Baptist City Blog

Tuesday, 4/26/16  Heb 11:2, For by [faith] the elders obtained a good report. In the Heavenly School of Hard Knocks, faith gets you a passing grade, but in the world’s school, grit and logic and education win. Choose whom will grade you.             Est 1:20, And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all the empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honor, both to great and small. These men were more focused on their wives giving them honor than they were on deserving and earning that honor. Ladies, you’ve got commands to fulfill towards your husbands simply by them being yours, regardless of their “perfection”; men, you, likewise have commands to obey concerning how to treat her. All of us have plenty to deal with on our own plates; we don’t have time to focus on and point out our spouse’s shortcomings.

 

Wednesday, 4/27/16  Pro 19:3, The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord. We all were born foolish and even the best still retain some. Beware of foolishness leaking out or sneaking out despite your best efforts.           Ps 119:76, Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. There’s a bag of comfort with your name on it, and it’s conveyed through His merciful kindness which is communicated through His word. Get your nose in the Book!!

 

Thursday, 4/28/16  Pro 22:13, The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. A man with an excuse is an excuse of a man.          Heb 11:15, And truly, if thy had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. Discipline your mind to never dwell on the “fun” you used to have as an unsaved man or the “sacrifices” that you endure being a good Christian.

 

Friday, 4/29/16  Ps 119:73, Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. God knows how you tick...let Him fix you.           Heb 12:10, For [our earthly fathers] verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but [God] for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. All of God’s kids get spanked, but it’s not to punish us for our sinful ways but to purify us...there is a difference.

 

Saturday,4/30/16  Pro 23:12, Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. Figure YOU out and determine how you can grow to actually enjoy spiritual instruction. (That really is a reachable goal.) Invest in your spiritual learning. “Where your treasure is...”           1 Tim 1:4, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies...so do.  “So do.” How often do you have to be told to do something? If your boss/parent/preacher/Bible said it one time, we are expected to obey.

 

Sunday, 5/1/16  Ps 101:2b, I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. When you come home from work or school, be sure to decompress and leave behind that other world before entering your “real” world at home. Cleanse your heart and mind of the problems and garbage of the day.        1 Tim 2:9-10, In like manner also, that women adorn (decorate) themselves in modest apparel...not with...but...with good works. Ladies, how are you dressed right now? Are you dressed simply in nice modest clothing and a nice hairdo, or do you have on ALL that God wants you to have on? Are you wearing good works?

 

Monday, 5/2/16  Luke 11:1, ...one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray... Have you asked God to help you in your spiritually weak areas? Hint: He won’t wave a magic wand to give you help. Teaching and learning involves studying, especially in THE Textbook.             Just because you can doesn’t mean that you should. Men, you have power over your wife and kids. However, look at this verse: Ps 99:4, The king’s strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. . Execute righteousness, judgment, and be sure of fairness. And, v5, exalt the Lord.

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- If how you feel about a subject is different from what the bible says, change your feelings.

- The man who never reads will never be read; He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves he has no brains of his own.

- If you don't behave as a you believe, you will end up believing as you behave. Faith without works is dead.

- The fiery crucible of pain and suffering purifies and purges the heart of man in preparation for greater usefulness.

- Most Christians have no time to pray, but they have plenty of time to worry!

- Christian, beware of a spirit of entitlement – that God somehow "owes" you because you serve and obey Him. We deserve nothing good! Remember – "It is of the Lord 's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."

- Israel's greatest earthly King had need of moral compass. Minus Samuel and Nathan you have no great King David. It's not better politicians, but faithful preachers who direct the ship of state.

- Often I pray for God to work around me, about me, and for me, when I should be praying for God to work in me. It is human nature for me to ask God to fix everything externally. It is Divine nature for me to ask God to fix me internally. For that was His desire all along!

- Many Christians think they need deliverance when all they really need is discipline.

- One reason that so many people are against the Bible is that it speaks against their TV watching.

- People often get upset when they are taught what the Bible says instead of what they presume the Bible says.

- If you only pray when you’re in trouble, you’re in trouble.

- The only one who can truly satisfy the human heart is the One who made it.

- No one's mind will ever be changed where social issues are concerned, if their heart has not been first changed by the receiver of the ultimate social injustice, Jesus Christ.

- Better than getting right with God is staying right with God by doing right for God.

- Happiness depends upon unstable happenings & is outward; while Joy depends upon an unwavering Christ and is inward.

- Pride is when we think we can do anything without God. Humility is when we realize that God can do everything without us.

- To forgive is to rise above the evil deed one did to us. To not forgive us to sink below it.

- A preacher should be like the surgeon who after surgery doesn't ask, "How did I do?" but "How is the patient."

- Good prayer for today: “Lord let me see just enough of me that I realize my need of Thee, and enough of Thee, that I lose sight of me.”

- Sometimes the sin of a fallen brother really is horribly offensive. It stinks of everything we personally despise. It reeks like stench in our nostrils. The sin seems so despicable as to be without reason to forgive or redeem. That is exactly why we can only restore IF we are spiritual. Only a spiritual person can endure the reeking smell of sin to help a fallen brother. Don't work in the ER if you aren't strong enough to deal with sickening sin situations.

- We as Christians are most often referred to as sheep and dependent children, so why do we so often behave as wolves and stubborn adults?

- Are You a Pig or a Sheep?  A swine falls once and wallows in the slime. A sheep falls over and over again and each time struggles to get back up. You cannot force a pig out of its muck, but that fallen sheep welcomes the assistance of a shepherd to help it get back to its feet no matter how often he falls. The way we recognize one of our Lord's sheep is not that they do not fall, but that they always struggle to get back up. If they just lay there in their sin, well, oink, oink.

- Be happy without a reason and you will eventually discover a reason.

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- A mark of being born again is that we love those who are part of the family of God...not just those who agree with "our camp." Fellow Christian, quit causing unnecessary division by putting down those who don't "cross every 't' and dot every 'i' " like you do.  “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren, 1 John 3:14.

- The reason why contention is more prevalent in the USA is explained in these two verses. Pro 28:4-5, They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.  Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

- Bible thoughts! Ps 32:7, Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. Has the Lord given you a song to sing as He delivered you out of that great trouble you were in? Isn't He just amazing??

- Bible thoughts! Matt 3:17, And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." What's awesome about this is that God says the same thing about you and me! He's a very loving Daddy!

- Bible thoughts! Ps 30:3, O Lord , thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. And exactly how many near death experiences have we had? And how many times was God's hand of protection obvious? Remember that huge truck on the expressway you thought was surely going to run you over? And it didn't? Lol.

- Bible thoughts! Matt 3:4, And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Wow! If God was so concerned with John the Baptists eating habits and choice of clothing, then of course we can say He's just as concerned with ours!

- Bible thoughts! Isa 43:18,  Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. What is it from your past that you're losing sleep over? God doesn't want us to hang unto those things which are old. Look to a bright future instead!!!

- Bible thoughts! Pro 25:28, He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. When the great walls around an ancient city were brought down, the enemy could easily come in to kill and destroy. Let's not allow unclean spirits to come in because we have a bad attitude.

- Somebody had to go into the fire before Nebuchadnezzar could see God. Remember that it’s not always about you: it may be about those watching you.

- Exo 13:21, And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. What a way to travel!! By God’s GPS!! With the Holy Spirit and the KJB, we can be just as directed and just as led.

- 1 Sam 1:15, And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. We need to be very careful before we accuse and condemn without hearing the truth from the accused.

- Ruth 3:11, And now, my daughter, fear not: I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. A good name, moral purity a godly life will be known, and so too will immorality and ungodliness.