Baptist City Blog

Mark 3:2

"And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him."

One would think it to be hard to find fault with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the sinless Son of God. Finding fault with whatever Jesus did would seem to be impossible. Yet, the Pharisees found a way to find fault in Jesus. Albeit, what they considered a fault was truly a personal problem they had with Jesus. Finding fault in perfection was detrimental to the Pharisees. What would cause people to find fault with Jesus?

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Matthew 26:36

"Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder."

It was right before Jesus was to be taken when He went to Gethsemane to pray. Jesus knew that He not only needed to spend some time in prayer, but that His disciples needed the strength from prayer. When Jesus arrived at the place where He would pray, He told His disciples to wait while He went further to pray alone. To Jesus' dismay, when He came back to see how the disciples were doing, He found them asleep. Though the disciples had a sincere desire to pray, they found some hindrances that kept them from praying.

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Matthew 13:57

"And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house."

One of the few places where Jesus' ministry had no effect was in his home city. This is truly sad in that they watched him grow up. They knew something was different about Jesus. They knew that He was not like every other child. His demeanor was different from those with whom He grew up. His desires were different from those with whom He grew up. His life's ambitions were different than any other child that had grown up in that city.

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Matthew 4:1

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."

Temptation is a part of the Christian life. Oftentimes we look at temptation as a point at which a Christian succumbs to sin, and it can be; however, temptation can be dealt with and overcome.

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1 John 1:4

"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full."

One thing every Christian should try to get is joy. Joy is not a possession that one obtains, but it is a result of actions. God said that He wrote His Word so that our "joy may be full." When the world sees true joy in your life, you will find that they will begin to want what you have for the world is in search of joy. Let me give some thoughts concerning joy.

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2Timothy 1:16

"The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:"

There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul emphasized not being ashamed. Seven times throughout the Pauline epistles you will see that Paul announced he was not ashamed. Before Paul was saved, he was not ashamed of his beliefs. When he got saved that strong belief system caused him not to be ashamed of Christ.

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Acts 23:35

"I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall."

The trial of the Apostle Paul was sadly mishandled. It was mishandled by the Apostle Paul himself by prematurely appealing his case to Caesar, and it was mishandled by many of the men who were considered judges. When you read about the trial of the Apostle Paul, you can see very early on he should have been released due to a lack of evidence. Yet, through this trial you can learn some valuable lessons on how to handle disputes and grievances between two parties that can lead to proper judgment.

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Romans 16:17

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."

Years ago my wife and I drove to a meeting in the Midwest. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and were supposed to meet the pastor at the church. When we arrived, across the street from the church were some youth partying in their front yard. My wife and I had not been there long when we heard a gun shot ring throughout the neighborhood. I happened to see at the sound of the shot a young man fall to the ground. I quickly ran over after looking to be sure the shooter was not around to find the young man had been killed.

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Ephesians 5:16

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

Time is one of the most precious commodities a person has. Once it is gone you cannot get it back. Sadly, most people don't make the most of the time they have. Time is wasted, and many people regret not using their time wisely in the later years of life. God gives us advice on how to make the most of our time.

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1 Corinthians 16:9

"For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."

An open door usually means there is no obstacle. As I write this devotional, I'm sitting at the desk in my office with the door open. That door being open means that anyone can come through at their will. That door is open because I opened it and welcomed my family in.

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