Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 5/9/23  Psalm 67:5, Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. I cannot change how much others praise God, but I can change my level. Praise is

simply one of many kinds of interaction with our God. It’s commanded; it helps us; it pleases Him. 1-2-3, GO!                         Psalm 22. Vv 1-21 detail horrendous circumstances in David’s life (and of course, were prophetical of the Cross). However in v 22 he pivots and says, "I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee." Along with the rest of the Christian life, our praises are also to be driven by faith. He believed that things would pass and he’d be on top-side again. Praise by faith.

- Wednesday, 5/10/23  Matthew 19:17-18, ...but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said... This man wanted to know how little he had to do to stay inside the line. But we, today, are often the same. Paraphrase: “How much of what I want to do can I get away with?” Seek to please...not your flesh, but the Lord. Seek His will, not your wants.                         My absolutely least favorite book in the Bible is the Book of Judges. There is simply so much stupidity and rebellion and wickedness and perversion in that book This final verse of the book is the reason for all of the sin: Judges 21:25, In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.. We may not like strong leadership over us; we never like to be corrected; but we desperately need it. What is your attitude toward those who attempt to keep you in check? (Not just at church: on the road? At work? In a store or restaurant?)

- Thursday, 5/11/23  1 Samuel 4:7 (after a loss in battle), Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when IT cometh among us, IT may save us out of the hand of our enemies. Do you worship and serve the God of Christianity or the Christianity of God? Do you have an “it” or a “He”? Do you have a relationship or a religion? (v7 The Philistines feared the God of the ark, and not the ark of God.)                          1 Samuel 8:19-20a, Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations... Separation and exterior standards of behavior (showing internal holiness) are not mentioned as much anymore, but a dislike of being different from the world is not a new thing with God’s people. Whether it is preached in your church or not: are you different in your dress, your attitude, your love, your goals, your work ethic, your social activities, or are you simply a cleaned up version of your unsaved coworkers? Do those who look at you (yes, your exterior) think, “I bet that guy/girl is one of those true Christians.”

- Friday, 5/12/23  Acts 22:10, And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. Yes, Paul was singularly used of God, but you and I are as much of a child of the King as he. I’ll bet He has things “appointed for us to do.” Maybe if we were more submissive to what we know in general, He’d tell us specifically what He has for us.                                  Revelation 19:6, And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Don’t let this Scripture be only mentioned at Christmastime. Let it comfort you in hard times; let it warn you in rebellious times; let it prompt you in lazy times. (And, BTW, when was the last time you said “Alleluia” out loud in front of someone else?)

- Saturday, 5/13/23  Psalm 9:12, When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. Stay in your lane. Answering is His job; staying humble and continuing to cry out is ours. We cause ourselves much heartbreak when we try to help God do His job, or give Him advice.                                Revelation 21:3, And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Perhaps the greatest compliment a person can give another is to say, “I want to be with you.” God WANTS to be with us forever. It would’ve been wonderful if He just gave us a renovated Garden of Eden or a paradise to live in, but He chooses to stay WITH us. God likes to be with us. Don’t ever get over that.

- Sunday, 5/14/23  Psalm 9:12b, ...he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. Psalm 9:18a, For the needy shall not alway be forgotten... “He loves me; He loves me not. He forgets me; He forgets me not.” Don’t trust what you perceive: trust what He says. His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches you.                           We often measure our progress...we weigh ourselves; we get regular medical checkups; we have yearly performance reviews at work. Perhaps here is a spiritual checkup for us: Psalm 35:13, But as for me, when they (false witnesses) were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. When was the last time you earnestly prayed for THAT person? The one who slandered you? The one who took advantage of you? Maybe all of us need to rededicate ourselves to Bible Christianity.

- Monday, 5/15/23  “Don’t you see it?? It’s right in front of your face!! Come on! Open your eyes!!!”  Psalm 33:5, He loveth righteousness and judgment: THE EARTH IS FULL of the goodness of the Lord. “Lookit that goodness! There! And there! And back here!! It’s all around us!!”                           Psalm 73:1, Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. All of us, at times, complain about and doubt God’s goodness to us. Perhaps we should see the red flag waving when we doubt it. According to this verse, it’s a sign that our heart may not be as clean as we’d like to think it is.