Baptist City Blog

-Tuesday, 2/19/19  (#4 of 6) Hebrews 3:13a, But exhort one another daily.  Exhort: to encourage, ask, desire another to do something.  For an exhortation to have a chance of being received, it must be given in a spirit of humility and with tact and with a desire to help, not to put down. 

                                  Luke 5:5, And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. While voicing doubt toward God’s words is not preferable, if you do have doubts, obey anyway. God’s way works. God’s plan is faith, and faith is always at odds with logic and reason.

 

- Wednesday, 2/20/18  (#5 of 6) Hebrews 3:13a, But exhort one another daily.  Exhort: to encourage, ask, desire another to do something.  For an exhortation to be received, the recipient must be humble enough to listen and consider that they’re wrong.                           “Why won’t God talk to me? I hear of others getting things from their Bible time or being spoken to by the Holy Spirit in church...Why not me? Maybe I’m not saved...”  A self evaluation question: do you see yourself as righteous or sinful? God generally doesn’t speak to people who see themselves as righteous, but He is very willing to talk to those who know that they need Him. Luke 5:32, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Do you know for sure that you’re born again? Do you know 100% for sure that you’ll go to Heaven when you draw your last breath? If not message me. If you are saved, are you “doing OK,” or do you need the touch of God on your life? Are you aware of your total need of Him?

 

- Thursday, 2/21/19  (#6 of 6) Hebrews 3:13a, But exhort one another daily.  Since it is an ongoing command, at times, I will see the fault in you, and it is my responsibility to point it out and encourage you to be careful or change or repent. At other times, you will see something that I don’t see, and you are commanded to speak to me. So, neither of us will always be 100% of the time on one end or the other.                                Luke 7:40-43, And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. Our depth of love for Christ is directly proportional to our awareness of our sinfulness. If you aren’t passionately in love with Him, review your checkered past and reflect on all that He has forgiven you. It’s not that some people “are wired differently” and thus, “are fanatical” or “Christianity is just their thing.”  It’s that some people are conscious of their faults to a greater degree than others.

Hebrews 3:13a, But exhort one another daily.  Exhort means to encourage, ask, desire another to do something. We’re to encourage each other.                 ¹It’s a command. I’m to exhort you and you are to exhort me.                      ²If one is to exhort another, the first step is for the exhorter to see a fault or a potential fault, deficiency, or tendency, in another. No one exhorts another to be hungry first thing in the morning. So each of us is to be actively examining each other’s lives.                        ³Many people have no problem with being the exhorter, but balk at being spoken to since it starts with a negative being highlighted.                 ⁴For an exhortation to having a chance of being received, it must be given in a spirit of humility and with tact and with a desire to help, not to put down.                ⁵For an exhortation to be received, the recipient must be humble enough to listen and consider that they’re wrong.                ⁶Since it is an ongoing command, at times, I will see the fault in you, and it is my responsibility to point it out and encourage you to be careful or change or repent. At other times, you will see something that I don’t and you are commanded to speak to me. So, neither of us will always be 100% of the time on one end or the other.

 

 

- Friday, 2/22/19  A basic reminder about the Christian life: Psalm 56:2, Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. Being a child of God absolutely does NOT mean an easy, stress-free life with only boatloads of blessings.                                You claim that you love the Lord, right? OK, go do something that’ll put a smile on His face:  Proverbs 15:8b, But the prayer of the upright is his delight. Today, talk to your Dad. Walk around the block and just think, thank, praise, worship, and ask. He doesn’t demand great, notable deeds from us: He loves us and simply wants to be welcome-ly involved in our daily lives.

 

- Saturday, 2/23/19  John 21:15, ...Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me...? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. Loving Christ entails feeding His children. You don’t have to hold an office to share what you see/know. Whom have you fed these last 7 days?                                    Luke 12:13-14, And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? Jesus had the brains to properly judge in this situation; He had the character to be fair in His judgment; He will eventually be given the position of Judge over all, but it was not the right time at that moment, so He kept His nose in His own business and His mouth shut. Maybe we could learn a lesson from that?

 

- Sunday, 2/24/19  1 Peter 5:2a, Feed the flock of God which is among you...  2 Peter 3:18, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Why will you go to church today? For social reasons? Family? Habit? Go for a new, proper, reason: to nourish soul and learn. Maybe today could be the start of something wonderful. If your pastor doesn’t “cook” well, maybe try a new “restaurant.”                                 “Trust God and it’ll all turn out.” (Ever heard that? Or said that?)  Luke 14:27, And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Jesus bore His cross (and commands us to do the same) and things didn’t get better for Him: they got worse: He was nailed to It and died upon It in great shame after having been separated from the Father. Doing the will of God may not “work out.” You may do the will of God and hurt horribly and suffer total loss (isn’t that what happened on His Cross?) Christ has waited 2000 years and He still hasn’t been crowned King: the last crown He wore had thorns. And it may be a long time before the will of God works out “right” and you see the benefit of it, but Sunday’s coming even if it takes 2000 years to get here for you and I.

 

- Monday, 2/25/19  John 16:33, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. If every day is a catastrophe, a train wreck, maybe the problem is internal not external. We can, and are commanded to have joy while enduring problems. If everyone and everything around you “is conspiring to ruin your day” are you even saved?                         Psalm 62:1, Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. Much of the difficulties we encounter in living the Christian life come from a conflict between our soul (emotions/will) and our mind. When our soul is in tune with God (“I’m gonna trust the Lord”), oftentimes our mind isn’t (“But that bill is due tomorrow...”), and vice versa. Maybe a key is “encouraging ourselves in the Lord” and “having the mind of Christ.” Hmmm...I’ve read those two statements somewhere before...