Baptist City Blog

Sunday, 11/22/15  Ps 3:2, Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Do your peers judge you “unworthy” of God’s blessings? You are, but He’ll give them anyway. V3, But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.            We live under modern civil government. So why did God leave Jewish civil laws in our Bibles for us in the 21^st century? To learn principles from that could govern our individual daily lives today. Last week, I gave you “homework” from Exo 22. Today, come up with a synopsis/paraphrase from Leviticus 6:1-5. Try it!!

Monday, 11/23/15  The Bible is a book of life recipes. Do you feel that people frequently try to hurt you? Pro 17:13, Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. Ask the Holy Spirit if you need to go apologize to someone for hurting them.             Col 2:8, Beware lest any spoil you through philosophy (reasoning, argumentation, way of thinking) and vain deceit (empty delusion), after the rudiments (principles, propositions) of the world, and not after Christ. Others may be able to out-talk you or out-reason you, but that doesn’t mean that you’re wrong.

Tuesday, 11/24/15  The Bible is simply God’s recipe book. Try this 2-ingredient recipe to “cook up” some happiness:  Ps 45:7, Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.             Ps 46:2, Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Those are horrendous events in the second half of the verse (earthquakes at least), but the psalmist made the choice to not to fear. This teaches that emotions CAN be controlled and governed by the will...but it takes practice.

Wednesday, 11/25/15  Short...and not so sweet today... Ps 49:3b, ...and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. Point blank: of what have you been thinking today? Yesterday? Godly things? Wickedness? Neutral topics? Up your game today.          Ps 139:6, Such knowledge [about God] is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. We will never fully understand God...there will be some questions which you absolutely will not be able to answer. This is good: if you understood Him, He’d be pretty small.

Thursday, 11/26/15  Just like you have times when you’re sweet and also a stern angry aspect to your character, so too does God. Rev 12:5c, And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Don’t be guilty of putting Him into a box labeled, “Sugar & spice, and everything nice.”             Ps 10:1, Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? Check! Been there...said that. But the first rule of Bible interpretation is to look at the context. V4, The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. In your doubts of God, do you then go TOWARD Him or AWAY from Him? Maybe the answer to that question determines whether the doubting is bad or not.

Friday, 11/27/15  Ps 119:68, Thou art good, and doest good.  Being a Christian isn’t enough: we’ve got to DO Christianity. We must DO salvation (be a soul winner); DO the Bible (live it, teach it); DO marriage; DO parenting; DO righteousness; DO holiness. Are a “busy be-er” or a “diligent do-er”?              Ps 54:1 Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. We all like the part where He steps in and saves or rescues us, but we’re not so much on board with His name/reputation being involved, and definitely are not too excited when it comes to Him judging us which brings in His laws.

Saturday, 11/28/15  Pro 26:27, Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. (God instituted the “Law of Karma”; it wasn’t a Hindu invention.) Could this be the cause of some of your problems?              Pro 25:11, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Do you evaluate the appropriateness, the “fitting-ness” of your words? Or, do you just blurt out whatever is in there, wherever it comes from? “Well, that’s just how I am!! Take me or leave me!!” Quit making everyone adapt to you and your selfish laziness. YOU adapt to God and His laws.

Sunday, 11/29/15  Luke 8:1b, [Jesus was] preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God... God’s true “religion” is a happy one; it’s not a burden to be endured.  ¹Do you see it that way?  ²Do you represent it that way to a lost and dying world?             Lev 23:42, Ye shall dwell in booths 7 days...that your generations may know that I made [the Jews] to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. Once a year, basically the entire nation was to camp out in the back yard for a week. The purpose was 2-fold: first it was to memorialize the exodus from Egypt, and then it had the practical teaching regarding not treasuring the temporal comforts over the will of God. What could we do to implement this commandment into our lives today?

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- The saying, "God never gives us more than we can handle" is absolutely untrue. God never gives us more than He can handle and He can handle anything.

- "My help cometh from the Lord," means that God does not do for me. He does with me, but He cannot do with me if I am not doing anything.

- Your value does not decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.

- Do what is just, not what you can justify. Do what is responsible, not what is permissible.

- One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful...we let what was once a miracle become common to us. We get so accustomed to His goodness it becomes a routine.

- Don't merely do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. Do unto others as you would do unto Jesus.

- There is a very large disparity between the god we imagine and the God who is.

- When you are busy minding everyone else’s business I wonder whose minding your business?

- Condemnation cries, "NO HOPE!!!"  Mercy cries, "NO!!! HOPE!!!"

- A real friend will provide a shoulder for you to cry on, but they will also provide the arms to carry your burdens in your time of grief.

- The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing.

- The person most thankful for what they have is the one who is least aware of what they don't have.

- Complaining is not circumstantial, nor is gratitude. It is not what is around you that determines it, it is what is within you.

- We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

- In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.

- I have learned that if I give thanks for my trials that eventually I will truly become thankful for them.

- Greater is the snack eaten in gratitude than the feast eaten in greed.

- Grateful people are too busy telling others what God has done for them to even mention what they have done for God.

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- Bible thoughts! Ps 25:1, Unto thee, O Lord , do I lift up my soul. You can't go wrong when you put your complete trust in God! Have a happy day!

- Think about this! God says you will not lie to a person you love. So, you're either fooling yourself: thinking you love them; or you really don't love that person. Pro 26:28, A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.

- Pro 22:2, The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all. God is not impressed with or partial to material wealth or social position. Psalms 1, 15, and 91, to name a few, tell us to whom He is partial and especially attracted. May we strive daily for that!!

- Ps 69:5, O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee. We should never try to hide what we are from God!

- Pro 24:29, Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work. How often do we treat people based on “What have you done for me lately” or “What have you done to impress me?” I’m glad God doesn’t treat me that way!

- Pro 25:14, Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and winds without rain. We should not boast about what and how much we give to God. Let Him decide how much, and if He wants to let others know, let Him. A good way to stop God’s blessings.

- Ps 103:2, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Oh how good He is!!!

- Pro 18:1, Through desire a man, having separateth himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. It is not by accident, but on purpose, and with obvious self-denial that one seeks wisdom and understanding.