Baptist City Blog

Sunday, 12/1/13  Pro 27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on and are punished. Many problems in life could be prevented if we’d just be alert to life and assess what is happening NOW, what WILL happen because of now, and analyze what MIGHT happen. Pay attention as life happens: WAKE UP AND THINK!! 
      Pro 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Definition:  Understanding - knowledge of the holy; insight; applied wisdom. Use Bible definitions for Bible words as much as possible. Use the context to help determine the definition. Use a good (preferably an old) English dictionary. Use a Hebrew/Greek lexicon. The website I use that helps a lot is: eliyah.com/lexicon.

Monday, 12/2/13  Ps 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. When we won’t listen to the Bible or the inner workings of the Spirit, God has to bring us to the edge of disaster to get our attention. He WILL get your attention: you decide how forcefully He has to act.            Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.  Definition of “adultery”, “fornication”, & “lasciviousness”: Adultery and fornication are basically interchangeable, but specifically adultery is illicit sexual activity committed by married people, while fornication involves the unmarried.  Fornication: seems to be a more general word as it is the Greek word from which we get our word “pornography.” Therefore, it would include the whole lifestyle of “free love.”  Lasciviousness means “without boundaries” so it is perhaps an even more inclusive word: total hedonism would seem to be a good synonym.

Tuesday, 12/3/13  John 15:2 EVERY branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and EVERY branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. A reminder and a reality check: God is very aware of you and your actions. You are NOT flying under His radar.            Matt 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Not getting your prayers answered? Can’t seem to catch a break from God? First, see if there’s something that you need to get right. But ultimately, our prayer life must be governed by faith: what I have, I have to consider it to be “good things.”

Wednesday, 12/4/13  Ps 119:92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. You will have troubles, no doubt. The Word of God is your rubber life boat for those times, but when the troubles hit, you won’t have the wherewithal to fully inflate it. Prepare now for the inevitable then.          Matt 7:26-27 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. The rains and floods and winds SHALL come: what is your life’s foundation? It is 95% sand (worldly philosophy, fun, and good intentions) and just a little of the Rock of God (truth, convictions, applications)? Uh-oh.

Thursday, 12/5/13  Matt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. We proclaim perfection while being very imperfect. Our imperfections do not invalidate the perfect message, any more than the message of “eat right and quit smoking” spoken by a 375 lb. doctor who smokes 4 packs a day is invalidated.      Isa 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. Think carefully: do you really want to live an “in your face” lifestyle against God?  Change TODAY, before it’s too late.

Friday, 12/6/13  Ps 119:58 I intreated thy favor with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. Perhaps this is why many of our prayers seem wasted: we don’t seek Him with our whole heart (maybe cuz our heart is dirty??), and we don’t want Him to act in accordance with His word.            Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, (Their record was spotless in God’s sight: is yours? It can be...message me) walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Does “blameless” mean they never sinned? No, it means they never intentionally did, and when they slipped up, they apologized to God or man immediately.

Saturday, 12/7/13  1 Tim 6:12 ...lay hold on eternal life... (spoken to a saved man.)  The more fingers you use, the better your grip is.  “The 5 Fingers to a Good Relationship”  ¹Listen with your eyes, ears, and heart.  ²Talk - share your heart; risk.  ³Thank frequently.  ⁴Compliment often.  ⁵Give in.  Apply to any human relationship, or to your relationship with God.               Pro 14:14 The backslider in heart shall be satisfied with his own ways. When you left the dinner table last night, you said you were full, but, if the truth be told, you could’ve had some more. When you left the Thanksgiving table last week, you were stuffed FULL....you had NO more room and could only waddle away and fall on the couch. The thought of more food was almost nauseating. That is what “satisfied” means. The backslider is filled with his spiritual level:  he thinks he is doing OK in his Christian life.

- Ps 131:2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.  We should never be bigger than a weaned child in our dependance upon our God.

- Ex 5:22 and Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me?  Even great men of God can question God’s will and purpose when problems come and followers rebel. This is why our loyalty to God’s man is so important.

- Ex 7:4a But Pharaoh shall not hearken to you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt.  Don’t get too troubled by the affairs of this world; our God is still in control, and will reveal himself to doubters and skeptics.

- Ex 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.  How tragic when God’s people lose the obvious leadership of God in their lives. It’s almost better to say in the wilderness than to lose sight of God’s direction and will.

- Ex 14:20b And it was a cloud of darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these.  The glory of God is protective and a light to one while it is a darkness and a hinderance to another. It depends on whose crowd we belong to.