Baptist City Blog

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

A Glimpse of Hope

Jeremiah 2:9

"Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead."

One of the greatest attributes about God is that He is a longsuffering God. You can see this attribute in the verse above when it says, "Wherefore I will yet plead with you,..." God mentioned in the previous verses the sins of His people and how He tried to bring them back to Him. However, though God tried to get them to come back, they continued in their sin. Yet, though God's people continued in their sin, He was not willing to give up on them. In fact, He said that He would continue to plead with them to come back to Him.

This example that God gives should motivate you to never give up on those whom you are trying to reach. As long as their is a glimpse of hope for someone's return, you should continue to plead with God for them to come back. I am confident this is what the father of the prodigal son did when the son was gone. Though this son ruined his life in sin, the father waited for his son's return. As long as their was a glimpse of hope for his son's return, he kept pleading and waiting for him to come home.

Parents, when your children go wayward or rebel in the home, don't stop pleading for their return. Many parents have stopped pleading only to release the pressure of guilt from their child. No, you should not preach to your child every time you see them, but you should continue to plead with them to come back and serve God.

When your spouse has gone wayward, never give up hope for their return. You may need to spend many nights in prayer for their return, but keep on pleading with them and God for their return. There are many stories of people who prayed for years for their spouse to get right with God or get saved and finally one day saw the fruits of their pleadings.

When a Christian has backslidden from God, don't give up on that person. What you don't understand is that many times they still want to know that you care about them. I wonder how many people we have let slip through our grasp because we gave up and stopped pleading for their return. It may be someone in your Sunday school class, or someone who used to sit in your section of the church auditorium, or someone with whom you used to spend time, but you must not give up hope and stop pleading for them.

There is someone right now for whom you have stopped pleading. For whatever reason you gave up on that person. Let me encourage you that as long as their is a glimpse of hope, don't stop pleading for them. As long as they are still alive, and as long as God's Holy Spirit still works in the hearts of mankind, then there is hope for that one whom you are thinking about right now. Keep pleading for them for their return or salvation. Whether or not they return, at least they will understand that you still love them. Besides that, if you keep pleading I believe one day you will see them return. Whatever you do, don't stop pleading!

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Recipe for Holy-Spirit Filling

Isaiah 61:1

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;"

Who better to look to on how to be anointed with the Holy Spirit than Jesus Christ? The verse above is a prophecy of the ministry of Jesus. You can see in this verse that it was prophesied that Jesus would be anointed with the Holy Spirit of God. However, He was not anointed so that He could have a possession, but He was anointed because He performed some actions. God's Holy Spirit does not come on people so they can proclaim they have a possession, but rather the Holy Spirit anoints people so that they can fulfill the works that God commands them to do. As you look at this verse, you see a recipe for Holy-Spirit filling.

Preaching God's Word is the first ingredient needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not just for preachers, but this is for everyone. Every person can preach the Word of God to the lost world. When a person goes soul winning, they are preaching the Gospel of Christ. Furthermore, this is also why you need to strive to be a Sunday school teacher in your church, because when you teach a lesson you are preaching God's Word.

The second ingredient needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit is restoring the fallen. Notice this verse says, "...he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted..." This statement has a twofold meaning. One of the meanings is to restore those who have been hurt by sin. Sin always leaves people broken. God's Holy Spirit is there to help you to restore those who have been broken by sin. This is why you should help those who have fallen instead of trying to destroy them through gossip. Attempting to restore the fallen grabs the attention of the Holy Spirit and will cause Him to anoint you with His power so that you can help the fallen to come back to God.

The third ingredient is to help the hurting. The second meaning of the statement, "...he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted..." is to help those who have been hurt through life's heartaches. Whether it is sickness, death, relationship hurts, loneliness or any type of hurt, God's Holy Spirit anoints you to help heal the hurt that people carry. You may not know how to help the hurting, but if you will attempt to help them, then God's Holy Spirit will help you to mend those broken hearts.

The fourth ingredient is to help people overcome sin. The verse above says, "...to proclaim liberty to the captives,..." Sin will captivate and control people. The only hope that many have to overcome their sin is for you to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. When you serve people and try to help them overcome their sin, then you will find the Holy Spirit will anoint you to help them overcome sin's bondage.

