Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 12/21/21  Psalm 17:5, Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. Since David prayed for his own spiritual survival, we can conclude that he was

very aware of his nearness to falling. How aware are you REALLY of your potential fall? If we think the path is safe, we don’t turn on a light.                               Psalm 59:17a, Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing.  (Singing is audible, obviously.) Is yours a vocal Christianity or a silent, undercover one? Idea: write down a list of choruses and scripture songs and keep it in your pocket and then use alarms on your phone to remind you to have a 30-second song break to sing TO HIM. It’ll become an automatic habit in short order. (Also, work on saying “Amen” in church fellas.)

- Wednesday, 12/22/21  Genesis 1:13, And the evening and the morning were the third day. Just a reminder that evolution is a TOTAL hoax; NONE of it is true. God did it all in six literal 24-hour days. Genesis 1 relates historical FACTS. Likewise, Noah’s flood is literal, true history.                                 Psalm 60:1, O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. The old adage of, “If you don’t feel as close to God as before, it’s not Him that has moved,” may not necessarily be true. Usually, the vast majority of those feelings are because of our actions or inactions, but He may have distanced Himself from us. Regardless, the ball is in our court: pick it up and move back close to your Lord.

- Thursday, 12/23/21  Psalm 61:2, ...when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. That problem that we SOOO despise and beg for it to be removed may be the exact thing that God is using to lead us closer to Himself...which makes that negative a HUGE positive. Hmmmm...                                   Psalm 19:14, Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Brain storm: how can we raise our consciousness of God during our daily routines? Post answers and let’s all be better about it.

- Friday, 12/24/21  Psalm 18:23b, I kept myself from mine iniquity. Self-denial and self-control are not popular nor common subjects for 21^st century American Christians. But, could you testify HOW you are trying to obey this verse? How you are ceasing to permit and justify your wrongdoing?(Ouch...)                                 If a forest ranger told you that there had been grizzly bear sightings recently in the area in which you were about to hike, you would be VERY alert.  Proverbs 17:12, Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. There’s been fools (those who have no use for God) spotted on the trail you’re going to take today. Keep your head on a swivel!!

- Saturday, 12/25/21  Judges 16:16, And it came to pass, when [Delilah] pressed [Samson] daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death. Even the strongest, best Christian can be worn down to a state of compromise by continual nagging. Men, beware! Ladies, beware!                            Judges 16:22, Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Hallelujah for serving the God of the second chance!!! If you’ve been overtaken (tackled) by sin, or you willingly dove into the cesspool of sin and degradation, get cleansed and get busy again for the one Whose birth we celebrate today!!

- Sunday, 12/26/21  Psalm 62:8, Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him... We all would say that “pouring out our hearts” would mean unloading our burdens, but go farther: pour out the gunk: the sin, the rebellion, the iniquity...pour out the bad and allow Him to refill you with good.                              Ecclesiastes 3:11-12, If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. For the longest time, I didn’t get V11: what eternal truth is God trying to relay by saying when the clouds are dark, it’s gonna rain, and wherever a tree falls, that’s where it lies? But read it in context with v12. What I think God is saying is that we are to be aware of and study all the different factors that would affect our decision, but if we look too hard at the “What if’s” we’ll never do anything. Use your brain, pray for guidance and wisdom, get counsel, but, then,...DO IT.

- Monday, 12/27/21  Psalm 27:13, I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. This speaks of an underlying optimism: “Things will get better.” It prevents fainting. If you’re more of a “glass half empty” person, you’re more likely to quit on God. Fix the wrong thinking ASAP.                                Acts 26:15, And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. A reminder that any negative action taken against any believer is done to Christ Himself. At times, all of us are guilty of slander, unforgiveness, keeping a person down, reminding others of their past... We need to uplift believers, encourage them to serve God more and again, and help restore them if they’ve messed up.