“Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:”John 18:31
Pilate wanted to evade the responsibility of trying and sentencing Jesus. But instead of honestly refusing to have anything to do with His condemnation, Pilate sought by evasion simply to get clear of the case. He could not do it, however; for each time Jesus came back and stood before him waiting for his decision.

One of Pilate’s questions a little later than this was, “What shall I do with Jesus?” — a question he was compelled to answer in the end. Jesus stands before every human soul, as He stood before Pilate, demanding reception or rejection, and every one of us must answer this same question. The question may be postponed, but we cannot get it off our hands. We may send Jesus away, but presently we find Him back, standing again at our door. Every soul must sit in judgment on Christ, and give a decision.

Look on a little later. Here we see Pilate on the judgment-seat, and Jesus standing before him to be judged. “Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and power to release thee?” Awful power for any man to hold! The scene closed, and Jesus went to His cross. Pilate soon fell into disgrace, and in a few years committed suicide. When he stood before the throne of the divine Judge, into whose eyes did the poor guilty Roman look? Ah, what a reversal there was! Once Pilate was judge, and Jesus stood at the bar: now Jesus is judge, and Pilate is before Him!

Jesus stands now before sinners, meek and lowly, asking to be received; but the scene will soon be changed for those who reject Him — they will be hurried away into eternity, and the Judge before whose bar they shall find themselves will be the same One who stood so long, patient and loving, waiting to save them. ( J. R. Miller)

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

For centuries, people in many countries have held harvest festivals to celebrate the bounty of the land and the blessings of life. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln established a national holiday in the United States as “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.”

Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen thinks that most holidays have been corrupted by commercialism, while Thanksgiving Day has retained its intended purpose. He said, “This is a very rare day. It is wholly and entirely about gratitude.”
No matter what others do, we as followers of Christ have the privilege and responsibility to extend the spirit of thankfulness to every day of the year. Paul urged the Colossians to keep growing in Christ while overflowing with thankfulness (Col. 2:6-7). We are to do everything “in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (3:17).

Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation also declared that all our blessings “are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

This is a fitting day to express gratitude to God. And so is tomorrow, and every day that follows.
               Worthy is God of our worship,
  Worthy is He of our praise,
  Magnify Him with thanksgiving,
  Gladly our voices we raise.  —Anon.

       The joy of living comes from a heart of thanksgiving.–( Our Daily Bread)

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”– 1 Thess. 5:18

The annual Thanksgiving Day in America, has grown to be a national festival.    It is a day of rejoicing. It summons all the people to gratitude. It is    fitting that a people who have received untold blessings, should set apart    one day on which all should recall their mercies, think of God as the     Giver of all and express their grateful feelings in words of praise.

   

But it is not intended that the other three hundred and    sixty four days shall be empty of thanksgiving, because one is named as an    especial day of rejoicing. We cannot crowd into any one day—all the thanks    of a year. Indeed, on no one day can we be grateful for another day. No one    person can give thanks for a whole company of people. So no one day can give    thanks for any but itself. All the days should be thanksgiving days. Any    that is not, lacks something, and stands as imperfect days in the calendar.    We are told that we may count that day lost in which we do no kindness to    anyone. In like manner may be set down as a lost day that one in which no    songs of gratitude rises from our hearts and lips to God.(J. R. Miller)

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

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise”– Proverbs 6:6
   We live in rare age of the world, in which slothfulness has become, not only common, but even a goal for many. Young people grow accustomed to doing just enough work to “get by.” Older folks look to their retirement as the end to all their problems.
   But the solution that Solomon gives us is this: go to the ants, you who wish to forsake work, and consider their ways in order to become wise.
   Go to the ant: be humble enough to learn, even from an ant. The ant has no guide or supervisor, no encouragement or accountability…and yet she is faithful to fulfill her duties day in and day out.
   Ants do not procrastinate; they do what they can, when they can. In contrast, we often do not do anything, because we can’t do everything at once. The ant labors little-by-little to get each job accomplished, each need met, each provision made. In fact, she is so slow and methodical in her duties, many won’t have even have the patience to watch and consider her, as Solomon instructs us to.
   Both success and failure come little-by-little. Like a garden, it just takes a little neglect to grow a lot of trouble. A little neglect has cost teams their victory, people their lives, kings their power.- (the Baptist Hour)

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