Sunday, 1/3/16 Job 4:8, Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. Eliphaz points out a universal truth, but his fault is in assessing the nature of what is reaped. “Bad” things seems to happen to God’s children which are really good. Think of Joseph in Genesis; Daniel in the lion’s den; Jesus on the Cross; John on Patmos. Job 4:5-6, But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest: it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? Paraphrase: “Job, you’ve preached good sermons to us about handling problems but you’re not taking it well now that the shoe is on the other foot. You ‘feared’ it would be like this; your ‘confidence’ isn’t as big and secure as you proclaimed; your ‘hope’ is full of doubts and questions; and your ‘uprightness’ is bending down a bit.” (Eliphaz’ conclusion was therefore that Job was a insincere, hypocritical sinner.) Lessons for us today (and all of us who have ever tried to encourage someone in the midst of a heartache have stepped into the shoes of the preacher at times): 1Be slow to criticize others who’re in a storm, even if, and maybe especially if, they’re the preachers/friends who’ve advised others how to handle storms. (Remember that each one’s storms are custom designed by God or Satan, and allowed by God, to test us to our extremes. The weight you struggle with, I might lift easily...this year. And vice-versa.) 2Be more vigilant to reinforce the substance of your life than to perfect your sermons to others about dealing with problems. In other words, analyze whether your walk needs some adjustments before everyone else sees that it does, and then comes to the conclusion that all that you have said is silly. 3Be full of mercy and grace toward those whose walk may not quite match their talk. 4Just because someone’s walk doesn’t match their talk, their talk may still be valid. If a doctor who weighs 350#, eats 3 double cheeseburgers every day, smokes like a chimney, and whose exercise consists of pushing a button on the remote tells his patient to lose weight, eat right, and exercise, it’s valid advice, even if doc doesn’t take it himself. That he falls over dead next week of a heart attack doesn’t invalidate his message: it confirms it.
Monday, 1/4/16 Mic 7:18-19, Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Can I get an “Amen”!!?? A careful, honest, proper examination can be helpful.Pro 31:3, Give not thy strength unto women, or thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink. The people, leaders that you know who’ve drifted or fallen out of church and/or into sin: figure out why it happened and see if you have any of the same seeds growing in your garden. “It’s not rocket science, people.”
Tuesday, 1/5/16 Ps 133:1, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! “Unity”: a unit, united, together. Are you in “unity” with those under your same roof? Are you “on the same team” or just “strangers riding the same train”? Ezr 7:6, This Ezra...was a ready scribe in the law of Moses... Being a scribe was his occupation: he was the Xerox copier of the day. He was ready, eager, prepared for his daily duties. Are you a ready truck driver? A ready receptionist? A ready clerk? A ready teacher? A ready nurse? A ready executive assistant? A ready salesman? A ready parent?
Wednesday, 1/6/16 Ps 136 is hard to read smoothly. It’s as if God keeps interrupting the thought flow to remind us that, his mercy endureth forever. I guess He thinks it should be a point of emphasis that we can never out-sin His mercy; we’ll never stray beyond the reach of His mercy; and we’ll never outlive His mercy. Did you ever read your Bible/sit in church and feel that it was a waste of time? Maybe for months, or even years? John 13:7, Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Some truth that you are exposed to today is not for today: it’s for later, but you’re to learn it today. For years, I read my Bible and sat in church...no big deal. Now, I can hardly sit in a SS class or a service or open my Bible without thought after thought popping off the pages. Most of the thoughts I post on a daily basis have as their foundation all of those months and years, and yes, decades, of “wasted” time. What’s the lesson: be faithful today doing what you’re supposed to do, and the fruit will show “hereafter.”
Thursday, 1/7/16 Pro 5:2, That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. Getting wisdom and understanding (verse 1) is the key that unlocks the door to valuing discretion (the ability to judge what is correct, proper, or appropriate) and keeping silence. Rom 12:15,Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Are you capable of allowing another to celebrate without raining on their parade, or do you always have to “provide the voice of reason”? For example: “I got a promotion!” “Well, now you’ll be in the higher tax bracket...” “My wife and I are expecting!!” “Birth defects are up 24% in this county this decade...” “I got an A on the test!!” “Must be nice to be the teacher’s pet...” All I have to say to that garbage is: Shame on you and your selfishness!!!
