Sunday, 2/22/15 Ps
62:10b ...if riches increase, set not
your heart on them. Dunno if this is scriptural advice or just learned
wisdom, but someone said to me that if you acquire a sum of money unexpectedly,
don’t spend it: God often sends some extra right before an unexpected need
comes. (People commented: story of Joseph and Mary getting the gold from the
Magi right before fleeing to Egypt; Joseph and the 7 years of plenty before the
7 years of famine.) Matt
9:34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth
out devils through the prince of the devils. When you encounter someone
with more knowledge or authority or power or charisma or influence or whatever
than you, do you try to learn their secrets and emulate them, or do you run
your mouth and criticize?
Monday, 2/23/15 Ps
124:6 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not
given us as a prey to their teeth. God may not deliver you to the degree
that you think you should be delivered, but rest assured, He is working in and
around your life. He’s a good Daddy...you just work on being a good child. The first words I
read this morning: Ps 67:1 God be merciful to us, and bless us; and
cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. Man alive!!! I really want and need
that!! Mercy, blessings, His face shining on me!! You? Unfortunately, there’s another verse after
the first. Keep reading...v2: THAT thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
Yes God will be good to us because of What/Who He is and because He loves His
children, but He does have another motive: He wants us to talk about His
goodness and blessings. Here’s an
assignment: Mention God to 5 people
today...people outside of your normal circles and report here how it went. Say
something like, “God bless you” (not to a sneeze...), “The Lord sure made a
pretty day, didn’t He?” “Man! God is GOOD!!”
Let me know what happened. (Oh,
v3 continues: Let the people praise thee,
O God; let all the people praise thee. That’s public...let me know what
happened with your 5 people.)
Tuesday, 2/24/15
Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy
son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of
Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of. God can step into any area of your life today
and totally disrupt it. Will you trust Him? Will you submit and obey? What if
He took your spouse? A child or 2 or 3? Your job? Health? House? An unsaved
loved one? Abraham left the next morning. Ps
127:1 Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman
waketh, but in vain. 1God has given each of us
responsibilities. 2If we won’t do our job, God won’t do our job. 3However,
if we do our jobs without reliance upon Him, we’re wasting our time. Have you enlisted His help in rearing your
kids? Studying your material in high school or college? Finding and keeping a
mate? Getting, and remaining spiritual? Doing your job? Planning an activity?
Wednesday, 2/25/15
Matt 11:25 ...thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. In SS,
church, chapel, during your Bible time, are you “wise and prudent” (i.e. good
to go, got all your ducks in a row), or a needy, clueless “babe”? Quit wasting
your time...GROW DOWN!! One
thing that absolutely sets me off is arrogance!! No one is better than me, and
I despise it when I perceive that they believe that they are. Rom 12:16b Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. However,
the verse says that we’re to “condescend” to those worse off. Here’s the
kicker: “Condescend...without acting
condescending.” Incorporate the verb,
but not the adjective. Too
many Christians are “adjective-type people” and not “verb-ers.” Ps
130:1 Out of the depths have I cried unto
thee, O Lord. It sounds like the psalmist endured a lot without quitting...he’d
gone all the way to the depths without giving up on God and prayer. How far do
you tend to go? How much do you usually take before deciding that God is
unfair? Uninterested? Out to get you? It's an easy road to get onto...but it's
a bad road. Ps
130:3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? The same could be said for us:
somewhere along the way, we’ve gotta realize, accept, and expect that others
will screw up on accident and on purpose, but we’ve still got to deal with
them, love them, and accept them.
Thursday, 2/26/15 Rom 1:17 The just shall
live by faith. It is a sign of increased spirituality to choose to do
things because the Bible says to do so. But on the other hand, if we’re saved,
we’re justified, so God may very well put us into situations to MAKE us live by
faith. Gen 25:28
And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat
of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. Some people (even our own
children) just “fit” each of us more naturally, but we should never neglect the
ones that don’t “fit” us as well. We’re to love like He loves, and He loves
everyone uniquely. Ps
71:1 In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust:
let me never be put to confusion. This is an unreasonable prayer. God is
not a lucky rabbit’s foot. All the Bible giants faced deep confusion and
despair. God is going to put His children thru some very hard tests, and you’re
no exception. Don’t set yourself up for discouragement. If He sent His own Son
to Calvary, you’re probably not destined to lie on Waikiki...just sayin’.
Friday, 2/27/15 Pro
20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason
of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. You are
free to choose your actions, but you are not free to choose the consequences.
Actions start a snowball effect. Matt
13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed;
lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and
should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal
them. This deterioration occurs slowly, thus, we need frequent self-checks
and/or check-ups/consultations with a professional (preaching). Pro 24:4 And by knowledge shall the chambers [of your
house] be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Here’s another
thing you miss by not being a student of the Bible.
Saturday, 2/28/15 Matt
14:13 When Jesus heard of [his cousin’s
execution], he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart... After
hearing of John’s death, Jesus tried to get away. Lesson: take time for
yourself because if you don’t, you’ll faint and then help no one. (But keep
helping those in front of you.) Matt
26:21-22 Verily I say unto you, that one
of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one
of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? Each disciple immediately wondered
if he could be the guilty party. Recently, I mediated a dispute between a
subordinate and a superior. The subordinate claimed that the superior had been
training/disciplining another subordinate wrongly, and when the subordinate
pointed it out “simply wanting to be helpful” the superior scolded the
subordinate. I sided with the superior, and stated that all of the supposed
wrong actions were, in fact, done on purpose and for a reason. And also, the
subordinate criticized a possible overreaction by the superior without
considering that if the action of a subordinate accusing the superior hadn’t
occurred, the overreaction by the superior would not have occurred. The
subordinate’s problem sprang from a false belief: when the subordinate spotted
a supposed problem/short-coming, the assumption was automatically made that the
superior was screwing up, NOT that the subordinate didn’t have all of the facts,
or made incorrect conclusions, or simply was rendering a judgment in an area
that was totally out of their realm. Pro
18:17a He that is first in his own cause
seemeth just. 1Examine your own shortcomings first 2Assume
guilt/blame on your record before assigning it to another 3Give
leadership some credit for having brains and experience you don’t. Matt 15:1-3 The
Pharisees accused Jesus: Why do thy
disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands
when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Practical advice:
before pointing out another’s error, be sure that all your ducks are in a row.
Thoughts from some others
Ps 119:128 Therefore
I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every
false way. We need to be very careful to believe and accept all of God’s
Word, not just the part we like and agree with. We need to stay with the old
KJB and not be hunting for something better.
Ps 119:4 Labor not to
be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wealth ought to be a biproduct of
hard work, but should never be the motivating force behind it. Management and
labor both need to learn this.
Acts 17:24 Howbeit
certain men clave unto him, and believed. When we go soul winning and are
faithful to deliver the Gospel, there will always be rejectors and skeptics,
but for those who will listen and believe...we must go!
Pro 21:21 He that
followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor.
When we worry about right living and proper treatment of others, we find God’s
blessings and rewards follow.
Ps 119:165 Great
peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Our
attitudes and dispositions are in direct proportion to our love for God’s word!-----------------------------------------------------------------
Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.
Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.