“Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”- Acts 7:57–60
Joseph Parker, a powerful preacher and contemporary of Charles Spurgeon, spent a great deal of time, especially in his younger years, speaking in public parks and gathering places, presenting the gospel to atheists and skeptics who gathered to discuss the topics of the day. Once he was confronted by an infidel who shouted at him, “What did Christ do for Stephen when he was stoned?” Parker responded, “He gave him grace to pray for those who stoned him.”
God’s grace does not always deliver us from the suffering of trials. Some of the greatest Christians in history endured great hardship and persecution, and multiplied thousands have perished for their faith. What grace does, however, is overcome the hardship, so that we endure with faith and in our darkest moments are an unmistakable witness to the world. It is not by accident that the Bible tells us Saul was present at Stephen’s death. The attitude Saul saw displayed by the dying martyr helped prepare his heart to receive Christ.
Just as Jesus on the cross asked the Father to forgive those who were killing Him, Stephen sought God’s mercy on his unjust murderers. Most of us will not face that ultimate test, but we all endure physical, emotional, and spiritual trials. And for every trial, God’s grace is sufficient if we apply it and allow it to govern our responses. Rather than asking God for ease and comfort, we should ask for grace to reflect Jesus in our trials. ( Daily in the Word)

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

“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”- Psa. 56:3-4
Apollo Astronaut Captain Alan Bean once told a story about how test pilots evaluate problems they encounter on flights. When something goes wrong, they simply ask, “Is this thing still flying in the right direction?” And if the answer is yes, there is no need to overreact.
   He told about the takeoff of Apollo 12 when the spacecraft was hit by lightning. The entire console began to glow with orange and red trouble lights. There was a huge temptation to “Do something!”
   But instead, the pilots asked themselves, “Is this thing still flying in the right direction?” They let the lights glow as they addressed the problems one-by-one. And Apollo 12 made it to the moon just as planned.
   Life is full of pressure situations… times when it’s tempting to overreact and do something drastic out of fear. But just like those Apollo astronauts, it’s important to ask ourselves, “Am I still flying in the right direction? Am I still doing God’s will?” If the answer is yes, then there’s no need to panic. We simply address our issues one-by-one and stay on course.
God’s trajectory will never let you down. Stay on course and trust in His plan no matter what else happens!

   Pray that God would give you a steadfast trust in Him so that when the unexpected happens, you’ll trust in His direction. (Senior Living)

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

 2 Thessalonians 3:13 “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.”

In the history of the early church we read about resistance in every venture. There was resistance from spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12), from wicked people (II Thessalonians 3:2), from difficult circumstances (2 Corinthians 11:25-28), and, mentioned in the context of this verse, from those among the early Christians who drained resources without producing anything.

All resistance creates its own kind of frustration, but resistance from within, from those who are supposed to be working toward the same goals, seems to weigh heaviest on many people. And that is what Paul was writing about in this chapter.
A church that is doing the work of Christ on earth is involved in good things. It is not Jesus’ Gospel purpose to harm anyone, so, if we are involved in His church we are involved in helping people both spiritually and physically. But if we are not thinking about this correctly we can become easy prey for discouragement, frustration, and a weariness that can paralyze us. Here are some helpful guidelines:

Keep focused on the fact that the Church’s work is God’s work and it is a good work. It is the work of Jesus.

If you labor for accolades and praise from people then people can easily discourage you. Lay up treasures in heaven.

If you are healthy and able, make sure you are contributing to the overall goals and being a help, not a drain on resources without contributing your share and then some.

Pace yourself, make it your goal to continue in this good work for a lifetime.
Push through the hard times and the resistance. Don’t let up, make your life count.– Larry Jones

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

“ In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,”- Hag. 2:1
The Lord always seeks to be an encourager. These returned captives were very much discouraged. They had begun with great enthusiasm to build the temple–but difficulties had risen. Then the Lord sent his servant to hearten the governor and the people, to cheer them, that they might go on through all the obstacles which faced them. That is the way the Lord is always doing with his children. He does not want us ever to yield to discouragement. Of course, life is hard at many a point. There are ofttimes difficult tasks to perform, and sore struggles to endure. Things often seem to fail in our hands. Our plans miscarry, our hopes  disappoint us. We meet opposition and enmity, and it seems to us we can never get through with the things we are set to do!
But when we open the Bible, we find encouragement on every page. We are there taught never to yield to despair. There can be no failure in duty–if only we are faithful. We never can be defeated in temptation, if only we stand true to Christ. We never can sink under our burden, if only we cast it upon Christ. The things that seem to be failures, become successes, when God’s hand is in them. So God ever comes to encourage us in our difficulties. “Fear not; I am with you!” is the formula of divine cheer in every hour of trial. Therefore we should never lose heart. – J. R. Miller

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