Baptist City Blog

Monday, 11/30/15  Ps 58:1, Do you indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart, ye work wickedness... Maybe you’re not as good as you like to think you are...maybe you need to look deeper. Are you “through and through” holy? honest? forgiving?                 Notice God’s instructions concerning confession. Lev 26:40-41, If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary to me; and that I also have walked contrary to them...if then their...hearts be humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity: then will I remember my covenant... Maybe if we’d “do it right” and make confession a bigger, “more painful” deal, we’d sin less. ‘Just a thought...

Tuesday, 12/1/15  John 20:7cd, …I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Praise God that despite how wickedly we act that we never get a lesser version of God, or a second class Father!! What a gracious God we get to serve!! Tell someone of His awesomeness soon.                 Pro 28:3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor (One who should definitely understand) is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food (a la a typhoon or a tornado.)  *Are you understanding of those who’re in your same shoes now (or where you used to be)? I’m referring to financial condition, character, godliness, age, marriage, dedication, etc. Be patient with those who are where you were.

Wednesday, 12/2/15  Ps 10:4, The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. Are you willing to ask God in what areas you’ve not sought His input? Finances? Marriage? Business? Relationships? Life’s direction? Purity? Forgiveness? That’s wickedness.    hn 20:25, The other disciples therefore said unto [Thomas], We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. There is definitely a time and place for honest, healthy skepticism, but we must be able to differentiate between that and pig-headed, blind stubbornness and hard-heartedness: “I WILL not believe!!” (Remember that God had told him personally that He’d raise Himself from the dead. The other apostles were relating something that coincided with the Word of God.

Thursday, 12/3/15  Ps 23:2, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside still waters. In this busy time of year, be sure to schedule some “green pastures” and “still waters.” You need them, (others around you need to you have them), and you need to let Him “restore” and “lead” you (v3).             Ps 63:5-6, My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. The Bible is God’s recipe book. Do you see this recipe for a contented spirit and the key to joyful speech? Perhaps it’ll be clearer if I re-order the sentence into conventional format. Put v6 before v5:  When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches, my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. Figure out how to implement this into your bedtime rituals.

Friday, 12/4/15  Ps 22:9b, …thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. Notice: when he was small enough to be nursing. Babies may be more on the ball than we could ever know. Mom, Dad: you represent God to your baby: do it well. Sing Gospel songs and witness even to the infant.         Ps 63:1, O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. The heading shows that this Psalm was written when David was in the wilderness running from either Saul or Absalom. Lesson: when in dire trouble, we need to reaffirm to ourselves and to God our relationship to God and our commitment to Him.

Saturday, 12/5/15  John 21:3, Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. All had denied or abandoned Christ; all were discouraged, scared, and confused. Notice the power of 1 believer voicing a poor choice. Lesson: be aware of your influence at all times.             Ps 21:1, The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Kings are admired and envied (assumed to be rich; wanting nothing; no problems; no fears.) This king knew he needed God’s strength and salvation. Lessons:  ¹Everyone needs God…so take Him to everyone.  ²The rich and powerful have the same components that you do in their spiritual relationship: they have no shortcuts.  ³Never assume anything about anyone’s spiritual status or habits.

Sunday, 12/6/15  Ps 67:1, God be merciful to us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us;  Great truths: His mercy and blessings are awesome…but the sentence doesn’t end. Read the first word of v2: THAT thy way may be known upon earth... Are His blessings simply for your sake and enjoyment, or does He get a benefit from benefiting you? No…so it’s all about you again? Tsk-tsk.                    Luke 14:27, And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. This was before Christ’s redemptive cross. The cross was a vicious means of public execution, just or unjust, with the effect of controlling the populace. Does being a disciple mandate, ¹dealing with severe unjust treatment, and ²WHILE following Christ (i.e. taking it like He did)? Wow…I’m not very disciple-y… (See Luke 14:33, So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. This would include reputation.)

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- We win the drug dealer, prostitute, etc…but won’t touch a backslidden church member with a 10 foot pole! There’s something wrong with that.

- Gratitude is an inward feeling while Thanksgiving is an outward telling.

- Everyone is hurt sooner or later in life. The big thing is to learn from it and move on leaving bitterness behind.

- If you have been wounded by someone you trusted then God must have had a lesson he wanted you to learn. David learned a lot about God at the hurtful hand of a man he trusted, Saul.

