- Tuesday, 10/30/18
Proverbs 22:1, A good name is
rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and
gold. More pointed questions: how diligent are you with your money? How’s
your credit rating? Promptness at paying? (If the answers beg for improvement,
you know what to do.) OK...however diligent, fastidious you are about your
money, are you more so about your name? (Ouch...)
Mark 14:3-6, And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. I believe in God’s men: their wisdom, their character, their position. God has always worked through His men. Are they perfect? No. But they are a tremendous gift and resource for God’s people. However, here, the disciples (staff men) criticized this woman for her actions, and Jesus took her side. No, they’re not always right (though the vast majority of time they are.) I say all of that to say that this truth of staff members being wrong at times has been true ever since staff men were invented. Use their counsel, but if you truly, deeply feel that what you’re doing is pleasing to the Lord, remember, that you are the one who’ll have to answer for your actions, not them. (As Baptists, we believe in individual soul liberty.) 99% of the time, I know if I’m truly rebellious in my heart and am just looking for an excuse to disregard the preacher. (And for all of you who are living in rebellion to all that you were taught at home and in Christian school: you’re wrong, and this post is not to defend your actions.)
Mark 14:3-6, And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. I believe in God’s men: their wisdom, their character, their position. God has always worked through His men. Are they perfect? No. But they are a tremendous gift and resource for God’s people. However, here, the disciples (staff men) criticized this woman for her actions, and Jesus took her side. No, they’re not always right (though the vast majority of time they are.) I say all of that to say that this truth of staff members being wrong at times has been true ever since staff men were invented. Use their counsel, but if you truly, deeply feel that what you’re doing is pleasing to the Lord, remember, that you are the one who’ll have to answer for your actions, not them. (As Baptists, we believe in individual soul liberty.) 99% of the time, I know if I’m truly rebellious in my heart and am just looking for an excuse to disregard the preacher. (And for all of you who are living in rebellion to all that you were taught at home and in Christian school: you’re wrong, and this post is not to defend your actions.)
- Wednesday, 10/31/18
Matthew 26:75, And Peter
remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou
shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. You may go out
and weep bitterly, or come near and weep repentively over your sin. It’s your
choice as to which road to take. Isaiah
48:1, Hear ye this, [ye] which swear by
the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth,
nor in righteousness. Do you speak of the Lord in various places (home,
work, school, church) but live in a contradictory manner? ‘Twould be better to
not speak at all rather than give a confusing message. Of course, it would be
best to clean up your life. How does the Lord say it? “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” “Be not conformed
(patterned after) to this world.” It’s your choice...and you WILL make a
choice.
- Thursday, 11/1/18
Isaiah 48:10, Behold, I have
refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of
affliction. While there are things that the Lord keeps hidden from us, His
methods of purifying are not. He uses problems: fire, storms, persecution.
Expect it, endure it, embrace it. Yes, you can. Isaiah
51:1, Hearken to me, ye that follow after
righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn,
and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. I believe this is teaching
us to look back at our lives before and when we were saved. I think also, there
are two reasons for such a look: first, to see how far we’ve come. Oftentimes,
we see how far we have to go and don’t take into account progress made.
However, another reason for the look is to keep us humble because of the first
look. However high we’ve climbed, we’re still dirt.
- Friday, 11/2/18 Isaiah
51:12-13a, I, even I, am he that
comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall
die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the
Lord thy maker... Hmmmm: pretty self-explanatory. Reread it. How can we forget less? Your thoughts? This is an easy
truth to forget: Psalm 75:6-7, For promotion cometh neither from the east,
nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down
one, and setteth up another. It’s not your boss that holds your destiny in
your hand: it’s God. In fact, you don’t work for your boss; you work for THE
Boss of bosses. Please Him, and accept where the chips fall where they may.
- Saturday, 11/3/18 Psalm
77:1, I cried unto God with my voice,
even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. We have such a
resource available, but we misuse it. Sure, He’ll listen to us whine and
complain, but He’d rather we’d pour out our hearts and allow Him to refill them
with truth and light. Go seek God and His will, not just His “magic wand” to
wave over our problems. Psalm
77:2, In the day of my trouble I sought
the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be
comforted. This is often us: we look at the “DAY of trouble.” But, v10, And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will
remember the YEARS of the right hand of the most High. We overlook/forget
the YEARS of goodness. (I’m so guilty...) The answer? Four times in v10-12,
David says, “I will” do thus-n-so. By choice and mental discipline, we MUST
look at the “years” instead of the “day.”
- Sunday, 11/4/18
Proverbs 28:11, The rich man is
wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
A question for each of us: “Am I more likely/quicker to say what I think or ask
questions of what another thinks?” Proverbs
27:11, My son, be wise, and make my heart
glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. Very simply, do you have a
glad dad? I’ve found 8 sources of wisdom: Bible; preaching/teaching; the
reproofs of life; rebukes; circumstances (positive or negative); others’
situations; counsel; and looking at nature.
- Monday, 11/5/18 Psalm
137:3, For there they that carried us
away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us
mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. The world isn’t so
interested how you can handle good times: can you, will you sing in the bad
times? God
only issues commands for things that we’re (not) doing or which we’re likely to
do/not do. (He never says to be hungry in the morning or tired in the evening.)
Proverbs. 27:1, Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth. Therefore, we can conclude that we have a tendency to boast a
lot...We must be aware of it and nip it in the bud.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.
Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.
 |
|
|