- Tuesday, 7/10/18 Titus
1:13b, Wherefore rebuke them sharply,
that they may be sound in the faith... This whole book was written to a
preacher. Can you handle it when he obeys this verse? How have you handled it
recently? Do you willingly let the preacher stomp on your toes? Do you pray for
him? Titus 1:1,
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of
the truth which is after godliness... “According to the faith of God’s
elect”: does this indicate that Paul (& God) are saying that he got where
he was because of the prayers and faith of people before he was saved? The
people he was killing were praying that he’d get saved and live with the same
zeal he was using against them?? Lesson:
Believe in the potential of God’s ability.
Pray BIG prayers. Also, love your enemies, since they are not really
against you, but rather, are against God.
- Wednesday, 7/11/18 Acts
10:2, A devout man, and one that feared
God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God
alway. God records this summation of the life of the unsaved Roman soldier
Cornelius. Would His summation of you or I be as good?? (OUCH!!!) Matthew 15:33, And his disciples say unto him, Whence
should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
What followed was the feeding of the 4000. It’s interesting that none of the 12
said, “Hey Jesus, a few weeks ago you fed a similar crowd with similar
provisions. Can you do it again?” Before
we criticize them, how often do we fail to depend on Christ to do what He has
done in the lives of people we know or have heard testify or what He did in the
Bible? So often, prayer and depending on God to do a miracle is the last thing
on our minds...just like here. So, we must FINALLY learn the truths that we
know so well. We also should give
ourselves and others a little slack: these same men “turned the world upside
down” just a decade or so later. Keep on learning and putting into practice the
truths you’ve been exposed to this week... “Little by little; inch by inch...”
- Thursday, 7/12/18 Have
you ever said, “Oh, that I just knew the Lord was listening to me...” Well,
here’s an idea: go to where He lives. Psalm 22:3, But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Praise gets His attention and presence like few other things. Acts
11:1, And the apostles and brethren that
were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
Question for each of us: are your ears more likely to search out good positive
spiritual news or gossip? Is your tongue more likely to give out good positive
spiritual news or gossip? Which do you your friends feel most comfortable
sharing with you? Which do they expect most often from you? Are you a sweet
fountain or a bitter fountain? (James 3:11, Doth a fountain send forth at the
same place sweet water and bitter?)
- Friday, 7/13/18 Psalm
22:24, For he hath not despised nor
abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from
him; but when [Israel] cried unto him, he heard. We’ve all had times of
feeling abandoned. Maybe memorize/highlight this verse. God’s silence doesn’t
mean God’s ignorance. 1
Samuel 27:1, And David said in his heart,
I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me
than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul
shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I
escape out of his hand. Yes, David made his own choices, but the sinful
actions of another believer drove him to despair and made sin seem like a
viable option. Are you so treating another believer that they feel friendless,
and that there is no one who believes in them, and that even the “good
Christians” are totally against them. I can totally understand David’s actions
here... "Well, I don't mean them
any harm..." But if their spirit is
wounded, you may have to go WWAAAYYYY overboard in proving your love to get them
to even MAYBE believe it a little. (WWJD?)
- Saturday, 7/14/18
Proverbs 9:3b-4a, [Wisdom] crieth
upon the highest places of the city, Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither.
The only requirement to have wisdom speak with you is being honest and humble
enough to know that you don’t know her. Are you? I hope I am...it’s a daily
task to remember and humble. Judges
16:6, And Delilah said to Samson, Tell
me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest
be bound to afflict thee. Sin makes us stupid: plain and simple. Perhaps
sexual sins are more prone to doing that. Remember that it was said of Samson
more frequently than any other Old Testament character that the Holy Spirit
came upon him. So, your sin and my sin will make us do things that, to an
objective observer, are asinine. Our task is to not be so arrogant as to shut
out those who love us who’re trying to point out the obvious. Delilah was
playing him...but he didn’t see it. Open your eyes, or trust the eyes of the
one you trust.
- Sunday, 7/15/18
Proverbs 9:9a, Give instruction to
a wise man, and he will be yet wiser. Implied here is that the counsellor
doesn’t simply tell WHAT to do, but WHY to do, and HOW to do, and HOW to make
the decision next time, i.e. teach principles of decision making. Matthew
8:21b-22, ...and I forgive him? till
seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but,
Until seventy times seven. Can you imagine how many arguments, divorces,
split friendships, stress induced heart attacks, sleepless nights, ulcers, etc.
would be prevented if just you and I, forget the rest of the church, just YOU
and I would even TRY to put this verse into practice? How could we (apart from
setting aside our pride...) HOW could we begin to get this verse to the
forefront of our daily thinking?
