Sunday, 5/18/14 Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet. Very simply this means to be content. If you can’t have something, don’t fantasize about it. Don’t drive through neighborhoods with houses that are worth 3 or 4 times what yours is worth. Don’t look at another’s spouse. Delete the words “If only” from your vocabulary. 2 Pet 3:1-2 This second epistle...stir up your pure minds...remembrance: that ye may be mindful... God wants our minds FULL of His truths. Find a way to accomplish that: read more Bible. Remind yourself of It. Endeavor to incorporate It. Ask for advice on doing this.
Monday, 5/19/14 Ps 27:1 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. Fear is an emotion, and emotions are driven by thoughts. Usually, by controlling our thoughts, we can corral our fears. Matt 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? All of us have many flaws. Things that I struggle with and fail repeatedly at you might look at and say, “Come...that’s so easy!!!” Whereas, there are things in your life that you just can’t seem to get any kind of victory over that maybe I could say, “Really? I got over that sin 3 months after being saved!!! Just do it!” We all need to do a few things: 1Be a lot more patient with each other (and for some of us, to a degree, with ourselves). 2Push ourselves to be better: circumvent our temptation if possible: it’s easier to avoid it than to conquer it. 3Pray more over our sins and others’...really pray. 4Expect all of the Christians you know to struggle with something(s) and realize that those struggles will sometimes be seen. 5Don’t discard truth because it’s spoken by or modeled in the life of someone who’s not perfect.
Tuesday, 5/20/14 Lev 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. Notice that it said, “Be holy” and not “Don’t be not unholy.” Too often we think that that a lack of badness = the presence of goodness. The Pharisees were outwardly “perfect” and Jesus got on them pretty harshly. Quit “not doing” and start “doing.” Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous... Your eternal destiny is too precious to “trust in yourself” (which is simply your own mind and feelings.) Your heart’s main characteristic is deceitfulness according to Jer 17:9... Also, don’t use your own definition of “righteousness.” We must use God’s definition: which is to have a record identical to His: sinless. There is a way, Scripturally, to have a righteous record in Heaven. Message me if you don’t know.
Wednesday, 5/21/14 Ps 105:1 O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Here’s an assignment for today: tell someone in the next 4 hours something that God has done for you personally. Let me know what happened. Eze 3:5-7a For thou art not sent to people of a strange language and of an hard language...surely had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee... It’s sad, often those who should be most interested in and receptive to God’s will and way are the least. Check yourself and evaluate your affinity for the things of God. Logic says that if you’re going to be on His page for all eternity, you should strive to get there now. Matt 9:13b ...for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners... If you’re “doing pretty good” then Jesus is worthless to you. Humble yourself and be more aware of your sin-FULL-ness.
Thursday, 5/22/14 Pro 17:3b ...but the Lord trieth the hearts. What comes from our hearts? Emotions and desires. Therefore, expect those to be tested by God. Will we trust when our heart says, “No”? Will we give Him our desires? Acts 15:1-2 And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissention and disputation with them... Not all arguments are bad, nor should they all be avoided. Some feel that any disagreement is “bad manners”: but I believe that absolute pacifism is wimpiness. Don’t compromise to keep peace. On the other hand, allow others to be individuals and maybe to see/say things a little differently than you. Constant contention is also wrong. Jesus said He’d come to bring a sword and people in the same house would be divided 3 against 2. Jude says to contend for the faith. Decide to get mad over certain things and to stand up for certain things.
Friday, 5/23/14 Lev 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. Also note that holiness is not something that God does, it is something that God is. Our outward actions reflect our inward being. Focusing on who we are in Christ is more beneficial than focusing on what we do for Christ. (My BIL’s thought.) 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled (He’s gotta be talking about Jesus, right?) ....handled, of the Word of life. Jesus is the Bible in the flesh; and the Bible is Christ on paper; they’re equivalent. You can’t love One and not the Other.
Saturday, 5/24/14 Ps 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Two thoughts came to my mind this morning: First, it says, to “do good” and not just be good. Secondly, we must make sure we use God’s pure definition of “good” and not our corrupted, sinful comparative interpretation. Ps 36:2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. One of sin’s deceits is that it tells us that we can handle what has destroyed others.We’re better than the others. It seduces us cuz we think we can handle it, until it has us totally ensnared, and we discover that our “iniquity is hateful.” Ps 36:3, then v2. Read these 2 verses backwards: v3b is Step #1; v3a is Step #2; v2b is Step #3.
Thoughts from some others
Pro 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will he pay him again. We need to be very careful how we treat the poor God places in our path.
Ps 4:3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. We are God’s special examples and Bibles to a lost and dying world. We are very special to Him.
Pro 20:4 Man’s goings are of the Lord: how can a man then understand his own way? If God guides our daily goings or our steps, the direction and destination should not be a concern or a problem.
Ps 120:8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted. When vile men are put in leadership positions wickedness comes out of the closet and becomes tolerated and accepted.
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Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.