Baptist City Blog

Monday, 12/7/15  Pro 3:11, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction. God MAY actually be picking on you!! “Weary” implies that the correction goes on for an extended period. What are we to do? DEAL WITH IT!! Change!! And revel in the security that this brings.
                                Luke 18:9, And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. “I’m going to Heaven when I die.” Does that thought arise from within yourself or from God’s word? Remember that your heart’s CHIEF characteristic is its tendency for deceit. The Bible (God’s holy word) does say we can absolutely know for sure we’ll go immediately to Heaven, but it also says that most people won’t go there. Do you KNOW, 100% for sure, that you’ll go to Heaven when you die, BASED ON WHAT GOD HAS SAID IN HIS BOOK?

Tuesday, 12/8/15  Luke 20:27, Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection… A reminder that our beliefs don’t affect truth: there IS a resurrection. There IS a resurrection. You may not believe in dress standards or personal holiness or parental authority or honoring your parents or alcohol abstinence or forgiveness…but God does, and they’re in the Bible, and you’re subject to them.                            Num 16:5, And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chose will he cause to come near unto him. When God separates people, it is a time of great surprise, trial, and doom to those who thought they were His. Here, over 250 people dies and went to Hell. At the Second Coming of Christ (which is soon, I think) millions will be doomed to follow those 250. Do you know for sure that you are going to Heaven based on what God has said? Do you know what He says about Heaven, Hell, and the afterlife, or is your “knowledge” based on what you’ve heard someone SAY is in the Bible, or what you think, or from some other spurious source? Think it through carefully…your eternity rests on a correct answer and there are no “do overs.” Message me if you’re not totally sure.

Wednesday, 12/9/15  Ps 30:4, Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Two ways to look at this verse: when we brag on God for what He is, that’s worship. Or, think of the degree of holiness that He’s formed in you and praise Him.                         Mark 15:11, But the chief priests moved the people that [Pilate] should rather release Barabbas unto them. Jesus gave Himself in Barabbas’ place, physically and spiritually. I wonder what he did with his second chance. Are you wasting the lives of those who’ve sacrificed for you (Parents, pastors, coaches, teachers, spouse, friends)?

Thursday, 12/10/15  2 Sam 12:8, ...and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. David had forfeited these “such-n-such” things because of his sin and non-repentance. There are untold penalties for disobedience as well as untold blessings for righteousness.                              Luke 23:33, And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. (Posted on FB with the GIF of “Tis the season; tis the reason.”)

Friday, 12/11/15  Luke 23:34, Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Oftentimes, perhaps most of the time, when people hurt us, they don’t realize they did. Forgive them then. But if they do know the pain they’ve caused, forgive them anyway.                                 Luke 23:50, And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just. He was good and just. The first is external; the second is internal. The first, man sees; the second, God sees. The first has many benefits among men but few with God; the second has few benefits here, but many with God. The first’s benefits are basically temporal; the second’s are eternal. The first will enhance this life but won’t guarantee a good afterlife; the second will enhance both this life and guarantee Heaven. Do you have one? both? neither?

Sunday, 12/13/15  Ps 72:1, Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. Here is a good proper example: a king has wealth, honor, prestige, servants, power...and yet he asked for spiritual qualities. Is your current state of health and wealth and knowledge bringing you closer to or farther from God?                                  Num 20:2a-3a, 6, [The people] gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses... And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them. Moses and Aaron didn’t respond to the people, but went and humbled themselves before God. You’ve heard it before, but, you’ll seldom regret what you don’t say.

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- Don’t be one who dwells on someone’s failure and chooses to overlook the countless good they have done. Thankfully God is not that way.

