Baptist City Blog

Tuesday, 3/22/16  2 Tim 2:18-19, ...and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. Our faith may be completely destroyed; we may become “worthless” for Him, but God still knows us and holds us: our eternity is secure. Get up and get back in the race.                Heb10:17, And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Nowhere that I know of does the Bible ever say that God forgets our sins. He can’t forget: He’s omniscient. But He doesn’t remember them, or, doesn’t member them again, or doesn’t add them to the active roster again. The verb “member” means “to cause to remember, or to mention.”  God doesn’t actively think on our past, forgiven offenses. Likewise, our brain doesn’t have a “delete” button, but we do have the wherewithal to choose to not dwell on past offenses. Quit bringing to the forefront, quit mentioning, quit re-membering the mistakes, sins, oversights, and/or blatant wickedness of your spouse, your kids, your parents, or Bro. So-n-so. Quit re-membering them. You may never forget an offense, you may never trust the person again, but quit putting things that are long past back on the active roster. “Remembering no more” is not the same as “forgetting.”

 

Wednesday, 3/23/16  2 Tim 3:5 (after a long list of sinful people), from such turn away. Another reminder that we are to be actively evaluating and screening those around us who could influence us negatively. We are to “judge” people so as to protect ourselves.                  Ecc 3:16, And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. There is no justice system in any home, church, political institution, school, or work place where perfect judgment and impartiality reigns. NONE. So quit looking for it and demanding perfection from those who are trying to do the best they can. And your way, your viewpoint, your solution is tainted too.

 

Thursday, 3/24/16  Mark 15:15, And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. A leader needs to be willing to appease his followers, but not at the cost of truth and right.                    Do you believe that you are you a balanced Christian?  Ps 149:6, Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand. Are you as equally adept at personal devotions AND soul winning? At answering the questions of agnostic as well as praying? Are you courageous enough to ask someone to stop cursing and to tell them that you’re a child of God as you are at saying “Amen” in church?

 

Friday, 3/25/16  Ecc 12:13-14, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Time for a “Red Reset Button” moment… Read the verses again.                2 Chron 1:11, And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart...hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king... The wisdom of God and the knowledge of His book are NOT for personal enjoyment, but rather they are to be spread upon and given to His people. You ought to consider sending out a daily or weekly text or posting on FB. Use what you’re given. Message me for some helps to get started.

 

Saturday, 3/26/16  Ps 1:1, Blessed is the man that walketh not...nor standeth...nor sitteth...but his delight is in the law of the Lord... The reason that God tells us not to do certain things is not to simply put restrictions on us, but rather to enable us to do certain other things. Do you just “not do” in your Christian walk, or do you “do” as well as “not do”?                   Ps 2:1, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The “people” here are set in contrast to the heathen, so they are probably God’s people. Do you look for ways to get out from under God’s will and to obey less, or do you strive to find out how/what you can obey more and more frequently and completely? (That’s a question that only you can answer...why don’t you ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you on this matter?)

 

Sunday, 3/27/16  2 Tim 1:2, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son... Are you “dearly beloved” to anyone? Have you returned that love and thanked them for their love? Who is dearly beloved to you? Do they know it? What have you done recently to show and to reaffirm your love? Go actively give some love today.                     2 Chron 10:8, But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who were brought up with him, that stood before him. It was stupid to forsake the wisdom of the older men, but Rehoboam seems to have rejected it and THEN went looking for someone who’d say was he wanted already. You’ve never done that, have you? You’ve never gone from counselor to counselor until someone “gave permission” for what you were going to do anyway, have you? Shame on us...

 

Monday, 3/28/16  Ps 9:2, I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. We all have things over which we could despair and be down. Amidst the loneliness and heartbreaks of life, do you ever do as the psalmist did here?                    2 Chron 9:23, And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart. These powerful, accomplished, wealthy kings sought out Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had given him. Do you seek out wisdom for your life? Let me ask it this way: How’s your Bible reading record for the last 6 months? your SS & church attendance? When was the last time you asked for advice? Wisdom IS the absolute most valuable commodity in the world. These rich and powerful knew that they needed it; do you realize you need it? What are you doing to fill that need?

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- I am so glad that GOD did not give up on me even when I had long ago given up on me! ‪

- When one is not teachable he becomes unreachable.

- If Christ can bear the criticism that comes from using me again, how dare I not be willing to bear the criticism from letting Him use me again.

- Whoever badly hurt you was probably badly hurt by another, so you can either start a pattern of forgiveness or continue one of bitterness. 

- Ye do well to remember that habitual affectionate communion with God, asking Him for all good which is needed, praising Him for all that is received, and trusting Him for future supplies, prevents anxious cares, inspires peace, calmness and composure, and furnishes a delight surpassing all finite comprehension.

