Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 2/27/18  Luke 23:26, And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. Simon was given another’s burden, and he had to carry it: make it his own. How did he and how are we to do this? Stay close to Christ.                               Proverbs 23:17, Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. We are prisoners of time; we live in the moment and have to be concerned about the here and now. But we must discipline our mind to try to take the eternal look, the wise look (which is seeing things from His perspective.) Sinners seem to prosper and that is enticing to us...but we must MAKE ourselves do rightly, even when it seems senseless and useless.

 

- Wednesday, 2/28/18  Proverbs 24:17a, Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth... A reminder that just because someone is against you and they consider you as an enemy/adversary, they don’t have to be YOUR enemy. Their view of you is their choice, as is yours of them. Do rightly...that’s all you can do.                        What to do with your mistakes and sins, and what to do with another’s mistakes and sins. Yes, Virginia, it really is that simple.  Proverbs 24:16, For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.  Luke 17:4, And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

 

- Thursday, 3/1/18  Would you say that you want to be like Christ? Be honest... Isaiah 53:5, But he was wounded for OUR transgressions, he was bruised for OUR iniquities. Are you willing to suffer for what another has caused? He did...and thereby forgave us. Again, do you want to be like the Master??                                   Just cuz it’s over doesn’t mean it’s over. Isaiah 51:3, For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. God can and oftentimes does make Gardens of Eden out of nuclear waste dumps...your situation isn’t beyond His abilities.

 

- Friday, 3/2/18  Are you facing a huge problem, the likes of which you’ve never faced before? Psalm 48:14, For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. The plan is the same as always: live for Christ today and do what you’re supposed to today: period. Then repeat tomorrow.                 All of Matthew 18 deals with the topic of forgiving others. Matthew 18:3, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Children are quick to forgive. Maybe this is teaching us that there is a fullness of our Christian lives that we will not receive until we are as quick to forgive and move on. Who is it that you’ve not released from “owing” you? Let them go; let the situation go. Not for their sakes: for yours.  I read this statement in a book: “Forgiveness is choosing to live with the unchangeable consequences of another’s sin against me.” You HAVE to live with it: you don’t have the option not to, but you may choose to live with it either in bitterness or forgiveness. Let it go.

 

- Saturday, 3/3/18  Psalm 31:24, Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart. His part is to strengthen us; our part is to be courageous, i.e. to go forward. We don’t get strength BEFORE we undertake the burden; we get strength as we struggle with the burden, moment by moment.                          John 21:16, He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agape) thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. As you know, agape is God’s unconditional type love, while phileo is affection. (There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s just not what God gives us.) Peter was commissioned though he had less than mature, godly love. So, you are qualified to serve as you are now, and the one you look down on is probably qualified too.

 

- Sunday, 3/4/18  Psalm 48:14, For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. If He guides unto death, there must be specific steps/actions that I am to take every step of the way before death. Are we willing to walk in His way today? Also, that means there’s no retirement from God’s purposes.                           Psalm 71:14, But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. “Will hope” and “will yet praise.”  If we can’t do as we should NOW (usually because of our sin or hard heart), promise to do it later. Don’t change the fundamental essence of what you are because of a short-term condition. Don’t quit on yourself becoming an awesome Christian. Don’t totally shoot yourself in the foot.

 

- Monday, 3/5/18  You wouldn’t classify yourself as a “rebellious” person, would you? Maybe God does. Note His description of a rebel: Isaiah 65:2, I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, WHICH walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts... Hmmmm...                       In Isaiah 65:2-5, God details what He views as a “rebellious” person. The last characteristic that He gives is most alarming:  V5, Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. It seems that the rebel is the one who will not get close to a sinner...out of arrogance, not self-protection. Remember, Galatians 6 says that if we’re spiritual, we’ll RUN TO the sinner...Jesus does in 1 John 2:1. Are you more like Christ or a rebel?

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- Acts 12:15, And they said unto [Rhoda], Thou art mad, but she constantly affirmed [Peter was at the gate.] Then said they, It is [Peter’s] angel. I’m afraid this is how most of us pray.

 

- Ps 113:7-8, He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill: that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. If God can do that, just maybe there is hope for us.

 

- Acts 9:15, But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. We should be careful about whom we prejudge in our soul winning and discipling for the Lord. PTL, He didn’t give up on us.

 

- Pro 31:26, She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. A wise, godly and virtuous wife is invaluable.

 

- Ps 118:6, The Lord is on my side: I will not fear: what can man do unto me? What a promise, and what a source of confidence.

 

- Acts 13:13, Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Pamphylia, and John departed from them returned to Jerusalem. The Gospel ministry isn’t for the weak, faint of heart, or wimps. If we don’t want to fight a battle, find another work to do.

 

- The Lord doesn’t allow us the luxury of making up our own definition of “neighbor.” Every human being in need is my neighbor, whether he or she is of a different race, religion, gender, age, or size. The bottom line is the command to actively love—go and do (Luke 10:37).

 

- Of course, the church is a flawed institution. But instead of abandoning it, Jesus loved it, committed to it, forgave it, fought for it, purged it, purified it, lived for it and ultimately died for it. He called it "Marriage."

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- Wandering from God is very subtle. The only way to tell is measure the distance from where you were with God 5 years ago.

 

- The most fearful and telling phrase people make concerning any relationship is this, "I don't have to..."  That phrase reveals a disconnect.  "I get to, and I want to" reveals a powerful connection.

 

- The best friend you have is someone who will be completely honest with you, even at the risk of losing your friendship.

 

- The question is not whether someone who needs me will cross my path today. The question is, will I notice them and do something about it?

 

- A good marriage is one where it is him and her vs. their struggles, not him struggling with her.

 

- Don’t forget that maybe you’re supposed to be the lighthouse in someone else’s storm...shine forth today.

 

- The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. Wm. Shakespeare

 

- If you are not happy with what you have, how do you know you would be happier with more?

 

- If success leads you away from God, then failure is the tool of choice to bring you back because the tool of success did not work.

 

- Pride gets angry at other people's sins. Humility gets angry at our own sins.

 

- Isn't it funny how sinful people seek perfect people but a perfect God seeks sinful people.

 

- Prisons, asylums and cemeteries are filled with people who got there because of bitterness towards another. You really don't want to join them do you? Forgive!