Baptist City Blog

Sunday, 11/15/15  Mark 4:3, Hearken, Behold, there went out a sower to sow... Being willing to grow isn’t enough; being in the hand of the Sower isn’t enough; being placed on good dirt isn’t enough. The seed must be submerged, hidden, unseen, forgotten...destroyed. That’s enough.          Rom 3:1a, 2, What advantage then hath the Jew? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. To the degree that you access, use, and emphasize the Bible in your life, you have an advantage over others in that area.

Monday, 11/16/15  2 Chron 18:1, Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance, and joined affinity with [wicked] Ahab. Take your spiritual temperature when things are going well for you, and be honest. Oftentimes, we bend the rules for ourselves when all is going well.         We need to be able to derive principles for our lives from the Civil Laws of the OT. (That’s why God left them in the Bible for us in 2015...otherwise it's just boring reading...)  Are you ready for some homework? Read Exodus 22. Now, find verses and derive principles to teach re these scenarios: if you watch my dog during our vacation, and something happens it him, or if I borrow your lawnmower, vs. if I hire you to mow my grass while I’m gone and the mower dies: who does what? What is your responsibility? Mine? See v7-9 compared to v10-11; v12, 13, 14-15.  Also, reword 23:8 for modern usage. Try it!!

Tuesday, 11/17/15  If you’re saved, you’re a servant of God. Now, the question is, Into which of the 2 categories of “servant” do you fit? Matt 25:21, 23, 26, His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant... His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant... You are one or the other...        Matt 25:14, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. Notice: what was given was the master’s goods. V15, And unto one he gave 5 talents... What you have an enjoy is not yours: it was His and is His and you’ll give account for how you used it.

Wednesday, 11/18/15  We’ve all felt abandoned and alone, without God, so...we usually stop praying, right? (Often with the attitude of “If You ignore me, I’ll ignore You!”) Ps 145:18, The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him. By faith, realize He’s nigh...IGNORE YOUR FEELINGS!!            Ps 147:6, The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. He doesn’t cast down the wicked in punishment, but to make them meek so He can receive them. He wants EVERYONE close to Himself; He loves EVERYONE.

Thursday, 11/19/15  Mark 13:36, Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch. Are you sleeping or watching? Are you off duty or on alert? Are you about your business or the Master’s business? I think too many of us far too often are on break, off for the day, or on an extended vacation.        Pro 14:12, There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.  (This may offend some, but I hold no ill will.)  False religion (perversions of Bible Christianity [Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witness, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventists, most Protestantism denominations], Islam, eastern religions) are simply a spiritual placebo: a sugar pill that makes you think you’re doing rightly but one which is actually worthless.  Being granted an entrance into Heaven is not earned by good people doing good deeds: it is a gift received by bad people acknowledging His good deeds. Having God’s favor is not achieved by dotting every religious “i” and crossing every denominational “t,” it is by having a proper relationship with a real Person.  Do you K-N-O-W, 100% that you’re going to Heaven the moment you die? If you don’t quit trying to reason it out your way, and allow me to show you the Bible way (not the Baptist way) to Heaven. Message me, ASAP.

Friday, 11/20/15  And the winner for “The most encouraging single word in the Bible” is...?  “Yet.” Despite the raging of the heathen, Ps 2:6 says, Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. God is not troubled nor hindered. Dear Christian, you just do right today, and you’ll be glad when you see Him...(tomorrow?)           Rev 8:1, And when he had opened the 7^th seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. Silence in Glory…the angels stopped praising; recent arrivals to that Land stopped talking to loved ones; all singing stopped. What causes silence in a huge, joyous, secure, healthy crowd? Fear, tension, dread; awe/wonderment; incredulity; anticipation; a command; total focus on one thing/interest? Any or all of these may be true: the Bible doesn’t give the specifics. However, the 7 trumpet judgments that follow are horrible, and they’re followed by 7 Thunders and 7 Bowls which are even worse, yet there was not a repeat of the silence. Was God and His mounting fury the cause of the silence? (You’d tiptoe around the house if Dad was in a furious mood, wouldn’t you?) Did the last 21 judgments unfold so rapidly that there was no time to catch their breath? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I know I’ll be one of the silent ones. Since September 8, 1983, I’ve been 1 heartbeat away from a guaranteed place in Heaven. Not because I’m good because I’m not: not in the least. Any goodness that I have came from God working in me. I’m a corrupt, wicked man, but one who is born again and on my way to Heaven. Do YOU know that you’re absolutely 100% assured of going to Heaven when you die? “Oh, I’ll worry about it later…” Your casket may have been unloaded at the funeral home yesterday…you don’t know. Accidents happen. Heart attacks don’t send a 48-hour notice. Terrorists strike. If you don’t know for sure that if you died today that you’d go to Heaven, message me or call me…NOW.

