THINK ABOUT IT            8-24-23
GOD’S GOT THIS
I’m not sure when it started with our family, but it really hit home in my heart when I woke up September 3, 2021 and saw a note from our daughters that said, “God’s Got This!  Now during difficult or stressful times it’s common for Bev and I to say to each other, “God’s got this!”

Naturally there are other ways to say it, but that sums it up for us. It reminds us that whatever “This” is God is in control. I’ll admit that, from the human point of view, it doesn’t always seem true, but I know that can lead to serious problems – sometimes worse than that which troubles us. That’s always the case when we fail to give God the credit He is due.

God has proven Himself trustworthy over and over again throughout history. And He has given us exceeding great and precious promises that inspires hope. Although our circumstances are complex, confusing, and painful God’s Word assures us that He either appoints them or allows them and uses them for good. That doesn’t mean that we’ll be free from pain, but it does assure us that they are not without purpose and that His grace is sufficient to sustain us.

But all that is meaningless unless we trust God and prefer His will more than our own. The old saying,”You don’t know what’s good for you” is true of most people. We aren’t smart enough to understand all the ways of God. But, thankfully our comfort and courage isn’t dependent on our ability to comprehend God’s ways. It’s through faith in God that we are enabled to deal with our difficulties. You can depend on God’s many promises, mighty power, miraculous plans, and merciful pardon.

Regardless of the “This” in your life today, –
– physical suffering 
– domestic strife
– emotional stress
– financial shortage
– vocational struggles
– spiritual stumbling 
God’s got this!
– HDS

David Stone     
Lakeway Baptist Church       
Humble, Tx.

THINK ABOUT IT            8-25-23

Having seen such a glorious sight of 28 saved and 20 baptized in less than two weeks, and with eight more baptisms scheduled for Sunday, that should not only make us happy and thankful, it should make us holy. This display of God’s grace should get our attention. It should inspire us to hope for. revival- a spiritual awaking of God’s people.

If we ever needed revival it is today. Considering the corruption of our country, crime in our communities, collapse of Christian character, and coldness of churches, it’s easy to see the need for change- the kind of change that only a heaven sent revival can provide.

But for that to occur it must happen one person at a time. The question is “How?”. 2 Chron 7:24 gives us the answer. Nobel Peace Price laureate, John Moss said, “A necessary precursor of any great spiritual awakening is a spirit of deep humiliation growing out of a consciousness of sin, and fresh revelation of the holiness and power and glory of God”.

We talk about wanting our nation to be better, but there doesn’t seem to be much interest in a personal revival. People complain about the condition of the church, but they fail to see the changes that need to be made in their own lives. We seldom hear any prayers or see any tears from people pouring out their hearts for a revival. When it comes to their personal relationship with God they act as though everything is fine, when it isn’t.

I pray that this great display of God’s power will convince us that a revival is possible. If God can save a lost sinner He can certainly revive those who are redeemed. I look forward to where all this will lead. Join with me in prayer that nothing will hinder what God is doing. Think about it!

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, Tx

THINK ABOUT IT            8-13-23

Are you living?

   Jonathan Swift wrote: “ May you live all the days of your life”. That should be every person’s desire. Yet many are satisfied with merely existing. They eat, sleep, work, play, and plan, but they do not live in the truest sense.

   There is more to life than just maintaining our existence, keeping the blood flowing through the veins and air in our lungs. We exist for a purpose and unless we are fulfilling that purpose we aren’t really living. Our purpose is to glorify God and we do that by living in joyful obedience to His will. To really live, in the strictest sense, is to live a life of significance, one that emulates and reflects Christ.

   Jim Eliot wrote: “ I seek not a long life, but a full one like you, Lord Jesus”. Commenting on that statement, someone said, “ A life cut short, as Jim Eliot’s was isn’t necessarily the greatest tragedy. Rather, it’s a life that has been squandered—a life that has been wasted and thrown away on nothingness and self- indulgence.”

   Many are worried about their life being cut short. They should be more concerned about never really living. The true tragedy is not that life ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it. Think about it! – HDS

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, Tx 

THINK ABOUT IT           8-12-23

When I received these words from our missionary Jacob Jones, “I was reading and meditating on this hymn this morning!”, it reminded me of the times that I have suggested that we spend more personal time reading hymn books. They are a treasure trove of inspiration. Here’s the song:

1. As I journey through the land singing as I go,Pointing souls to Calvary– to the crimson flow,Many arrows pierce my soul from without, within;But my Lord leads me on, through Him I must win.

Refrain:Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face,There to sing forever of His saving grace;On the streets of Glory let me lift my voice;Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.

2 When in service for my Lord dark may be the night,But I’ll cling more close to Him, He will give me light;Satan’s snares may vex my soul, turn my thoughts aside;But my Lord goes ahead, leads whate’er betide. [Refrain]

3 When in valleys low I look toward the mountain height,And behold my Savior there, leading in the fight,With a tender hand outstretched toward the valley low,Guiding me, I can see as I onward go. [Refrain]

4 When before me billows rise from the mighty deep,Then my Lord directs my bark; He doth safely keep,And He leads me gently on through this world below;He’s a real friend to me, oh, I love Him so. [Refrain]

THINK ABOUT IT!

THINK ABOUT IT              8-11-23

 FINDING FULFILLMENT

I love the following true story told by Pastor Tom Goodman:

Newlyweds Doug and Sylvia Whitt were not impressed their honeymoon accommodations.
 
Their wedding reception had gone late into the night, and it wasn’t until the wee hours of the morning that they made it to their hotel room.
 
They had booked what they thought was a fancy honeymoon suite. But when they walked in the door, all they saw was a sofa, a table, and some chairs. They found the sofa had a hide-a-bed with a lumpy mattress and sagging springs.
The next morning, the new husband went to the hotel desk and gave the management a tongue-lashing.
 
The clerk asked, “Why didn’t you open the door and see the rest of it?”
 
Doug went back to the room. He opened the door they had thought was a closet. There, complete with fruit baskets and chocolates, was a beautiful bedroom.
 
Some of us might say our Christian experience has been a lot like that. We’ve been living in a cramped little room and we’re calling that Christianity. There is so much more to life with Jesus.
 
We open the door to more life with Jesus when we understand what it means to be “in Christ.” That phrase and close variations of it show up 164 times in the New Testament. We tend to use the word “Christian” to describe ourselves today. But while that word only shows up three times in Scripture, again and again Paul preferred to describe us simply as people who are “in Christ.”
 
Marinate your soul in this truth—and, yes, the word “marinate” is the right one. It’s not enough just to hear this truth once or twice every now and again. We have to soak in it. We have to sing songs about it and attend Bible studies about it and reflect on it in personal devotion times and remind each other about it.

THINK ABOUT IT!
David Stone
 Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,Tx.