Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 4/24/18  Proverbs 16:2, All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. Remember that my opinion, your opinion matter little. What does God say specifically? What general principles does He teach? Run things through an objective counsellor who knows Him. 
                         Did you ever think about how big of a Failure Jesus is?  John 3:17, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He did all that He did so everyone might be saved, but most won’t be. But, no one will be able to say that He didn’t do all He could.  Lesson: with people, we must do all we can and should, but don’t beat ourselves up if they make the wrong choices. Some people will never like you or forgive you or give you a chance or wish to reconcile with you or admit that you were right...IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT.

 

- Wednesday, 4/25/18  Zephaniah 3:12, I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. Faith is the only thing that pleases God...NOT our happiness because of prosperity and ease. So if “bad” circumstances bring trust (& t/f faith, & t/f His happiness), He’ll bring the bad.                Habakkuk 1:5-6a, Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation... God can and will use unlikely sources to accomplish His will. Here, He used a very wicked nation: Babylon. God will use bitterness and anger and divorce and strife and sickness to accomplish His goals in His servants. That goal/work may be the humbling of the servant. It may be the exposing of the sins of the servant. It may be the molding and building of patience in the servant. His methods and means may be distasteful, but the master knows the product He desires to forge, and He knows the best recipe to make that dish in our lives. So, don’t be so sure that the ungodly negative “just CAN’T be from God...” It very well may be, directly, or, He’s using circumstances that another’s sins brought. Yes, He can and will use another’s sins to hone us to a sharp edge. Babylon walked to His tune, though they did not know it.

 

- Thursday, 4/26/18  Psalm 17:4, “...by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Notice that it’s our job to protect ourselves. God’s given us the wherewithal to do so, but it’s up to us to avail ourselves of it. That Book is all that stands between us and heartache, uselessness, and despair...deepen your love for it, and your devotion to it.                         Acts 23:11, And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. How good is God? He'd warned Paul repeatedly NOT to go back to Jerusalem, and Paul arrogantly, rebelliously defied Him. So... He immediately crafts a new plan for Paul. Since God's no respecter of persons, He'll do the same for us after we rebelliously blow up our lives. So, if you’ve fallen in a pit that you yourself dug (like I am), there is love extended and hope to hang onto.

 

- Friday, 4/27/18  Psalm 89:1a, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever. If this is true, then why not start today? Forever starts NOW. Tell someone in the next 24 hours about His freely offered mercy. Will you? No one we will see in eternity will need His mercy, but many need it today.                          In the eternal realm, all of our shortcomings and sins are washed away and won’t be mentioned ever again. However, on this plain of time, God is very aware of and will not hesitate to mention our negatives along with our positives. Revelation 2:2-4a, I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee... If we won’t acknowledge and deal with our shortcomings (failures, anger, pride, sin, unforgiveness) privately with Him, He is very able and comfortable with exposing our sins to the public and forcing the issue. Your choice: you may talk to Daddy in private in your prayer closet...or at the dinner table in front of the whole family, and maybe, the whole town.

 

- Saturday, 4/28/17  Psalm 90:3, Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. The first step toward getting right with Him may be a step into disaster. Unfortunately, we often need to be roughed up before we’ll listen to His “still small voice.” Don’t make Him play roughly: submit today.                               The question is often asked, “What will we do in Heaven for all eternity?”  Ephesians 2:7, That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. We will be the recipients of the infinite love of God driven by His infinite imagination and backed by His infinite resources. What’ll we do? We’ll spend eternity getting spoiled rotten by being surprised over and over and over again. It’ll be AWESOME!! Re-read the verse.

 

- Sunday, 4/29/18  Ruth 1:19b-20, Is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. Pain is a fact of life, but misery is a choice.  In our hurts, we must discern lessons to be learned, and allow our faith and patience to be developed. It’s not about your hurt stopping: it’s about God’s purposes progressing. We’re to glorify God even in our grief and pain.                            Revelation 6:9-10, And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? This was written 1900 years ago and the events are still at least 3 years in the future. God knew what they’d go through and what they’d say. Since He’s no Respecter of persons, like with these people, He knew 2000 years ago what you and I would be going through today, and He orchestrated events to cause it...for ultimate purpose(s) that we may not see. (These people were impatient for justice to be given to their murderers...and we’re often not satisfied with, and don’t agree with, God’s timing in our lives.) By faith, we must remember that He knows of our status; He’s doing things on purpose and FOR HIS PURPOSE(S); and He’s right in all He does.                                     Psalm 96:1, O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. A simple thought: for composers to write the new song, they must be encouraged (in other words don’t laugh at their first, second, and third attempts/drafts) in their efforts; their attempts must be applauded (Don’t say, “What’s wrong with the old tried and true songs?”); and effort must be made to assist: to write the music or learn it; help teach it, etc. Are you doing YOUR part to help others obey this commandment?

