Baptist City Blog

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Belief Opens the Door to Possibility

Mark 9:23

"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

The story from the verse above is about a man who had a child who was controlled by a dumb spirit. This spirit caused this young boy to act like a crazy person. When the spirit would control him, he would foam at the mouth, stop eating, bite himself and even throw himself into a fire. The father of this boy went to Jesus with hopes that He could help. Of course, Jesus is the hope for any problem a person faces in life, and this man came to the right person. The disciples of Christ could not help, but Jesus could. After a short conversation with the father, Jesus cast the spirit out and the boy and his father went home for the first time as a happy family.

A key statement was made to this father about the possibility of his son being healed. The door to this possibility rested in this statement, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Belief was the door that opened the possibility. However, that statement applies to everyone. The door to the possibility of all things happening is belief. Possibilities will never happen unless you believe. You may currently face many obstacles in your life, but the key to overcoming any obstacle is belief. Let me show you several things to help you accomplish all things.

First, only you can make yourself believe. Notice the statement, "If thou canst believe,..." Belief is in your court. Your preacher can't make you believe, but you must make yourself believe. Your spouse, parent, boss, friend, teacher or leader cannot make you believe. You are the only one who can make yourself believe that all things are possible. You must realize that if God said all things are possible, then all things are possible.

Second, doubt is always in the presence at the door of possibility. The door is belief, but doubt will tell you there is nothing on the other side. The father said in verse 24, "...Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Though this father believed that Jesus could heal his son, doubt was still present in his heart. Christian, believing does not mean that no doubt will be present. No, according to this verse doubt will still be present when you believe.

Third, whatever you act upon is what will determine the possibility of all things. You can act upon the voice of doubt and not see all things possible, or you can disregard your unbelief and act upon your belief and see all things. It is up to you. You can let the discovery of possibilities waste away by listening to doubt, or you can experience the possibilities by acting upon your belief and go through the door.

The key to all things being possible is action. Action is belief. Belief is acting upon what you think is possible even though doubt still lies within your heart. All things are possible for you, but you must act to see them happen. I don't know what possibilities you face today, but you can allow doubt to keep you from seeing your possibility come to fruition, or you can act upon your belief and take the first step to experiencing that possibility. Don't let your doubt stop you from seeing great possibilities. God has some great things in store for you, but you must believe that they are possible. God can't make you believe, but you must step out and start pursuing your possibility to see it happen. Remember, all things being possible does apply to you if you will believe.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Teaching by Parables

Mark 4:2

"And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,"

When you think of the greatest teacher you ever had, you will probably come up with someone who kept their teaching practical. One of the greatest teachers I ever heard was Dr. Jack Hyles. Bro. Hyles was my pastor for many years. He had a way of making difficult truths sound so simple. When you walked away from his teaching, you knew exactly what he was trying to get across. You never walked away from his teaching and asked yourself, "What was the point of his sermon?" Though he was criticized for not being very deep, he never let the criticism of others stop him from being simple. This practical teaching style caused him to be in great demand with pastors who would request him to preach in their church.

The greatest teacher of all time is Jesus. If you were going to pattern your teaching after someone, I would highly advise you to copy Jesus' pattern of teaching. The verse above tells us that Jesus always taught in parables. A parable is an earthly story filled with godly truth. Jesus knew that the best way to get people to understand godly truths was to wrap those truths in everyday illustrations. That is one of the reasons why people would flock after Him, because they understood what He was teaching. The Pharisees would try to impress the people with their education, thus the people could not understand their teachings. However, Jesus took truths and brought them down to the bottom shelf where everyone lived. This type of teaching resulted in changed lives and crowds wanting to hear Jesus teach another truth.

Everybody is a teacher of some sort. Because you are a teacher, you would be wise to follow Jesus' example of teaching by parables. Your purpose of teaching is to help those whom you teach to understand the truth that will change their lives and cause them to do right. The best way to do this is to teach by parables. Let me give you three thoughts about teaching by parables.

