“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”– Isaiah 53:3–5
As the perfect Son of God, Jesus is worthy of all the glory and honor that He receives in Heaven. In eternity, we will join in singing His praises. “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:13). 
Yet the beautiful Lord of glory became not just a man, but a poor, despised, and rejected man. He was willing to suffer the humiliation and physical pain of the cross. Even more, He took on the filthy, disgusting, and repulsive sins of each of us, and paid our debt even though He did not owe it. He did all of this for our sake, and His sacrifice is beyond our comprehension.
Today I stand before God righteous, without any sin being laid to my account. That is only because of what Jesus did for me. He took my sins and replaced them with His perfection. He willingly paid the price even though it was far beyond our ability to understand. That is the measure of God’s love for us. And it is on the basis of that love and sacrifice that He calls us to joyfully serve Him all the days of our lives. Never forget that Jesus still bears wounds from the sacrifice that purchased our salvation. (Daily in the Word)

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

“But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”- 2 Samuel 12:23)   Have you ever prayed fervently for God to work a miracle in someone’s life, certain that He would answer and glorify Himself by healing them, only to have your prayer go seemingly unanswered?  Maybe you rallied prayer support from every prayer warrior that you knew and fasted repeatedly in an effort to receive favor from God in your situation.  You knew in your heart that God could do exceedingly and abundantly more than you were asking.  And yet the answer was “NO.”  How did you react?  
 
 Were you angry with God, disappointed, or even grieved beyond words?  It’s relatively easy for us to quote Romans 8:28 and say, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” to a friend or loved one in pain.  But what will you way when God says, “NO”?
 
 King David loved God and knew how to approach Him.  The psalms are filled with heartfelt dialog on behalf of himself and others.  And in this instance, the life of his own child was at stake.  David prayed with all that he could muster, to the point that his friends and advisors were visibly worried about the outcome.  And yet God said, “NO.”  Those around him feared his reaction, to the point that they were afraid to reveal the truth to him.  And yet David’s acceptance of God’s sovereign will was indicative of his love for Him and faith in His character.
 
 How about you?  If it hasn’t yet occurred, there will more likely come a time in your life when God says “NO.”  How will you react?  Will you, like David, wash your face, comb your hair, and move on with life?  Or will you stomp your feet and complain about the unfairness of life?  What you do will tell you something about your own heart and how much you really trust the character and sovereignty of your Father in heaven. – Chaplain Jim Freed
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” Hebrews 6:10
Could it ever be possible that God might overlook, forget, or fail to reward us for our service in His name? We can be certain; the Scripture makes it clear that this could never happen. To do so would be less than righteous; and we are reminded that, “God is not unrighteous.”
Indeed, God is holy, could never sin, and always does what is right. As obvious as this truth is, that God is always just and perfect, sometimes His judgment or will is questioned and even criticized, even by those who claim to be His children. There are times when God’s people question whether the things which He permits are right. In our text, we are encouraged to know that God will always do right, including remembering and rewarding our service. The enemy might tempt us to doubt if it is worth it to serve the Lord. For this reason, God wants us to have great assurance and conviction that our labor is not in vain in the Lord.
The verse refers to our “work and labour of love.” Every child of God is called and commanded to work for and serve the Lord. What a privilege it is that God would save us and then allow us to be a part of His work! We should never get over the wonder that we are servants of the King of kings. Our Christian service is a labor of love. We serve the Lord because of our love for Him and for all that He has done for us. We do not serve Him because we have to, or because we will be punished if we don’t. We do not serve Him to earn His favor. We serve Him because we love Him. It is not difficult to serve someone you sincerely and fervently love.
One day, when this life is over, we will be justly rewarded for the way we have “ministered to the saints, and do minister.” We will be rewarded for the acts of kindness and deeds of generosity and sacrifice we have rendered “to the saints.” When we think of Christian service, we usually think of missionary work, preaching, knocking on doors, etc. This too is the work of God, but God’s people also need ministering to. The brethren need encouragement, support, and understanding. God wants to use each of us to minister to others; and we can be sure, God sees, remembers, and will reward every act of service “shewed toward his name.” (Thomas Smith)

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