things. But people who are looking for God’s approval keep on doing what is right without fail. If we have not been diligent and faithful with what He has already given us, why would we expect God to expand our opportunities? – Copied

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

MORNING MANNA        3-16-22

SAD SIGHTS
“ And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”– 1 John 2:3-4

Life is full of sad sights. Sometimes it involves people we know and love. Other times it’s someone we’ve never met – like the children we see in hospitals, or the people in Ukraine. The pain is intensified when we can’t do anything to help. 

But a sadder sight is seeing those who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. In most cases it has to do with those who have never heard the gospel – people who are just a heartbeat away from hell. That’s something we could do something about.

But there’s another group who are in serious trouble. I’m talking about those who have heard the gospel and profess to be Christian’s, but aren’t. They attend church, at least occasionally, and might carry a Bible, but they’ve never been born again. They claim to be Christians, but there is no evidence that they are. 

Such people can often quote scriptures, sing about Jesus, and use words associated with Christianity, and still not be saved. Salvation doesn’t come as a result of knowing the historical facts about Jesus, joining a church, or doing things associated with being a Christian. Salvation is received by recognizing that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness and placing your faith in the sacrifice Christ made for your sins. 

And true saving faith will manifest itself by your affections, your attitude, and your actions. As James 1:26 puts it “ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” When a person gets saved they become “ a new creature in Christ” – 2 Cor. 5:17. And when a person loves God he will love others, and when he loves others he will be willing to share the gospel with them. Therefore we must conclude that we have reason to doubt a person’s salvation when they don’t care enough to tell others about Christ.

 
What about you? Do you know beyond a shadow of doubt that you’ve been born again? Is there evidence of it? Are you sharing the gospel with others?

 HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
www.lakewaybaptist.org 

MORNING MANNA            3-15-22

THE BEST IS COMING

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.“– 2 Cor. 4:17-18

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

MORNING MANNA        3-11-22

THE VINE AND BRANCHES

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”– John 15:5

In family-owned vineyards in the Texas Hill Country, we’ve seen vinedressers at work. Slowly, methodically, they fuss over each branch, cutting things off and cutting things back. Cutting dead things off makes sense to us. Lifeless material can harbor disease or insects, so it has to be cut off. But if we know nothing of viticulture, we’re baffled why anyone would cut back living material. Even the plant seems to feel the loss, often “weeping” with sap until the pruning scars harden over.

 
But the vinedresser knows that it’s an essential step to optimize the quality and abundance of grapes. Think of it like plumbing. The twigs and branches that come off the main trunk are like a series of water pipes. By reducing the number of pipes that the water flows into, it increases water in the remaining pipes. The result is greater fruit.
 
Jesus intends us to be fruitful, and that requires pruning. In John 15, we see him on his way to Gethsemane, where he knew his betrayer was bringing soldiers to arrest him. Perhaps he passed by the Jerusalem Temple, and there he would have seen the ornate bas relief of grapevines that decorated the temple walls. If this is the setting for John 15, imagine him stopping and telling his men, “I want you to think of me like a vine and think of yourselves as the branches growing off the vine. Be prepared for the Divine Gardener to prune you so that you will be even more fruitful.”
 
We all go through affliction, hardship, and loss. To those who think we’re alone in the universe, life’s disappointments seem pointless and unbearable. But we’re not on our own. God carefully works even in hard times to bring out the very best in you. Isn’t it a comfort to know that God can bring some meaning to it? Isn’t it reassuring to know that a good and sovereign vinedresser can make you more fruitful as a result of it? – Tom Goodman

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