Baptist City Blog

Sunday, 10/25/15  Gen 5:22, And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methusalah 300 years... Did fatherhood bring about a revival in Enoch’s heart? Dad, Mom, are you more or less spiritual since you’ve been entrusted with an eternal soul? Kids, do you pray for and encourage your parents spiritually?        Ps 143:10, Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.  ¹He is God and has a plan, whereas we are flesh and are clueless.  ²He’s a good God so His ways are good, albeit sometimes hard.  ³He is God, so His plan/will should overrule ours.  ⁴We must learn to obey: it’s not a natural activity.

Monday, 10/26/15  Heb 12:1, Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses... Pro 15:3, The eyes of the Lord are in every place... Just a reminder that your every move is being watched, both your acts of righteousness and acts of sin.                I remarked to someone that I had recently met a rather famous believer (but one who had committed some moral indiscretions), and my comrade asked if so-n-so was still a “sleaze bag.” That offended me deeply. May I remind all of us, that even though we view certain offenses as being more reprehensible than others, God views them all as either “horrible”, or “worse.” The term “lesser sin” is never used in the Bible, but “greater sin” is, teaching that, to God, He sees all sins as either “big” or “bigger” offenses. May I remind all of us that the sin that damned the entire human race was not a moral sin against a spouse or a sin of abuse of a child or a sin of the betrayal of trust: it was simply that Adam and Eve ate a piece of fruit...not a big deal to you or me, but a huge deal to God, and one that called for the death of Christ. So, if you’re so “high and mighty” that you think that your spiritual sin’s “blank” doesn’t stink...you maybe ought to get a second opinion...maybe even a heavenly one. All that we do against God is highly offensive to Him...so we’re all sleaze bags...if the truth be known.

Tuesday, 10/27/15  Ps 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Your path is dark and scary because your Light is turned off. It has a pressure switch: open the cover of the Book and the Light will begin to shine.                              (Sarcasm alert!) “THE BLOOD MOONS WERE A FEW MONTHS OFF!! THE MAYANS FORGOT ABOUT LEAP YEARS!! THE WORLD WILL END SOON...REALLY!!”  It seems like these “end of the world” scenarios are coming more and more frequently. Remember the big too-doo about the Mayan calendar a few years ago? Remember the guy who actually named a date a few years ago saying when Jesus would return, and then recalculated for a few months later?  Movie after movie is put out by Hollywood on the topic. Headline after headline in the tabloids refers to Armageddon. Every bad event is mated to Armageddon? Why? People are obviously fascinated by the subject of the “end of the world.”

          This latest one was really funny to me: because of a certain amount of blood moons in such a short time...it must mean something!!! It didn’t...HELLO?!?! It really struck me as funny that a celestial event that astronomers could calculate decades in advance suddenly had divine meaning. Just because you and I didn’t know what the astronomers knew doesn’t make it new knowledge that someone just discovered. HELLO!?!?!

          So what is the truth about the end of the world and World War 3 and Armageddon and the Apocalypse? They are all true coming events...there are signs preceding them...but they - are - NOT - imminent; none of those are scheduled to be next. The root problem here is not that God is not faithful in fulfilling His word; the root problem is ignorance of the Word of God...and sadly, much of that ignorance is coming from God’s people.

          The next thing of God’s calendar is the coming of Jesus Christ to the air. This is commonly called “The Rapture” though that is not a biblical term. It is also referred to as “The Second Coming, Phase 1.”  What it entails is that the Lord will leave Heaven, come to earth’s atmosphere, a trumpet blast and a shout will ring out, and every born-again believer (that’s the only kind, by the way) will instantaneously disappear from the face of the earth. Our clothes, rings, phones, glasses will simply fall to the ground like we were vaporized by a alien’s ray gun. It will cause QUITE a stir amongst the billions who are still here. We will be caught away, meet the Lord in the air, be escorted back to the presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit, attend the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage of the Lamb and enjoy the Marriage Supper. Then, after at least 7 years of time goes by on earth (I think a little more than 7), we will mount white horses and come back with Jesus to witness the Battle of Armageddon. (That’s the actual 2nd coming: that is the time when He will actually set foot on the earth again, the Mt. of Olives, BTW.) That battle is not synonymous with World War 3 (which will have occurred 3½ years earlier), and though all of the soldiers of the world are present, the Battle of Armageddon is a battle between Christ and anti-christ. Jesus wins, the antichrist and false prophet are sent to the Lake of Fire, and Jesus sets up a literal kingdom on the earth which will last for 1000 years.