- Monday, 7/16/18 Judges
21:25, In those days there was no king in
Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. If EVERY man
did it, that means that yours and my eyes CANNOT be trusted. Are you willing to
let godly others see your actions and advise accordingly? Judges
20:12-13, And the tribes of Israel sent
men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is
done among you? Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which
are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel.
But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren
the children of Israel... The tribe
of Benjamin included some horrendous perverts, but instead of delivering them
up to face the punishment for their crimes, Benjamin started a civil war and
almost all them died. Even if it is family or close friends, the law is still
the law. We’re to be truth-FULL believers first, and put our human
relationships secondary to our relationship to God. They stood for blood
instead of for God.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bible thoughts from some others:
- Modern day Christianity would have us believe
that when we get to Heaven God will say, “Well loved!” But I still long to hear
Him say, “Well done.” That’s what Christ said He will say.
- Ps 69:17, And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me
speedily. I wonder how often we come to God like this, and I wonder if He
ever gets tired of bailing us out of emergency predicaments (that are all too
often due to our own making.)
- Pro 10:9, He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his
way shall be known. It isn’t long before what a person is and does is known
for all to see. Right will be obvious, and wrong can only be hid for so long.
- Luke 2:49, And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I
must be about my Father’s business? Our Lord was quick to remind Mary and
to let the world know that God and not Joseph was His Father. We need to be
careful to protect His diety.
- Pro 14:25, A true witness delivereth souls, but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
Both in the church house and in the world this is very true. Fake news can be
heard in both places, but good news is also available to those who are
listening for it.
- Ps 73;26, My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and
my portion for ever. With age and the passing of time this is what we all
will face, but PTL that our God never fails and is an ever present source of
strength and help.
- Pro 16:20, He that hardeneth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in
the Lord, happy is he. When we make wise decisions based on God’s word, we
find good: and our degree of true happiness will depend on our faith and trust
in Him. This would explain much of the unhappiness and frustration in our world
today.
- 1 Chron
10:13-14, So Saul died for his
transgression which he committed against the Lord...and enquired not of the
Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David... The
consequences for disobedience to the commands of God will cost you and your family.
- Don't accuse
God of tempting you when he is only testing you.
- Jesus took
the blame although he was innocent, yet we often refuse to accept the blame
even when we are guilty.
- Your
unforgiving spirit grieves God more than it hurts the one you refuse to
forgive.
- The pain you
feel is not from the hurt someone inflicted on you. It is the pain from
resisting God in forgiving that person and to use it for his glory.
- Jesus sent
us another Comforter because He assumed we would be uncomfortable in this
world.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Miscellaneous
thoughts from others:
- A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than
the one who only knows your smiles.
- If you think you’ve blown apart God’s plan for your life, rest
assured, my dear friend, you’re not that powerful!!
- Everyone at times will fall into the quicksands of depression.
Some will continue to sink deeper into despondency. Some will get out. There are several things that can be done to
get out. One of those things is to find someone (friend or foe) and be a
blessing to them. I mean love them out of their pit of despair. When I do this, I'm out! Now, I may slip again
and start sinking into another slimepit of my own, even before end of day. But
I know how to get out! You don't have to stay there. Depression is an epidemic
even among the "elect." There
are several other things I do, but my #1 go-to is right up there.
- Soft-hearted people are not fools: they know what people did to
them and they forgave them again and again because they have beautiful hearts.
- The silent treatment is the result of assuming that the other
person should know and understand how they hurt us, and it violates the very
teaching of Scripture as to how deal with being offended by another. Most of
the time it is used because we don't want to admit how petty the matter that
upset us really is.
- Whoever badly hurt you was probably badly hurt by another, so
you can either start a pattern of forgiveness or continue one of bitterness.
- I know am the chief of sinners, but I strive to be the chief of
repenters as well.
- The strongest person in your life is sometimes afraid. Do not
wrongly think that a few words of encouragement will be wasted on them.
- Today, love someone whom everyone else hates.
- Do those around you know you more by your actions or opinions?
We are to let our light so shine, not so much our opinions.
- Where there is true forgiveness there can be no resentment.
- Why is it that those who quietly walk away from the things of
the Lord are given a pass while those who have a public fall but who try to
come back are often vilified?
- Absence from church is a vote to close its doors.
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Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.