Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 3/20/18  For the last 7 days, I’ve taught on 1 Peter 3:8-9. The verse gives explicit instructions and a promise. Here’s the promise:  [do these things] knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. God DOES demand a lot, but His rewards are far greater than His demands.
                         Psalm 32:1-2, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Re-read those verses!!! How long has it been since you’ve meditated on the truth that you’re going to Heaven? How long has it been since your cheeks dripped with tears of joy and gladness over 100% forgiveness? How long has it been since you got choked up reveling in the doctrine of no imputed sin? I know it’s been too long for me...let’s rectify that...and SOON.

 

- Wednesday, 3/21/18  James 2:12, So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. I’m not totally sure about this, but maybe this “law of liberty” that we’ll be judged by means, “Are you as sweet as you COULD be,” or are you worried about how sweet you HAVE to be? (Or, are you “putting for maximum effort” or “barely passing the class”?)                            James 3:6, And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. The context indicates that the tongue is the spark to set ablaze the entire forest (the “course of nature”). Only YOU can prevent forest fires!! (Your sinful nature is the tinder dry brush...)

 

- Thursday, 3/22/18  Revelation 12:10b, ...the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. It never calls him a “false accuser.” So, those negative thoughts you have about others are either a product of critical thinking on your part or thoughts planted by Satan. (He planted thoughts in Ananias.)                         Lamentations 1:1, How doth [Jerusalem] sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! There is nothing so positive and good in your life but that sin can utterly devastate it. Don’t play anymore: get right with God, if you’re not. If you’re toying with the Christian life, get serious. If you’re taking relationships, your marriages, your family for granted, STOP IT; put your heart into it...you could lose it all.

 

- Friday, 3/23/18  Psalm 38:1, O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. This “man after God’s own heart” was afraid of God’s stern side. Should we not actually FEAR the Lord? Oh wait! I read somewhere that we’re supposed to! Did God mean “fear” or “reverential awe”?                          1 Peter 3:17, For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. Notice: you can be doing everything rightly; you can be totally innocent and righteous, and still suffer and it BE GOD’S WILL!! Why would God inflict you unjustly? ¹Sinners will sin.  ²Believers will sin.  ³1 Corinthians 10:13 says that any believer could have victory in any specific temptation if they wanted to.  ⁴So their sin is NOT God’s will.  ⁵He will not allow any temptation (test, burden) into our lives that we can’t handle. So, if He allows you to be afflicted out of the blue, it is because He knew you could handle it.  ILLUSTRATION:  He didn’t want me to sin, but His foreknowledge said I would. (Not His choice.) But, He may direct you to be the recipient of my sin because you could handle it, whereas another believer could not.  Re-read this lesson and meditate on it: God may be picking on you, and that’s OK.

 

- Saturday, 3/24/18  Psalm 78:1, Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. God begs us to turn our hearts toward the Bible: not to lord Himself over us or beat us into submission, but to enable Him to bless us. Are you closer to It than every before? How could you be?                              Proverbs 20:1, Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Notice, it doesn’t say, “Lots of wine is a mocker...” There is no quantity associated with it. So, to drink is to be deceived and to prove a lack of wisdom. Be not deceived: God is against any and all alcohol consumption. You can justify it, mock it, or argue about it: but He is clear: God is a teetotaler.

 

- Sunday, 3/25/18  Proverbs 20:30, The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly. Notice, an extremely distasteful occurrence for the child or follower produces a great good. Don’t be so quick to label things as “bad” events in your life.                                    1 Peter 4:12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice... This may be the most frequently forgotten, overlooked, and ignored commandment in the Bible. How many of our extra heartaches would be prevented if we simply remembered that He said we’d have a bunch of trials.

 

- Monday, 3/26/18  Psalm 112:3, Wealth and riches shall be in [the house of the one who fears God and delights in His commandments.] Notice that God differentiates between mere money and true riches. Do you? On which do you spend more time, effort and thought: temporal cash or eternal riches?                                    1 Peter 4:8, And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Your charity toward me covers my sins against you: it keeps your heart right and preserves the hope of our relationship prospering. It doesn’t mean hiding wrongdoing in general.

