“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” – Prov. 4:23“ Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.” – Prov. 4:26

I’m old enough to remember some of the “Dust Bowl” years in the Midwest when the droughts caused great economic damage and changes. I’ve seen the dust clouds roll into Missouri from Oklahoma, the loss of crops, and erosion that changed the landscape. I’ve walked on dry ground across the lakes where I fished. It was shocking and sad.

But I’ve witnessed something even worse. I’ve seen what erosion can do in the lives of Christians and churches. It is a common and costly problem. We couldn’t control what happened during the Dust Bowl years, but we could do something about spiritual erosion. It is a sad sight to see people’s lives erode. The Bible is full of examples. Folks who once were faithful and fruitful become a shell of what they once were. And it didn’t happen overnight. Their demise was like a slow leak rather than a blow out. We see an example of this in Rev. 2:4 where we read that the church at Ephesus had left it’s first love.

Even so, erosion is a big problem with a lot of people today. It can happen to anyone. We sing about being in awe of God, but are we really? Based on behavior it doesn’t seem so. As Vance Havner said, “We have lost the wonder”. Rather than serving joyfully, singing heartily, and sharing cheerfully we just go through the motions. There is an erosion of our enchantment of, our excitement with, and our enjoyment of Christ. Watching some folks you would think it is a crime to rejoice in the Lord.

We could eliminate erosion if we would remember this – erosion starts when growth stops. Call it backsliding or whatever, it happens when we cease to “grow in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” ( 2 Pet. 3:18). That why we are told to,  “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” ( Prov. 4:23). Think about it. We start out with big plans, high hopes, and great zeal, then we get distracted from the plan, disappointed with the results, and start dragging our feet. The high hopes have died away and our attention is on something else. What we need is a revival, an awakening, a coming to life, a renewed interest in the things of the Lord. Let this be our prayer – “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” ( Psa. 85:6). – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” – Gal. 6:10

Although he was wrong about a lot of things, Charles Kingsley made a statement many years ago that I find interesting. He said, “We become like God only as we become of use”. Since God presents Himself as “... a very present help in trouble” ( Psa. 46:1) and bids us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we might find mercy, and grace to help in time of need” ( Heb. 4:16), to be like Him we must be of use. We sing, “To be like Jesus”, but we best remember that He “went about doing good” ( Acts 10:38). Even so, we should be more concerned about being helpful than being helped.

It is a shame that so many people feel useless and often say, “I’m no good for anything”. No Christian should ever feel that way. It is within your power to make yourself useful by letting God use you. You might not be able to give large sums of money, sing in the choir, play a musical instrument, teach a class, etc., but there is something you can do. We make ourselves useful when we pray for others, smile or speak a kind word, bear up under a heavy burden, etc. You can be useful at home, on the job, at school, in the church, or wherever you are. Anytime you come into contact with others you have the opportunity to show them something of God in your life.  And the so-called little things can mean a lot.

As believers we are blessed to bless. Since God is love and we love Him because He first loved us, it is only natural that we love others. And nothing on earth is more useful than love. It seeks out those in need and searches for ways to help. Everyone can find someone in need, and anyone can help someone in some way. Even if you aren’t physically able to do some things you can do something. Some times a call or a card can be a great encouragement to people. What you do might not make the headlines, nor gain the applause of others, but the one to whom you minister will be blessed in that you have shown them God working in and through you. That’s always worth the effort! – HDS

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

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” – Psa. 119:71

Everyone has sorrows and a good number of people hate it, and would do almost anything to avoid them. Some even think that being good or doing good will aid in the escape of them. But it never does. Often the best people have the worst problems. Being a Christian, even a “good” one, does not exempt us from grief. We can, however, be transformed in our trials by trusting Christ. It’s true. God doesn’t want us to just endure our sorrows. He wants us to understand that there can be a blessing in them–a blessing that only comes if we accept them in love and with trust.

Misery has a mission. Pain has a purpose. Even when we are chastised, “it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.“(Hebrews 12:11) If we could see the end result there would be no complaint. But not seeing is all a part of the learning process. We walk by faith, not by sight. 

God doesn’t want us to waste our sorrows. Although we dread them and shrink back from them, we are assured by His word that He will use them for some good. Indeed, there are some things we can never learn except through the school of suffering. It’s often the case that God wants us to ascend to some new height in life, where we’ve never been before, and the only way to get there is through strain and pain. Were there no obstacles and opposition there would be no opportunity. We get the best things out of the worst things. Just as the rush needs the mire the saints need the fire. As Job said, “when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”(Job 23:10). Instead of cursing your trials trust God to use them to produce some glorious good. The good might not be of a personal nature, nor a present blessing, but someday in some way God will do exactly as He promised–good will come from them. Remember the old song that says, “We’ll understand it better bye and bye”? It’s true! Someday the course will be over. You will graduate with honors and an experience that will pay eternal dividends. Then you will say, “It was worth it all”. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346