Saturday, 11/21/15  A reminder that we are to be afraid of God: Ps 2:12, Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when is wrath is kindled but a little. He is loving and kind, but He is not to be trifled with.          I wonder if tears of laughter are flowing down God’s cheeks these days? Ps 2:1-4, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords form us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. God’s will and way will win...do you KNOW you’re on the same page as He is?

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- Honesty doesn't have to be mean.

- Sunday is the "wedding rehearsal" of the Rapture. It is the day that the Bride and Groom prepares for the real thing! The church is the Bride; not the building, but the believers gathering. Are you preparing?

- The key to Christian growth is not in being fed but in feeding. You do not mature by intake but by exercising what you are taking in. Do not seek a church where you can be fed forever but one where you can become one who feeds others. A good church is not where the people say, "Feed me," but rather, "Let me feed others."

- Often we cannot hear God speaking through His Word because of the noise...no not the noise around us, but the noise in our heads. Before you get into the Word, "Be still and know..." That is more than a physical stillness. It is a mental stillness. Take a few minutes to still your mind before reading the Word. That is why morning is good because your mind has been stilled through the night.

- God calls us to be ambassadors in this strange land not tourists.

- Grace is not best revealed when I treat others well. It is best revealed when others treat me wrong.

- Our greatest strength should be our ability to admit our weaknesses to God.

- If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth; only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.

- Failure is not found in the falling down, but it is found in the staying down.

- Why do we think it fine to question our afflictions but never to question our blessings?

- Your existence is not accidental. Your skills are not incidental. God shaped your destiny, so don't settle for someone else's story.

- Your best shot at having a beautiful marriage is if both of you make it your goal to become more like Jesus.

- “Even beasts of burden must be turned out to grass occasionally. The very sea pauses at ebb and flood. Earth keeps the Sabbath of the wintery months, and man, even when exalted to God’s ambassador, must rest or faint, must trim his lamp or let it burn low, must recruit his vigor or grow prematurely old. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.” Charles Spurgeon.

- Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.

- Never be surprised at what a sinner will do; whether a saved sinner or an unsaved sinner!

- The wrong crowd with the right man in it makes the right man look like the wrong crowd.

- Some churches are so consumed looking for sinners on the inside that they have forgotten to seek for them on the outside.

- Have you noticed how little Jesus really spoke about Himself and when He did it was in context to His Father or to others. Yet, often we tell people too much about our lives rather than speaking of them and of the Lord. Try diverting conversation away from yourself today. Not talking about yourself as much will also mean that you are not thinking as much about yourself. It will amaze you how different life will become by making this one little adjustment. Try it today and remember, "he that refraineth his lips is wise."

- I had a convicting thought recently: At the end of my day, do I choose to spend a little time on fb, or a little face time in the Book? Just a thought, right.

- Actions speak louder than words, but so does inaction.

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- Acts 12:23, And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. My thought today is more of a query. I wonder what was so unique here that caused him to be smitten; as opposed to any other leaders throughout history who do not give God the glory.

- Luke 9:20, He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter said, The Christ of God. This is the same question that each of us must answer before God and the world today! Not only who is He, but what place does He occupy in our lives? It is more than just words that we say.

- Ps 57:11, Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth. When troubles come, we need to see the greatness of our God, and not dwell so much on troubles. Read about Him; think about Him; and remind ourselves of all He has done for us.

- For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. There will be a day when we will wish we’d been more vocal, open, and supportive of Jesus and His words!

- Pro 13:22a, A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children. I wonder what we are leaving our grandchildren: just wealth, or a good name, honesty, a strong work ethic, love, a passion for God, a burden for lost sinners, and a love for God’s word?

- Pro 16:28, A froward man soweth strife, and a whisperer separateth chief friends. Idle talk and gossip destroys friendships.

- Have you strayed from the presence of God? Have you lost that sweet fellowship with your Abba Father? "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." Lamentations 3:40-41. Draw near to God — and He will draw near to you!

- 1 Peter 4:8a, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves.”  1 Corinthians 13 tells us a lot about what charity is. Fervent means, “vehement; ardent; very warm; earnest; excited; animated; glowing.” I wonder much more better people would be if I had FERVENT charity towards them?

- John 6:26-27, “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” Am I seeking Jesus (praying) just to satisfy my own physical or earthly wants; or because of a desire to increase the kingdom of God?

- Bible thoughts! Phil 1:6, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. For some reason I needed something that I could desperately hang on to throughout the day and God gave me this particular verse! Some days we feel like complete failures, but we are not, not in God's eyes, anyway! His opinion is what truly matters!

- Pro 17:10, A reproof entereth more into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool. Words of loving, constructive criticism are more effective and better accepted than is harsh/severe correction, or punishment to a fool.