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- Acts 24:27a, And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them. Those who are sent out by a church to preach the Gospel need to report back on the blessings of God on them.

 

- Psalm 119:154, Plead my cause and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word. We all have problems for which we need God’s attention and help.

 

- Psalm 119:162, I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. Do we look forward to time in God’s word with such expectation and anticipation?

 

- Psalm 119:171, My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statues. The only way we can give godly praise is when we learn and are taught by His Holy Spirit statutes and truths from His word. “Praise teams”: an example of how NOT to do it.

 

- Acts 15:40, And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. When great men of God have strong personalities, it is best to separate and not cause problems. The stronger needs to give in to the weaker and not cause trouble. Men of God would do well to study how the early church handled problems.

 

- Mark 9:50, Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltniness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with another. A godly, peaceable disposition is impossible for the the unsaved, and can be most difficult for a saved man. Must work on it.

 

- 1 John 4:4, Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  The devil never wins because he is dominant. It is because God is diminutive in our minds.

 

- Many call themselves Christian. Many call Jesus, Lord. But, Jesus will say to them on the last day, "I never 'knew' you." MANY, not SOME, are making false claims. Wide is the gate that many take, but narrow is the way that few find. If one doubts, he does not know. If one knows, he does not doubt. Settle it today!

 

- Some men will seek counsel from seven wise men until they find a fool that will agree with them.

 

- Stage 4: Disconnecting ourselves from the tether line to God.  Stage3: Bitterness.  Stage 2: Holding a grudge.  Stage 1: Unforgiveness. You WILL get to Stage 4...STOP IT NOW!!!

 

- If you do not pull that weed of bitterness it will eventually destroy the entire landscape of your home.

 

- In Christendom, the goal is not to move up the ladder. The goal is to move down the ladder. And that's where many become disillusioned.  John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

 

- There are two kinds of storms: 1. Brings chaos in the midst -Jonah and his storm.  2. Brings peace in the midst -Jesus and His storm.  The peace or the chaos reveals whether I am in the will of God or out of the will of God. And my response is very important.

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- To be a Christian means being willing to forgive the inexcusable because Christ forgave the inexcusable in us.

 

- Before God asks us for anything, He gives us everything.

 

- Your struggle is not an excuse: it’s ammunition.

 

- If 1/10 of the confidence we put in men would be placed in God our prayers would prove His power.

 

- Young people, be thankful for your mom. Moms, be aware of your opportunity.

The rules have not changed, though it may seem so. The world is in no greater need today, than yesterday. The difference is that in days gone by we operated according to God’s set of rules. We played according to His strategy. I commend every Godly lady who is striving to raise children in today’s world. I encourage you to continue in the strategies of old, which fail not.

 

- I asked God for blessing and He sent a storm.

After the hailstorm, I told the insurance adjuster that this was some birthday! Following his adjustment, he said to me, "Sir, this may be the best birthday you've ever had! I'm totaling this hail storm claim for you." Bottom line: New roof, new gutters, new siding, new window wraps. My deck was really in pretty bad shape already. He's giving me a new deck too. I watched in amazement as he went around with his little clipboard marking up the pages. It seemed as though this man was trying to make my storm the most incredible birthday in my life. In retrospect, I could never have gotten the blessing without the storm damage. Blessings are "package deals." We'd like to have the blessing without the storm, but in package deals there's always the fine print. I'm thanking God for the blessing, but I am thanking Him for the storm that ushered in the blessing too.

 

- Apostasy is a process. It happens when a believer pulls up his anchor in life's ship. He's okay at first because he can still see the lighthouse, but the drifting out to sea is so subtle that when one of the kids remarks, "Dad, where are we?" and the terror can be seen in his eyes when he can only say, "I don't know."

 

- Repentance is not a changed life. It is a decision to BEGIN to change, beginning with Salvation.

 

- The Gospel is so powerful that if the carrier does not share, it will find another host leaving the carrier empty, and miserable.

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