“—-Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”–Genesis 18:25

This is a question that relates to many varied experiences that men go through. There are miseries that seen too heavy to bear and mysteries that are far to hard for us to solve. Numerous things in life seem unfair and unprofitable, and we wonder why and how a loving God would force them on us.

This is a question that should be easy to answer. Since God is righteous, perfect in every way, He cannot but do that which is right. We might not understand it, but we can rest assured that God will never do wrong.

This is a question that implies great truth about God. He is a judge, the Judge,” the Judge of all the earth“! He is not some local deity conjured up in the mind of puny man, nor one of the many gods of this wicked world. He is “the Judge of all the earth”—the One to whom we all are accountable!

This is a question we should remember. Things will happen that will rock your world, cloud your mind, break your heart, and depress your spirit—things you cannot comprehend, change or control. Things happen that prompt us to ask “Why?”, “Why this?”, “Why me?”, “Why now?”. We all experience things that cause pressure to mount–sometimes to the point that we even question God. It’s then that we are in desperate need of remembering who He is—“the Judge of all the earth“. So, who are we to question Him? He has all authority–shall we challenge Him? He has infinite wisdom–should we question Him? He is perfectly holy–dare we accuse Him of being wrong or unfair? He rules “all the earth“–should He not rule over us? He is “the Judge of all the earth“–shall we judge Him?

We have misjudged Him many times before, shall we do it again? Will we never learn? Do not be led astray by your feelings. Simply trust God to do as He has promised. He will never fail you. As someone said, “Wait till the last chapter is written. God hasn’t made His first mistake. When we are able to see things from a clearer perspective, we will realize that the Judge of all the earth has done right”.–HDS

John Oxenham wrote:
“God writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife,–
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this–His way was right.”

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

“…the members should have the same care one for another.”– 1 Cor. 12:25

We need others. It has been that way since the day we were born, and it will be true till the day we die. None of us can take all the praise for what we’ve done, because others have contributed to making us what we are. Like the turtle on a fence post- someone had to help it get there. Even so, we all need help getting “there”, wherever there might be. Think about it, everything we know we learned from someone else. It was with the help of others that we learned walk, talk, and the ABC’s. Even when we think we’ve discovered something original it’s just a remix of what others have said. B. R. Lakin said, ” I was determined to be original or nothing. Now I’ve discovered I am both – the original nothing”. That’s where we all would be without others.

From the cradle to the grave we need others. And from the beginning God made that known. He gave Adam Eve as a helpmeet and instituted the family. After that He raised up the nation of Israel and established the Tabernacle and the Temple as houses of worship. When we come to the new testament we discover that Christ instituted the church. He did so because we need others and others need us. The problem is that as much as we need each other dealing with others can be very difficult. But the greatness of the need should compel us to put forth our best effort, which is what the Bible commands. That calls for patience- something we all need. We are all at different stages of spiritual maturity and that leads to problems. In addition to that we all have different gifts and are all subjected to different experiences – so we must be understanding.

Every Christian ought to study all the “one another” statements found in the new testament – most of which Paul wrote. We have no right to cut ourselves off from others and live as though we are the only ones that matter. We are here to serve God and we can’t do that without ministering to others. You are more important than you realize and you need others more than you can imagine. No Christian can ever become the person they ought to be unless they are a member of the Lord’s church. Ask God to direct you to the church of His choice and make yourself useful. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“ But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” – Gal. 6:14

Looking at the wonder of God’s love displayed on the cross changes us and how we see the world. The sight of our Savior’s sacrifice not only reflects the greatness of God’s grace, it also reveals the wickedness of the world. At the cross we see the greatest injustice ever, as sinful men crucified the only perfect man who has ever lived. They had no faith in the One in whom no fault could be found. They had no love for the One who loved them unconditionally. For them He was seen as a problem, a threat to their self-righteous religion, rather than the solution to their problem. And they were not content to just reject him and walk away in dissent. They were out for blood. Words cannot describe the awfulness of their sin, nor His suffering. It is beyond what the mind can imagine.

While we are repulsed by the sight, we are well aware that Christ suffered due to our sins as well as theirs. We are not innocent bystanders in this. None of us are without guilt. Amazingly Jesus tasted death for every man. He loved the very people who called for his crucifixion and those who carried it out. So as we view the world we see more than injustice. We also see God’s great concern for it. How then can we not be concerned about it? Those who have been redeemed should desire the same for others. He “hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;” ( 2 Cor. 5:18).

Seeing the great need of the world, we who have experienced and enjoyed God’s saving grace should express it to others– in word and deed. We who have discovered the greatness of God’s love should declare it. We could impress others by speaking of God’s wisdom, power, faithfulness, etc., but it is the good news of His love that the world needs most. That’s why Paul said, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” ( Gal. 6:14). If the evidence of our love for God is love for others, how can we claim to love God if we fail to proclaim the message the world needs most? In our knowledge of His love we have exactly what the world needs. We must not remain silent. 2 Cor. 5: 20 says, “we are ambassadors for Christ.” So let’s do our job. – HDS

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