The fifth ingredient is to win people to Jesus Christ. God says, "...and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;..." Soul winning will always get the attention of the Holy Spirit. The reason it grabs His attention is because God sent His Holy Spirit to bring the lost to Christ. When you bring the Gospel through soul winning to those who are lost, then the Holy Spirit anoints you to say the right things that will help that person to get saved.

Each of these ingredients are important in the recipe to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. You can't pick and choose which one you want to do, but rather you must be involved in all of these if you want the Holy Spirit's anointing upon you. Yes, you must be emptied of yourself, but serving God in all of these areas is what will bring you the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Understanding the Thoughts of God

Isaiah 55:8

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."

Have you ever wished that you could understand or even know the thoughts of God? There have been many times in my life when I wished I could know the exact thoughts of God on an issue that seemed to be unclear. In the verse above, God makes it clear that He does not think like we do. Likewise, He makes it clear that He doesn't do things like we do them. We must realize that God's thoughts are not tainted by sin like ours. Therefore, we cannot think like God, for His thoughts are pure and His ways are always right.

God is not a changing God. Hebrews 13:8 says about Jesus, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." God says again in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the LORD, I change not;..." Because God does not change, if we ever learn the thoughts of God on one subject or decision, then we can understand His thoughts in this area all the time, for He never changes. Likewise, if we learn God's way in one area we will always know His ways whenever we face that area again because He never changes. Therefore, we must spend time with God if we want to understand His thoughts and ways.

The first way to spend time with God is through studying the Scriptures. Psalm 92:5 says, "O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep." You will notice in this verse that God's thoughts are like a treasure that must be mined. We mine out the thoughts of God through studying the Scriptures. That is why God says in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Through studying the Word of God He will show you His thoughts. Therefore, daily spend time in His Word so you can learn His thoughts.

The second way to spend time with God is through prayer. I have learned that as you talk to God through prayer that He talks back to you. When God begins to talk to you through your prayer life, you will learn His thoughts. Furthermore, you will learn the thoughts and ways of God by how He answers your prayers. As long as we don't push God to give us our way, then every time He answers a prayer teaches us what His thoughts are on a certain way or His thoughts about that area.

The third way to spend time with God is through serving Him. You will learn a lot about God through serving Him. When you work with people, you learn about them. You see their way of thinking when you watch them work. Likewise, when you serve God you will learn His ways. When you learn the ways or methods of God, then you will learn His thoughts. Thus, by learning God's ways and thoughts you understand His thought process.

God is a predictable God. He never changes in how He does things. Therefore, if you will spend time with God through studying the Scriptures, in prayer, and by serving Him, then you will then begin to understand His thoughts.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

We Have Spirit, How About You?

Isaiah 42:5

"Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:"

When you go to a high school ball game, you will often hear the cheer, "We've got spirit, yes we do. We've got spirit, how about you?" Normally, one side will start this cheer, and then the opposing team answers with the same. This cheer helps to keep the spirit in the gym where the teams are playing so that they can help cheer their team on to victory.

According to Webster dictionary, the word "spirit" means, "morale, energy, determination, vigor, or excitement of mind." This properly describes what God was saying in the verse above. The Scriptures say, "...he giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:" God wants His people to have spirit. He wants His people to have good morale. He wants His people to have energy and vigor. He wants His people to have excitement. We know this because God is the One Who gives spirit.

Let me remind you that we are on the winning side. There is no reason for a Christian to walk about having a defeated spirit. Every Christian should have a spirit of excitement. Every Christian should have good morale about the Christian life. Every Christian should put vigor into what they do. The reason is because we are on the winning side. The world certainly has spirit about what they do. What a shame that the world has more spirit about their sinful lifestyles than the Christian who is going to Heaven.

In order to have spirit, you must first decide to have it. Spirit is mainly attitude. You decide whether or not you are going to have spirit. There are many who will say that this is just not their personality. If that is you, then you need to change your personality. Christians should not allow their personality to be one of a defeated spirit. They should exemplify to the world a spirit of excitement and vigor about the Christian life. No lost person would want to be part of something that has a defeated spirit. They want to be part of something that has an energetic spirit of victory and excitement. If you are going to have spirit, then you must choose to have it.

