Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 5/8/18  Genesis 39:3b-4, ...the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in [Potiphar’s] sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. Joseph made the best of a bad situation: still a slave...but he took God’s favor and capitalized on it. Maybe we could/should do the same? Accentuate the positives; dismiss the negatives; work diligently always?                            Genesis 39:1, And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. Many people’s favorite Bible character is Joseph. It’s a fun story to read...since we know how it ends. But put yourself in Joseph’s shoes: every good event that he saw seemingly was rewarded with an evil twice as bad as the other was good. But, looking back from a few decades in the future...was it bad that his brothers hated him? Was it bad to be sold into slavery? Was it bad to get accused of attempted rape? Was it bad when the butler forgot him for 2 years? And, I’m guessing that in a few decades from now, the things that have been such a burden in your life will turn out to be something for which you’ll bless God. Maybe we (me first, then you) should quit griping, quit doubting, and start REALLY trusting a LOVING God, and start crediting Him for MAYBE knowing what He’s doing... Me first...then you.                            Read Psalm 27:1-13 and note how many times the words, “my,” “mine”, or “I” are used. (It’s A LOT!!) Because of testifying of how personal Christianity was to him, the psalmist could then say Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. It wasn’t a truth he’d heard preached...it was a truth he’d seen work out in his own life. Forget modesty or humility, if you wanted to, could you point to your life as a good example of how the Christian life should be?

 

- Wednesday, 5/9/18  Genesis 39:5b, ...the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. God blessed Joseph’s work place because of his Christianity. Is He blessing your employer because of you? Ouch...                            Genesis 41:25, And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. Basic Bible interpretation rule: God repeats Himself for emphasis. Has any certain subject been pressed into your heart repeatedly? Maybe just one line out of a sermon but the Holy Spirit made you hear it and He applied it in way the preacher didn’t intend? And then you read something in your Bible? And then your spouse suggested something... “Hearken” to what you’ve heard.                 Psalm 104:24, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. If this verse be true, then the reason that we don’t see God’s obvious, multiplied works must because we’re not looking for them, or our hearts are hard, or they’re distracted looking for earthly treasures.

 

- Thursday, 5/10/18  Genesis 41:46, And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. This was 13 years after being sold into slavery (and 15-20 years after his brothers began to hate him.) It would be another 9 years or so until things were made right with his brothers, and he could see all of what God intended. Will you be faithful for 25+ years of “injustice” so that God could work a wondrous work? Twenty-five years...continuing today.                        Matthew 23:37-38, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. Oftentimes we wonder, “Is God getting me? Is this bad event a punishment from Him?” God does spank His children, but before that, He’ll step out of their lives and leave them desolate (lonely, as a wilderness). Also, this “abandonment” is the next step to judgment, and He WILL get there with His people: think of the Romans sacking Jerusalem in 70 AD, and the Babylonians in 586 BC: slaughter, destruction, and slavery. Let Him gather and draw you close to Him.

 

- Friday, 5/11/18  Deuteronomy 8:2, And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. God gives us troubles to show us what He already sees in our hearts.                                Exodus 31:2, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah... Few have ever heard a sermon or a SS lesson on Bezaleel. (I heard my first one recently.) Yet, God knew his name; He knew his heritage; He knew HIS plan for him. So, obscure one who feels no one even sees you: your God sees, knows, and has dreams for you...YES!! For little ol’ YOU. Go serve YOUR wonderful God.

 

- Saturday, 5/12/18  Proverbs 6:27, Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? The Devil uses the same methods/enticements over and over. Why do they still work? Because in our pride, we think we’re better than everyone else: all the fools who “couldn’t handle THAT. I can.” Nope...                                John 4:9bc, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. In your social or spiritual dealings, do you get your cues (rules) from God’s people or from God’s word? Note: Jesus did not practice total, absolute separation. Look and see whom He ate with, talked to, made His disciples (which would indicate a prior, introductory relationship/friendship with.) (Don’t scream at me...think about this one.)

