“I do always those things that please him.” – John 8:29

We live to please someone, ourselves, other people or God. Jesus “pleased not himself” (Rom. 15:3). We are not to live to please men. “Do I seek to please men?” (Gal. 1:10). “Not as pleasing men but God” (I Thess. 2:4). We are to please our neighbor for his good to edification (Rom. 15:2). Paul said he pleased all men, seeking, not his profit, but theirs, that they might be saved (I Cor. 10:33).

We are to please God, as our Lord said in our text. God was pleased in His Son (Mt. 3:17). He was not pleased with the Israelites in the wilderness (I Cor. 10:5). We had better take warning from them, for “these things happened unto us for ensamples.” Enoch pleased God (Heb. 11:5). We cannot please God in the flesh (Rom. 8:8). It is impossible without faith (Heb. 11:6). But as we submit to God He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). Then we are to live so as to please Him who hath chosen us to be soldiers (II Tim. 2:3,4). And if we please Him we get answers to our prayers (I Jno. 3:22).

Whom are you living to please? – Vance Havner

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

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

“For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” – 1 Tim. 4:10

Last Sunday I preached about “The Living God” – a truth that should transform us. The sad fact is that sometimes we live as though God is dead. That’s a terrible testimony for those who claim to serve a risen Savior. We sing “I’ll tell the world that I’m a Christian”, but fail to reveal anything of Christ in our lifestyle. We ought to do better! All around us there are those in need of help and we ought to show them that there is hope.

Life is terribly tough for everyone ( Job 14:1). The question is “How can we get through it?” Some situations are so serious that it seems impossible. In many cases people just give up. They surrender to it as though they are the victims of a greater power ruling over them. They simply quit trying and go through life with an attitude of defeat. Contrary to how you might feel, the fact is there is a way to survive and thrive. You can do it by “trust in the Living God“. If He is of no interest to you don’t complaining about your lot in life.

Some poor deluded souls get bitter about life when in reality it is exactly what they themselves have made it. That’s different than being a victim. It’s the result of choices they have made. There is, however, another option, a better way, a safer course. You can trust in the living God. He is the God who never changes, never lies, and never fails. And He never turns a deaf ear to those who trust Him. Their cry gets His attention and secures His aid. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” – Psa. 34:8

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

“The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” – Daniel 4:32
   Some religions believe in millions of gods. Some believe that everything is god. Others believe that we are gods. But in a world crammed full of gods, the God of the Bible stakes this supreme claim – He is the most High God.
   And He has proven it repeatedly through history. In the ten plagues that God sent against Egypt in Moses’ day, God was showing himself to be far superior to all the gods the Egyptians worshiped (Exodus 12:12). When the ark of God was placed in the same house with the Philistines’ imaginary god Dagon, the statue of Dagon fell on its face before it (1 Samuel 5:4).
   And, again, here in Daniel, the mighty ruler Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon learns by hard experience that God is the most High, and that He is the one ultimately ruling in every place, giving power to whomsoever He will. There is no king, or employer, or powerbroker that has power outside of God’s dominion.
   What a peace and pleasure comes with knowing that God rules, even in the greatest kingdoms of men, and that He dispenses power and influence and authority to whomsoever He will. God is the most High in every place on earth.
Does your life reflect an accurate view of God as the sovereign over your life? Do others see in you a joyful and willing submission to God as the most High? May it be said of us, as it was truly said of Paul and those with him, that “these are the servants of the most High God” (Acts 16:17) – Baptist Bible Hour

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