          All of the signs that are so often written about: the moon turning to blood, the earthquakes, the wars, the alignments of the nation...are all part of the last 7 years of history. God does put times and markers into that portion of prophecy...but mankind is not there at this moment today. The next prophetic event will be totally unannounced and sudden; it will be totally without warning. And, none of the later things can occur before the return of Christ for His own...God is in charge, always has been and always be. He is orchestrating events as He foresaw...there will be no surprises to Him. Things will occur in the order that He dictates.

          So, the question arises, “When will this next event occur? This return of Jesus to the air?” No one knows. It could have happened anytime in the last 2000 years since the Lord returned to Heaven. (Paul thought it was going to occur in his lifetime.)  It could happen in the next 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 decades, or 5 centuries...but it will happen. And it will draw a line in the sands of time for many. You see, if you’ve heard the Gospel and how to get to Heaven by simple faith in Christ, (as opposed to some version of good deeds earning you a ticket) and have not trusted Him and Him alone as your sole hope for Heaven before He comes for His own, I believe that you never will afterwards...you’ll be doomed to Hell: He’ll quit drawing you and wooing you to Himself; you will be left alone by God. So, if you don’t know for sure that you’re going to Heaven, please, please, PLEASE message me and let me simply show you from the Bible how to know that everything is right between you and God.

Wednesday, 10/28/15  Pro 22:4, By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, and life. These 3 great treasures live in a house with a very unappealing front door...but if you want what’s inside, God clearly marks it for us right here.  By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, and life.                 2 Chron 6:1 Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built an house of habitation for thee... There’s mankind’s whole problem in 1 verse:  God said...but I.  Little ol’ pride-ful man contradicting the One Who created him. How sad...God designed a theocracy but man wanted a king and God allowed it. God intendend one man and one woman mated for life but man demanded the right to divorce and God allowed it. God designed the Tabernacle, but man fell in love with the idea of a temple and God allowed it. But the temple of God caused much trouble and became the focal point instead of the God of the temple. When we go beyond the bounds of His word, His will, and His ways, we are showing our arrogance and setting ourselves up for untold future problems. Trust and obey...TODAY.

Thursday, 10/29/15  Ps 55:22, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. To cast our burdens, we must come to Him. You’ve come to FB and cast your burdens, have you come to God? You called your friends and cast your burdens, did you call God?               John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. Heathen/false religion is founded on ignorance. Do you have a religion or a relationship? (Hint: to be related to involves a birth...are you born again?) (Religion simply involves mental assent to a creed.)  Is your spirituality based on church creeds or Bible doctrine?  Do you know the One you worship? Really know Him??

Friday, 10/30/15         2 Chron 5:13 ...they lifted up their voice...and praised the Lord saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever. When they said this, God filled the place. ...then the house was filled with a cloud...the glory of the Lord had filled the house. Lesson: God likes praises.               Rom 15:1-2 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. We ought to be tolerant of others’ faults, but not so we can say how wonderful we are, but ultimately, for the spiritual edification of the one with the fault.

Saturday, 10/31/15  Ps 60:1, O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. We’ve all been here...feeling rejected by God. But how often do we sing and shout over His turning back to us again? Go cuddle close to your Saviour today. Go have a good talk.              Ps 61:5, For thou, O God, has heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. You have the heritage of Spurgeon, Torrey, Jonathan Edwards, the Wesley brothers. Your kids/grandkids, what kind of heritage are they being given? Are you (striving to be) a stellar Christian? Do you put your family around stellar Christians (or those striving for excellence)? Or, are they left the heritage of video games? DVDs? Netflix? Be in your place tomorrow for SS and church.

