Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 10/31/17  If someone wanted to be a big blessing to you, what would they give or get you, or what would they do for you? What’s your favorite meal? dessert? activity? Here’s God’s: Psalm 11:7a, For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness. Go give Him a big blessing: go do and be righteous today.
                            Psalm 12:6, The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. The #1 rule of Bible interpretation is context. Look at v5 to see the context of v6; what words of His are pure and precious and preserved? Which words can be counted upon to always be, and therefore, to be fulfilled? See V5...

 

- Wednesday, 11/1/17  Psalm 15:1, Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? God is straightforward and direct. If you want to be close to Him, He gives us the recipe: there are 11 ingredients to making this “dessert” described here in v1. Do you want it, or are you all talk?                            Galatians 3:19, Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions... (Children, teens, employees: heads up!) Increased disobedience brings increases in the number of rules. Followers must make themselves get the same agenda that the leadership has. Followers (kids, students, employees): your job is to help the boss get his job done. Learn that, conform, and you’ll be VERY valuable, blessed, and the rules will be relaxed some.

 

- Thursday, 11/2/17  Ephesians 1:2, Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you bring grace and peace and thoughts of God to wherever you are? Are people emotionally and spiritually lifted because they crossed your path today? ‘just askin’...                                    Psalm 23:1, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.. He maketh me to lie down... “Maketh,” Yes, God is love; yes, He is usually tender and patient and compassionate....but sometimes, He MAKES us do things that we might not want to do, or go places we’d rather not go, or endure things that aren’t very pleasant...yet He’s the same One Whom we said was gentle and sweet. Let Him be God: seeing purposes we can’t; knowing the future we don’t; implementing measures we hate.

 

- Friday, 11/3/17  Philippians 3:1, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Don’t get tired of teaching the same things. Don’t get tired of hearing the same things taught. There’s safety in repetition.                                    Proverbs 31:10, Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Ma’am, are you growing more valuable to the Lord, your husband, and your world? (I don’t mean, are THEY placing more value on you; are YOU growing more pure, more rare, more unique...more godly? (Of course, sir, the same question can be placed before you and I.) Life is like swimming in a river: we can swim downstream (give in to sin and live like the Devil); we can actively swim against the current and grow for Christ; or, we can tread water...which will get us downstream, maybe not as quickly, but as surely.

 

- Saturday, 11/4/17  Ephesians 4:1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called... We ARE worthy in Christ, but we are still to walk like we’re trying to earn it. In other words, let your daily walk match....oh...the preacher’s talk. (Gotcha on that one...)                                  Proverbs 31:10-11, Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. Ladies, the very first characteristic of a virtuous woman is that she has earned and kept the trust of her man. Does your husband trust you? Can he trust you financially? Emotionally? (Does he open his heart and share his fears, dreams, successes, and failures with you?) Spiritually? (Can he count on your encouragement, prayer, and yes, a loving rebuke when he’s backsliding? Can he trust you physically? (Are you taking care of yourself so as to be around for a long, long time? Can he trust you to be the proper outlet for his physical needs, or is he tempted to look elsewhere?)

 

- Sunday, 11/5/17  Psalm 39:1, I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. Like weeds in a lawn; like body odor; like bad breath in the morning: I have trouble with my tongue and so do you.. It’s a 24/7/365 endeavor. So, here’s a reminder: ZIP IT!! ZIP IT!! ZIP IT!!                                    Proverbs 31:12, [The virtuous woman] will do [her husband] good and not evil all the days of her life. Ladies, there are two actions there: DOING good, and NOT DOING evil. Do you do both? Neither? Or just one? Ask yourself, the Holy Spirit, and your husband...if you dare. Men, I’m guessing we should be virtuous too.

 

- Monday, 11/6/17  Psalm 39:2, I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. I wonder if this verse might teach that speaking positive things (to another [encouragement], to self [truthful positives], to God [praise]), is somewhat of an inoculation to depression.                              Philippians 1:3-4, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy... I’m thinking that if, whenever we think of anybody, we could get in the habit of first thanking God for them, then praying for them, and then being joyful about them...that we MIGHT solve 99% of the ill will in our hearts; kill any unforgiveness; and probably short-circuit any depression. What do you think?

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- Luke 17:22, And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.  Many folks are missing what they HAVE because they are searching for what they DON'T HAVE. I call this "greener pasture syndrome."  Jesus said that the days would come when they would give anything to have one day with Him. They were so busy looking for the kingdom, that they were missing the King.

 

- Always remember: Lucifer was the very first to quote a false version of God's word. Beware what version you read and quote.

 

- Sometimes saying nothing is the most Christlike thing you could do. John 8:6, But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

 

- Pro 31:23, Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. A good wife is not only an encourager at home, but she is also good for his PR in public. She rears his family, and is a demonstration of modesty and propriety in public.

 

- Ps 25:16, Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and afflicted. We all get in this frame of mind and pray this type of prayer.

 

- Acts 17:28, For in him we live, and move, and have our being. We should never forget Who has control of everything that happens.

 

- Pro 3:4, So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. We need to read, heed, and daily practice v3 so as to get these benefits.

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- Do not let the storm your are facing today get more of your attention than the God of that storm.

 

- Compromise is seldom noticed because it is seldom sudden.

 

- We close our eyes in prayer to remove us from distraction so we can enter more easily into the presence of God. Sometimes, God brings thick darkness into our lives until the only Light we can see is Jesus Christ.

 

- You can drive on a full tank or an empty tank, but one is far less stressful. God is fuel!

 

- Holy Spirit fullness has battery life. And, as many batteries get weak, charging times must be frequent.

 

- Sometimes God’s “No,” is not a rejection, but a re-direction.

 

- If all the preachers who’ve repeatedly changed God’s mind concerning their call and training would finally consent to His Will and stand in their place we could turn the world upside down.

 

- Finding greener pastures is not the answer. Grass withers everywhere. The answer is tending the grass you have. If your grass withered on your watch, so will the next pasture. Plant yourself and grow. Potted plants are forever dependent.

 

- If you are a Christian then Christ has a place in your heart. It is either first place or a place lower than that...and He isn’t 2nd or 3rd or 4th class.

 

- If the gospel were ice cream, half the world never have tasted any, and we that have, would tend to waste our time promoting our preferential flavor.

 

- Sheep are sheep. At their best they still smell. Sinners are sinners. At their best they still sin.

 

- Every disciple at one time denied Christ, and later regrouped. One disciple went another direction.

 

- Living by faith is knowing that you cannot take 10 steps, but will take 1 step whether you make it or not.

 

- The difficulty of your circumstances do not reflect God's heart toward you. It could be that the more difficult they are, the more he is revealing his love for you.

 

- The person who slanders others in your presence most likely slanders you in their presence as well.

 

- When a pastor falls, those who were looking to the pastor are totally devastated, but those looking to the Lord are merely heart broken. Be careful to whom you are looking.

 

- The only time we’re not fighting discouragement is when we’ve surrendered to it. READ THAT AGAIN!!!!