Monday, 1/11/16 Acts
17:21, For all the Athenians and
strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to
tell, or to hear some new thing. We have too many Athenians in our churches
today: people who want to hear truth, but definitely do not want to enact the
truth or change their behavior. Are you guilty? (I am...) 1To bake a cake, change a
tire, install a ceiling fan there must certain ingredients or parts, and they
must be used/put together in a certain order and at the appropriate time. (A 2nd
coat a paint can’t be applied immediately after the first coat; bread dough must
be allowed to rise before baking.) Pro 20:5, Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. 2Leaders,
by nature of their position and talents, or age/longevity/experience generally
are observant thinkers and problem solvers.
3Parents, coaches,
preachers, Bible teachers: you may have all of the right answers that someone
needs, but if they aren’t willing to listen, you must be quiet and wait. Love
them as they are so that the door remains open, but say nothing. 4Or,
they may be willing to listen, but not be ready today to handle the truth you
know. (Ex: sex education for a 5th grader...not wise.) 5Even
if the adult is your own child or former student, we older ones must realize
and keep in the front of our minds that they are far more of a peer than a
subordinate, so greater tact and diplomacy, and yes, self-control is needed.
Job 16:21
“O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!”
Job’s longed for someone to plead for him. During the lowest time of his life, his friends condemned him instead of praying for him. He was not as concerned with someone making his poor condition known to others as much as he desired for someone to plead his case before God. All Job wanted was someone who would plead his case in hopes that God would change his situation.
Job 1:22
“In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”
The verse above is quite the statement about a man coming from the mouth of God. This statement didn't come from someone trying to impress others of their spirituality. This statement didn't come from someone who was bragging about an admired person. This statement came from a God Who knows everything about everyone.
Ezekiel 19:5
“Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.”
God uses a parable about a lion to show what was going to happen to Israel. He said that the lioness had two whelps which she nourished. One grew up and became a lion that learned to catch prey and eat men. The men of Egypt saw what this lion did, so they came and captured this young lion and brought him in chains back to Egypt.
Ezekiel 3:17
“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.”
When God called Ezekiel to be a prophet to Israel, one of the greatest responsibilities God gave him was to be a watchman. The watchman was the person who stood in the tower on the wall and watched for the enemy. It was the responsibility of the watchman to warn those within the city of any dangers that could hurt the inhabitants. God was careful to warn Ezekiel of the grave responsibility of being a watchman.
Four great sermons from the week of 01/10/16 are now up at Baptist City!
- The Greatest Encouragement to a Troubled Heart
- The Threefold Purpose of the Law
- Josiah
- Get a Bigger Tent
Enjoy!
Lamentations 2:15
“All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?”
Have you ever taken a trip to see something that was supposed to have a significant place in history only to be disappointed? Several years ago, my wife and I took a trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts, to see the first rock that the Pilgrims stepped upon when they came onto American soil. When we got to the place where the rock was, we were so disappointed because it was nothing that we imagined it to be.
Proverbs 31:27
“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”
We live in times when the woman’s priorities has been realigned to fit the model of the world. Many Christians don't take into consideration that what the world wants and what God wants are two different things. The world tries to redefine the priorities of the woman because the world’s agenda is to destroy the home. Yes, the world hates the home because God is the One Who established the home. James 4:4 reminds us, “…whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” You must always consider that anything the world wants is contradictory to what God wants because they are enemies. Thus, the priorities the world wants the woman to perform are in direct contradiction to the role God wants her to perform.
Jeremiah 40:16
“But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.”
When the King of Babylon invaded Israel and Judah, he left a remnant of poor people in the land to care for it so that the wilderness would not overtake it. He also knew that he needed to leave someone in charge, so he set Gedaliah as the governor of the land. We don't know what qualities Gedaliah had that caused the king to set him up as governor, but one thing we do know is that he certainly was not the best of leaders or else he would have been taken to Babylon.
Sunday, 1/3/16 Job 4:8, Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. Eliphaz points out a universal truth, but his fault is in assessing the nature of what is reaped. “Bad” things seems to happen to God’s children which are really good.