I AM AN AMERICAN 

I was born with many blessings, privileges, and opportunities, unknown to many. I’ve never known what it’s like to be hungry or to not be able to get medical treatment when it was needed. I was afforded the privilege of being able to get an education. I was raised in a neighborhood that was safe, where I could roam and play without fear of being harmed. I knew nothing about forced labor, unless you consider normal chores as such, and there is a big difference. Dad and mom provided everything I needed, so I never had to resort to begging or eating out of dumpsters. I could indulge myself in pleasurable activities such as hunting, fishing, and playing little league baseball, while children elsewhere had to live in squalor. Indeed I have been blessed far beyond what I am able to describe, blessings not enjoyed by most people in the world, blessings totally undeserved.

 In addition to all this, I had security. Not only the security of a loving family, but the security that comes from being protected by the greatest fighting force on earth, the United States Armed Forces! My favorite song in grade school was the “Halls of Montezuma”. It still sends chills down my spine when I hear it. 

As an American I’ve had countless opportunities. I was told at an early age, “This is America. You can be what you want to be.” Compared to the rest of the world my life was relatively trouble free. When I failed I had nobody to blame but myself. I was free and just about everyone was urging me to be the best that I could be. I didn’t always listen, but I had the opportunity because I’m an American. I’m free!

I am an American! I am a red-blooded, true blue, stand tall American and proud of it.Joy floods my soul when I see Old Glory wave in the breeze. My heart beats faster when we sing the National Anthem. Tears come to my eyes I hear the pledge of alligence. Wonder overwhelms me when I read the constitution. Gratitude springs up within me when I see those in uniform. Admiration is felt in every fiber of my being when I see our veterans. And my bloods boils with anger when I see disrespect for the flag and hear disparaging remarks about our country. I am an American and proud of it. If you don’t love it leave it! 

Because I am an American I will not give up, shut up, or tone down. My days on earth are limited and may be few. My duty is clear. I will do what I can, while I can, as long as I can, the best I can, to preserve liberty and justice for the next generation. Not only am I an American, I am a Christian and I will not give up hope, nor cease praying that God will continue to bless America.

 
Because I am a Christian American my heart breaks when I see what has happened to our nation. We are no longer the nation we were meant to be, nor the nation we used to be. We have drifted so far away from God it is only because of His grace that we haven’t been destroyed. Our only hope is a spiritual awakening and that starts with a revival among we Christians. Unless we return to the old paths the road ahead doesn’t look good. 

Change comes one person at a time and the best thing we can do to help our nation is to win souls to Christ. We do not exist to save American, but rather to carry out the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20. God help us to keep our focus there! HDS 

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

THINK ABOUT IT              7-3-24
OUR FAITHFUL FATHER
It’s stamped on our coins, printed on our money, stated in our legal documents, and expressed in our songs—“In God We Trust”. But do we really? If we really loved God and fully trusted God would not things be much different than they are? Indeed they would! However, my present purpose is not to focus on man’s failures, but on God’s faithfulness. We seem to have all but forgotten that He is trustworthy, dependable, faithful regardless of circumstances.

Perhaps it’s because of the people in our lives who have failed to deliver on their promises and live up to our expectations that cynicism has crept into our thinking. Disappointments can be devastating, not only in relationship with others, but also in regards to our attitude toward God.

The good news is that although we often fail, He never does. Even when we doubt He abides faithful. He never fails to do as He has promised. Search the pages of history and you will discover that God’s faithfulness has been on display throughout. As much as they would like to, even His enemies cannot lay any justifiable charge at His feet. They cannot put their finger on even one example of where God has failed or falsely represented Himself. He is without spot.

God is holy and honest, faithful and true. And He changes not! What He was yesterday He is today and will be tomorrow. Although things don’t always turn out the way you planned or as you desired or imagined, God never fails. He has proven Himself to be fully faithful and totally trustworthy. So, when you are confronted with unexpected problems, confused by unusual situations, confounded by undesirable circumstances, cumbered about with unending duties, challenged by unrelenting enemies, or collapsing under unyielding pressure, just remember–God is faithful and He has a promise for every need.

Our nation, it seems, is headed for tough times, but do not let that get you down. Rise up on the wings of His exceeding great and precious promises and trust Him to bring good out of the bad. Come what may, God is able to deliver us, and we never make a mistake by trusting Him. He will not fail! – HDS (7-2-12)

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

THINK ABOUT IT           6-24-24  

 WORTHY IS THE LAMB

   It’s the morning after and I expected to be despondent. It’s the morning after not being able to preach yesterday. That’s always a disappointing time for me. In this case the problem was compounded by the fact that I intended to preach on the subject of worship.

I hardly slept last night and I’m very weary. However as I sit here in my recliner thinking about worship suddenly I started thinking about the wonder of worship and my spirit was lifted out of the doom and gloom. As I thought about the reasons why I worship God one verse kept coming to my mind. It’s found in Rev. 5:9. Notice the phrase “Thou art worthy.”  Then in vs.12 we read “ Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”.