First, be simple in your teaching. Don't try to impress people with how much you know. When you try to show people how "educated" you are, you will end up not giving people the truth that will help them. Stop worrying about how people view your intelligence. The most educated person is not one who can spew out a ton of big words. Anybody can go to a dictionary and memorize big words. An intellectual person is one who can take profound and deep truths and make them simple so everyone can understand. I like to put it this way; take the peanut butter and put it down on the bottom shelf so everyone can taste it. The purpose of you teaching is to convey the truth to those whom you teach, and the best way to accomplish this is through simplicity.

Second, use life to teach truths. People understand life, and when you take situations of life, they will understand your truth much better. Jesus constantly used the daily tasks of people to teach a truth. For instance, I love to use sports to teach because sports resemble life. People can understand sports, so if I can apply a truth using sports, then I will use it. Always find a way to use life to apply a truth.

Last, use object lessons as illustrations to present a truth. When people can see a truth, then the truth will always be remembered. Most people see in pictures, therefore visible illustrations are the best way to teach. You may have to think a little more to come up with an illustration, but it is worth it if you can help people to understand a truth.

Teaching people is a great responsibility. Don't waste this responsibility by trying to show people your intelligence, but rather use this responsibility wisely by teaching through parables.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

The Importance of the Few

Matthew 25:21

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

The verse above is about the parable of the talents. There was a man who went on a long journey, and delivered to his three servants some talents to take care of while he was gone. Two of the three servants took their talents and reinvested them so at their master's return they had doubled what was given to them. One servant took his talent and buried it in the ground to keep from losing it. However, at the master's return, it was the two servants who doubled their talents who were commended. Their lord said to them, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:..."

In this parable you can see that Jesus was teaching that every small thing is important to Him. Too many people want more, but they don't treat what they have right now as important. God is interested in how you treat the few. Why should anybody be entrusted with more when they won't treat the little that they have right now with the proper importance? Though you may not think what you have is important, to God everything is important.

Your few is the testing ground for the many. You are not worthy of the greater until you treat with proper importance that which you currently have. I often hear people say that they want more responsibility or greater position, but the problem is they don't treat the responsibility or position they currently have with importance. You must realize that many leaders give the little tasks to you to see how you treat them. If you don't handle your little tasks and responsibilities importantly, then they will never give you greater responsibilities or positions.

If a pastor of a small church would treat everything in his church like it were a big church, then maybe God would allow the church to grow. Though this is not why every church is small, this could be a big part of why many churches don't grow. When pastors and church members of small churches treat their "small" church like it's small, then God sees this church can't handle growth. Let me remind you that in God's eyes there is no small church. If you are a pastor or member of a smaller church, then treat every duty like you would if your church was larger, then maybe God will decide to give you more.

Moreover, if you would like to be promoted to greater position, then treat your current position like it's big. Any wise leader will never promote someone who treats their position as little to a greater position. This would be a recipe for disaster. It is those who excel in their lower positions who should be promoted to greater position. If you want a higher position than you have now, then excel with where you are right now.

Likewise, you will never be blessed with greater finances if you don't handle your current finances wisely. There are many people who want to get rich, but they don't handle their current finances in a wise way. They spend instead of saving, and you will never be blessed with greater finances until you use wisdom in how you handle your current financial situation.

Simply put, treat everything you have responsibility over with importance, and you will find that the few things will increase to many. Everything you do and everything you have should be treated as important. Until you treat the little that you have importantly, then don't expect God to bless you with more. Treating the little like it is big is how promotion comes.

Join Our Mailing List!

Forgiveness is Unfair

Matthew 18:34

"And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."

God never said that forgiveness fair. In fact, when you forgive someone it is truly unfair because you are the one who has to pay the price. The story from the verse above is about a man who owed ten thousand talents to someone. This man's loan came due and he had nothing with which to pay it back. Because he had no money, he begged the debtor to have patience with him until he could pay. The Scriptures says that the debtor forgave his debt. However, this same man went out and found someone who owed him an hundred pence. Now a hundred pence is far less than ten thousand talents. Yet, when the man who owed a hundred pence begged for mercy, the man who was forgiven ten thousand talents had him cast into prison until he paid the debt. When it was found out what this man did, the original debtor took this man who owed ten thousand talents and delivered him to the tormentors until he paid his debt. This story of forgiveness teaches us how unfair forgiveness is.

