Baptist City Blog

Sunday, 8/3/14  Ps 39:2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. NEVER hold back good you could’ve said or good you could’ve done.             Pro 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion. To the degree that we see ourselves as eternally righteous, and to the degree that we are temporally confessed and clean, we’ll be bold. Timidity comes from a lack of 1 or both.            Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast... And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Satan’s attack/temptation of Eve:  ¹Did God speak? “Really? God said that?!?!”  ²He mischaracterized God’s directives.  ³He implied God's unreasonableness.  ⁴The denial of clear truth.  ⁵The twisting of truth into a lie.  

     

Monday, 8/4/14  Josh 23:11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. I don’t know if you can find a better admonition.                                    Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned...and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. “Full of the Holy Spirit” and yet He was led,  ¹away from people;  ²into trouble/testing/temptation.  Lesson #1: God has a specific path unique to each of us. We can’t evaluate whether we deserve or need our path or another needs theirs.  Lesson #2: It’s not our job to evaluate another’s path. Doing so causes heartache and leads to gossip and judgmentalism.               Gen 4:13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. An oft-illustrated truth: the consequences of sin are always greater than the pleasure was originally. (Also, note the first “Drama Mama”!!)

Tuesday, 8/5/14  Ecc 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. Mark it down, you’re not the exception to any of God’s laws.           Ecc 7:3-4 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. An unusual verse and truth. Don’t flee from and automatically dismiss/avoid problems...they could be a big need. Young people especially...you’d better learn how to deal with pain...life is full of it.

Wednesday, 8/6/14  Luke 4:10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee. Not all who quote Scripture are godly. (Satan left out 4 words.) Be sure the Scripture you’re hearing/reading agrees with the rest of the Bible. Read it in context; and remember the Bible is harmonious.              Much and various suffering; rejection by those that should love you; death of all you hold dear...does this describe you? Luke 9:22 Saying, the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain... You’re in good company (just be sure you’re not the cause).

Thursday, 8/7/14  Ps 115:1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. ‘Taint about you nor me...never has been...never will be. Get over yourself!! Get off your high horse!!                                  Pro 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart. Notice the reference to the neck, i.e. the vocal cords, speech. Let mercy and truth (as opposed to vengeance and gossip) control your neck and heart.

Friday, 8/8/14  Ps 119:63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.  Characterize your companions... Do you need to “upgrade”?                Ps 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Are you walking IN His law, or just somewhere, sorta close to it? Maybe parallel to it, or alongside? Maybe you’re walking away from God?  Does His word effect your words at all? Your TV/video viewing? Your listening? Work ethic, obedience, child rearing, etc.

Saturday, 8/9/14  Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. A right vertical attitude and right horizontal actions is all that He requires.                 Heb 5:1-2 For every high priest taken from among men...who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. Priests (& every believer is one) are supposed to be compassionate toward others because of their own failures. We need to radiate compassion, not condemnation.

Pro 5:9-11 These are verses every young man needs to reed, and it wouldn’t hurt old men to read them too. No man is exempt regardless of his position or level of spiritual maturity.

Pro 4:25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. We need to stay focused and keep our eyes on Jesus. We live in a time when must guard their eyes and what they allow them to see more than ever.

1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We shouldn’t be shocked or overly concerned if the world hates us and what we stand for. They crucified our Lord!!

Deut 32:52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee, but thou shalt go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel. How tragic: to see what he could have had but forfeited because of failure and disobedience. I wonder how much we miss and what could have been?

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. We need to be careful about how much we fall in love with the world in which we live. Only that which is eternal will last. There are no U-Hauls behind hearses.

Josh 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. What a promise and order for a commander. He may not be popular and may not always be right, but if God put him in a place of leadership, he must be strong and we are required to follow and not give him any trouble.

1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. A test of one’s faith is obvious from his belief on the eternal God and His Son. Churches and preachers who fail to exalt the person of Jesus Christ insult and offend the Father and are not eternally saved, not matter how spiritual they may try to appear.

Pro 9:8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man and he will love thee. We need to be careful to whom we give advice. Unsolicited advice is seldom heeded and never appreciated.

2 Sam 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. Are we following our way (what we want to do) or are we following God’s ways (What He tells and shows us in His word: His habits, His character)?