Many things come to my mind when I think about why I worship God. I praise God for who He is. I thank God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. That involves a long list. However if I had to sum it all up I would say I worship the Lord because “Worthy is the Lamb” ( vs.12). Truer words were never spoken! And trying to describe what’s pictured in this chapter is far beyond man’s ability.

It’s noteworthy that what is said of the worthiness of the Son in this chapter is said of the Father in chapter four. And, since God said He would not give His glory to another ( Isa. 42:8; 48;11) this proves that the Son and the Father are one ( John 17:21-22).
We see here the picture of a worship service unlike anything ever seen. I’ve read this over and over yet I’m never able to fully grasp the glory depicted. Rather than try, for the purpose of this message, I want to focus only on the fact that Christ is worthy. He is worthy of our best and our all. As the sacrifice slain for our sin He is the source of our salvation. Although He is rejected by some now He shall be worshipped by all forever in heaven. He should be worshipped here and now.

God help us to stop our petty complaints, acting as though God expects too much from us. There is never a time, never a trial, when God is unfair. When we’ve forsaken all, expended all our energy in His service, given all our possessions for His sake, and shed our blood as martyrs, He is worthy of our worship.

Regardless of the great demands God places upon us we need to remember that it isn’t excessive because He is worthy of everything we could possibly give. Living in the awareness of that fact will keep us from complaining. It will enable us to think of our scars as badgers of honor for having given ourselves to the One who is worthy. It will put a song in our heart when we’ve hung our harps on the willows. It will provide perfect peace that passeth all understanding and joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

Underline those words in your Bible, “Worthy is the Lamb” and etch them on the tablet of your heart, and store them in your mind. It will deliver you from discouragement in the day of difficulty. Wherever you are you can worship the One who is Faithful and True. So until the day when we all gather in that great choir let us shout and sing His praise with all our hearts. He is worthy!- HDS

David Stone   

Lakeway Baptist Church   

Humble, Tx

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

“We live in a time of great technological advancement. Companies are constantly churning out new products that are hailed as smarter, more advanced, and more innovative. And in many ways we have made ourselves dependent on technology with our smartphones, tablets, and computers, too name just a few.

There is nothing inherently sinful in these things. In fact, they can be powerful tools for good in the service of God and his church, and therefore we can use them with a good conscience before God. “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5).

That being said, we ought to recognize that there are many dangers that these wonders of the technological age present. These dangers ought to make us careful in our use of these good gifts.

What follows are a list of ten such dangers, “traps” of technology:

1) We can waste an unbelievable amount of time using technology. How many hours are wasted staring at the TV, pursuing pointless information on the internet, looking at pictures on Instagram, and posting on Facebook? Too many, making this one of the top traps of technology.

2) Technology makes it relatively easy to sin. This is not to say that the same sins weren’t found fifty years ago, for they certainly were. But with technology there are more opportunities to sin and sinful things are more readily accessible. As a wise saint said to me recently, “When I was younger, you had to work pretty hard to get in trouble and access sinful things. Now you can get it in a few seconds on your phone.”

3) We can very easily become discontent through our use of technology. One area of discontentment is with the technology itself. We are dissatisfied with the smartphone or computer that we have and are always looking for something newer, better, and faster. It becomes an idol in our life. Another area of discontentment is with the things that we view through technology. Seeing the glamorous life of this athlete/actress/friend, I become discontented with my seemingly boring life.

4) Technology is often the means by which we backbite and slander. One wrong move and soon the news spreads like wildfire across the gossip channels of text messaging and social media.

5) Through our use of technology we often give a poor witness to the world of our faith. We post pictures of some ungodly musician’s concert we attended. We “like” this popular drama on TV. We let everyone know how excited we are about the release of the latest Hollywood movie.

6) It is very easy through technology to fall into the trap of unreality. We see pictures of the expensive vacations and fun activities that others are doing, and think that their life must be perfect. Young people might give the impression that anyone who’s anything is hanging out on Friday night, so that the one left at home feels left out and friendless.

7) In the age of instant information, it seems as if younger generations are losing the ability to read, write, listen, and think critically and deeply.

8) Our use of technology can weaken our ability to converse and thus hurt our relationships to others. It seems pretty common to go into a restaurant and see a husband and wife sitting across from one another, both staring at their phones. It seems pretty common to try and have a conversation with a teenager while their face is buried in their phone.

9) There is the danger with technology of over-sharing information. I’m all for getting to know other people better and sharing their joys and sorrows. But I don’t need to know what you just ate for breakfast. I don’t need to know a disagreement that you had with your spouse. I don’t need to know that you’re angry at your coworkers. I don’t need to know (usually) that you’re having an all-around bad day.

10) One of the dangers of technology is that we are able to retreat into a world without any accountability. When we are at work, we have the accountability of employers and employees. When we are at home, we have the accountability of spouses, parents, children, siblings. When we are at school, we have the accountability of teachers and classmates. But with technology we can often enter a world with little or no accountability. We can say things that we wouldn’t ordinarily say. We can sneak off to our bedroom and watch all sorts of vile things. And if anyone looks over our shoulder or asks to see our device, we hide behind the vault-door of passwords.”