“It is I; be not afraid.” John 6:20

The fears of the Christian are a dishonour to his Lord, a denial of his creed, and a fruitful source of distress to his own soul. All things are of God, He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will, and in every event He says to us, “IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID.” If friends turn to foes and distress us, if death enters our dwellings and bereaves us, if sickness lays us aside and fills us with pain, He says, “It is I; be not afraid.” If losses, crosses, and sore trials come upon us, and discourage, distress, and perplex us, He says, “It is I; be not afraid.” If death approaches, and calls upon us to leave the body and close our eyes upon our beloved relations, friends, and connexions, He says, “It is I; be not afraid.” Should we hear the pillars of heaven crack, and feel the strong foundation of the earth give way; should the heavens be rolled up like a scroll, and the great white throne appear; still, amidst the wreck of matter and the crash of worlds, He cries, “Be not afraid; it is I.” Happy Christian! thy fears are groundless and thy brightest hopes well founded. Rejoice in Jesus. James Smith, 1840

O that I might so believe,
Steadfastly to Jesus cleave;
Only on His love rely,
Smile at the destroyer nigh:
Free from care and servile fear,
Feel the Saviour always near.

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

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” – James 1:22

Pastor Stuart Briscoe was teaching the principles of Bible study, showing how to pick out the promises and the commands in Scripture, and what to do with them. When he reviewed and asked, “Now, what do you do with the commands?” A little old lady raised her hand and said, “I underline them in blue.” Sadly that’s about as far as some folks go when it comes to responding to the word of God. They don’t seem to know what to do. James however makes it perfectly clear. We are to be more than students or scholars of the Word, we are to be servants and that requires obedience.

I recently read this story of a seminary professor who was studying in the Holy Land when he met a man who claimed to have memorized the entire Old Testament in Hebrew. So the professor asked the man if he could give a demonstration. The man agreed, and the two met at the man’s home. The professor took out his Hebrew Old Testament as the man asked, “Where shall we begin?”

“Psalm 1,” replied the professor, who was an avid student of the Psalms. And beginning with Psalm 1, the man began to recite from memory while the professor followed along. For two hours, the man continued without a single mistake as the professor sat stunned.

When the demonstration was over, the professor discovered something even more shocking about the man. He wasn’t a Jew nor a Christian, but an atheist. He knew the Scriptures better than most Christians ever will, and yet they had done nothing to change his life because he simply didn’t believe them.

Sadly many who are acquainted with what the Bible says do not apply it to their lives. That leaves them worse than had they not heard. Adrian Rogers said – “One of the finest psychological truths that I’ve ever learned in my life is this— Impression without expression leads to depression. Now, what does that mean? If you come and listen to me preach, and you get these things in your notebook—you get these things in your head—but you do not practice them in your life, it’s not going to make you a better person—it’s going to make you a worse person. You’re going to have more and more guilt, and more and more despair, because you’re hearing these things, and you’re not doing them. Jesus, in the Bible, says, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17)” – HDS

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

“All things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God”– 2 Corinthians 4:15

These are trying times in which we live and many are wondering how they can cope with such circumstances. I’m convinced that the answer is found in understanding our text. Consider the following thoughts from the Baptist Hour and let God use you to be a bright light in dark days.

Every person, every situation, every thing is allowed through the wise and omnipotent hand of God for your sakes. He is, like the potter, shaping this world for His own purposes, and He purposes your good, if you are one of His.

As Paul wrote in his first letter to Corinth, “the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours” (1 Corinthians 3:22). God has subdued even your greatest enemies, so they now work for your good.

But the good of those who love God is not God’s only motivation. His primary motivation, because He is God, is always and rightly His own glory. And so, we are reminded, God has purposed our good for His glory.

It is the great purpose of God that His abundant and conquering grace should redound to His own glory. It is only right that it would be so, like an author or a painter or a sculptor being credited for his masterpieces. But how does abundant grace resonate to His glory? Through the thanksgiving of many.