Second, the Holy Spirit is the One Who gives the Christian spirit. Because the Holy Spirit gives the Christian spirit, then the Christian needs to do things that stir the Holy Spirit. When you get the Holy Spirit involved in your life, you will find that you will have a good spirit. If you wonder what would stirs the Holy Spirit, it is the works of God that stir Him. God gave us His Spirit so that we can do His works. God proved this when Jesus said in John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." John 14:16 shows us that when Jesus went to the Father, it was only then that He could send the Comforter Who is the Holy Spirit. Once the Holy Spirit has come, then we have the opportunity to stir Him so He can stir our spirit. In other words, when you preach, teach, soul win, help others, pick people up for church and love others, this stirs the Holy Spirit which in return will give your spirit that excitement and energy that each Christian needs.

I ask you, do you have spirit? Do people look at your Christian life and say that you are energetic about serving the LORD? It is a choice to have spirit. If it is not your personality, then change your personality so the world can see in you the vigor and excitement that God gives when we serve Him. The greatest testimony the world can see in the life of a Christian life is when their is spirit in everything we do.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Start at Home

Matthew 11:1

"And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities."

In the verse above, Jesus had just started the church. The first thing that He did after starting the church was He sent His disciples to go soul winning. However, you will notice that the first place that Jesus went was to the home cities of the disciples. Jesus took care of their home cities before He went to any other part of Israel. The reason Jesus did this is because He was teaching us the importance of the Gospel starts at home.

When you study the Great Commission, you will always find that the Great Commission starts at home. Far too many churches and Christians feel that because they support missionaries they are absolved from the responsibility of being a soul winner at home. This is not true! Though I am 100% for supporting missionaries, if you are giving to faith promise missions and are not soul winning at home, then you are not right with God. The Gospel starts at home, and the responsibility of the church is to take care of its home city before it begins to reach abroad. Yes, we are to do all at the same time, but don't forsake your home before you start going abroad.

Let me make this more personal for you to use. The first place you should start trying to witness is to your family. Be sure that the family members who live in your home are saved. Don't win the world and let your own family go to Hell. Be sure your spouse and children are saved. If there is one in your home who is not saved, pray for them to get saved, and show them how to get saved.

The next group of people you should witness to is your relatives. Do you have a family member who is not saved? Then you should do everything in your power to win them to Christ. What a shame that you would win others to Christ and let your own relatives go to Hell. Yes, it is not easy witnessing to grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, but if you love them you will do your best to be sure they are saved.

The next place you should try to be a witness is in your neighborhood. Do everything in your power to be sure that your neighbors are saved. Of course, that would mean that you would need to live your life in such a manner that you don't ruin your Christian testimony. Your neighbors know more about you than you realize. Therefore, live right so that when you witness to them they are not shocked that you are a Christian.

Your city is another place where you should try to win others to Christ. Sure, we are to reach the world, but start with your city. Make it a weekly routine to spend time soul winning in your city. You may not be able to reach the world, but try to reach your world by winning your city to Christ.

Let me apply this truth to one other area of our lives. Don't be guilty of teaching everyone else how to live for God and not take the time to teach those nearest you. If you are not careful, you will spend your time trying to reach the world and miss the greatest opportunity of teaching those who live under your own roof.

Do your best to try to reach the world, but don't forget those nearest you. Everyone is commanded to obey the Great Commission, but remember that the Great Commission starts at home.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

They Came Back Another Way

Matthew 2:12

"And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."

The story from the verse above is about the three wise men who saw the star in the East for which they had long been waiting. These men knew that the Messiah would come some day, and that his coming would be announced by a star in the East. When they saw the star, they journeyed to Bethlehem so that they could worship Jesus. Once they arrived in the city, they asked King Herod if he knew where Jesus was born. When they left his presence, he asked them to return and tell him where the child should be born so that he could worship Him as well. However, an angel of God warned these wise men not to return to Herod because his desire was to destroy the child.