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- Don't be frustrated over someone else's perspective, their perspective has nothing to do with your peace.

- If I live for self, I can live only for one person; if I live for others, I can live for over 6,000,000,000 people.

- Jesus is God’s selfie!

- All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all Hell terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.

- Two roads you can to travel the Christian life. The first road is to.... Live your life trying to get God to see it your way. And the 2nd road is to.... Live your life trying to see it God's way. Which road are you on?

- I have found that forgetting is the final and most difficult stage of forgiving.

- God cannot speak to us unless we are willing to be interrupted.

- How to Pray for Your Enemies:  * Pray for their forgiveness.  * Pray for then to have peace.  * Pray for them to grow in grace.  * Pray for them to have success.  * Pray for them to be happy.  * Pray for their safety.  * Pray for them to be blessed.  * Pray for their family.  * Pray for their needs.  How did I make this list? I thought of what I want others to pray about for me, so that is what I should pray for my enemies.

- Finding fault in people is the easiest thing we can do. Finding value in them takes effort.

- Darkness isn’t the opposite of light, it is the absence of light. The world's darkness is not the result of the world being dark, but of Christians not shedding enough of Christ's light into this world.

- Spiritual anorexia is a condition where a Christian believer can go days and even weeks without the meat of the Word of God. When they look in the mirror, they see themselves as "okay."  It is a real condition.

- Sometimes I search the scriptures looking for an answer to something in particular; yet God gives me something else to take away from it.

- Paul called himself the chief of sinners, but I fear many of us would be more honest calling ourselves the chief of excusers.

- I learned that I could not be free of the baggage of the bad opinions people have of me until I was willing to be free of the snares from the good ones as well.

- Parents, our children learn to express grace and forgiveness by watching us extend grace and forgiveness to them and others.

- Everyone is a lesson. Be a good student.

- Maybe that sin that humbled us turned out better than those good works that filled us with pride.

- You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one church to another. Wherever you go you will follow you, which is why some people keep changing churches. It is not the church that is the problem. It is them.

- We never really know how much anyone else is hurting. We could be standing next to somebody who is completely broken and wouldn’t even know it. Be sensitive to everyone around you today. You never know the one God has placed in your path who needs your kindness.

- Someone must hate the weeds so that others can enjoy the flowers.

- There are people who will condemn you because you do not condemn yourself for past failures. Ignore them and live free of condemnation.

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- How long should we keep quiet and meditate on things? Apparently, until our anger has gone away!! Ps 39:2-3 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue.

- Bible thoughts! Ps 26:12, My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord. Even when every wall seems to be crashing in around you, our Lord says we stand tall and straight. It may not feel like it right now, but we are victorious and more than conquerors! Have a valiant day!

- Luke 8:53, And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. When we win those who’re spiritually dead, we can expect the same treatment from the world.

- Luke 8:55, And her spirit came again and she arose straightway, and he commanded to give her to meat. New life needs food to grow and survive.

- Today I want to live. Today I have hope. Today my mind works. It was not always so. I was brought low, and he helped me, (Ps 116:6).

- I'm certainly glad God has plenty of mercy!! And, tender mercy, at that. I believe that tender mercy is the the twin sister of loving kindness.  Ps 51:1, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Ps 25:6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

- Bible thoughts! Ps 30:3, O Lord , thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. If you are a born again Christian, this verse oughta give you something to shout about! WOOHOO! We serve a God Who's alive and well!

- I believe that kindness is increased exponentially when it becomes lovingkindness. So much so, that the recipient can FEEL it. Reciprocation is the natural response of the recipient. Whereas, it causes one to trust, listen to, follow, love, obey, and simply want to please the giver of such.  Ps 26:3, For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.  Ps 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.  “God, PLEASE, teach me to show lovingkindness, like You do!!!"

- Bible thoughts! Ps 31:1, In thee, O Lord , do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. This verse caught my attention right from the start bc of this one simple truth: if we are trusting in God for the answers, we will NOT be disappointed! We may not understand and we may not agree with some of the ways He's directing us, but I say let's give him the benefit of the doubt!