First, someone must be wronged for forgiveness to occur. You cannot forgive someone until you are wronged. That means that some time in life someone is going to wrong you. You must realize that you will not get through this life unscathed. This is why you must have forgiveness available for people, because at some time you will be wronged.

Second, the wrong comes from someone you know. You will notice in the story above that there was a relationship between the characters of the story. Likewise, when you are wronged it will most likely be by someone with whom you have a relationship. It may be a family member, friend, or church member, but you will most likely be wronged by someone close to you.

Third, forgiveness is not about the offender paying a price. The whole story was not about the one who did the wrong paying for what they did, it was about the one who was wronged offering forgiveness. Many people wait to until they see the person who wronged them pay for their transgression before they will forgive them. This is not forgiveness! There are people who will not forgive because they don't see the person who did the wrong suffering. You must realize that if you are going to forgive, you must not be concerned with whether they pay a price for their transgression. Stop waiting for someone to pay before you decide to forgive. God will make sure that person pays, but true forgiveness is not concerned with them paying.

Fourth, forgiveness means you will lose. It says in verse 32, "...I forgave thee all that debt..." Notice that the one who forgives pays the biggest price. If you practice forgiveness, you will have to pay. That means if you forgive the one who owes you money, you will be out the money. When someone wrongs you, you will end up losing. Stop waiting for everything to balance out and realize that when you forgive, you will get the short end of the stick.

Last, you are the one who pays the biggest price for unforgiveness. In the verse above, you will see that because this man did not forgive he was tormented. Christian, if you don't learn to forgive, then you will live a life of torment. You must be willing to pay the price of forgiveness so that you are not tormented with it the rest of your life. Yes, forgiveness is unfair, but it is better to pay the price of the unfairness than to be tormented the rest of your life.

Soiled and Abused

Ezekiel 23:38

"Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths."

God was very particular in how the temple was treated and used. When you study the commands to Moses in how they should conduct themselves in the setting up of the temple, you will see that God took its treatment seriously. You may remember how Jesus went into the temple and threw out the moneychangers because they"...made it a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:13) In the verse above, one of the reasons why God judged Israel was because they had defiled the sanctuary and profaned the Sabbaths. You will notice that God called it His sanctuary. It was not their sanctuary to do with it what they wanted, but it was God's, and they should have treated it the way He wanted it to be treated. Because they defiled the sanctuary, God judged them by sending them into bondage.

According to 1 Corinthians 6:19, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. God said in this verse, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" Because our body is God's temple, that would mean that we have no right to treat it the way we want, but we should treat it the way that God wants it to be treated. God judged Israel for defiling and profaning the temple in the Old Testament, and likewise He will judge us when we defile and profane our bodies.

The word "defiled" means to soil. In other words, God does not want us to soil our bodies. This is not talking about getting dirty from soil, but it is talking about getting dirty with sin. Christian, you have no right to soil your life with sin. Just because something makes you feel good does not give you the right to soil your life. Your body belongs to God, and every time you commit a sin you are soiling your body. Be careful about soiling yourself with wrong pictures. Don't soil your body with fornication and adultery. Don't soil yourself with gossip and filthy talk. Don't soil your life with worldly lifestyles. Remember, you are the temple of the Holy Ghost, and every time you commit a sin you are soiling the very temple that the Holy Ghost must live inside.

Furthermore, the word "profaned" means to abuse. Not only should you not soil your body with sin, but also you should not abuse your body physically. This is why you should not get tattoos, because it is abusing the temple of the Holy Ghost. Every time you put a print from a tattoo upon your body, you are virtually putting a tattoo upon the Holy Ghost. When you abuse your body with piercings, you are abusing the temple of the Holy Ghost. When you abuse your body with the vices of alcohol and drugs, you are abusing the temple of the Holy Ghost. If you are saved, your body belongs to God, and you have no right to do with it what you want.

Christian, don't soil and abuse your body. Your body belongs to God. It is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Be so very careful that you live your life in a way that you don't soil it with sin. Don't make the Holy Ghost have to put up with your filth. Moreover, be careful about abusing your body, the temple of the Holy Ghost. Always keep in mind that whatever you do to your body you are virtually doing it to the Holy Ghost. If you will keep that in mind, I believe you will do a better job of not soiling and abusing your temple in which the Holy Ghost lives.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Hast Thou Seen This?