A phrase that catches my attention about these wise men is, "...they departed into their own country another way." I love this phrase because they went to see the Saviour one way, but they came back another way. Obeying God and being in the presence of the Saviour always causes a person to come back another way. It was Elisha who crossed over the Jordan River one way, but after seeing Elijah taken to Heaven in a whirlwind, he came back another way. It was David who went to fight Goliath as a youth, but came back another way as a man. It was Jacob who went to sleep as a deceiver, but after wrestling with God all night, he woke up another man. It was the three Hebrew children who went into the fiery furnace one way, but when they were in the presence of the Son of God, they came out another way. It was Zaccheus who climbed the tree one way, but after Jesus passed his way, he came down another way. On and on we could go and show the stories of people who went in one way, but after being in the presence of the Saviour came back another way.

Christian, do you ever come back another way? When you go to church, do you go in one way and come out another way? What I am talking about is being changed because you have been to church. Do you go to church to be changed, or do you go to church to fulfill your religious obligation? Oh, how we need Christians who will go to church one way and come out changed another way. Every time you go to church, your desire should be to come out another way.

Likewise, when you spend time in prayer, you should always come back another way. Moses went to the top of Mount Sinai and spent forty days and nights with God, and he came down another way. You cannot spend time in prayer without God changing you. One of the biggest reasons Christians never change is because they never spend any time in prayer so that God can change them. Prayer changes things, but most of all, prayer will change you!

Furthermore, when you spend time in the Scriptures you will always come back another way. Every day of my life I sit down to read the Scriptures one way, but I stand up from reading Them another way. You cannot spend time in the Scriptures without Them changing you. Just like a person who takes a bath is dirty and rubbing soap and water over their body causes them to come out clean, likewise a person who spends time in the Scriptures will come out another way.

The greatest need for our present society is for you to come back another way. Don't let your time with God in church, prayer and study of the Scriptures be time that is wasted. Let these times be fruitful times where you go in one way and come back another. Let God change you so that you can come back another way.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Your Truth Report

Zechariah 8:3

"Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain."

One of the most important attributes of God is His truthfulness. In fact, the Scriptures say in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Not only is truth important to God, but He is truth. In other words, Jesus is the source of all truth.

To show you how much God loves truth, you must see how much He hates the opposite of truth which is lying. Proverbs 12:22 says, "Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight." The word "abomination" means "hatred or detestation." Using the word abomination in our modern day language would be to say that lying makes God upset at His stomach. There are very few sins that God calls an abomination. Lying is categorized with such sins as sodomy, child sacrifice, molestation, adultery, idolatry and sowing discord among the brethren. This is a very disgusting list. Yet, God says that is how much He hates lying. Thus, you can see that God has the same degree of hatred for lying as he has for a love of truth.

In the verse above, when God comes to set up His kingdom, He said that "...Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth;..." God's kingdom will be a kingdom established on truth. Everything that He will do will be done in truth. However, just as the kingdom of God will be established by truth, our lives should also be established by truth. When people think of you, is one of the thoughts that come to their mind is that you are a person of truth? Let me give you several thoughts about truth.

First, telling the truth is not always going to be easy. Being a truthful person at times will be inconvenient, but you should always be truthful. Whenever you talk about a situation, you should not exaggerate, but you should tell the truth. You should never lie whenever the truth will hurt you or your family. Lying should never be an option for ANYTHING. You don't lie to protect people, you always tell the truth. Though society may say differently, God is a God of truth and He demands that we tell the truth all the time.

Second, your degree of truthfulness reveals your degree of character. You show me what it will take for you to lie and I will show you how much character you have. If you are a person of truth, then you are a person of character. On the opposite hand, if you are a person who will lie or exaggerate to make your perception better, then you are a person of little character.

Third, your degree of truthfulness reveals the degree to which you can be trusted. If there were a way to have a truth report like your finances have a credit report, what would we find on that report? Imagine if someone had to look at your truth report before they ever placed confidence in you, would you ever have confidence placed in you? The fact is, people will keep a mental report of your truthfulness and will determine how much confidence they will place in you by that mental report.

