Tuesday, 10/9/18 2
Peter 3:18a, But grow in grace, and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Growth is a command.
All of us need to evaluate ourselves and guard against complacency; against
being “good enough/holy enough/dedicated enough.” You’re not and I’m not.
However, the first step in growth is acknowledging the need to do it. So...do
you live your life being “good enough” or, “gotta get better.” No, REALLY??
Luke 16:13, No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Whom do you serve? God, or money? “What a silly question!!” OK, which do you think about more? Do you focus more on acquiring more money/stuff or more wisdom and knowledge of Him? What/Whom do you talk about more? When was the last time you ever said to someone, “Teach me something that you saw recently in the Bible”? So, again, whom do you serve? Who’s your master?
- Wednesday, 10/10/18 Is your
Christian life a blessing to anyone? Luke
15:7, I say unto you, that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety
and nine just persons, which need no repentance. “Being good” here isn’t
very noteworthy in Heaven, but winning souls sure is. When was the last
time...? Psalm 51:1, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Being
forgiven has never been about who deserves it and who doesn’t, or who is God’s
“favorite” and who is not. Forgiveness and mercy is always dependent upon the
quality and the character of the doing/not doing the forgiving. So, is your
character anything like Christ’s? Or, that one whom you’ve refused to
forgive...is it a matter that THEY don’t deserve you (a fellow sinner) to
forgive them, while God forgave YOU? It’s not about their offense...it’s about
your hard heart and pride.
- Thursday, 10/11/18 Luke
15:16-17a, And he would fain have filled
his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And
when he came to himself... Getting to “the end of your rope” may be the
best thing that could happen. You may just find yourself when you’ve lost all
else. Matthew
14:16-18, But Jesus said unto them, They
need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but
five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. Between the
impossible command in v16 and the successful solution in v18 and following,
there was a humble assessment of their inability in v17. We’ve been commanded
to forgive...honestly assess your attitude. We’ve been commanded to win the
world...honestly assess your attitude. We’ve been commanded to be
holy...honestly assess your attitude.
- Friday, 10/12/18 Proverbs
5:11, And thou mourn at the last, when
thy flesh and thy body are consumed... How will it be for you “at the
last”? Every game has a 4th quarter. Every career ends. Every life has
a final exhale. You WILL face God: SOLO. Victorious? Or head hanging in shame?
Change now or you may not ever do so. Luke
16:22, And it came to pass, that the
beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man
also died, and was buried... All of us will die, and all of us will
immediately, and permanently go to one of two places. Very simply: where will
you be 5 seconds after death? It is possible to KNOW that you’ll be in Heaven.
And, if YOU know, does your sweetheart? Your kids? Your family? Your neighbors?
This is truly a matter of life or death. Message me if you don’t know, or if
you’d like help making sure your loved ones know.
- Saturday, 10/13/18 Psalm
119:161, Princes have persecuted me
without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. How different is
this reaction of the “man after God’s own heart” to what you and I usually do
when wrongfully accused? God, I am SSOOOO sorry...help me... Which of us, at
times, has not felt abandoned and forgotten by the Lord? (Even the Lord on the
cross did.) Psalm 60:9-10, Who will bring me into the strong city? who
will lead me into Edom? Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou,
O God, which didst not go out with our armies? If we do feel that He has
(which He hasn’t, but we’ve all felt that way: like a toddler screaming cuz Mom
and Dad left them alone in their room at nap time. The kid couldn’t see that
they were just outside the door...but the alone feeling was there.) If we do
feel abandoned, at least have faith in the fact that He’s a good God and a good
Father, and will return eventually.
- Sunday, 10/14/18 Ecclesiastes
5:10, He that loveth silver shall not be
satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also
vanity. Things can bring happiness, but not satisfaction. Expecting more
than a short thrill from stuff is setting ourselves up for great disappointment
and emptiness (vanity). Let God satisfy. (Let people be a bonus, if anything.) Matthew 22:11-12, And when the king came in to see the guests,
he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him,
Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless. This man had answered the call of the king’s servants, yet
didn’t have the proper clothing. Many a person will be very surprised when they
wake up in Hell: though they went to church, were sincere in their goodness,
followed the dictates of even a Bible believing church, associated with
Christians, had high character and standards of behavior...yet were not clothed
in the righteousness of Christ, which the Father demands. It’s YOUR soul: are
you SSUUURRREEEE that you’re scripturally born again? It’ll be your Hell are
you SSUUURRREEE that you’re trusting Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection
for our sins PLUS NOTHING and MINUS NOTHING? The man in the parable sincerely
thought all was right between himself and the king. Please, please, please
message me if you’re not 10,000% percent sure about your soul’s destiny.
- Monday, 10/15/18 Matthew
23:24, Ye blind guides, which strain at a
gnat, and swallow a camel. A reminder to all of us, especially if we’re any
kind of a leader: our standards and rules of personal behavior for ourselves
should be A+++ whereas we only expect barely passing work from others. Yes:
we’re to be perfect; others, tolerable. Matthew 23:25, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the
outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion
and excess. A reminder to examine the degree of harmony between how we
speak/preach/portray our beliefs and the actual living of them. Yes, we’re to
preach perfection, but we’re also to strive mightily in our own lives to
achieve it. Do you talk better than you try? Red reset button time?
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Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.