Baptist City Blog

- Wednesday, 10/21/20  Psalm 40:1, I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. I’m trying to be patient now as I wait. Question for you: do you want

your will in the matter that you’re taking to God or His will? Will you wait until He orchestrates His will or simply leave Him (again)?                                 Malachi 1:1, The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. Realize that, at times, being a pastor is a burden to your pastor. Sometimes, the Lord would have him rebuke us...and, being human, he doesn’t want us to dislike him or take it wrongly. Sometimes, being human, he gets in a rut and simply “does his job.” Oft times, he’s very aware of the discrepancies between the perfect Book he preaches and the imperfect life he lives. In short, love him and pray for him and let him know you’re doing so.

- Tuesday, 10/20/20  Psalm 38:18, For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. Confessing sin is good, but don’t stop there. Iniquity is the permission we give ourselves to commit the act. It’s the root cause of the sin. Figure out WHY you sinned and try to cut it off at the root.                                    Proverbs 15:10, Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die. Since we’re still human, we will be corrected, sometimes justly, sometimes not. Sometimes tactfully, sometimes not. Sometimes by legitimate authority, sometimes not. We all (I) need to work on taking it well regardless of who does it and how they do it.

- Thursday, 10/22/20  Matthew 1:23, Behold, a virgin...shall bring forth a son, and ...call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Jesus was 100% God and 100% human. He didn’t stop being God, but He quit acting as God. If you closed your eyes, you can’t see, but you’re not blind. He “closed His eyes” to being God. He acted as a man totally surrendered to the Holy Spirit and the Father’s will.                         Acts 11:26c, And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. The locals gave them the label of “Christian.” What labels do you claim? A label is supposed to speak of what cannot be seen, and carries with it certain expectations. If I see a sign that says, “Burger King,” I do not expect to be offered Chinese food. Likewise, if I see a broken, dirty sign that says “eet fooode heare” I don’t expect very high quality dining. So what labels do you wear and are they accurate? Are you a Christian? Are you an American? Conservative? Liberal? Baptist? Non-denominational? Fundamentalist? Ecumenical? A lady or just a female? Gentleman or “a guy”? Cynic or encourager? What do you WANT to portray? Quit being a hypocrite: either make the inside match the sign or change the sign to match the inside.

- Friday, 10/23/20  Proverbs 17:3, The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts. He tries our affections, our desires, our fears, our motives...and, He usually uses the “furnace of affliction,” Isaiah 48:10. He’s GONNA do what He does; we can submit sweetly or squawk loudly. Our choice.                              Proverbs 18:2, A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. The fool only wants to talk, never to listen. A fool doesn’t prefer more enlightenment, only to espouse what he already knows. In other words, he’s totally unteachable. Are you foolish? Do you seek out truth? When spoken to, do you listen and consider? Are you very good at saying, “Yeah, but...” or “That’s YOUR interpretation...”?

- Saturday, 10/24/20  1 John 2:4, He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Never lose sight of the FACT that God’s primary communications are DIRECT ORDERS. He doesn’t suggest anything: He commands. So, adherence and obedience are NOT optional. So, how’s your tithing? Soul winning? Forgiveness? Submission? (and 100 other things...)?                         We’ve all prayed some version of “Lord help me!”  Question: what exactly are you wanting Him to do? Really! Specifically... Many times, we’d respond to that question with something like, “I want Him to help me make it; help me be able to take it.” Perhaps He has answered your prayers. No, you’re not at 100%, but you’re still able to limp around. Your “battle wounds” may still ache or bleed a bit, but you’re still able to function. Keep on praying, but limp forward. And, while you’re limping forward, find someone else who’s wounded and help them. 2 Corinthians 12:9a, And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was depressed and alone. God came to him and asked what he was doing there, and Elijah gave a list of what he’d done for God and the situation he was in now (death threats). God’s response? He gave him 4 jobs to do, and then said, almost off-handedly, “And I’ve got 7000 others who’re on our side.” So work while you’re hurting. Win souls while bleeding. Teach that class while questioning. Tithe while contemplating quitting. Limp forward...it hurts just as much as limping backward.

- Sunday, 10/25/20  Psalm 43:3, O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. What is the end goal of your prayer life and walk with God? For most, it’s having some version of a peaceful, prosperous life. Here, David wants to be holy. Course correction needed?                           Luke 3:19, But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done... I’m all for tact and building a relationship with a lost man and winning him to myself, but ultimately, it’s the Law that brings an awareness of sin. The righteousness (holiness) of God leads men to repentance. Be tactful, but call sin sin...and sometimes, there’s no tactful way to say that.

- Monday, 10/26/20  3 John 1, The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Simple question: how long has it been since you told someone (non family) that you loved them? Whether a little indirectly as here, or plainly saying, “I love you”? Rectify the time lapse (many times) today.                              Luke 10:41, And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful...  Each word in the Bible is there on purpose. Martha was trying to prepare food for over a dozen men, but the Lord said that wasn't needful. Is spending time with the Lord ALWAYS more important than eating? Would He have us ALWAYS reading our Bible and never eating? I don't think so: God knows what we need to do physically. It occurred to me that this story may have occurred in mid-afternoon or so. Perhaps she was busy making some snacks. Maybe about 6 p.m. the food would have become "needful." What's the lesson? It's a lesson on priorities. At any given moment, do what is most important instead of lesser importance. Do the best over the good.