Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 6/30/20  What is the focus of your life? What are you spending your life doing?

Providing a good living? A nice house? Personal comfort while being with your family? What is your life all about? John 15:13, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Would you consider laying it down?                             Verses by which to measure our spiritual level #13:  Luke 16:15, And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.  In the areas of dress, entertainment, hobbies, music, goals, forgiveness, and a hundred others, we must honestly evaluate if we’re more interested in man’s approval or God’s. Are they or He more likely to approve of (fill in the blank / determine the issue)? Whose opinion TRULY influences our daily choices more?

- Wednesday, 7/1/20  John 15:17, These things I command you, that ye love one another. Two truths here: 1) Love is a direct command to each of us from the Master. And, 2) love is an action verb, not a feeling. We’re to DO love, not FEEL it.                                  Verses by which to measure our spiritual level #14:  Psalm 10:4b, The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. A characteristic of a wicked man is a lack of a constant awareness of God. We all fall short here, so there is zero justification for any of us being haughty or feeling “superior” to our brother. We won’t grow if we won’t first see how short we are. How short are you? How can you improve...no, really: HOW?? TODAY??

- Thursday, 7/2/20  Psalm 51:6, Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Introspection time: how’re your inward, hidden parts? Got some dust, mildew, mold, and cobwebs? Only you can answer and only you can clean. Ask for a 2^nd opinion: His.                                    Verses by which to measure our spiritual level #15:  Psalm 34:2b, My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  Are you glad when another publicly, vocally praises God, or does it irk you? That reveals humility (or a lack thereof.)

- Friday, 7/3/20  Psalm 119:102, I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. A soon-to-be shaken Christian doesn’t have (much) time for Bible reading. A good Christian reads his Bible (a lot) every day. The wise Christian asks God to speak to him before reading.                               John 14:27, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. This is a COMMAND, so we can choose to obey it. Now, certain situations may have the potential to bring trouble or fear, but NOT IF WE DON’T THINK ABOUT THEM. To a degree, keep your head in the sand. If we don’t look out the window or listen to the forecast, we don’t know about the possibility of tornadoes. Your Father is holding you: quit the fear and panic. Control (or redirect) your thinking. Door A has peace; Doors B & C have trouble and fear. It’s your choice. (Yes, Virginia, it REALLY is that simple.)

- Saturday, 7/4/20  Proverbs 27:3-4a, A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous... (Especially) men, we’ve all got an anger problem. God says it’s a burden to those around us as well as cruel and non-sensical. Admission and confession are the first steps.                                    Matthew 5:18, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Let’s be honest: do you still act (dress, sing, worship, evangelize, love, work, forgive) the way you used to? Remember your standards of behavior back in Christian school or college, or when you were on fire as a teenager? What has changed? Were the standards wrong? (And that is a possibility.) Did your understanding of the verses you originally based your action on change? (Also a possibility.) Did the Bible and God’s desires change? (Not a possibility.) Or, did your level of dedication and commitment change? (Bigger possibility.) There is no blanket answer...and no one can answer for another, but may I suggest that you and the Lord have an honest heart-to-heart?

- Sunday, 7/5/20  Matthew 5:14, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Very simply, how bright is your light these days? Or, are you shading with a very heavy dark cover so no one could get any benefit from it. (Are there more gathering around your light than 5, 10 years ago?) Most of us need to greatly increase our wattage...                                    Those of us who are spiritual and conservative and patriotic are, to some degree, distressed and maybe even a little fearful for how quickly things are deteriorating in our country, and how quickly and how vehemently the wicked, liberal, wacko crowd is ascending. However, it was foretold:  Luke 6:22, Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Though none of us want to suffer, overall, things will get MUCH WORSE before they get better. Now, sometime in that worsening, Christ will come back and take His own to Heaven: we’ll just disappear without warning. I hope it’s today, but we’ve got to be prepared for worsening times AND MAINTAIN our joy and faith. God’s not distressed, and He still expects His people to act like His people. (The next verse says, "Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."

- Monday, 7/6/20  Luke 6:27-28, But I say unto you which hear, Love...do good to...bless them...and pray for [people mistreating us]. Perhaps there has never been a more likely time than today in the last century where we will have the opportunity to obey (or not) this verse.                                  John 17:18,  As thou hast sent me into the world (because of extreme need; to do what only He could do; to not be appreciated nor for His actions to be accepted by the majority), even so (in like fashion) have I also sent them into the world. He didn’t refuse His Father; will you? (Ouch!!) (Reread the interpretations that I inserted in the verse.)