THE SUNNY SIDE
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1John 1: 3-7

J. H. Jowett wrote: I have just come out of a gloomy room into a sunny room to write these words. I had my choice. I could have stayed in the sombre room, but I choose to come into the sun-lit room and the warm, cheering beams are even now falling upon my page. “Walk in the light!” And I make my choice, and how often I choose to walk without Christ in the unfertilizing and unfruitful gloom of self-will! In the light of the Lord I could have a garden of Eden; how often I choose the dingy wilderness where I can grow neither flowers nor fruits.

“Walk in the light.” The Lord’s companionship always makes the sunny side of the street. It may be that the way is rough and stony and difficult, but in His company there is light that never fails, compared with which the world’s noontide is only as the gloomiest night. And the souls that “walk in the light” gather “sacred sweets” all along the way. Heavenly fruits grow for the children of light, fruits of love and joy and peace, and the favoured pilgrim plucks them as he goes along. “All I find in Jesus.” The way of light is the way of delight, and “the joy of the Lord is our strength.”

These wise words remind me of the old song which says:

“Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,

Keep on the sunny side of life;

It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way,

If we keep on the sunny side of life.”

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

THE PRODUCT OF PRIDE

“Only by pride cometh contention” – Proverbs 13:10

This powerful proverb brings arguments to a sweet conclusion, lost tempers to a cool self-examination, and finger pointing to a swift end.

Only by pride is there contention, or conflict. Arguments and strife do not come because one person is right and another is wrong. They only come by way of pride.

No matter how loudly we may declare our innocence, no matter how cleverly we may defend our cause, no matter how furiously we may justify our position — only by pride comes contention. Do you pretend that you are free of pride? Can you honestly argue that the problems in your family are all because of other people’s pride?

As C.S. Lewis observed, “[Pride] is one vice of which no man in the world is free.” For this reason, every conflict in every home requires strenuous and honest self-examination, from husbands, wives, parents, and children alike.

What have you done to contribute to the current tension in the home? What could you have said differently to avoid giving offense? How have you allowed your pride to escalate what could have been a productive discussion or honest disagreement? How have you disobeyed God’s role for you in the home?

If each member of the family spends concerted time and sincere energy in searching his or her own heart and motive and conduct, the confession of pride will be universal within the home. No one is guiltless; everyone has pride.

With this confession, with this realization, however, comes great hope. There is a solution! As each one in the home humbles themselves before God, the strife in the home will slowly but surely dissipate. When pride is gone, the tension will be gone. Let it then begin with you.—Baptist Bible Hour

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

BRING YOUR BEST

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.“Matthew 2:11 

 

They were not content merely to worship the King, showing him homage in word or in posture; but they also laid their gifts at his feet. It is not enough for us to sing our songs of praise to Christ, to bow before him in reverent worship, and to speak our heart’s homage in words. We should bring our gifts too, the pledges of our love, to lay at his feet.

 

There is a great deal of mere sentimentality in the consecration of many people. It is sentiment only; and when there is call for gifts or sacrifices, or for real services—the sentiment instantly vanishes. People sing missionary hymns with great warmth, and when the collection-plate comes to them—they sing on but allow the plate to pass by. They make prayers that God would send laborers into his vineyard, but they do not themselves respond to God’s call for laborers and errand-runners. We need to learn the lesson: that our singing and praying can never go beyond our  living.

 

Not only did these magi bring gifts, but they brought rich and costly gifts; we should bring our best—our gold, incense, and myrrh—the alabaster box of our heart’s deepest love, and the best of all our life and service. Too often we give Christ only what is left over after we have taken all we desire for self-indulgence, or for the promotion of our own ambitions. We should always let him have the best!( J. R. Miller)

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

A GIFT IN PERSON

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”–John 1:14–17

There are times when circumstances force us to only be able to send presents to people we wish we could be with on Christmas. But there is nothing that can compare to being there in person when the wrapping paper comes off and the gift is revealed. There is a connection that is made when we are together with family and loved ones that cannot be experienced any other way. 

In every human heart, there is a longing for something deeper and more meaningful than what this world can provide. Moses expressed his longing for a deep and real connection with God when he was leading the Children of Israel. The tasks which he faced required more than an abstract knowledge of God—Moses needed God with him day after day. “And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence” (Exodus 33:15).

Many try to fill the void with other things, but only Jesus can satisfy the longing of the heart. And to meet that need, He came in person. The Lord did not send a present—He came into the world and took on human form because of our great need of a Saviour. Christmas is not an impersonal story. It is the story of God’s love being manifest in a personal way…. Jesus came into this world as a visible expression of the amazing love God has for those who do not love Him.–Daily in the Word 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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

Jesus Christ: Son of God and God the Son

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” – Luke 1:35

Who was this baby?  Who was Jesus Christ? 

After 2,000 years, there is never one minute on this earth that millions are not studying what He said.  Think about it.  Here’s a person who lived in a tiny little land two millenniums ago, and yet His birth divides the centuries, from “B.C.” to “A.D.“

He never wrote a book. Yet libraries could be filled with the volumes that have been written about the Lord Jesus. He never painted a picture, yet the world’s greatest art, greatest dramas, music, and literature have Jesus Christ at their center. He never traveled far from His birthplace, yet His testimony has gone around the world. He only had a handful of followers and a ministry of only three short years, yet 2000 years later, we are still saying, “Jesus, Your name is wonderful.”

He had no formal education, yet thousands of universities, seminaries, and colleges are built in the name of Jesus Christ. To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to trust Him. To trust Him is to be radically, dramatically, and eternally changed. To be transformed.

Human speech is too limited to describe Him, the human mind too small to comprehend Him, and the human heart can never completely, totally absorb who Jesus Christ is. He was God, manifest in the flesh.

Are you joyfully sharing the Good News of Christ this Christmas? Will you be bold and share His Good News with someone today?–Adrian Rogers

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