Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 7/31/18  “Boy God sure seems to be mad at me!!” (Ever thought something like that? Felt picked on? Ignored?) Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please him... Basically, faith is acting rightly in a difficult situation, so the difficulties ARE a way of pleasing Him, so He’s actually favoring us by afflicting us.                         Job 42:10, And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. This is not a promise of God to claim, but an observation of His character (which never changes.) Maybe the way out of your troubles is to try to help others’ situation while IN your trouble. Maybe if we’d strive to BE content IN our troubles WHILE still doing what a good Christian should, He’ll change things.

 

- Wednesday, 8/1/18  Psalm 118:22-23a, The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing... Man’s opinions and actions may matter a little, but God has the ultimate opinion and the final vote. Let man refuse you: God can and will still use you.                                   Psalm 119:40, Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.  In seeking for God’s help, keep in mind that, above all else, He is holy, and will ALWAYS conduct Himself that way. He may want to help, but will not because it would seen to condone our sin. His favor does not come because of our righteousness, but by grace, but our rebellious sin can thwart Him. He is more concerned over our becoming holy than our becoming healthy, or wealthy, or promoted, or whatever else it is we’re looking for.

 

- Thursday, 8/2/18  Matthew 26:53, Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? We want to transition out of problems; God wants us to persevere through them, and produce wondrous benefits because of the very thing we despise.                                    Psalm 84:1-2, How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Do you want to enjoy the tabernacles of the Lord, be satisfied with His courts, or to be actually in His presence and be intimate with the Living God?

 

- Friday, 8/3/18  Psalm 89:1, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. The most repeated word in (and therefore, the theme of the Psalm) is “faithfulness.” Thank you Jesus for being faithful to show me mercy over and over again!!! Thank you Lord.                                 I believe in this philosophy: “All of the Bible was written to me only, and not to anyone else.”  Psalm 119:64, The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes. With the philosophy in mind, the mercy here is for me to give to others (allowing them to be human and to fail.) The statutes are rigid standards by which I am to live. In other words, I am to give you great latitude in how you live, but am to very harsh upon myself. Many believers live by the notion of being gentle to self and harsh with others.

 

- Saturday, 8/4/18  Proverbs 30:12, There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. Our culture increasingly is placing greater emphasis on the heart and feelings. Sin is NOT determined by how we FEEL about an act. God’s word determines it...even if you and I like it. (And face it, if sin weren’t so fun, it wouldn’t be so popular!!) So forget YOU; what does God say?                               Romans 6:6, Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. PTL that regardless of how hard we strive against sin now or how much we give in to sin...righteousness is going to win and we will be free of this sinful body soon. Thank you Lord.

 

- Sunday, 8/5/18  Here is an illustration of how most Christians forgive today:  2 Samuel 14:24, And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face. Forgiveness while keeping the offender at arms length isn’t forgiveness.                              Psalm 119:95, The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies. Because of the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that the Lord will never allow us to be tested above our abilities, this reminder: NO ONE, not Satan, not a host of demons, not your boss nor anyone else who walks on 2 legs can destroy you or I. The only way we are destroyed spiritually is through suicide. (Of course, we couldn’t lose our salvation, but our effectiveness.) The only thing keeping your alive spiritually is the ol’ black book and its Author. So, how’re things between you and the Bible? Are you in it? Is it in you? Meditation? Obedience? Sharing its truths? Learning more truths? Applying to your life? (T’aint rocket science...)

 

- Monday, 8/6/18  Psalm 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. A reminder of a most basic concept: if you’re needing direction in your life, add more Bible to your walk. Career choice/change? Problems? Splintering relationships? Financial difficulties? More Bible = more light.                                   Ecclesiastes 2:3, I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom... All of us to some degree are bonavide hypocrites, trying to walk on both sides of the line: at times we’re good Christians and, at times, we’re little devils, and we enjoy both (if the truth be told.) Solomon here was doing that: giving himself to worldly entertainments yet seeking for wisdom too. Again, all of us do it...the real question is, On which side of the line have you been spending more of your time in recent weeks and months? Would you like that trend to continue for the next span of time? If not, how can you adjust? If so, how can you insure that that happens?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- Song of Solomon 2:4b, “and his banner over me was love.” Just as the young Shulamite KNEW that King Solomon wasn’t ashamed to proclaim his love for her, a mere servant girl, Jesus isn’t ashamed to proclaim HIS love for us dirty, horrible sinners! His banner over us truly is love!

 

- Ps 84:8, O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. Sometimes when we pray, we want to make sure we have God’s attention. We need to make sure that he also has ours.

 

- Pro 2:2, So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom,a nd apply thine heart to understanding. Wisdom and understanding are obtained on purpose and not by accident. It is a never-ending pursuit we must work on every day of our lives.

 

- Ps 86:13, For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. PTL for His mercy and eternal salvation so we never have to experience the eternal Hell we all deserve.

 

- Luke 7:17, And this rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout the region round about. It’s impossible to hide or suppress news of our Lord’s mighty, miraculous works.

 

- Acts 16:30, And brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? This lost jailer asks the question that every unsaved sinner has been asking since the fall of man. Verse 31 has the answer!!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- “Talent is a gift, but character is a choice." ― John C. Maxwell

 

- “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie

 

- When u feel like a failure, an imposter, a loser and unwanted, realize those lies come from Satan. These are all things that he is. We must realize that his lies attempt to make us like him and less like a Child of the King.  You are a victor, a winner, wanted, loved and a prized possession. That’s how God sees you. We choose how we see ourselves, no one else. God knows and sees you crossing the finish line as a Champion. Receive Gods truth rather than the consistent lies Satan places in your mind. You are more than victorious in Jesus!!!

 

- Laziness travels so slowly that poverty can easily overtake it.

 

- Do not love because of the object. Love should be caused by the condition of the heart of the lover, not the attributes of the loved. God does not love us because of what we are; He loves us because of what He is. May He help us to be like Him in this respect.

 

- The reason a person feels worthless is because someone they respected devalued them. But Jesus valued you enough to give all His heavenly riches for YOU.

 

- When we sentence anyone to our prison of unforgiveness, we spit in the face of Christ and slam the door to our own dark dungeon.

 

- If you raise your children now, you can spoil your grandchildren later. If you spoil your children now, you can raise your grandchildren later.

 

- You cannot suddenly decide not to be friends with a person. If you can stop being their friend, you were not a friend in the first place.

 

- Often the fallen are those who have fallen into despair not just sin.

 

- If God can lead you in his will, he can also remove those who stand in the way of your doing his will. Do not fret about them, nor try to remove them yourself. God will clear the way.

 

- Check on your strongest friend today, because they may be the one who is facing despair and you do not know it.