- Job was the godliest man in the world, yet, in his despair, he wished that he had never been born.  Moses asked God to kill him.  So did Elijah.  Jeremiah quit the ministry, and wished he had been murdered at birth.  If you struggle with despair & wrestle with hopelessness, you're in good company.

- Prayer is essentially acknowledged helplessness.

- “Most of the grand truths of God have to be learned by trouble; they must be burned into us with the hot iron of affliction, otherwise we shall not truly receive them." Charles Spurgeon

- God intermixeth mercy with affliction: he steeps his sword of justice in the oil of mercy; there was no night so dark, but Israel had a pillar of fire in it; there is no condition so dismal, but we may see a pillar of fire to give light. If the body be in pain, conscience is in peace, – there is mercy: affliction is for the prevention of sin, – there is mercy. In the ark there was a rod and a pot of manna, the emblem of a Christian's condition, mercy interlined with judgment.

- You weren't an accident. You weren't mass produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman.

- Be a fountain, not a drain.

- If you want to know how much God hates sin, look at what his son had to go through to satisfy the wrath of almighty God.

- Only God could (and would) build a bridge from earth to Heaven with only 2 pieces of wood.

- We are never defeated unless we give up on God.

- You will spend eternity in the condition in which you die: if you’re in Christ, you will be for all eternity. If you’re without Him, you will be like that for all eternity.

- Today is another new day of God's over abundant mercies and my under abundant gratitude.

- Let's see, he agonized in a garden while his disciples slept, he washed the feet of those same disciples, he rode a borrowed donkey, he forgave a "disciple" who betrayed him, he accepted the suffering of a cross, he forgave those who were crucifying him, he saved a thief hanging next to him, he bore every sin that had ever been committed, he watched his Father turn his back on him, and he did all of the things in a matter of a few days. How dare I ever claim to have ever made any real sacrifices for Him.

- Easter and St. Patrick's Day have something in common. On St. Patrick's Day people wear green and claim they have some Irish in them. On Easter people go to church and claim they have some Christianity in them.

- Never strive to be as good a Christian as someone else because they may not be as good a Christian as you think.

- Grace is God sending Himself, so that he could sacrifice Himself, to pay the debt to Himself, in order to satisfy Himself, so that he could redeem me to Himself, and spare me from Himself.

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- Luke 21:28, And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh. We shouldn’t get too upset or disturbed when troubles come and the world around us is in turmoil. Our God is in control: LOOK UP!!

- Luke 22:2, And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him: for they feared the people. If our Lord was so hated, we should not be surprised if the religious leaders, false religionists, and religious heretics of our day despise and desire to destroy us.

- Ps 2:3, Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. The sinful human nature of man is to live without restraint.

- Ps 11:5, The Lord trieth the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. God tests those that are His, but there is a group that even he can’t stand, that His soul hates. In a nation that has become so tolerant of everyone, maybe we need His attitude toward wickedness and violence.

- Luke 22:3, Then entered Satan into Judas Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. Men of God need to be very careful whom they trust and allow to counsel and influence them and their ministry. The most suave, friendly person can be their greatest enemy.

- The Bible is filled with failures whom God used and blessed in spite of their sins and mistakes. Abraham lied and yet fathered the people of God. Moses tried to excuse his way out of leadership, yet became one of the great leaders of all time. Jonah ran from God and from his calling, yet was used to usher in an extraordinary revival. David came back from adultery and murder to write some of the most profound songs ever written. Thomas overcame his pathological doubts and shook the world for God. Jacob the deceiver became a prince with God. Rahab the prostitute became Rahab the heroine of faith. Sarah once laughed with doubt, then later laughed with joy, and is found in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Peter the traitor became Peter the trailblazer. John Mark quit the ministry and was rejected by the Apostle Paul, yet was later approved by Paul as “profitable to me for the ministry.”  Failure is not fatal.

- This is the verse that I often clung to when it seemed that I was finished, a castaway, and of no use to God and His work: "Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away," Isa 41:9c. Christian friend, I do not know about your situation, your state of mind, or your spiritual walk, but I do know this: If you're breathing, God is not done with you!

- Here is a precept to follow: 1 Thess 5:15, See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. These were not fringe issues given to a random church, but matters of most importance from God. They were given through a man deeply burdened for the everyday affairs of God's people.

- People do not purposely turn against the Lord. First, they get hurt or wounded by one of the brethren. The "knee-jerk" response is to defend themselves. Secondly, they begin to turn against the brother, or the brethren. On purpose, they turn against the Lord.  Matt 25:40, ...Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  The current flows both ways. Remember, "As unto the Lord" remains our motive to keep us from ending up in the wrong place.