Baptist City Blog

Tuesday, 10/4/16  Men, do you get vocal in church? Ladies, do you encourage your men in this area? Neh 8:6, And the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.           
               Day 2 of 6 on the marriage vows:  “Will you love her/him, honor and keep her/him, in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her/him as long as you both shall live? Do you so promise?"  This promise was made to the preacher, who represented God in this God-ordained, designed, and instituted concept of marriage. You promised God, His man, and your witnesses and friends that you would do these things for LIFE. Are you keeping your promise? Will you do better starting today?

 

Wednesday, 10/5/16  Ps 85:2, 4, Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered their sin. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Divine forgiveness for the penalty of sin doesn’t preclude the presence divine anger at a lifestyle of sin.                                Day 3 of 6 on the marriage vows:  Now you vowed to your sweetheart: “I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife.” This permanent relationship was by your free choice. Two flesh will become one. You can’t simply “tire” of your mate. God allows divorce for 1 reason only (fornication: which is a pornographic lifestyle, not a single act). He ALLOWS it, but doesn’t PREFER it. Once you took this vow, you are not allowed to change your mind, or allow circumstances to change it for you...if it was a mistake before this moment, once you made this vow, it became the everlasting will of God.

 

Thursday, 10/6/16  Fact of life: God will not answer all of your questions, even if the topic is spiritual. Dan 12:8-9, ...then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. So...just do what you’re supposed to do.                                  Day 4 of 6 on the marriage vows:  “[I take you] to have and to hold, from this day forward.”  “Having” is a general word, and would encompass a myriad of applications: having your partner physically (sexually; for comfort; for physical help and assistance in a 1000 ways); having the other emotionally (support; encouragement; the exclusive sharing of the deepest parts of your being and dreams; and trustworthiness with their dreams); having them mentally (asking for, giving, and taking advice; mental stimulation; as a sounding board; for friendly banter; for general conversation on topics of interest to them individually; for life’s choices); and having them spiritually (encouragement; correction; poinying out of errors you’re making).  “Holding” would indicate physical closeness. It seems so automatic to newlyweds, but care must be exercised to maintain simple, casual, and frequent touching:  kissing, hand holding, getting up and greeting the other upon their returning home, as well as sexual touching. An obvious application would be a lack of long-term separation, separate vacations, “time away to clear my head,” and so forth.

 

Friday, 10/7/16  That “message from Heaven,” that obvious sign from on High...isn’t on High in Heaven anymore: it’s on your desk. Matt 16:4, A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. (In other words, “The answer’s in the Book.”)                          Day 5 of 6 on the marriage vows:  “[I take you] ...from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.”  Make no doubt about it: your wonderful wedding day will give way to some tornadic winds, and long-term, seemingly never-ending cold wintery seasons where it isn’t going to be all rosy and glorious. “The test of a man’s character is what it takes to stop him.” God expects you to keep this vow...  The sweet and the sour will cycle...many times over, and, in some cases, may even remain stuck on “sour” for the rest of life: you are choosing today how you will act when everything goes south in a decade or two or three. Do you/did you mean it?

 

Saturday, 10/8/16  Judg 10:15-16, And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. God hurts when you hurt. Read it again.                                  Day 6 of 6 on the marriage vows:  “[I take you]... to love and to cherish (and obey), till death do us part."  Contrary to what 99% of the world believes, love is NOT an emotion; it is a choice to treat someone the Bible says to. Will you act like a husband/wife should, as God directs you in His word, from now til the cemetery? “Cherishing” would add in the emotions. However, emotions are driven by our thoughts. So, think (dwell) on positive things (Phil 4:8). You are vowing to give your spouse the benefit of a LOT of doubts and to believe the best about him/her. Wives, you also vowed to obey your man. It’s old-fashioned...about as old as God. If you and he cannot see eye-to-eye, his way is to take precedence. Sir, obviously, you are to not be a hard-headed dictator, and be open to her reasons and concerns, but, ma’am, you promised to sweetly submit to him if push came to shove...Are you doing so? Have you been doing so? If not, will you repent and apologize to him and Him, and start anew?

 

Sunday, 10/9/16  Do you feel like you walk with the Lord? His street is named, “Mercy & Truth Way.” Ps 25:10, All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. Both...in equal portions...4 identically filled buckets: 2 for you and 2 for others.                             Ps 103:2, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. In the busy-ness and burdens and heartaches of life it is easy to forget the boatloads of His benefits. Find a way to remember.

 

Monday, 10/10/16  Ps 25:11, For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. This is a good thing to pray, but don’t stop at getting right with God if you’ve offended other people too.                                  Are you facing a time of trouble? Maybe no one knows it but you, or maybe you and a few more. Maybe people know you’ve got troubles, but it’s worse than they know. Or, they know, but don’t care. (At least you feel and believe that no one cares.) Ps 27:5, For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. Run TOWARD God and the things that pertain to Him: His word, His body (church); His presence (prayer); His man and His people; His favorite things (soul winning, helping the helpless and the hurting). For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion.

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- Acts 1:26, And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias: and he was numbered with the 11 apostles. I wonder how often we make the same mistake in our choices by relying upon chance and human reasoning instead of divine direction.

 

- Acts 2:12, And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? We haven’t changed much today When men of God get filled with the Holy Spirit, see great works for God, and get many saved and baptized, they are hated, criticized, and called strange.

 

- Acts 2:37, Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  Holy Spirit anointed preaching will always convict and demand a response.

 

- Acts 5:11, And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. The seriousness of serving God for show and lying to the Holy Spirit cannot be overemphasized. It can cost good people their lives. We need to read and heed this.