Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 5/16/17  1 John 3:18, My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. To say the words, “I love you” is easy and common. But to say it and then back it up with “deeds and truth” (i.e. obedience to the Bible) is harder. Which are you more prone to do?     
    1 John 2:4, He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. The one who won’t look at and investigate the commandments is well on his way to becoming a liar. How’s your Bible reading doing? If you need guidance, direction, or help, get it. I’ve got several different reading schedules, if you’d like, or I can show you how to design your own.

 

- Wednesday, 5/17/17  Psalm 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I know in my life it’s more likely the case that I know what to do and simply don’t want to, rather that I don’t know what God would have me do. Light is a pesky thing...             1 John 2:28, And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. I don’t believe that the Lord will scold us at the Judgment Seat (since He won’t remember our sins), but I believe we will scold ourselves. Don’t set yourself up to be VERY red-faced when you see Christ.

 

- Thursday, 5/18/17  Psalm 91:1, He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Wonderful promise, but where is this “secret place”? Matthew 6:6, ...pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. The prayer closet.               Did you ever say, “So-n-so is one of God’s favorites...God’ll give him anything he asks for.” Maybe they know and practice Psalm 92:13, Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 100:4 says, Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: so the courts seem to refer to Heaven. Maybe a key to “being God’s favorite” is making much of the local, New Testament church. I’ll save you a seat on Sunday...down front, on Pastor’s right.

 

- Friday, 5/19/17  Perhaps the main lesson of Psalm 119 is that the Bible is to be the answer regardless of the question. Psalm 119:161-163, Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.             You’ve done it; I’ve done it: rail against and criticize people “who should know better!!”  Psalm 119:158, I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. Weep for the Saviour’s wasted atonement; weep for the hurt that the sin brings to the perpetrator; weep for those who are not being helped because of the time spent in sin instead. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. He’ll do the railing and criticizing in His own time. (And yes, weep for the sins that are directed against you...when you most want to retaliate.)

 

- Saturday, 5/20/17  Proverbs 15:13, A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but BY sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. A sorrowful heart is the doorway to a broken spirit. When life gives you a hard season, don’t allow yourself to be there 24/7. On purpose, focus some energy on happier items.                Jude 6, And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. This verse always confused me: I thought it meant some demons were already in Hell, which didn’t make sense if their leader is still free. It hit me: they are simply chained but not “in prison” yet: like a perpetrator handcuffed on the way to trial. They are still free to cause mischief, albeit not with total freedom: the Lord can yank their chain back at any time. “Under darkness” refers to the fact that angels aren’t allowed to repent.

 

- Sunday, 5/21/17  Proverbs 17:3, The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts. Problems purify, and since God is loving and sovereign, even if we caused the problem, He still controls it and has a purpose. Be patient, endure by keeping your eyes on the goal-d.          Philemon 13, Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. It seems Onesimus wanted to stay and serve Paul. Lesson: we should be very willing to serve the one who won us to Jesus. When was the last time you sent a Thank-You Card? A gift card? Publicly praised them? Does your family know who they are?

 

- Monday, 5/22/17  Is He your loving Heavenly Father or a cruel Ogre? Then keep praying UNTIL... Psalm 123:2, Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, UNTIL that he have mercy upon us.          Psalm 122:6-8, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Vv6-7 give us the command to pray and the subject of the prayer, but v8 gives us the reason for it: my family and friends will benefit from the prayer. And v9 says the church will benefit also from prayers for Jerusalem:  Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.

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- Pro 16:23, The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. We need to be ever learning and telling others.

 

- Matt 9:34, But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. Pharisee-ism didn’t die with the completion of Scripture: it is alive and well today in the spiritual world, the secular world, and the political world. We need to avoid it.

 

- Pro 18:15, The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge: and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. Tell me what one listens to, or likes to hear, and I will tell you the level of character and wisdom one possesses and to which he aspires.

 

- Ps 30:2-3, O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Until one has been there, it is hard to pray this prayer or appreciate the feeling.

 

- Ps 32:10, Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. It pays to trust in the Lord and to serve Him. The ungodly and wicked can never know the joy and peace that comes with trusting in the Lord.

 

- John 21:7b, Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, for he was naked, and did cast himself into the sea. It is amazing what the presence of the Lord will affect in one’s life and behavior, appearance, dress, attitude, etc.

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- It is for women to receive the given, as Mary did, not to insist on the not-given, as Eve did.- Elisabeth Elliot