Baptist City Blog

Sunday, 10/13/13  Ps 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Always treat your kids with propriety and dignity because they are a priceless gift from the King Himself. 
           Dan 7:2, 3, 17 God has forecast and is totally aware of the future. Nothing that is happening or that will happen is a surprise to Him. Rest in the fact that,  ¹He’s omniscient.  ²He’s sovreign.  ³He knows of and cares for His own.  Learn to relax in the truth of “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know the One Who holds the future.” And it’s not just the future of the world that He knows: He knows your future too.

Monday, 10/14/13  John 14:21a He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. Love revolves around obedience, not feelings. I love my wife when I treat her the way the Bible says to. My kids love me when they obey the commandments given to children. Sweethearts show love by obeying God’s laws re: purity.              Dan 10:20 Then said [an angel], Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. Remember that political kingdoms have spirits controlling them. This verse teaches that the Persian empire fell, not because of mismanagement by men, but because one angel was going to beat up the angel that supported the Persians.

Tuesday, 10/15/13  Acts 3:12 Peter...answered unto the people...Why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? Remember that any positive results or effectiveness that you see while serving God, NONE of it is because of your own abilities or holiness. None of it.              John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  When we’re obedient, there won’t be extended periods of time when God won’t show Himself. If you’ve not seen the evidences of God recently,  ¹Are your sins confessed and repented up?  ²Are you looking for Him?

Wednesday, 10/16/13  Phil 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. If your ticket to Heaven would be determined by your actions in the next 24 hours, what would you do?               Phil 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Leaders, never be reticent to simply remind people of the basics. The Christian life is simple: be born again, live by faith, live in the Book, talk to God, love God and others.  It’s in the trying to be an impressive, deep preacher that the seeds of error are planted. Teach people how to walk with God; how to have a good marriage; how to rear their kids; how to secure God’s blessings on their lives.

Thursday, 10/17/13  Acts 11:23 ...exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Gen 2:24 ...a man leave [his parents] and shall cleave unto his wife. A newlywed wants to be with his wife always and everywhere, and share everything. That’s how we should be with Christ.             Acts 8:20 ...because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Money is simply an equivalence of time and effort. God’s gifts cannot be purchased: ¹We wouldn’t have enough to impress the One Who owns the universe.  ²By definition, a gift cannot be bought, only accepted or rejected.  ³Giving shines the spotlight on the giver and the gift; buying shines the spotlight on the purchaser and the gift. God will not share His glory. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Going to Heaven is a gift: receive what is already bought and offered to you. It cannot be purchased with good deeds, membership in a certain church, baptism, communion, or sincerity. It can only be received or rejected. To try to buy it via religion or good deeds puts the spotlight on you and not on Calvary, and God will never take the spotlight off of what His Son did there. Have you simply trusted the finished work of Calvary + NOTHING to atone for your many sins? Have you ceased to trust any form of religion to get to Heaven. Message me for more info.

 

Friday, 10/18/13  Col 1:13-14 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Review what you were/did and how you got saved, and how far you’ve grown.           Acts 13:46 ...the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. Are there any parts of the Bible that you reject and “put away from yourself” and thereby declare yourself unworthy of receiving a blessing? The worthy ones are those who accept teaching and training.

Saturday, 10/19/13  Amos 1-2 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgression of..., and for four, I will not turn away... EIGHT times God says these same words.  Lesson: He does have a Point of No Return and if you cross that line, you will be judged.                 “God is uninvolved in my life!!” Ps 73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. Maybe the key to seeing more of God’s goodness is trying to do right (using God’s definition, not man’s). Maybe He wants a little effort from us. He IS good to the just and the unjust, but extra blessings do fall on the obedient ones, whereas conviction and reproof and judgment fall on the rebellious.