Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 8/29/17  Judges 14:1, And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. The life of Samson illustrates the saying, "God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick."  Or, "God is so hard up for help, He'll use anyone, even you or me.”       
                     Psalm 21:1, The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! This verse gives a good synopsis of the Christian life. If the king is rejoicing in God’s strength, that means he is feeling weak, and if he’s excited about His salvation, that must mean he had a major predicament from which he needed salvation. So...if life stinks right now, you’re prepped and ready for God to show Himself. So, like the rest of the Christian life, rejoice NOW by faith for what He’s GOING TO do.

 

- Wednesday, 8/30/17  Matthew 4:17, From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus showed His love by being a personal soul winner. Do you love your community/nation/family?                             Philemon 5, Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints... Here are some simple questions and challenges for all of us: do you love Christ? Do you love His people? Do you trust Christ? Do you trust His people? What more could you do in any area? Do you ever brag on another for his or her love toward God or God’s people?

 

- Thursday, 8/31/17  Psalm 23:1, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Maybe our biggest problem in life is that we forget our role: we’re sheep who’re to follow, NOT assistant shepherds with an equal voice in leading the flock. Each of us need to examine our lives for this wrong foundational mentality.                                  The entire Sermon on the Mount was addressed to “disciples.” Matthew 7:13, Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Since these were disciples to whom He was talking, the choice to go in through the narrow gate must be made AFTER dedicating our lives and qualifying as a “disciplined one.” Maybe, we need to make that choice today...and tomorrow. “Choose you THIS DAY whom ye will serve,” Joshua 24:15.

 

- Friday, 9/1/17  Ruth 1:20, And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. Be aware of the tendency of our hearts to blame God for the consequences of our own choices. Be aware of it in ourselves, but expect it in others.                                    Psalm 66:10, For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. You’d be hard pressed to find a product (other than food) in your house that hasn’t undergone refinement. Why do we feel, as God most precious commodity (His kids) that we won’t be worked over? The “trying” is to remove impurities and increase our value, beauty, and usefulness. So, there is a purpose for your pain...so quit fighting it. (That’s true even if you feel the pain came via your own sin: God can take our errors and make use them for His good and His purposes.)

 

- Saturday, 9/2/17  Habakkuk 1:1-2a, The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! If God’s “superstars” at times felt ignored and impatient with God, 1) Don’t be surprised when it’s your turn. 2) Don’t be too hard on yourself.                                    Hebrews 1:1-2, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son... From the beginning of time until these last days, God speaks to His people. Rest in His awareness of our situation; rest in His communication...and listen for the still small voice, regardless of the noise outside in your world.

 

- Sunday, 9/3/17  Psalm 26:2, Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. Are we REALLY willing to pray this verse, or are we PLAYING at holiness? If He shows you something offensive in church today, will you deal with it, or justify it?                               Psalm 69:3, I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. Bible stories were put there, not cuz they’re cute. God related the stories of real people going through real (& common - 1 Cor 10:13) life occurences so that we could see what to or what not to do. Are you learning from them, or are you wasting their problems and heartaches?

 

- Monday, 9/4/17  Psalm 1:1, Blessed is the man that... Do you truly want God to work in and through your life? Do you want to be blessed or to simply exist? Do you want to survive or to prosper? Do you want a life, not devoid of problems, but victorious despite the problems? The recipe is given...                                 Psalm 1:3, And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. Some plants/flowers bring forth fruit in a matter of weeks, some months, some years. Each of us is different, so we can’t predict how/when we will bloom. Don’t compare yourself to another “flower” at church...they’re a “different species” in different dirt, being given differing amounts of sun, water, and fertilizer than you. Trust the Master Gardener...He wants you to bloom 10,000x more than you do. Don’t fret, just keep looking at the son/Son.

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- Acts 13:39, And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. It is as true today as it has ever been. No one will ever be eternally saved and justified by a holy God aside from faith in Christ.

 

- Ps 119:72, The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Until the Word of God is this valuable to me, life for God is not real.

 

- Ps 119:92, Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. When troubles come, and they will, the only way we can survive and make it is to fall in love with His word, spend time in it, and allow it to consume us.

 

- Pro 1:4, To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. The only way for young people to have any chance of living life successfully and avoiding the many pitfalls and dangers that would cause failure is to read, study, and apply Proverbs.

 

- Matt 19:26, But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible. Eternal salvation is not humanly possible except through faith in God’s eternal Son, Jesus Christ. Man’s way will never work.

 

- "And they began to be merry." This little phrase in the story of the prodigal son coming home refers to EVERYONE, except the elder brother. The Father was merry. The servants were merry. The son who came home was merry. Everyone is enjoying the party, except the elder brother. The one thing that will disconnect a member of a family or a member of a church family... is to point a finger of blame! Someone will forever be at fault. A family member can spread a rumor. A pastor or church member can hurt your feelings.  Before long, anger and bitterness begins to set in. The end result is overwhelming depression. There is no medication for this journey of pride. The elder brother now has become the local prodigal. How can one read the tell? Very simple. The "merry-ness" is all gone and the only thing left in the wake of pride is the finger of blame. Hey, elder brother, maybe it's time for you to come home too!

 

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- Your light will make no difference in the daytime. Your light will only make a difference in the dark.  It's so easy to enjoy the fellowship of the 99, but somebody needs to leave the fold and go out into the dark and find the ONE!

 

- When Satan beats a person down and wins a battle in their lives, their human nature is to devalue themselves. Danger #1 is to see yourself as damaged goods. Danger #2 is to accept the first bidder for those goods. Reality #1 a personal battle with Satan seasons the Christian and increases the value of their goods. Reality #2 the highest payer always waits till the low bidders are out. Wait dear Christian. Your value is far above the price of rubies!

 

- Our words reflect what we are and what is in our hearts.

 

- You are somebody. You are one of His originals.

 

- No one can take your place and do what you were meant to do.

 

- True humility is born out of knowing who you are because of Whose you are.

 

- You can't store, freeze, or dehydrate time for another day.

 

- No words can express how much the world owes to sorrow and suffering. Many of the psalms were written in a wilderness. Most of the epistles were written from the prison.