- I love to write and I am told I am pretty good at it, but I must confess I have a fault. I think too fast and often I make errors in my typing. I wish I was perfect, but instead of griping about it or pretending it is not a fault, I have learned to rely on editors to help me be the best I can be. That is the secret to the Christian life is having someone who knows your faults and is willing to help you overcome them. I seriously doubt I will ever get it perfect, but as long as I am willing to submit to someone else who is better at it than me, I can overcome that fault. The important thing is that I find someone better than me in that area who can help me. Look at your faults today and find yourself a good editor. You don't have to have all those mistakes if you're willing to, "Confess your faults one to another."

- Gossip begins with knowing what you do not need to know.

- Today, speak your blessings loudly, and your burdens softly.

- We pray for God to bless our food — even though it's processed, high in sugar, and low in nutrition. We ask God to help us to sleep well, and to give us energy and strength — but we don't take the time to exercise. We ask God to help us to be good stewards of what He has given us — forgetting that we are meant to glorify God in our bodies, which belong to God.

- “Oops sorry, is a pacifying response.” A great leader will take the blame, accept the responsibility, and demand of himself to make a resolve.

- Suffering is according to the will of God, because God is more interested in our character than our comfort. 

- Tough love does not begin by being tough on the one you love. It begins by determining to stay by their side even when it is tough for you. If it is only tough for them, it is selfish love.

- Never forsake a true friend for a new friend. It is a double for nothing sacrifice.

- Faith is not about everything turning out OK. Faith is being OK no matter how things turn out.

- Challenge yourself everyday so when life brings on her challenges you are ready.

- If you ‘want’ what you 'have' then you will 'have' what you 'want'.

- God loves you, where you are, as you are and for who you are, right now, and with no conditions.

- The greatest mistake of the elder brother was his servant mentality rather than his identity as a son. Many of us make that same mistake. We take our identity from what we do to serve our Father rather than who we are in Him.

- Stopping the criticism of one towards another is a triple good deed. 1. It is good for you not to hear it. 2. It is good for the one being criticized that you defended them. 3. It is good for the one who began to tell the tale that you admonished them. Oh, and for good measure, it is good for our Lord who loves that one being criticized. So, that should be enough reasons to avoid gossip either in person or in the gossip groups.

- When you are about the common business of life...send, from time to time, short letters, post to heaven upon the wings of faith.

- One cannot be bitter or critical of someone for whom they are sincerely praying, for a fountain cannot be bitter and sweet at the same time.

- Be careful about half truths because you may be influenced by the wrong half.

- Character is what you do when no one is looking. Holiness is what you think about doing when no one is looking.

- Pray that some truth of the gospel, some line from a hymn, or some work of the Holy Spirit will shake your world today.

- We are the salt of the earth. Jesus is the living water. Made anyone thirsty lately?

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- Pro 4:13, Take fast hold of instruction, let her not go: keep her for she is thy life. We are never too old or too smart to learn or be taught.

- Heb 13:13, Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. We need to walk, work, serve with Him without the camp. That is where the lost and needy are.

- Luke 11:54, Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. We haven’t changed much today, and the press treats followers of Jesus just as they treated Him then. We should not be surprised.

- Pro 7:3, Bind them upon thy finger, write them upon the table of thine heart. It is vitally important for a man to fill his mind with God’s words for moral protection.

- Ps 79:3, So we thy people and seep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations. I’m afraid we have dropped the ball and failed to pass on to our generation and the next what was given to us. We have become complacent and lazy.

- Luke 12:9, But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. The importance of standing up for Jesus cannot be over-emphasized.

- Pro 10:25, As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. A destructive, damaging storm does its damage and passes off the scene, but the saved and righteous leaven an everlasting legacy, here, and in Heaven.

- Bible thoughts! Ps 91:10, There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." I've been hearing about a lot of vandalizing these past few weeks, so I wanted to share a verse from my favorite comforting chapter in the Bible! Have a safe and blessed day, peeps! We are in God's hands! Those are some huge hands!

- It's unbelievable to think and realize that God, Almighty, the Creator of the universe, loves us! Ps 8:4, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

- Pro 13:7, There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. “...that MAKETH HIMSELF poor,..." It could be that he's giving away his money quite possibly to help others.