Ezekiel 8:17

"Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose."

Identifying whether someone is living a lie is very hard thing to do. Judging someone's motives is never a right thing to do, but when it comes to someone you lead or your child, knowing what is going on in their heart is very important so that you can help them.

In the verse above, God asked Ezekiel a very pointed question, "Hast thou seen this, O son of man?" God was talking to His prophet and was showing him several actions that His people were doing in private. He used phrases like, "I had digged in the wall, behold a door..." and "every man in the chambers of his imagery..." to get Ezekiel to see that what they were saying and what they were actually doing were two different things. Studying Israel's actions reveals identifying signs that someone's private life is filled with sin.

First, jealousy is a key identifier that something is wrong with someone's heart. It says in verse 5, "...and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry." When people are jealous of what others have, then they are revealing that they are living a selfish life. Jealousy is a identifier to show that a person only thinks of themselves. When a person makes themselves the issue, then they will live to please themselves, even if that pleasure means that they must do wrong to get pleasure.

Second, an idolatrous heart is a key identifier that something is wrong in a person's heart. In verse 10, you will find that Israel had an idolatrous heart. Idolatry is not just setting up images to worship, but idolatry is setting anything before God. When anything becomes more important than God, then it becomes an idol. When worldly things are more important to a person than godly things, then they have an idolatrous heart. For instance, when serving God is not as important as worldly functions, then a person has an idolatrous heart. When church, soul winning, Bible study and prayer are set aside for the sake of doing worldly pleasures, then a person has an idolatrous heart.

Third, a bad thought process reveals something is wrong with someone's heart. Israel's imagination was filled with wrong thoughts. Though you cannot see what a person thinks, Matthew 12:34 tells us that what a person says reveals what they think. Someone may try to hide what they are thinking, but it eventually comes out in what they talk about. It is important for leaders to listen to what their followers say, for the conversations and jokes that they are prone to tell reveals what is going on in their heart.

Fourth, a wrong direction reveals the heart. In verse 16, Israel's back was toward the temple. They were standing in the right place, but they were facing the wrong direction. A person's actions always speak louder than their words. Watching who someone spends time with helps reveals someone's direction. When someone is willing to do something that they previously were not willing to do, that shows their direction. A person's direction will always reveal what is going on in their heart and what it is that they really want to do.

The whole purpose of trying to identify what is going on in someone's heart is not to judge them, but to help them turn back to the right way. Watch for these identifying marks in those whom you lead, and when you see them, reach out in a special way, not to preach at them or to judge them, but to bring them back to where they should be.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Superpowers Fall

Jeremiah 51:7-8

"Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed."

Many nations have been superpowers throughout history. Israel, Rome, England and the United States have all been superpowers. In the verse above, Babylon is described as a superpower when it says, "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand,..." God allowed Babylon to be the superpower that He used to bring Israel back to Him. However, because Babylon did not acknowledge God, He took the superpower status away by destroying them. It doesn't matter how strong a nation is, God is still capable of causing that nation to fall.

Now you may wonder how this affects your personal life. The superpower status does not always just affect nations. In every walk of life there are superpowers. Where you work there is one employee who exceeds all employees; this person would be the "superpower" employee. There are businesses and churches that would be considered a superpower in their field. What I mean by this is that they are looked upon by everyone as the measuring stick of how to do things. Though they may not have the power to rule other organizations, but they are the superpower in their area. If a superpower is going to keep its power and status, then there are several things it must do and remember.

First, stay hungry. One of the greatest things that drives anyone is hunger. When you were a nobody, you had a hunger that drove you. Be careful about allowing your status to take your hunger away. Always remember that there is someone who is better than you. Being hungry about what you do will drive you to excellence. When you lose your hunger, you will lose your drive for excellence, and excellence is what caused you to be the measuring stick for all.

Second, keep helping others. One of the things that has made America a great superpower is that she has always been there to help those in need and who desire freedom. When people or nations are in trouble, America was there to help them out of their situations. No matter what you do, don't ever lose your desire to help others. Though helping others may not benefit you, God sees it and will reward you.

