THE GREATEST GOOD

“All things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God”– 2 Corinthians 4:15

Every person, every situation, every thing is allowed through the wise and omnipotent hand of God for your sakes. He is, like the potter, shaping this world for His own purposes, and He purposes your good, if you are one of His.

As Paul wrote in his first letter to Corinth, “the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours” (1 Corinthians 3:22). God has subdued even your greatest enemies, so they now work for your good.

But the good of those who love God is not God’s only motivation. His primary motivation, because He is God, is always and rightly His own glory. And so, we are reminded, God has purposed our good for His glory.

It is the great purpose of God that His abundant and conquering grace should redound to His own glory. It is only right that it would be so, like an author or a painter or a sculptor being credited for his masterpieces. But how does abundant grace resonate to His glory? Through the thanksgiving of many.

God will be glorified by us, no matter what — either in forgiving us or in condemning us. But our goal should be that He is glorified in us. When we grab from the gracious hand of God and run away thoughtlessly to enjoy His benefits, His abundant grace does not receive the glory it deserves.

So, dear pardoned sinner and beneficiary of divine goodness: make yourself today a soundboard for the glory of God. May each blessing sent your way reverberate to the glory of His name, through your conscious and joyful thanksgiving.– Baptist Bible Hour

Our greatest good is that which brings God the most glory. That is the purpose for which we exist. Regardless of how fearful and painful our situation is we have reason to rejoice when it results in God being glorified.- HDS

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

GOD LEADS US ALONG
“And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”- Isa.58:11

The old hymn “God Leads Us Along” has blessed millions down through the years. Warren Shiver gives us the history – “George Young was an obscure 19th Century preacher and carpenter who spent a lifetime humbly serving the Lord in small rural communities. Often his financial support was small, and it was hard on his family. But through all the ups and downs his faithful wife never wavered in her loyalty to God and to her husband. After a long struggle, the family was able to move into their own small home (which George built himself). But then, on an occasion when George was away preaching, some local thugs-who didn’t like his Gospel preaching- -set fire to the house, and it was totally destroyed. It was out of that experience that Young reaffirmed his faith in God by writing God Leads His Dear Children Along.” 

But the story doesn’t end there. Paul Chappell writes, “When Haldor Lillenas was putting together one of his first hymnals, he recalled a song he had learned soon after moving to America and learning English, ‘God Leads Us Along’. He wanted to include it, but needed permission from the writer. Lillenas tracked down the author’s widow who was living in a poorhouse, and she was delighted to have her husband’s song shared with others. 

Despite her circumstances, she was rejoicing. She told Lillenas, ‘My husband and I were married while we were very young. God gave us a wonderful life together; he led us from day to day. But then God took my husband. Now God has led me here, and I’m so excited and glad about it! God has used me in this place. Many people come to this place and they are so sad and in such great need. They need help and comfort. I have been able to cheer many of them and lead scores of them to the Lord Jesus Christ.’

God does not promise us ease and comfort, but He does promise to guide us through this life and never leave us. He is just as present and loving in our moments of pain as in our moments of joy. And we must always trust His guidance.”

Seeing people practice what they proclaim, whether in sermon or song, inspires you –it instills hope. Knowing what God has done for others He can do for you enables you to look to the future in faith, assured that all shall be well. It reminds you that the Spirit of God will not lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you! Rather than getting bitter when things go bad let’s make ourselves useful. Wherever you are it is by divine providence and for a purpose. Contrary to the way you might feel, the path of God’s will is always right, best, and safest. – HDS

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

PRAYING FOR THE BODY
Jesus said we should pray “Give us day by day our daily bread” ( Luke 11:3). It is perfectly proper to pray about the needs of our body. I’m convinced that we could avoid a lot of physical problems if we did as the Lord commands. I suspect that we bring a lot of pain and suffering on ourselves because we fail to pray until after the fact. But today I want to talk about something different. I want to speak about another body for which we ought to pray– the church.

One of the main metaphors used to describe the Lord’s church is the word “body“. The entire twelveth chapter of 1 Cor. speaks of the church as a body. There Paul reminds us that “the body is not one member, but many” (vs. 14). Each member of the body is to serve a distinct purpose. And all “the members should have the same care one for another” (vs. 25). To do that demands that we pray one for another (Ja. 5:16). That’s something we are commanded to do throughout the new testament.

The needs of a church are many and great, everything depends on prayer. The surest way for a church to fail and fall is for the members to neglect prayer. And there is no excuse for it. Prayer is something every member can do– so there is never a reason for any member to feel unimportant. If you can’t do anything else you can pray and nothing else anyone does is any more important than that. Those who pray don’t get the attention they deserve, and they aren’t looking for it. They love the Lord and His church, and they understand the importance of prayer. I wish every member felt the same. Sadly, prayer is something a lot of people talk about but seldom do. When they do it is usually something personal or a dire need that drives them to their knees. The fact is, we need prayer when all is well as well as when everything is falling apart.

I’ve often said  and I firmly believe that the outcome of a service is often determined before the service begins. If we haven’t been praying all week I doubt that the prayers on Sunday will be of much value. Without prayer we can’t expect anything great to happen in the service. To be brutally honest, I suspect that sometimes we preach more about prayer than we pray about preaching. Then we get discouraged because nothing happens. Even a well delivered sermon isn’t enough without prayer. We would all get upset if someone intentionally did harm to the church ( or the church building), but in some ways a lack of prayer can be the most harmful thing a person could do. God forbid that we be guilty of such sin! Are you?– HDS

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