 

- Sunday, 5/13/18  John 7:4b, 6, If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. Jesus had to wait for proper timing, just as we do. All the things that bother us: He went through too. Remember: “tempted in ALL points like as we”? He understands your situation and feels your frustration.                              Psalm 27:1-3, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.  Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. A very basic question, but is the Lord YOUR Lord or your parents’? The pastor’s? Your family’s? Is Christianity a part of your being...or something you wear a time or two or three a week? Only you can answer...

 

- Monday, 5/14/18  Psalm 30:11, Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. God pity us!! Why are we SSOOOO quick to notice and emphasize the times “everything went wrong” and don’t praise the sudden deliverances and blessings as much, as long, or as loudly. I’m sorry Lord.                              Matthew 26:8, But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? The disciples, the “sold out” ones, the dedicated ones said that this was “poor stewardship” of money and resources. We must beware lest we allow this type of thinking to creep in. Don’t ever criticize anything anyone does in service to Christ or His people, His church, or His agenda. Her love drove her to give a very expensive gift...definitely not a wasteful thing. If nothing else, she was ‘storing up treasures in Heaven’ since it was done for the Lord. Let Him decide if it’s “wasteful giving” or “poor stewardship.”

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- Pr 8:21, That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasuries. True wealth and durable riches can only be found with godly wisdom and understanding as its basis.

 

- Mark 13:35, And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch. It’s as much a command for us today as it was for those hearing Him 2000 years ago. We are to be prepared for His return any moment.

 

- Ps 23:1, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. What a great God we serve, and what a wonderful promise. There is not a want or need that we have that He cannot and will not supply. He knows exactly what we need.

 

- Pro 12:2, A good man obtaineth favor of the Lord, but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. There is a way to get God’s favor and blessing without much effort; just pay attention to motives and behavior.

 

- Ps 19:1, The heavens declare the glroy of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. No one has a valid excuse to deny the existance of our eternal, almighty God. All they need to do is to keep their eyes open.

 

- Pro 14:22, The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. True health, both spiritually and physically, won’t be found in a church or a doctor’s office, but in the attitude of the heart toward God. I never feared my dad unless i had done wrongly or disobeyed him. It is the same way we should be with our God.

 

- Most of us do not see God's grace as amazing as we should because we have not yet seen our sins as appalling as we should.

 

- We may suffer without growing in grace, but we can not fully grow in grace without suffering.

 

- God can do more with the remaining moments of your life having all of you, then He could with your entire life and just a part of you. See Samson.

 

- Christ suffered affliction that He might know us. We suffer affliction that we might know Him.

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- To all my dear friends waiting on the road to smooth and the way to get easy: remember that we are what we have become because the way has not been easy, nor the road smooth.

 

- Faith is a muscle. And there is such a thing as Faith atrophy.

 

- Maintenance praying can completely remove the stress and devastation of crisis praying.

 

- “Dads of young children- be sure your wife has time to be alone and sit at the feet of Jesus. She’ll find the strength there that she needs to be the mom she strives to be.”  -Joe Vassak

 

- A good marriage is when two people remain like eager students studying the other to learn how to be what they need. It is cherishing what they are, rather than what we would make them into.

 

- When we make the work of God look hard we make the God of that work look small.

 

- When we fail God he does not distance himself from us to protect his reputation, only men do that.

 

- Some of the most important lessons I learned about forgiveness came from those who refuse to forgive me. Thank you teachers.

 

- Several years ago I was working in Panera Bread one afternoon when a lady sat down close to me who was huge. In fact she could barely fit into a seat in the restaurant. Honestly, I found myself feeling contempt for her for allowing herself to become that overweight. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit shot an arrow of conviction through my heart. How many times have people felt contempt for me because of my faults and sins with which I have struggled and lost the battle? Who am I to feel anything but compassion for her? Who do I think I am? That is the problem. I think I am better than the person who struggles with something I don’t.  Why is it so easy to judge someone else who is struggling in a way we are not? Perhaps it is because we justify our faults without knowing the reason behind someone else’s. “Lord, help that lady to win victory over that affliction that must bring her great heartache, and forgive me for being the wretched judge I so often am.”

 

- If you love someone you will forgive them, OR if you forgive them you will eventually learn to love them.

 

- You will know you have grown in grace when grace is the only reaction people can get out of you when they hurt you.

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