TRUSTING GOD

“Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”–2 Corinthians 5:5–8

I read about a new pilot who had just received his instrument rating and was excited to fly by himself. But when the clouds closed in, he was extremely nervous about making an instrument landing on a runway he couldn’t see. He was beginning to panic when a stern voice came over the radio, “You just obey instructions, and we’ll take care of the obstructions.”

We do not have to see the path in front of us to walk in the way God commands. He knows the future. He knows what will happen to you tomorrow and next week and next year. He knows every event that will be part of the rest of your life. He knows the exact place and moment of your death (or if the Rapture will come first). He knows every trial you will face, and how you will respond. We do not need more information; we need more faith so that we will do what God says no matter what we see.

Corrie ten Boom, who knew a great deal about trusting God through great trial, once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” The Bible tells us everything God knew that we needed to know in order to live lives that are pleasing to Him. Rather than trying to understand all about the future, we should trust that doing what God says will produce the results that He promises. We can trust Him whether we see His plan or not. You will never go wrong by following what God has spoken in His unfailing Word. (Copied)

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

Faithfulness

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities”‘— Luke 19:17 

It is remarkable how much the Word of God makes of faithfulness — simple faithfulness. It is not great things that God requires of us unless our mission is to do great things; He asks only that we be faithful in the duties that come to our hand in our commonplace days. That means that we do all our work as well as we can; that we serve well in the varied relationships of life in which from time to time we find ourselves; that we stand heroically in our lot, resisting temptation and continuing true and loyal to God; and that we fulfil our mission in all ways according to the grace given unto us, using every gift and talent for the glory of God and the good of the world. The world crowns “success;” God crowns “faithfulness.”

Jesus tells us that faithfulness in this life lifts us to places of authority hereafter. So, then, life here is only a trial to see what we are capable of doing. It is after all a real probation to find out who may be set over large trusts. And the real life is to be begun in the other world. Those who prove faithful here will have places of responsibility in the kingdom of glory. This ought to give a new and mighty motive to our living in this world. Our eternal honour and employment will depend upon the degree of our faithfulness here.–J. R. Miller

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

DESTRUCTIVE PRIDE

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.”–Proverbs 18:12

   None of us want to see our lives destroyed.  We do not want to experience spiritual and moral ruin, or see our dreams and worthy goals disappear.  We do not want to see reproach come upon the Name of the Lord and His work due to our spiritual collapse.  Is it possible there could be some indication of self-destruction before it occurs?  Are there warning signs that might make moral bankruptcy avoidable?  According to the Scripture, there is something that often precedes the fall of mighty men: “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty.”  

One of the most destructive forces in a person’s life is pride.  Many great leaders have been destroyed through personal pride.  People of tremendous spiritual influence have seen their ministries ruined because of pride.  It was pride that led to Lucifer’s revolt and expulsion from Heaven.  Pride is not a problem for a pitied few of God’s creation, but rather it is present in every heart.  Children begin to exhibit pride in their earliest years.  It is a part of the sinful nature we inherited from Adam and remains a dreaded foe throughout our lives.  

   One reason pride is so dangerous is because it is very deceptive.  We can easily be blinded to its presence in our hearts and minds.  Because it is such a powerful force, when it has a stronghold in our lives, its very presence resists attempts to rid the heart of its influence.  Pride rebels against the acknowledgment and removal of itself.  We must be aware of the destructive nature of self-reliance and self-exaltation, and treat pride as an enemy.  

   Is there any antidote for such a harmful condition?  The Bible declares that “before honour is humility.”  Just as pride can bring destruction, humility can bring blessing and honor.  The cure for the poison of pride is having a humble attitude and spirit.  As pride wants to exalt self and refuse correction and instruction, humility recognizes how undeserving and incapable we are.  While pride is a natural part of man’s fallen nature, humility must be chosen and developed in our hearts.  

   We are told in the Word of God to humble ourselves.  We are responsible to keep ourselves humble and to repent of the wicked sin of pride.  This is the way of God’s blessing:  He actively resists the proud, but pours out His grace on the humble.–Thomas Smith

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

One of the secrets of a happy and beautiful life!

“…as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”      Deuteronomy 33:25

One of the secrets of happy and beautiful life, is to live one day at a time. Really, we never have anything to do any day–but the bit of God’s will for that day. If we do      that well–we have absolutely nothing else to do.
 
Time is given to us in days. It was so from the beginning. This breaking up of time into little daily portions means a great deal more than we are accustomed to think. For one thing, it illustrates the gentleness and goodness of God. It would have made life intolerably burdensome if a year, instead of a day–had been the unit of division. It would have been hard to carry a heavy load, to endure a great sorrow, or to keep on at a hard duty–for such a long stretch of time. How dreary our common task-work would be–if there were no breaks in it, if we had to keep our hand to the plough for a whole year! We never could go on with our struggles, our battles, our suffering–if night did not mercifully settle down with its darkness, and bid us rest and renew our strength.

We do not understand how great a mercy there is for us in the briefness of our short days. If they were even twice as long as they are–life would be intolerable! Many a time when the sun goes down–we feel that we could scarcely have gone another step. We would have fainted in defeat–if the summons to rest had not come just when it did.

We see the graciousness of the divine thoughtfulness in giving us time in periods of little days, which we can easily get through with–and not in great years, in which we would faint and fall by the way. It makes it possible for us to go on through all the long years and not to be overwrought, for we never have given to us at any one time–more than we can do between the morning and the evening.

If we learn well the lesson of living just one day at a time, without anxiety for either yesterday or tomorrow, we shall have found one of the great secrets of Christian peace. That is the way God teaches us to live. That is the lesson both of the Bible and of nature. If we learn it, it will cure us of all anxiety; it will save us from all feverish haste; it will enable us to live sweetly in any experience.(J.R. Miller)

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew       6:34 

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