Third, repeat success. One of the greatest mistakes that successful nations, businesses, churches and people make is they try to improve upon success. Remember that you can't improve upon success. Don't change the lineup that made you successful. If you keep doing what made you successful, then you will find that it will continue to make you a success.

Fourth, remember you are not invincible. Everyone and everything is capable of destruction. This must always be remembered to keep yourself from doing things that will destroy you. If you don't run scared from sin, then sin will eventually get you and destroy you. Just because you have power does not mean that you can get away with wrong. Sin destroys anyone at any level; don't let it destroy you.

Last, remember Who ultimately blessed you with your success. God is the One Who sets up and takes down. Don't allow pride to set into your heart and destroy you. Pride is the one thing that can destroy anything. Keep your eyes on God and keep serving Him and following His commands, for He is the only One Who can ultimately keep you successful.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Correct in Measure

Jeremiah 46:28

"Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished."

In the verse above, the words, "correct" and "measure" are important in understanding what God was going to do to Israel. God pronounced His judgment against Egypt, and Israel heard how God was going to make an end of Egypt's superpower status. However, God wanted Israel to understand that though He would punish them, that He would only correct them "in measure."

The word "correct" means, "to set straight, to make right, or to conform to truth." God was teaching His purpose in correcting Israel was to bring them back to truth. Moreover, by using the word "measure" He was telling them the process of His correction would be with restraint, and in a deliberate and proportionate manner. You can find in this illustration the proper way that we should administer correction.

First, because there is no perfect person, that means everyone needs correction. Everyone is a sinner, therefore, when someone does wrong correction must be administered. If you don't correct your child, follower or subordinate, you are hurting them for the future. Correction is needed so that they won't do what will hurt them in a greater manner in the long run.

Second, be sure that when you administer correction that you administer it under control. You should never correct anyone when you are angry. When emotions get involved in correction, then abuse will happen. Most child abuse happens when a parent is out of control. When your punishment is out of reaction and emotion, then it is no longer correction, but it becomes abuse. There must be self-control to properly administer correction.

Third, always correct according to the rules. Be careful about correcting your child because you are inconvenienced or embarrassed. The only thing you teach your children when you correct this way is that they were wrong because you were inconvenienced or embarrassed, and not because they broke the rules. Broken rules must be the only reason why correction is administered. The one being corrected must completely understand that the correction is being administered because they broke the rules. This teaches them that every time they break a rule that correction will follow.

Fourth, correct in a timely fashion. What I mean by this is that when you correct, be deliberate with how you correct. Let me explain. When I correct my daughter, I go through a deliberate process of correction. I send her to her room to think about what she has done. After a few minutes, I go to the room and explain to her why she must be corrected. Then she is told what her punishment will be, and after the punishment, I pray with her and we move on. Notice my deliberate process. My emotions are not administering the punishment, but the rules are. Whenever you administer any type of correction, you should be deliberate so that the one being corrected understands the gravity of what is being done.

The whole purpose of administering correction is to restore the one who has done wrong and prevent them from doing the wrong again. Correcting in a measured way will help to accomplish the purpose of restoration and prevention. Follow God's method of correcting in measure, and you will find the correction will bring the one who did wrong back to the right way.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

The Two Sides of Truth

Jeremiah 38:4

"Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt."

Being optimistic is certainly a good quality to have, but optimism without reality will hurt. In the verse above, the princes were upset with Jeremiah because his sermons were not optimistic about the outlook of the city of Jerusalem. He prophesied that the king of Babylon would take the city, and that every inhabitant of the city would be killed or taken as captives to Babylon. The princes thought that his sermons should be uplifting so as to strengthen the hands of the people and not hurt them. The problem was that if Jeremiah had preached an optimistic sermon, then truth would not have been proclaimed for there is a negative side of truth as well. When optimism forsakes truth, then optimism is more hurtful than reality.

In these current days, you can see similarities between the people of Jeremiah's day and the people of our day. It seems as if people are looking for feel good sermons more than they seek sermons of truth. In fact, when you have a preacher who proclaims both sides of truth, then you will find that many people think he is being negative. Certainly I am for helping people, and certainly I am for being optimistic, but truth also has a negative side that must be proclaimed. Truth must be proclaimed, and if the reality of truth seems to be negative, then we should change our lifestyle to match the message of truth.

