Baptist City Blog

- Tuesday, 10/18/22  Luke 6:9, Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? We’re either

doing good or evil. So, there is no neutral ground...are you actively doing good? Could you say, when? Where? To whom?                           Job 29:2, Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me... Memories can comfort us or torment us, but they are in the past. Life goes on; change DOES happen. Oftentimes it is not so much the actual change that throws us for a loop, it’s our own memories holding onto the pre-change. Life WILL be different next year as compared to this year: better or worse, who knows, but it will be different. Handling that inevitable will largely determine the success we enjoy in life.

- Wednesday, 10/19/22  Luke 6:22, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. Do we do this commandment, or overlook it? The words, “despitefully use” mean to slander. Jesus forgave and prayed for and tried to reach His detractors...what do we most often do?                                 Nehemiah 1:7, We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. You and I, regardless of how righteously we live individually, bear some responsibility as an American citizen for the perversions and hedonism and godlessness around us. We need to follow the many scriptural examples of confessing the sins of the nation and asking for mercy.

- Thursday, 10/20/22  Psalm 97:10a, Ye that love the Lord, hate evil... It’s easy to hate evil (sin done with the intent to hurt) when it is against us, but do you and I hate it when it is another who is getting hurt? Or, does our “righteousness” extend only as far as our arms?                                 Psalm 22:2-3, O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. It’s very hard to do and it’s totally against our fallen nature, but when you get to the end of your rope, be sure that the knot that is keeping you from hurtling off into worthlessness, be sure that that knot is the holiness and goodness of God. Perhaps if we regularly thought about it more when life is good, it would be a bigger knot for the hard times.

- Friday, 10/21/22  Matthew 5:39, But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. A follow-up from yesterday’s text: We oft-times overlook and don’t interfere when evil is done to another, but react vigorously when it’s done against us. We need to switch those two reactions around.  Easy to say...harder to implement. Why? “Yeah, but...” (Our but’s are too big.)                            Psalm 22:4, Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. One of the dangers of looking at another is given here. The psalmist saw that the fathers had their troubles; that they trusted the Lord; and that they were delivered. However, one thing is not listed here: the waiting and doubting period that we almost always go through. Seldom do we pray and get the answer within a few moments or days. ALL of us go through the wondering and doubting and fretting. In v1, the psalmist said he was forsaken. If we weren’t so adept at fretting, God wouldn’t have said, “Fret not” and “be careful for nothing” about a million times.

- Saturday, 10/22/22  Psalm 100:3, Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Notice the middle phrase: He made us. We like to think of ourselves as a clean, pretty, decorative item, but He may have already chosen us to be a greasy wrench. We see the dirt and grime and feel bad and rebel. No, He designed us for His purposes...classy knick-knacks don’t do well in the garage. You are as He intended.                                 Most house renovations/redecorations begin with the destruction of the old.  Nehemiah 9:29, And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Likewise, for us to be built/renovated to God’s liking, we probably have some things in our lives now that need to be torn out. Don’t rebel when the preaching at church or in Sunday School gets a little heavy and “meddling.” Don’t “withdraw the shoulder and harden your neck.” Let’s Contractor Christ do as He sees fit...He’s done it before and knows EXACTLY what needs to be done.

- Sunday, 10/23/22  Proverbs 18:9, He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. Not doing our best is akin to purposefully destroying. How’s your work ethic? Do you cut corners? Take longer breaks when the boss isn’t around?                           Psalm 64:1, Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. If we hear someone’s voice often enough, we recognize it immediately. David wanted his God to recognize his voice. I wonder if you and I talk enough to the Lord for Him to discern it’s us right away. He’s your Daddy, your Friend, your omniscient Lover: JUST TALK!! Develop the relationship. Deepen it.

- Monday, 10/24/22  Psalm 23:2, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Don’t overlook the necessity (& spirituality) of proper rest and sustenance. Many a sin occurs because the Tempter threw out the bait when we were physically challenged. Eat, sleep, rest...                            Psalm 25: 8, 14, Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. Are you feeling like your Bible reading and church attendance is “a little dry” recently? Maybe there is a bit of self-righteousness (i.e. SIN) getting in the way.