- The sweet peace of God's forgiveness is not for those who clean up their act but who confess their actions.

- Exposing another's sins will not make you one iota less sinful.

- Mistakes are simply tuition payments on our life education.

- "I don't want what I want, I want what is best" might be the most rewarding lesson I've ever learned!

- Be grateful for the usual. It is easy to be grateful for a bonus; it is character to be grateful for a salary. Most of us do not appreciate the usual things of life until they are lost.

- The story of salvation is not about good people finding God. It is about God finding bad people.

- Do you truly hate gossip or do you only hate being gossiped about?

- The Bible reveals to us only what God wants us to know about him now. Won't eternity be exciting as he reveals to us the rest.

- When someone does something wrong, have enough grace not to forget all the things they have done right.

- Christian Soldiers don't complain about having a bad experience.  They don't get offended. They are not victimized. They are victorious. Romans 8:37.

- The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.

- Outer conformity is far easier to maintain than internal purity.

- A wealthy person has money to buy things but a rich person has things money can't buy.

- Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.

- Don’t bring up the past to a person trying to improve their future.

- Symbolism is important in the Christian life, but not near as important as the substance of the Christian life.

- Promises are easily made, hard to fulfill, and a picture of the depth of character.

- Why do we want the happiness the world has, when we can have the joy they can't?

- Some parents of prodigals need to come to themselves and rise and go to their broken children.

- Always assume the best about people and doubt the worst. (We usually do the opposite.)

- Broken crayons still color.

- Deliver more than you promise, but only promise what you can deliver.

- It is OK to falter while on your way, but it is never OK to quit while on your way.

- It's OK as parents to make mistakes. We will. It's just not OK to pretend we don't.

- Some church members get mad about what their pastor says to their face, then think nothing of the things they say about him behind his back.

- Faith trusts God's silence.

- Sin begins with life and ends with death. Grace begins with death and ends with life.

- Sheep are sheep. At their best they still smell. Sinners are sinners. At their best they still sin.

- The story of grace is not about those who ran a perfect race. It is about those who ran and fell, then got back up, ran and fell, then got back up, ran and fell, then got back up, and just kept getting up and running until they finished the race.

- Yes, God accepts me just as I am, but that doesn't mean He wants me to stay that way.

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- Mark 7:6, [Jesus] answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Let my desire be to love God more and get closer to Him! ...instead of doing things out of and having hypocritical vanity.

- Bible thoughts!! Ps 28:6, Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. God loves to hear us pray!

- Luke 10:16, He that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me, and he that despiseth me despiseth Him that sent me. When someone rejects the Gospel and the soul winner, he rejects the God of Heaven, the Saviour, and any chance for Heaven. Soul winning is a very serious business!!

- Pro 30:5, Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Praise the Lord for a copy of His pure, eternal Word in the King James Bible today!! I feel sorry for those who discount and refuse to accept and believe it. They’re deceived by the Devil himself!

- Luke 9:62, And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Once a man is saved and decides to serve God, there is no turning back. First, he can’t lose his salvation, and secondly, if he turns back from service, he will be miserable.

- You will never regret something you never said which you should never even say in the first place. Think about that. Jesus taught us an extremely valuable lesson here! John 8:6, This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

- John 8:10, When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? Accusers will come and go. Jesus will never leave us. (Heb 13:5).

- Bible thoughts! Ps 91:11, For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." We talk a lot about angels during Christmas time. Angels who watch over us, bring us cheer when we can't see the way, angels who intervene when we are dying, etc. Well, where do you suppose those angels came from? God, that's Who! He gave us His angels to make sure we are safe and sound. He's awesome w a capital “A”!

- Pro 2:18, For her house inclineth unto death and her paths lead unto the dead. Men who fall for immoral or unholy acts of any woman will find a dead, wasted life.

- Pro 3:6, In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. Here is God’s plan and guaranteed success for every decision we make in our lives.        

- Ps 78:58, For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. What makes us believe that He has changed, or is any less possessive or jealous of who and what belongs to Him today? We need to look up and keep Him in good humor!!

- John 9:25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Instead of judging someone, or their motives, it's better that I focus on the good and right things they do.

- Jesus was fleeing for his life; yet he took the time to stop and help someone. Oftentimes I get so caught up in what's happening in my [family's] life that I get too self-centered. May God help me to remember to help those in need no matter WHAT'S happening in my life! John 8:59, Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. John 9:1, 6 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.