Baptist City Blog

Then Shalt Thou Prosper

1 Chronicles 22:13

"Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed."

Who wouldn't want to prosper in life? When God promises to prosper us, He is saying that He will help us move forward. He is saying that He will help us succeed or increase in a certain area. There are many areas in which we can prosper. We can prosper in our marriage or home. We can prosper in our finances, ministries, employment and in any endeavor in life. Anyone who has any initiative in life will want to prosper.

Bible Thoughts by Terry Hedderman

Sunday, 5/11/14 Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. “Take” not “say.” I don’t think it refers to speech at all. I think He says that we’re to act like we belong to Someone Who is “not from around here.” We’re to act differently because we have a different God. John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Thomas had to see in order to believe: that’s not faith. Jesus said the blest ones are the ones who believed (relied upon) by faith.

Open Wide

Psalm 81:10

"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."

Every once in awhile when my wife is doing some baking I'll ask her what she is cooking, and she says, "It's a surprise." She will then come over to me and tell me, "Close you eyes and open wide." As I open my mouth a spoon of tasty dessert is put into my mouth. Boy, am I glad that I opened wide.

Music

Lucky Canaan
As You Journey, Don't Miss Him
Follow My Advice, Not My Example
Music

Four great sermons for the week of 5/11/14 are now up at www.baptist-city.com

No hypocrisy... not

Hirsi Ali was recently invited to speak at Brandeis University, where she would receive an honorary degree. But after Hirsi Ali received the invitation, the Council on Arab Islamic Relations sent Brandeis a list of "offensive" things Hirsi Ali said about Islam. Brandeis retracted her invitation. The University called some of Hirsi Ali's opinions "inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values."

Brandeis had no problem bestowing an honorary degree on playwright Tony Kushner, who admits he has "a problem with the idea of a Jewish state." And Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke at Brandeis despite having characterized Israel as an "apartheid state." Brandeis' tolerance of a variety of opinion, apparently, doesn't apply to those critical of Islam.

From The Elder Statement

Be Still

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

This is a very interesting command from God during a time of war. God told Israel to "be still." In other words, God was telling Israel that they could have peace in the midst of war. He was telling them to stop squirming and trust Him. He was telling them that He would show them His power if they would be still and stop running. There were a few times when God told them to "be still."

The Troubler

1 Chronicles 2:7

"And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed."

Achan will forever be known at the "troubler of Israel." What a terrible thing for which to be known. The sad part about this story is that, for the most part, Achan may have been a good man, but one action caused him to be known as the troubler. He may have been a good husband and father because we can see that his whole family was involved in this action with him, but because of one action we will never know. We will never know the good that Achan did because of the one action that troubled others.

Makings of an Unpleasant Home

Proverbs 21:9
"It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house."

Home should be one of the most pleasant places where you enjoy being. Home is supposed to be an oasis away from the struggles of the world. It is supposed to be a place of refuge where you can go and decompress from a day of struggle and battles.

Judicial Law Making again thwarts the voters

Raiders of a Lost Ark.

Arkansas may be "the Natural State" -- but not on marriage, if one judge gets his way. Late Friday, the South's most reliably pro-marriage state was rocked by the news that a local judge wadded up the will of 75% of voters and threw it on the progressive trash heap, where liberals hope to bury natural marriage. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza joined the marriage circus with a ridiculous ruling that struck down Arkansas's Amendment 83, officially expanding this country's lawlessness to one of the most socially conservative states in the union.

Cleansing Agents

Psalm 119:9

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."

Overcoming sin is a lifelong battle for every Christian. Fortunately, you don't have to fight this battle alone. God gives the Christian the wherewithal to overcome sin. Most of the time, it is our fault that we don't overcome sin. Our desire should be to cleanse ourselves from sin. When one is cleansed from sin, that means there is no trace of that sin on you. The Scriptures show us four things that cleanse the Christian from sin.