“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”- 1 John 5:11–13

One of the great Bible teachers and preachers of the past, G. Campbell Morgan had already enjoyed some success as a preacher by the time he was nineteen years old.  But he began to read Charles Darwin and other critics of biblical truth, and his mind filled with doubt about the Bible. Finally, knowing he could not continue to preach with such doubts, he canceled his upcoming speaking engagements and put away all the books he had been reading. He went to the store and purchased a new, unmarked Bible, then sat down and began reading it—reading nothing else until He completed it from beginning to end. His doubts fled away, and He spent the rest of His life preaching the Word of God he had come to fully trust.

There are many wonderful resources available to Christians in our day, and I am thankful for every one of them. But nothing can ever take the place of the Word of God. We need to hear it preached and taught on a regular basis. We need to read it for ourselves. We should memorize it, hiding it in our hearts. We should fill our thoughts and meditations with the Bible. When we do, our faith grows and we become more like Jesus.

The only completely perfect and trustworthy tool given to us is the Bible. We can fully believe everything it says and must fully obey everything it commands. Unless your life is filled with the Word of God, your faith will be weak and uncertain.( Paul Chappell)

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

“And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.”- Matt 26:30 
   This is the only record of our Lord’s singing when He was on the earth. It is worthy of special notice that it was just as He was starting out to Gethsemane that He sung a hymn with His disciples. It would not have seemed so strange to us if He had sung that night on the Transfiguration Mount, or the day He entered Jerusalem amid the people’s hosannas, or on some other occasion of great gladness and triumph; but that the only time we hear Him singing should be in the darkest night of His earthly life is very suggestive.
It tells us of the deep gladness that was in the heart of Christ under all His griefs and sorrows. He knew the agony into whose black shadows He was about to enter. He saw the cross, too, that stood just beyond Gethsemane. Yet He went out toward the darkness with songs of praise on His lips. There is a Scripture word which tells us that “for the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame.” This was the joy that broke forth here in a hymn of praise. It was the joy of doing the Father’s will and of saving lost souls. Thus, we get here another glimpse of Christ’s great heart of love.
We learn a lesson, too, for ourselves. We should go forward with joy to meet sorrow and sacrifice when we are doing our Father’s will. We should learn to sing as we enter life’s valleys of shadow. It is a great thing to be able to sing as we work, and sing as we suffer. The secret of Christ’s song here was His looking beyond the garden and the cross; He saw the reward, the glory, the redemption accomplished. If we look only at the sorrow before us, we cannot sing; but if we look on to the joy of victory, and the blessedness of the reward, and the ripened fruits that will come from the suffering, we can sing too as we enter the sorest trial.– J. R. Miller

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

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”- Proverbs 14:34

It is not valor in war—but righteousness; it is not policy in government—but righteousness; it is not wittiness of invention—but righteousness; it is not civility in behavior—but righteousness; it is not antiquity of laws—but righteousness; it is not largeness of dominion—but righteousness; it is not greatness of command—but righteousness —which is the honor and the safety, the renown and the security of a nation. 

It is not rich mines of gold and silver, nor armies, nor councils, nor fleets, nor forts—but justice and righteousness which exalts a nation; and which will make a lowly people to become a great, a glorious, and a famous people in the world. That nation which exalts righteousness—that nation shall be certainly exalted by righteousness.

Ah!…. If injustice shall grow rampant, and you shall brandish the sword of protection to the desperate swearer, and to the cruel oppressor, and to the roaring drunkard, and to the cursing monster; and shall be a devouring sword to the upright and godly in the land—divine vengeance will dig your grave, and divine justice will tumble you into it! — Thomas Brooks, 1662
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.” Psalm 128:1, 5-6
   Right now our nation is sick unto death because she has forgotten God. But listen to this and let it burn itself into your soul. In 1821 John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, said, 
   “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. From the day of the Declaration, the American people were bound by the laws of God.” 
   The principles of civil government and Christianity were linked together in an unbreakable bond. Nearly all citizens acknowledged Christian, biblical principles as the rules of their conduct.
    In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson said, “America was born to exemplify the devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from Holy Scriptures.”  
   In March, 1931, Congress adopted “The Star-Spangled Banner” as our national anthem.  Do you know what the fourth stanza says?  “Blessed with victory and peace, may this Heaven-rescued land praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.  Then conquer we must when our cause it is just.  And this be our motto, ‘In God is our trust.’” 
God blessed America was she was rooted in spiritual principles and truths. Praise God for our Christian and Judaic heritage being written into our very fabric. And pray for your nation according to 2 Chronicles 7:14.– Adrian Rogers

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