Baptist City Blog

-Tuesday, 8/24/21  Psalm 30:7, Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my MOUNTAIN to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. We need to

keep God in a good mood: He does have the absolute wherewithal to decimate even our strongest, most secure circumstances/defenses.                           Luke 21:7, And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? As they were then, people today are FAR more concerned with spectacular signs instead of, and at the expense of, habitual holiness. A question for each of us to consider: “Which most characterizes me?”

- Wednesday, 8/25/21  Proverbs 19:16a, He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul.  “To keep” always means “to guard, protect, preserve.” Our relationship to the Word of God directly affects our attitude, our outlook, our zest for life, our vitality. How committed are you (REALLY) to It?                              Psalm 70:4, Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. In making decisions, do you want what you think is best, what makes the most sense financially, or what magnifies God? Is your way or the highway? Will you stomp your feet and demand “your rights”? Or, will you point the spotlight onto the One Who deserves it? Is your reputation paramount, or His? Your dreams coming true or His will fulfilled? (Apply to all areas of life: relationships at home, personal standards of conduct and holiness, choice of activities during church time, how to spend money, etc.)

- Thursday, 8/26/21  Psalm 31:2, Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily.  Blunt truth: most of things that we say we NEED, we don’t. Most of our timetables are pure wishes and not needs. We can “ask what we will,” but must learn to trust and wait patiently, and SWEETLY for Dad’s timing.                             Psalm 34;10, The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Ever felt like God failed you? (I have.) Well, according to this verse, it sure seems that that thing that we SSOOOO “needed,” He felt differently. Or, maybe we hadn’t sought Him sufficiently. Perhaps THE key to the Christian life is to get our thinking in tune with His thinking.

- Friday, 8/27/21  Psalm 71:7, I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. People will have their opinions of you and I, positive or negative ones. We have no control over them, so it’s silly to fret about them. Just be sure you know Who’s got your back.                                Proverbs 23:17, Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. If this is a command in the Bible, it must be a common problem amongst all of us. We can be rich by getting all that we want or by wanting what we have. We don’t see their heartaches nor the fears in their hearts. All the negatives we’ll ever endure are on this side of the grave; all the positives they’ll ever experience are on this side of the grave. Let not thine heart envy sinners.

- Saturday, 8/28/21  Proverbs 23:9, Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. He who knows not and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him.                                Ezekiel 8:11, And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. From Babylon, God is showing His prophet a vision of the idolatry that was occurring in Jerusalem. This man Jaazaniah and his abominable sin was named for all to see. God can likewise expose our sin at any time. We’d better deal with it so He’ll cover it. If we try to cover it and keep it, we’re daring Him to expose it and us.

- Sunday, 8/29/21  Proverbs 17:22a, A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Feel free to self-medicate A LOT, and pass your medication around. How can you alter your disposition? For your long-term health’s sake, figure out the answer to that question.                            John 1:29, The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Though he was very famous in his own right, John did what he was supposed to do and what we all are supposed to do: magnify the Saviour.

- Monday, 8/30/21  John 1:23, He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. He who knows and knows that he knows is wise. Follow him.                            Acts 6:2, Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. There are some jobs that only a few can do, whereas there are others that many could do. Allocate your resources (time, people) wisely. Though no one should feel “above” doing any job, different people have different capabilities. Don’t waste what God’s given you by inefficiency.