“—all things work together for to them that love God-–”  Romans 8:28

Unless you’re walking blindfolded through this world, you can’t help but notice that things are always changing, and usually not for the better. We live in a state of flux. Add to this the fact that these changes often come fast and unexpected, and you have the ideal setting for panic, even paranoia.

The frustrating thing about this is that, in most cases, these are things we didn’t choose, we can’t change, and can’t control. That doesn’t set too well with most of us. We like to dictate how we think things should be and direct how things go. When we can’t—– well you know what happens. Millions are miserable simply because things aren’t going as they planned. And it seems impossible to change their mind. They are stuck in a rut that will eventually become their grave if they don’t get out.

My dear friends, life is what it is. We can’t stop the changes. All we can do is to decide how we will respond. I love the poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox– “Tis the Set of the Sail”. The third stanza says:
 “One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow.
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.”

So how is it with you? You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails to catch the gales that propel you to your destination. As someone said,”Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out”. Do your best and then leave the rest to Him who is the Master of the sea. Nothing is beyond His control. There is no need to panic.– HDS, 6/9/12

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

“—- the God of all comfort.” — 2 Corinthians 1:3

Of all the names and titles assigned to God this has to be one of the most lovely and cheering. The very thought of it cheers our heart because sooner or later we all need comfort. We live in a troublesome world where we face many trials, tribulations and temptations. But we can be made cheerful and courageous by being confident that God comforts His children. He is not just ever aware of our needs, He is completely capable and forever faithful in meeting them. How can we not be cheered by a fact so glorious as that?

Take careful note of the little word,”all”. It is big in meaning. It reminds us that there are no limitations nor exceptions. God is the sole and sufficient source of our comfort. God is always up to the task, no matter what the circumstances might be. Of that truth we must be convinced. We are never at liberty to say God has lied, failed or deceived us. The comfort He promises He will provide. But, that isn’t always automatic. We must appropriate what God makes available if we are to experience what He desires and we need.

The chief way we do this is through His Word. It informs our mind, increases our faith,and inspires our heart.It is designed to give us the hope of help or the help of hope– however you want to look at it. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”–Romans 15:4. Out of many years of experience and observation I can tell you with certainty that God comforts His children. – HDS

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

“… when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”–1 John 3:2-3

Probably no generation since Christ ascended into heaven has had so many reasons to believe that His return is near and yet so little confidence that He will. Jesus taught us to pray,”Thy kingdom come”, but when is the last time, or was there ever a time, that you prayed for this?

Jesus promised He would come. Why wouldn’t we expect it? The apostles proclaimed Christ would come, why do we doubt it? Events of the tribulation period, that point to the nearness of His return, are vividly described in the Bible— why do we fail to see the connection? It’s as though the day is dawning and we think it is bed time–we’re mixed up and we’re messed up. How can we be so blind? How can we not long for and pray for the return of our precious Savior? That is our blessed hope!

We don’t hear much preaching about the return of Christ anymore, but that doesn’t change the reality of it. His coming is closer today than it has ever been before. And living in the light of this fact makes a difference in our lives. Believing His return is imminent changes our behavior, creates energy for serving, and comforts our hearts. His coming means our going. Just think about what we’re going to and what we’re going from! That ought to make you shout! It will be glorious.– HDS

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

“A wise man will hear, and increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”–Proverbs 1:5

If the truth be known, you know very few people who are true students of the Bible. Even many who attend Sunday School do not fit into that category. Most church members would rather read what someone wrote about the Bible than to read the Bible itself. Now, I’m not against reading good books, commentaries, and dictionaries, etc., but none of these can take the place of the Bible.
 
Some people read daily devotionals and books from the latest best-sellers list, but they don’t spend five minutes a day reading God’s Word. And, out of those who do read the Bible regularly only a very few really study it. It’s no wonder that they are spiritually malnourished, weak and susceptible to sin. They are starving themselves. They feed on junk food rather than the milk and meat of the Word. Listen—-serious Bible study is not just for preachers and teachers, it is the duty and should be the delight of every Christian. You will never become the person God wants you to be without it.
 
We have only so much time—don’t use all your time studying resources about the Bible, study the Bible itself. J. I. Packer said, “If I were the devil, one of my first aims would be to stop folk from digging into the Bible.” Sadly that is exactly what he has done in the lives of many and, oddly enough he has even used Christian literature to do it. It’s time that we got back to the Bible! – HDS
 

“The treasures of the Word of God

are great beyond compare;

But if we do not search them out,

We cannot use what’s there.”

        -author unknown

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

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning”—– Prov. 1:5

It is amazing that some folks have such a bad attitude toward education. Too many are like the farmer who said to a well-educated city preacher, “Tha good Lawd don’t got no use for your book learnin”. To which the preacher replied, “Nor has He any greater need of your ignorance”. 

Well, regardless of what some people think, the Bible stresses the importance of learning. You’ve heard it said, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you”, but that’s not true. Not only can it hurt you, it can kill you! Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge–“. Yet multitudes attend Sunday School and church every week who seldom learn anything. Some make no effort. They are distracted by a non-stop effort to please self and see no need to dig deeper in the Word of God. Then there are others who have simply never learned how to learn and they go on day by day thinking they have reached their intellectual limit, so why try? But there is also the wise man who realizes there is always more to learn and he refuses to be satisfied with his intellectual attainments. He loves to learn. He longs after knowledge like a thirsty man longs for water. He yearns to learn. This is the kind of person who makes a difference in the world. He understands the times and knows what to do. Feeding on the Word of God, he grows and it shows.

How is it with you–do you have a yearning for learning? If we are to be among the wise we must acknowledge the importance of learning, we must admit that some of our ideas might be wrong, we must attempt to learn, and we must apply what we learn unto our lives. Learning involves more than just becoming acquainted with the facts. We are to become doers of the Word and not hearers only. – HDS
 
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346