“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Phil. 4:11-13

One of the divinest secrets of a happy life—is the art of    extracting comfort and sweetness from every circumstance. We    must develop the habit of looking on the bright side. It is a    magic-wand whose power exceeds that of any fabled magician’s to change all    things into blessings. Those who take cheerful views, find happiness    everywhere; and yet how rare is the habit! The multitude prefer to walk on    the dark side of the paths of life. 

    

There are those who take to gloom—as a bat     to darkness, or as a vulture to carrion! They would rather nurse a    misery—than cherish a joy. They always find the dark side of    everything, if there is a dark side to be found. They appear to be    conscientious grumblers, as if it were their duty to extract some essence    of misery from every circumstance. The weather is either too cold    or too hot; too wet or too dry. They never find anything to their taste.    Nothing escapes their criticism. They find fault with the food on the    table, with the bed in which they lie, with the railroad-train or    steamboat on which they travel, with the government and its    officials, with merchant and workman—in a word, with the world at large and    in detail. 

    

They are chronic grumblers. Instead of being    content in the state in which they are—they have learned to be discontented,    no matter how happy their lot! If they had been placed in the Garden of    Eden—they would have discovered something with which to find fault! Their     wretched habit empties life of all possible joy—and turns every cup    to gall.

    

On the other hand, there are rare people who always take    cheerful views of life. They look at the bright side. They find some joy and    beauty everywhere. If the sky is covered with clouds—they will point out to    you the splendor of some great cloud-bank piled up like mountains of glory.    When the storm rages, instead of fears and complaints—they find an exquisite    pleasure in contemplating its grandeur and majesty. In the most faulty    picture—they see some bit of beauty which charms them. In the most    disagreeable person—they discover some kindly trait or some bud of promise.    In the most disheartening circumstances, they find something for which to be    thankful, some gleam of cheer breaking in through the thick gloom.–J. R. Miller

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

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”– 2 Cor. 12:9

Grace is God drawing sinners closer and closer to him. How does God in grace prosecute this purpose? Not by shielding us from assault by the work, the flesh, and the devil, nor by protecting us from burdensome and frustrating circumstance, not yet by shielding us from troubles created by our own temperament and psychology, but rather by exposing us to all these things, so as to overwhelm us with a sense of our own inadequacy, and to drive us to cling to him more closely.

This is the ultimate reason, from our standpoint, why God fills our lives with troubles and perplexities of one sort and another — it is to ensure that we shall learn to hold him fast. The reason why the Bible spends so much of its time reiterating that God is a strong rock, a firm defense, and a sure refuge and help for the weak is that God spends so much of his time showing us that we are weak, both mentally and morally, and dare not trust ourselves to find or follow the right road. When we walk along a clear road feeling fine, and someone takes our arm to help us, likely we would impatiently shake him off; but when we are caught in rough country in the dark, with a storm brewing and our strength spent, and someone takes our arm to help us, we would thankfully lean on him. And God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough and perplexing, so that we may learn to lean on him thankfully. Therefore he takes steps to drive us out of self-confidence to trust in himself, to — in the classic scriptural phrase for the secret of the godly man’s life — “wait on the Lord.” ( James Packer)

My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me. I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily. Oft times he weaveth sorrow and I in foolish pride forget He sees the upper and I the underside. Not till the loom is silent and the shuttle ceases to fly shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.(“….I am with you always, even unto the end of  the world. Amen. “– Matthew 28:20) 

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

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord”– Psalm 27:14
   The reason that we many times do not see or feel the Lord is that we are not waiting on the Lord. We are still on our own timetable and we are still running madly ahead of God and hoping He will catch up to our plans. But that is not how God works. He doesn’t change just because we are fickle and He does not hurry just because we are impatient.
   Believer, I do not doubt that your trial is real, that your burden is heavy, or that your discouragement is deep. But put your eyes upon this promise, wrap your mind around this word: when we wait courageously on the Lord, He will strengthen our hearts. God is never late and He is never insufficient.
   What will the future bring? Wait on the Lord. When will this sorrow end? Wait on the Lord. How can I survive this ordeal? Wait on the Lord. How should I handle this decision? Wait on the Lord. The answer echoes through the tunnel of time and from the soundboard of millions of satisfied saints. Wait, I say, on the Lord.
   The trial may not go away tomorrow, but neither will the strength that God has promised to give you. The pain may not diminish, but neither will His grace. ( Baptist Bible Hour)

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

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” I John 4:7, 8

There are many adjectives, or descriptive words that readily come to mind when we think of God. Words such as mercy, judgment, power, holiness, and peace, are just a few. However, there is one word that perhaps comes to mind more often than all others. That word is love. “God is love.”

Love is the attribute that God is most consistently known for. It is the nature of God to love. Love is an expression of the essence of His person. His love is not partial. The Word of God says that He loves the entire world. Each of us can personalize this life-changing truth. We are deeply loved by God. His love is not passive, for it is the motivating factor in His sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. As the song writer said, “No one ever cared for me like Jesus.”

Because God is love, it is only reasonable that we would be expected to love. We can love in a godly way because we have experienced divine love and because we are indwelt by His supernatural love. No one is capable of loving like a Christian. There is a kind of love and a depth of love that those outside of Christ are not familiar with and are unable to express. This love is the result of God’s love being a part of our lives. We have been introduced to a level of love from God that challenges us to love others more powerfully, unconditionally, and sincerely. The Bible says that a person who does not love properly does not know the Lord. The more we experience the love of God in our lives, the more qualified and capable we are to love others.

When the fruit of the Spirit is listed in the Word of God, the first word used to describe the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in a believer is love. We are at the same time recipients of and conduits of the very unique and extremely needed love of God. Each of us can be motivated to love others as we have been loved. We are repeatedly encouraged to love each other in the family of God. This is a trademark of true believers. We also need to express and experience God’s love within our families: loving our parents, siblings, children, and of course, our spouse. Every person has a basic need to know he is loved. That need is met as we receive God’s love and share His love with others. (Thomas Smith)

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