God will be glorified by us, no matter what — either in forgiving us or in condemning us. But our goal should be that He is glorified in us. When we grab from the gracious hand of God and run away thoughtlessly to enjoy His benefits, His abundant grace does not receive the glory it deserves.

So, dear pardoned sinner and beneficiary of divine goodness: make yourself today a soundboard for the glory of God. May each blessing sent your way reverberate to the glory of His name, through your conscious and joyful thanksgiving.

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

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” I Thessalonians 5:14 

As I mentioned in a message last week, one of the most important lessons I ever learned is that we must deal with people as they are, not as we wish they were. I found the following comments on this subject in my drafts. I pray you will find them useful.

Several things should be obvious when it comes to helping people. We all need help from time to time. There are no “maintenance free” Christians. We all need assistance, comfort, instruction, reproof, encouragement, and acceptance. The mindset to avoid at all costs is the one of the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:17, “I . . . have need of nothing.”

In our text, the Lord uses Paul to remind us that we all do not need the same thing at the same time. There will be some who are “unruly” and will need someone to “warn them.” When someone is rebellious and disobedient, he should be warned. We are to “comfort the feebleminded.” There will be those who are faint-hearted or discouraged; they are in need of encouragement and comfort. They do not need to be rebuked or warned. Sometimes the brethren will be “weak,” in need of someone to help carry their burdens or support them in their weakness. However, whatever their need, we must have patience for all of our spiritual family. This verse goes on to say, “be patient toward all men.” We are to be forbearing with all the brethren.

One of the mistakes we make in our attempts to minister to God’s people is trying to give the same medicine to every ill person. We do not want to be correcting and reproving someone who needs support, nor do we want to comfort those who need warning. It is reassuring to know that God knows where every person is spiritually, and He knows what we need. We can come to Him with our needs and know that He cares and has the exact answer for our problems. We can also trust Him to give direction and discernment to us when we are seeking to help those who are struggling.

We must remember to “be patient toward all men.” None of us have arrived. We all have room to grow, much room as a matter of fact. People, like plants, do not all grow at the same pace. Although we may be further along in a particular area than another brother or sister, if we will be honest, there are other areas where we may not be quite so strong. Keeping this in mind will help us to be patient toward others. There is another thing that should help keep us patient. We need to remember how patient God has been, and continues to be, with us.

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

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” —Psalm 34:19

Are you going through a tough time in your life right now? Here’s what you need to remember–if God brings you to it He will bring you through it! He who never lies has spoken, and He never fails. Listen to these words of wisdom from the pen of pastor Jack Graham: 

It’s been well said that God had only one Son without sin, but he had no sons without suffering. And I would be less than faithful to the Word of God and the testimony of Christ if I somehow told, or even suggested, that you could experience life without suffering or sorrow. The Scripture promises you and me that affliction is part of living the Christian life.

In your journey on this earth, there are going to be times when you feel that you are all alone. But as a believer in Christ, you need to immediately identify those feelings as lies from the enemy.

Now if God’s character and nature were to leave you alone in your trials and allow you to walk through these valleys by yourself, then I would understand being hopeless in the midst of suffering. But the God you and I serve has promised time and time again to never leave us alone in tough times!

Yes, bad things happen to good people. But God has promised that he will deliver you from every affliction. So when the inevitable hard times of life hit, trust completely that the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will resurrect you and bring you through any suffering!

Perhaps you’ve heard someone say, “Tough times never last, but tough people do”. Nonsense! Getting through your trials isn’t about being “tough”–no one is tough enough to get through anything. I don’t care how strong you are there is something that is more than you alone can bear. It’s not about being “tough”, it’s about being “righteous”. Only the righteous person can truly say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.“(Phil. 4:13). Only the righteous person can claim the promise that “the LORD delivereth him out of them all“. Only the righteous can expect relief! –HDS

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