 

- Monday, 4/30/18  Deuteronomy 2:2-3, And the Lord spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. Read carefully: most of the 38 years of wandering in the wilderness was spent literally walking in circles around 1 mountain. Our rebellion is stupid and the consequences are hard.                            Deuteronomy 2:1, Then (after rebelling and trying to fight to enter the land), WE turned, and took OUR journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto ME: and WE compassed mount Seir many days. The people’s arrogance and rebellion caused God’s anger and judgment, but He still gave them a man of God. Have you thanked God for your pastor recently? What have you done to express your gratitude to Him (and him) and to lighten His load?                                       Psalm 96:1, O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. For you musical types, the content/criteria of this new song is given in the following verses:  v2: it’s for the Lord; it’s to bless His name; it’s to lift up His salvation. V3-6: Brag on Him specifically. V7-9: exhort God’s people to be holier and serve Him more fervently. V10-13: speak of His eventual victory; make it a happy song; tell of His return.

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- Ps 3:6, I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. In a day when terrorism abounds and hatred for godliness and right is at every hand, it is more important than ever that we have a strong faith in our God.

 

- Mark 12:44, But all they did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even her living. It isn’t how much we give that impresses God, but how much it cost us. To whom do we give and why do we give it?

 

- Pro 1:19, So are the ways of everyone that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners. We need to be aware of the motives and methods of the greedy, whether in business, government, or daily life. They’re all the same, and that’s the trouble our President is dealing with. He needs our prayers.

 

- An all too familiar scene in Christendom in 2018! To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries,” Acts 8:10-11.

 

- Even for some of the best Christians, it takes a storm, an earthquake and a fire to get their attention so they can hear that still small Voice.

 

- If you put God off, then know of assurity that He will not be there at your whims. The manna was always on, never off schedule!

 

- I can’t change the past, but I can deal with it correctly so it doesn’t ruin today or tomorrow. Work through what you’ve been through. Clean out the wounds so nothing festers. (That means to forgive.) Let go of what you cannot change. Don’t let bitterness, unforgiveness, or anger take root.

 

- The Devil will try to limit our praying because he knows our praying will limit him.

 

- Great trials are the fertile ground of great faith. Great faith is the root system for great works.

 

- Christian going through a tough time you are not being punished. You are being taught. That is what chastening is and does and even the best among us needs a lot of it.

 

- Once you have confessed your sins you are clean no matter how dirty others may accuse you of being.

 

- "I cannot forget what they did to me." But, you can choose not to remember. That is what our God does for us.

 

- When God wants you to grow, He makes you uncomfortable. John 12:24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

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- Givers have to learn to set limits cuz takers don’t have any.

 

- Work: the world’s best morale booster!

 

- A false profession in Christ will wear a man down to a pitiful state. Faking joy is utterly exhausting.

 

- If you are unhappy, but you used to be happy, then stop what you are doing now and do what you used to do.

 

- I hire men who don't have to be told what to do but who do not rebel when told what to do. ~Jack Hyles

 

- If you get wise counsel, but do not follow it, then when consequences strike, the maintenance counsel will be ineffective. ER counsel may now be in order.

 

- Don't teach your boys to be what a woman wants and don't teach your girls to be what a man wants. Teach them to be what God wants and that will take care of the other.

 

- The more we commit the same sin the more Satan tempts us with the idea that we cannot be forgiven. That is a lie. God forgives as much the 1,000th time as he does the first as long as we keep confessing.

 

- There are no tragedies too great for God. There are no wounds that God can’t heal. There are no blemishes beyond God’s miraculous touch. There are no shattered lives that God can’t repair.

 

- It would be so much easier if we only had to forgive those things we feel are ‘forgivable’.

 

- If there is ever a time in your life when you better deny yourself, it is when you feel someone has hurt your feelings.

 

- So when has a person hated enough to finally be finished with hating? I mean, can you really live a lifetime with that bitter taste in your mouth?

 

- Strong Christians suffer without complaining; weak Christians complain without suffering.
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- An unforgiving heart, causes an unguarded mouth that unleashes ungodly words.