Baptist City Blog

Sunday, 11/1/15  1 Pet 2:1-2, Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrises, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. A practical tip: cleanse your mind before reading His word. Ezra prepared his heart beforehand and God’s hand was on him.                    Hos 4:1, Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Never fall into the trap of only looking for “sweet blessings” from the Bible (at home or at church.) God may need and want to scold you and correct you.

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Sunday, 10/25/15  Gen 5:22, And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methusalah 300 years... Did fatherhood bring about a revival in Enoch’s heart? Dad, Mom, are you more or less spiritual since you’ve been entrusted with an eternal soul? Kids, do you pray for and encourage your parents spiritually?        Ps 143:10, Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.  ¹He is God and has a plan, whereas we are flesh and are clueless.  ²He’s a good God so His ways are good, albeit sometimes hard.  ³He is God, so His plan/will should overrule ours.  ⁴We must learn to obey: it’s not a natural activity.

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Sunday, 10/18/15  Acts 26:20, But shewed...to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet (appropriate) for repentance. What works that are appropriate for repentance have you done this week? Is anyone living closer to God because you lived another 7 days?                John 1:9, That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Every human has this light from Christ, PLUS the witness of the heavens, PLUS the Bible in their hearts, PLUS their conscience, PLUS the written word of God, and more, so those who go to Hell will be “without excuse.” Go to Hell if you want to, but it’ll be your own fault...ONLY your fault. If you don’t know for sure that you’re on your way to Heaven, message me.

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Sunday, 10/11/15 Hos 13:1, When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. And now they sin more and more... Zombie Christians...walking around while they’re dead and doing wrongly. Stay humble my friend. Re-read the verse.                        Hos 13:9, O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. Ultimately, YOU got yourself into the mess that so troubles you; it’s no one else’s fault, so quit trying to pass out blame like Halloween candy. YOU made the choices, and it’s YOUR mess to clean up. Ps 119:95, The wicked have waited for ME to destroy ME. I’m not trying to be callous, but YOU have destroyed YOURSELF. So now the focus needs to be on rectifying what you’ve messed up. Now, God is the One Who believes in you; He is the One Who can forgive you; He is the One Who can restore you:  run TO, not AWAY from Him. Get back into Sunday School and church; rekindle old relationships with spiritual people. Apologize for your foolish selfishness. Dust off the Bible and ask God to speak to you again. Get on your knees and come clean with God: admit your guilt and pride and rebellion... O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

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Sunday, 9/27/15  Ps 21:1, The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! We (I) have HUGE reasons to joy and rejoice. Why do we (I) dwell on sad and bothersome topics. Put a smile on your face: we’re on the winning side!!! At worst, you’ll go to Heaven today.           Ps 23:4a, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Whether the psalmist followed through on not fearing or ran away in fear, we don’t know, but he was more likely to remain brave after making and vocalizing his positive decision. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” So, attempt great things for God and expect great things from God. Nothing ventured; nothing earned.

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Sunday, 9/20/15  John 7:47-48, Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? It’s stated in Corinthians that “knowledge puffeth up.” Be careful if you’re smart and/or educated: you’ll tend to think that your brains make you better than another.         Rom 10:1, Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. What is your heart’s desire and object of prayer? Is it health? Wealth? Lack of problems? For you or for your kids? The success of your fantasy football picks?  What about praying for the salvation of the Arabs? ISIS? The abortionists? Mr. Obama? Mr. Obama? Mrs. Clinton? Mr. Trump? Your neighbor?

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Sunday, 9/6/15  Luke 11:2, ...Thy will be done... A reminder that God’s will is to be DONE, not just known, believed, or preached. Could you list what you DID in the last 24 hours that He specifically wanted?                Jer 31:19, Surely after that I was turned, I repented: and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. After you’re confronted with your sin and you agree with God and you feel the shame...NOW is the crucial time. Don’t wallow in the shame. Fix what you can and move on. The Devil tries to keep us unconfessed; if that fails, he’ll try to keep us crippled in shame.

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Sunday, 8/23/15  Pro 17:10, A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. How hard is it for your parents/spouse/coach/teacher/boss/peer to get your undivided attention concerning correcting something? How do you generally respond to their comments about your errors?            Mark 10:24b, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! Why did the Lord say that it was "hard," and not “impossible”?  Trusting in riches (even for middle/lower economic class people) becomes habitual and becomes our “default” setting. It’s hard to overcome that, but it’s not impossible.

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Sunday, 8/16/15  Mark 3:14, And he ordained 12, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. Let us always keep in mind that our full-time Christian servants/preacher boys are FIRST to walk with God, and then to serve people.            Mark 1:34, And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases... We often think that Jesus healed every sick person He encountered. Not so. Here, it says “many” not “all.” Remember the Pool of Bethesda? One out of a multitude was healed. He very well may let you stay sick and show His grace through the sickness. Remember Paul in 2 Cor 12.

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