Baptist City Blog

Satan’s only chance of destroying a Christian is through finding opportunities they give him to destroy them. It is very evident in the dialogue between Satan and the LORD that the Christian is safe from Satan’s tactics if they will not give him any opportunities. If the Christian guards their life and doesn’t give Satan an opportunity to work in their heart and mind, they can overcome any temptation of the flesh.

The decree had been made and published in every province of Babylon that on a certain day every Jew was to be killed. It must have seemed like a dark day for every Jew to know that their existence was going to end. They could not leave because they were captives in the land. They must have felt that they were trapped and that there was no way out of this horrible situation.

One of the hardest lessons many have had to learn in the ministry is that they can’t make people respond to what they want them to do. You can try to shame people into responding, but that doesn't make them change. You can require people to respond, but again that won't constitute a change in heart. The desire of every preacher, teacher or ministry leader should be that people don't only respond, but that their response is the result of a change of heart.

There was a key element that stirred Ezra to rebuild the temple and finish it. Among all the attacks, setbacks and demanding work, there was something that stirred him to continue until he finished. Preaching was the key element that made this happen. The verse above says that “they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.” The prophet’s preaching is what stirred these people to rebuild and finish the great work. In this verse, you find five benefits that preaching will have in your life.

Several years ago, I was talking to my pastor about another man of God. My pastor made an interesting statement about this fellow pastor when he said, “Everything he touches turns to gold.” My pastor was simply commenting on what God was doing through this man. At the time, it was evident that God was greatly using this fellow pastor.

Being a spiritual leader can at times be one of the most thankless jobs. We have all heard the stories of those spiritual leaders who abused their position, but for every one who abused their position, there are hundreds of others who invested their lives and helped those whom they’ve led. I’m afraid that we are often guilty of focusing on those negative leaders instead of focusing on those who are helping.

It is always amusing listening to those who do so little talk about how busy they are and how much they are doing. Whether or not they are doing as much as they say is anyone’s guess, but one thing that is very evident about these people is that they are all talk with little to show for it. On the other hand, those who are very busy and seem to have several accomplishments never talk about their workload, they just get things done. I would much rather be the last type of person than the first.

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It is often said that every failure in the Christian life is a prayer failure. One thing that is evident in the lives of those whom God has used is the prayer life they had, and the effect it had on their ministry and life. When Solomon prayed his dedicatory prayer after building the temple, you find the power that prayer can have on an individual’s life. Let me show seven things about prayer that reveals its power.

A widowed woman encountered a debt problem when her husband died. As is always the case, whenever there is a problem, God always has a solution. The solution for this dear lady was the pot of oil in her house. To this lady, the pot of oil didn't seem like much, but in the hand of God that pot of oil became the saving grace from the debtors taking her sons to be slaves. It was only a pot of oil, but that pot of oil had more power than she realized.

David’s great desire that he would not be able to accomplish was to build a temple for the LORD.