Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 6/13/17  Jeremiah 25:4, And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. “To hearken”: to hear intelligently, with the implication of attention and obedience. The modern version is “Listen to hear and not to respond.”           
                     Romans 6:21, What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. We need to constantly remind ourselves of this truth because by innate nature we lean toward those things, by past habit we tend to do those things, and by peer pressure from the entire world system we lean toward them.

 

- Wednesday, 6/14/17  Psalm 18:1-3, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength...in whom I will trust... I will call upon the Lord... To love, to trust, to pray (&v49, to give thanks): easy to say, but they’re choices we must make today and tomorrow and...                                   Genesis 22:2, And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. A life-changing decree in a single sentence. Neither of the men learned of the symbolism of the Cross until they reached Heaven. Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead, but the “Why” was never explained in their lifetimes. Will He treat us any differently? I don’t think so.

 

- Thursday, 6/15/17  Psalm 18:35, ...thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. The recipe worked for David 3000 years ago...I wonder if it’ll still work today? Anyone in need of support or desire to become great? (BTW, the servant is still the greatest...)                               Matthew 13:19, When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. “Any one,” would include even saved church members. Do you focus on the preaching or is it “just what I do: I go to Sunday School and church and then home for a nap...that’s my routine.” Maybe that’s why it’s becoming more and more boring to you. Before the next service, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you, and then force yourself to listen intently. Let me know if there’s a difference.

 

- Friday, 6/16/17  Matthew 13:10, And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? Evidently, the disciples never picked up on Jesus’ teaching method of extensive illustration. I can think of no recorded use of parables (illustrations)...except some references to OT Scripture.                            Matthew 14:33, Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. After seeing Him walk on water and calm the storm, they worshiped Him. What a spiritual mountaintop they were on!! But, these same men slept on the night before the Cross, denied the church, quit the ministry...and turned the world upside down. Likewise, you’ll have mountain tops and valleys THIS YEAR still...don’t get too full of yourself or too down on yourself.

 

- Saturday, 6/17/17  Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. We’ve no condemnation (an adverse sentence) from Him; why do we condemn each other?                         I got saved at age 22, and for weeks afterwards I doubted. I’d say, “Lord, if I didn’t mean it before, I do now...” My brother got me to memorizing Scripture, and one day, while going over this verse, my salvation sunk from my head to my heart and in the last 34 years, I’ve never one time doubted if I’m saved. Memorize God’s book.  John 5:24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. If you need help setting up a system to do so, message me.

 

- Sunday, 6/18/17  Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. “No condemnation” doesn’t mean “no correction.” But, we must learn to give (& get) correction while not imply/inferring condemnation.                                    Psalm 96:1, O sing unto the Lord a new song. A simple thought: to sing a new song it must be learned (after it is written.) Many of us need to learn to read again. Many of us are still doing things and treating people “the way we always have.” Stick with tried and true doctrine, but there may be good new ways of applying it. (At one time the bus ministry was a new concept, as was Sunday School, or, for that matter, the New Testament Church and non-Jews getting saved as part of the plan of God.)

 

- Monday, 6/19/17  Psalm 97:1, The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. A simple reminder that even though things may not be going as you’d wish, He is still in command and has life well in hand. R-e-l-a-x;  s-i-n-g; and  r-e-j-o-i-c-e.                                Psalm 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God. God’s awesomeness, as told by the skies: half the time dark with some light sprinkled in; half the time bright with some clouds, i.e. “darkness” sprinkled in. Maybe our character and actions could use some of that balance: boldness and gentleness; flexing and relaxing; attention demanding and attention inviting; aggression and passivity; bluntness and subtlety. (Or, to choose the Oriental view: half Yin and half Yang.) Maybe just some off-the-wall, random thoughts...

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- 2 Sam 6:20, Then David returned to bless his household, and Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day... The attitude of a mate reflects a heart’s condition. One can either build or tear down.

 

- Ps 52:2, Thy tongue deviseth mischief like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. An evil tongue hurts, destroys, and cuts deeply.

 

- Matt 12:48b & 50, Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Jesus makes it clear that His mother and brothers had no special access or privileges.

 

- Pro 15:12, The scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise. The scoffer is so smart and wise in his own eyes that he rejects correction, reproof, and wise counsel. He is the one who sits in the back and ignores preaching.

 

- Pro 15:20, A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother. The respect one has for Mom & Dad tell a lot about a child’s character.

 

- Pro 17:3, Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. A very serious promise and threat. We need the blessings of God, not a curse.

 

- Bad choices or bad priorities? Most of our failures are not because we are bad people. Nor are they because we have evil intentions and make terrible choices. Our failures are a direct result of bad prioritizing. We do good things, but out of order. Disorder becomes confusion and unravels into chaos and failure.  Pro 24:27, "Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and AFTERWARDS build thine house."  So many are putting their HOUSE before their HEART, and in gradual time lose both. Neither are bad. In very fact, both are good. It is easy to get so busy on our house that our heart has little or no time left for God. And what happens then? Both become very empty. "My son, give me thine heart.”  Perhaps, we should re-order our priorities.

 

- Job knew God on one level. It was a level of material blessing, of independence. However, when God took Job into deeper waters, Job was brought even closer to God. It was a level of complete loss, of total dependence. Job passed both tests. "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee," Job 42:5.

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- The risk of running the race is falling in the race. Thus, many who have never fallen never even ran.

 

- God's blessings still require maintenance.

 

- The hardest thing for a time sensitive believer is to wait on an eternal God. In our impulsiveness we may take second best, but the patient will always get God's very best!

 

- Over the years I have witnessed that most prodigals make their way back home. However, not every father has had his heart prepared to receive them and missed his single opportunity. Always keep a fat calf, a change of clothes, and a familiar ring!

 

- Sir, maybe the problem isn't your wife's lack of submission, as much as your lack of Christlikeness.

 

- Pride points out the goodness in our badness, while humility acknowledges the badness in our goodness.

 

- If the print in your Bible seems out of focus, maybe it's your eyes. If the message in your Bible seems out of focus, it is probably your heart.

 

- Do not judge a person by all the bad being said about them. Judge them by the good they are able to do in the midst of all the bad being said about them.