SO MANY REASONS

August 10, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“We love him, because he first loved us.”–1 John 4:19

I love the old song that says…..

So many reasons why I love the Lord,
So many reasons I can’t count them.
So many reasons why I trust His word,
So many reasons I can’t count them.

One is how He saved me at an old-time altar,
He placed a joy within my heart, I know
He changed me completely,
Gave me hope for tomorrow,
And that’s the reason why I love Him so.

(Words and Music by Jimmie Davis and David Reece)

I hope you feel the same way that I do. This ought to be enough to make any Christian shout for joy. It causes me to think about what God has done, is doing, and going to do. Salvation not only delivers us from hell, it puts joy in our heart, changes our character, and gives us blessed assurance for the future. So regardless of what is going on in your life you have reason to rejoice. But, may we never forget that all this is due to the fact He “first loved us”! I hope you will take a few seconds to read the lyrics again, and if you know the tune it would be good to just sing them. It will put a smile on your face, and that would be a great way to start the day!–HDS

THE ULTIMATE SATISFACTION

August 9, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”–Psa. 145:16

In the 1960s, a song was written for recording artist Peggy Lee entitled, “Is That All There Is?” In it, Lee presents a very bleak outlook on the world. She’s become disenfranchised with everything and asks the question, “Is that all there is?”

Is that all there is, is that all there is
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is

The truth is that many people are asking this very same question. The Rolling Stones sang, “I can’t get no satisfaction… I try and I try and I try…” And more recently, Nine Inch Nails at the height of their career sang, “You can have it all, my empire of dirt.”

Apart from Christ, life does have a very bleak outlook. People will try and try to find satisfaction in the world, yet that satisfaction will always elude them. But as C.S. Lewis said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

This world’s offerings will always fall short of bringing you real and lasting joy. But rather than causing you to despair, let it point you to a greater focus on the life to come. That’s where your true promise is, and where you’ll find ultimate satisfaction!

FIND ULTIMATE SATISFACTION NOT IN THIS LIFE, BUT IN LOOKING FORWARD TO THE LIFE TO COME! (Jack Graham)

THE LIVING WORD

August 8, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”–1 Peter 1:23–25

Every year thousands of new books are written. Most of them are quickly forgotten. Only a handful stand the test of time and are still being read years later. Many people find older books to be dull and boring, written for a different time with different interests and sensibilities. It can be a real struggle to try to understand the references and implications that authors were making so long ago.

Yet, there is a book that was written thousands of years ago that is still just as relevant and meaningful as it was when the Spirit of God moved the hearts and minds of men of God and gave them the very words that God wanted us to have in His Word. The Bible is not a dead book—it is alive. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

There is no Christian so mature in his faith that he no longer needs to read and hear the Bible. There is no Christian so young in his faith that he cannot benefit from the principles and precepts of Scripture. Every day we need to be abiding in the Word of God. The Bible equips us to resist the temptations of the enemy and prepares us to serve God effectively.

Only by filling our hearts and minds with His Word can we be prepared to walk in His ways.(Daily in the Word)

THE CHRISTLIEST

August 7, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

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

Thanksgiving should never be lacking in a Christian life. It is not enough to observe one day in the year for ‘Thanksgiving’ although that is a beautiful thing to do. Nor is it enough to put a sentence of thanksgiving into our daily prayers, although that, also, is proper.

It is the grateful spirit which pleases God, the spirit that is always full of praise. There should be a note of thanksgiving running through all our life.

Too many of us go to God only with . . .
our requests,
our burdens,
our worries,
our troubles
–while we but rarely go to Him with any word of thanks.

We are not to be thankful only for the pleasant and agreeable things that come into our days–we are to be thankful, too, for the things that appear to us to be adversities. “Give thanks in everything.” That means . . .
in the sad days–as well as in the glad days,
when clouds are in the sky–as well as when the sunshine is pouring everywhere.

It is said here that this is the will of God for us. The Christliest life is the one that is always keyed to the note of praise and thanksgiving.–J. R. Miller

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” Ephesians 5:20

HEED THE WARNING

August 6, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.”–Luke 20:3–7

In 1982 a war broke out between England and Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands. During the fighting, the British destroyer HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet missile fired by an Argentine warplane. Six days later, despite the best efforts of the crew to patch the hole in the hull, heavy seas flooded and sank the ship. An investigation revealed that though radar had detected the incoming missile, because a plane had not been spotted, the warning was not immediately sounded, and no evasive action was taken.

The great danger facing our society today is not primarily an absence of warning and truth, but rather the refusal to heed the warnings being received. This is true of the lost, who hear the message of salvation and reject it. And it is true of the saved, who read or hear the commands of God but refuse to obey them. The Bible is not filled with suggestions. It is not advice from God, but commandments given for our benefit.

The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by questioning His authority to speak commands from God, but He undid their trap by pointing out that they had refused to believe the message of John the Baptist before Him. Rejecting the truth was nothing new for them—simply a dangerous and destructive pattern of behavior. It will always prove to be the same for us.(Copied)

SO MANY REASONS

THE ULTIMATE SATISFACTION

THE LIVING WORD

THE CHRISTLIEST

HEED THE WARNING

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