Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 1/3/23  Jeremiah 33:3, Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Sweet, well-known, but

look at the context: v1-2 speak of the prison and Jeremiah’s incarceration. He knows of our circumstances and situations: call unto Him and allow Him to show you great and mighty things of His choosing: NOT necessarily deliverance. We get too focused on non-deliverance that we miss those things.                                   Psalm 68:3, But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. V1-2 speak of the judgments on the enemies of God. Though we often focus our attentions there, we have no control over when He’ll judge them, but we DO have control over our own spirit. Are you “glad”? “rejoicing?” and “exceedingly rejoicing”?

- Wednesday, 1/4/23  Psalm 68:19, Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. “Yo!!! The Delivery Man and His truck are outside!! Is anyone available to receive this shipment?”                              Psalm 30:2, O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. If the truth be told, probably none of us feel over-appreciated. None of us wish that that someone would “stop thanking me so much!!” We can’t control how much we ARE thanked, but we can control how much we thank. Give credit to whom credit is due. Be VERY liberal with your gratefulness and appreciation: to family, friends, church leaders, peer and bosses at work. And, give God more too.

- Thursday, 1/5/23  Psalm 69:9, For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. Oh, I wish I could truthfully echo the words of this verse. “Lord, help me to be a LOT more passionate about You and Your will. Forgive me, Father.”                                 Isaiah 6:1, In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Could it be somehow that Uzziah kept Isaiah from seeing the Lord properly? Might the Lord have to remove someone from our lives through death or relocation to help us properly focus our eyes? Ask Him, and “turn your eyes upon Jesus” by choice rather than by calamity.

- Friday, 1/6/23  Luke 16:10, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Whether you’re one to make resolutions at the start of the year, all of us should examine our level of faithfulness. Could it improve? Figure out what’s preventing you from rising to the next level.                                  Romans 14:19, Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. Self-eval time: how much are you making peace? (Taking the first, second,...tenth steps toward?) At work, at home, on the road, at church. Are you a peace bring-er or calamity causer? And, how are you edifying others? At work, at home, at church? Are you a builder or a destroyer? Sharp words or encouragement? Sweet speech, or rough? Hmmm....

- Saturday, 1/7/23  Luke 17:3, Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. He didn’t just issue a commandment. The opening phrase is to spotlight it for us. Too often, we’re prone to say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that Pastor.” OK: you know it. Are you truly doing it?                                Psalm 31:7, I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities. Get comfort from this verse: His mercy surrounds you and endures forever, and He is aware of and pondering your bad situation. However, maybe also sit up and take notice: He knows your innermost self on your worst days. How bad ARE you then? What do your valleys reveal about your character, the amount of tolerated filth in your heart? Be aware of that state: the bad days simply reveal what IS there; they didn’t cause the garbage to be there. Confess the true state of your heart, as shown when the screws are being put to you.

- Sunday, 1/8/23  Romans 15:23, Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. I hope the God of peace is with you today, my dear brother or sister. Be a “peace carrier” wherever you go. Be infectious. Pray for others to have peace in crazed world. Bring peace; leave peace; spread peace; cause peace; advocate for peace.                          Romans 16:1, I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea. In v3 Paul said she was a “succourer” an assistant. A servant and a succourer. If your pastor was writing to the pastor of another church about you, what might he use for his first 2 adjectives about you? “A good businessman”? “A tither”? “A pretentious busy-body”? “Troublesome”? “A sincere Christian”? What would you like him to say? Change starts with the acknowledgement of needing to do so.

- Monday, 1/9/22  John 13:23, Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. It seemed Jesus had a special fondness for John. I wonder, does the Lord ever crave your particular brand of affection? Do you “scratch His itch” so perfectly now that He is eager to see you in person? Deepen your relationship with Him...using the same methods you would with a person.                          Romans 16:17, Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. Notice that people that don’t share the same doctrine with you are to be avoided. Yes, love them, but don’t feel you must be with them just because they are believers. There’s a fine line here, but the bottom line is to guard OUR spirit and OUR testimony and OUR walk. Doctrine is worth fighting over, and worth separating over.