Friday, 1/8/16 Pro 7:2a, Keep my commandments and live. Rom 6:23a, For the wages of sin is death. Both verses are written to born-again believers. Yes, it really is that simple. Ps 143:8a, Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning. The heavens declare His glory; nature is part of His wondrous works; but the only place to hear of His lovingkindness is via the pages of your Bible. So...have you heard anything cool today? (BTW, occasionally read aloud to yourself. “Hear”)
Saturday, 1/9/15 Ps 143:8b, Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Getting direction in life comes from a close association with His word and prayer...that’s so simple to say, but harder to live, but GO DO SOMETHING HARD TODAY!! How to get noticed by, chosen by, and used by God in a great way: be busy serving and working today where you are. Acts 13:2, As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. So, the question comes...is God “reviewing your resume” for a promotion?
Sunday, 1/10/15 Ps 143:10, Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God. A student has assigned classwork, homework, long-term projects, tests, and is given a lot of (usually negative) feedback, correction, and exhortation. The Christian life is “God’s class”...why do we expect His school to be all recess and treats? Judg 17:2, and he said unto his mother, the 1100 shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son. The lady blessed her son in the name of Jehovah, but then made a silver and a wooden statue/idol. I believe her fault (and the fault of many of us today to one degree or another) was, 1Wanting a God she could fully understand, 2wanting a God on her terms and not as He truly revealed Himself in the Bible, and 3wanting a God who didn’t “talk back”, i.e. make demands upon her. In other words, she wanted rights without responsibility. (Try that in your marriage, your child rearing, your employment, your citizenry...nowhere else does it work or is accepted...why do we try it with God?)
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Miscellaneous thoughts from others:
- If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light your path?
- When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you're right in the center of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.
- Suffering is just as much God’s will as blessing.
- Most people have no plan at all. What is your financial plan? What is your family plan? What is your faith plan? If you have to think hard to gather your thoughts for a response, you have no plan. People with plans, are usually in stride and can explain the very details of its structure. To fail to plan is a plan to fail.
- Making the "hard choice" now actually makes life easier later. Making the "easy choice" now actually makes life harder later. Be it Faith, Finances or Family, our free wills set up our Future.
- No successful business can thrive on tardiness. A leader who is tardy will produce a tardy follower and eventually a no-show. Pastors, teachers, ministry leaders, parents: today's investment never pays today. It pays later and it pays greater.
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Bible thoughts from some others:
- Bible thoughts! Ps 6:4, Return, O Lord , deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake." “Return”? Where did the Lord go?? Why does it seem He's so far away at times? We ask ourselves this question often, when in reality the truth is He never even left our side in the first place! God is ALWAYS near, and He never changes!
- Pro 4:25, Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Let's face it. A lot of us have shiny object syndrome - just like Dory on Finding Nemo! I'm going to work on focusing more. How 'bout you?
- Pro 6:10, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. Nothing is quite as overrated and done in excess more than is sleep, relaxation, and loafing in our world today. We need to worry more about hard work and less about free time, time off for sleep, and relaxation. I’d rather wear out than rust out.
- Pro 7:2, Keep my commandments and live, and my law as the apple of thine eye. God’s word is not only to be kept and obeyed, but it is to be our delight and to be more appealing than any other activity in our lives. If we would live life to the fullest, we must give God’s word top priority.
- So many times, and often in songs, we're told to “trust, or follow, your heart". That's a fallacy!! Otherwise, we would not have to “Bind them (the father's commandments, the mother's law, God's word) CONTINUALLY upon thine heart! IMHO, one reason is they're supposed to act like a Litmus test against our decisions. Pro 6:20-21, My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
- Moses “went to bat" for his subordinates...and God obliged him. Question: how many times have you or I pleaded someone's case before God: even our nation, the USA??!! Num 14:19-20, Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word.
- Psalm 90:12, So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. King David recognized the need to set up this priority of using his time wisely to seek after wisdom--we should too. What DO you do with your time when you're not at work or when you're asleep? It's impossible to seek after wisdom when I'm asleep, and nearly impossible to do when I'm working. That covers around 16 hours of my day right there. You are who you REALLY are when you're off. If we claim to be a follower of Christ, how much time do we spend (in our off time) doing it?
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Contact me at baptistcity@gmail.com for information on subscribing to the weekly email or daily text messages from Terry.