“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”– John 3:3

In 1972 Astronaut Charles Duke became the tenth and youngest person ever to walk on the moon. He was the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 16 Mission. At that time he wasn’t a Christian, but that changed in 1978. Here is his testimony: “After walking on the moon, I was bored. Fame, fortune, a spot in the history books: I had it all. But if you had been a fly on the wall in my home, you would have seen that I wasn’t so hot. I was failing miserable as a husband and father. Though I had gone to church all my life, I had all of God I needed in that one hour every Sunday morning. Even the moon had not been a spiritual experience. I wasn’t looking for God. I only knew Jesus the way you know the U.S. Presidents—in name only. My business succeeded, and the money rolled in, but I was bored again. But Dottie wasn’t. She had changed. Her depression had lifted, and she demonstrated a new, believing faith. She turned to God—not me—for answers to her problems. One night I attended a Bible Study with her that focused on one penetrating question, ‘Who was Jesus?’ All my life I had said the words, ‘Son of God,’ but had never trusted Him. That night I came face-to-face with the opportunity to follow Him. I prayed with Dottie in the front seat of our car and gave my life over to Christ. I didn’t see angels. I didn’t hear music. No blinding lights. But I knew what I knew. I was real. The next day I awoke with an insatiable desire to read the Bible. It cost the government $400 million for me to walk three days on the moon—and it’s over. But to walk with Jesus is free and it lasts forever!”

We can talk a lot about life and how it should be lived, but until a person is born again he can never be what he ought to be. As Jesus said in John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Fortune and fame can never provide the satisfaction your soul yearns for. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again” ( John 3:7). Life’s greatest experience is to possess life’s greatest treasure, the kingdom of God. You are a spiritual pauper without it. In it you are a child of the King!- HDS

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

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”- Acts 1:8

Any true student of the Bible is aware of the Great Commission given in Matt. 28:19-20. We are well aware of it but we don’t do it so well. We know what we should be doing, we just don’t do it. And that produces a lot of negatives, one of which is the feeling that we are just existing rather than living. That leads to boredom and depression. Living life as it is meant to be is the most joyful life possible. It is a delight rather than drudgery. But it doesn’t just happen. It’s not automatic.

Fulfilling God’s demands that we do what God has purposed on purpose. We start where we are with a vision of spreading the gospel around the world. That requires effort in duty, endurance in difficulties, and engagement with others. We are to live with a sense of urgency, walking wisely ( Col. 4:5), and redeeming the time ( Eph. 5:15-16). Do you think of yourself as being a messenger sent by God? Are you aware of the fact that you have been summonsed by the Lord Himself to be a witness for Christ, to testify on His behalf? Is that what you’re doing?

Witnessing is not just for the older, mature, or extrovert Christians. It is for every Christian. Your responsibility to witness is just as great as the pastor, Sunday School teacher, or anyone else. Some of you feel unimportant, and that your life is meaningless, but that isn’t true. You feel that way because you don’t understand the greatness of your calling. Your life has been all about existing, enduring, and surviving, rather than accomplishing something of eternal value. The cure is to become mission-minded, to see everything as a part of God’s plan to use you to reach those who are lost. — HDS

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

“Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.”–Job 23:2

Spurgeon said, “Most men cry before they are hurt, or more than they are hurt; but such was not Job’s case: he had good reason for every groan, and when he groaned most he fell short of expressing what he felt within.”

 You could say that Job’s grief was greater than he could or would express to others. It’s true that Job expressed his grief, but we should not take this as anger toward God. Although Job complained to God, he did not complain about God.

 J. R. Miller said it well: “Job does not mean that he was rebellious—but that even with his submission to the divine will, he could hardly keep his pain from             breaking out in cries. If we are God’s children, we should bear even the greatest sufferings without complaining. It may not always be possible to repress the outcries of anguish; but even if our affliction is too full of pain to be altogether repressed, we   should not have in our heart, any rebellious feeling toward God.
             
An English writer tells of two birds, and how they acted when put into a cage. One bird flew violently against the wires of its prison, in unavailing efforts to escape, only bruising its own wings in the struggle. The other bird perched itself on the bar,       and began to pour forth from its little throat, bursts of sweet song. We know well which bird was the wiser, which had learned the best way to meet hard conditions.
             
Some people are like the foolish bird—when they are in trouble they chafe, cry out, and complain. The result is, they only hurt themselves, make themselves more miserable, and do not in any sense lessen their trouble. It is wiser always, as well as more pleasing to God—for us to bear our trials patiently, singing songs of faith—rather than complaining in rebellion and discontent. Thus we take the bitterness out of trial, making it sweet.“

When speaking of our trials it is better to minimize them than to exaggerate. In other words, don’t make matters worse, even if they are worse, by trying to fully explain them. Others won’t understand anyway, and God already knows.–HDS

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