Be careful about always looking for a preacher who only preaches the optimistic side of truth. When looking for a preacher, you should want a preacher who preaches both sides of truth, even if the side of truth is not optimistic. When you hear a true man of God preach, there will be times when his message is going to seem very negative, but preachers have to be negative in order to preach both sides of truth. For instance, preaching on the judgment of God is not very optimistic, but the judgment of God is truth. If a person commits sin, they will face God's judgment. If a nation continues in sin, it will face God's judgment. Though this may not be optimistic, this is truth and this is reality. If a preacher avoids preaching the negative side of truth, then his optimism will become hurtful because it does not warn people of the wages of sin.

When a preacher's negative sermon seems to be directed at your life, then don't get upset like the princes did at Jeremiah. Instead of getting upset at the preacher, you need to change that area of your life so you can enjoy the optimistic side of truth. You can get upset and go look for another preacher who makes you feel good, but that won't change the truth about your condition. If a person has cancer and doesn't like what a doctor tells them, then they can look for another doctor who tells them their fine, but that doesn't take the cancer away. Likewise, you can avoid the negative side of truth to listen to optimism, but that still won't change your condition and the impending judgment which is to come.

Remember, there are two sides to truth. There is an optimistic side of truth which talks of God's blessings when we do right, but there is also a negative side to truth that tells of sin's wage when we do wrong. Don't avoid the negative side of truth, but remember that both sides of truth are important for a healthy Christian life.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Ruling Your Captor

Jeremiah 29:28

"For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them."

Reality can often be very sobering. The false prophets of Jeremiah's day did not like the reality of his preaching. Jeremiah prophesied that the captivity of Israel was going to last for a long time. In the verse above, you see that Jeremiah advised the people to build houses and plant gardens because of the length of their captivity. Jeremiah knew that most of the Israelites who lived in Babylon would never leave their captivity, so he helped them to rule their captivity instead of being a captive of their captivity.

There are many who read this devotional who have become a captive of some circumstance in their life. There are some who are captive to bad health. Maybe your health has turned for the worse, and as far as you know you will be a captive to your health for the remainder of your life. Some are a captive to divorce or a bad relationship. Others are captive to poor finances. Some have a unique captivity that only they will have to bear the rest of their lives. The key to your captivity is to not be a captive to it, but to rule it. If you will follow Jeremiah's advice to Israel then you can rule your captor.

First, accept your captivity. Notice that Jeremiah said, "...build ye houses,..." This was Jeremiah's way of telling them to accept that they were going to be captives for a long time. When you become a captive to a situation in your life you must not live in denial, for living in denial will keep you from becoming productive during your captivity. You will never rule your captor until you accept your captivity.

Second, don't complain. Jeremiah told the people to dwell in the houses that they built. In other words, he was telling them that they could either enjoy the homes that the built, or they could complain about their situation. Christian, you can complain about your captivity, but that will not help your situation. You still have life, and you should decide to live your life even though you are in captivity.

Third, stay busy serving God. Jeremiah told the people to plant gardens. In other words, make your time of captivity a fruitful time. I have found that God has used many of the things that have made me a captive to be the most fruitful elements of my life. If you are a captive to your captivity, then you are missing out on the greatest opportunity to become fruitful. Use your situation to help others who are captive to the same captivity. Joseph was fruitful when he was a slave and in prison, and you can be as well. Don't allow your captivity to take away the time of fruitfulness that you can enjoy.

Last, count your blessings. Jeremiah told the people to eat the fruit of their gardens. In other words, though you are a captive, you will still have blessings that you can enjoy. If you allow your captivity to be your captor, then you will miss out on these blessings. However, if you decide to rule your captor, then you will find that God will bless you in your captivity and that you will have many opportunities to count the blessings of these fruits.

You may not be able to change your captivity, but you can still be productive and joyful in it. You can either be a captive of your captivity, or you can be a ruler over your captor. With God's help you can become a ruler over your captor and make your captivity the most productive and fruitful portion of your life.