Christian, be a person of truth. Don't ever tell people to lie even if lying helps to keep a good perception. You should be a person who loves truth to the degree that God loves truth. Your degree of truthfulness will determine your degree of Christlikeness. With that being the case, how Christlike are you?

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Consider Your Ways

Haggai 1:5

"Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways."

Zerubbabel was admonished by God to consider his ways. According to Webster's dictionary, the word "consider" means, "to take into view in examination." In other words, God wanted Zerubbabel to examine what his ways had produced. They had sown their crops, and had little to reap. They earned good wages, but they had no money saved of which they could talk about. God was trying to get them to see that though they worked hard, their sinful ways caused them not to reap the blessings of their work.

Just like God admonished Zerubbabel to consider his ways, you should periodically consider your ways. Many people never want to stop and take the time to look at what their ways have produced. However, you will never be able to improve yourself and what you do until you learn to seriously consider your ways. Let me give you several things you should do when considering your ways.

First, be honest with yourself. Lying to yourself will only hurt you. You can lie to yourself so you can feel better, but that doesn't change what is happening in your life. If a businessman truly wants to improve his business, then he needs to be honest about his assessment of his product and what he is doing. A nation can lie to itself about how well it's doing, but it will not improve itself until it decides to be completely honest with what their ways have produced. Whether you are a pastor, Christian, businessman, etc., you need to be honest when you decide to consider your ways.

Second, look at your actions and the results of those actions. I often tell people that my life is a study of actions and results. Many of my sermons are a result of studying the actions and results of people. When I see that certain actions lead to adverse results, I tell people not to do those actions. However, when I see that certain actions produce favorable results, I will tell people they need to do those actions. When you choose to consider your ways, look at both the actions and results and you will find out if you need to change something.

Third, study the ways of the past. You would be very wise to be a student of successful people. Find out what made them successful and do it. On the other hand, find out the mistakes they made and avoid them. When you find yourself failing in a certain area, copy the successful actions from those in the past, and you will find those actions will produce good results for you as well.

Last, change whatever bad ways you have to ways that have worked. One reason why we should not try new ways is because we don't know where those ways will take us. History teaches you the good and bad. When you see yourself following the same ways of those who were unsuccessful, then change your ways. When you find people who were successful, don't be so filled with pride that you won't follow their ways. Most likely those in history copied someone else also.

Every Christian, pastor, businessman, church and nation should regularly consider their ways. If you don't take time to consider your ways then you are sure to experience failure. If you will take the time to consider your ways, you will limit your failures in life. Take God's admonition to consider your ways so that you can change the areas of your life that need changing.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Your Response to Good and Evil

Amos 5:14-15

"Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph."

According to the verse above, God makes it very plain that there is good and evil. The day in which we live seems to deny the fact that there is such a thing as evil, but whether or not people want to admit this doesn't change the fact the evil exists. However, your response to good and evil will highly determine your success in handling situations. Let me give you several ideas on how you should respond to good and evil.

First, make clear lines in everything that you do. You must not allow gray areas in life. Gray areas tend to lend towards chaos and disorganization. There must be a right way and a wrong way in everything that you do. There is a right and wrong way in handling leadership responsibilities. There is a right and wrong way in how to discipline. There is a right and wrong way on how to live. There is a right and wrong way to everything you do. Therefore, be sure to make clear lines in whatever you do as either the right or wrong way.

Second, look for the good and not the bad in everyone. You will see that God commands in verse 14, "Seek good, and not evil..." If you want fulfilling relationships, then you need to seek the good in every person. If you don't want to live your life second guessing the motives of people, then you will need to make it a point to look for the good in every person. It's not hard to find the wrong, but you will have to purposely seek the good in people. Don't be anxious about finding out the evil about people and the situations in their lives, but be anxious to hear the good about them.

Third, be wise in your knowledge of good. A couple of times in the Scriptures God commands us to be wise concerning good and simple concerning evil. Again, God commands to "Seek good, and not evil..." We are too interested in investigating why something is wrong when we should investigate why something is good. If you will learn why something is good, then you will easily ascertain why something is evil.

Last, be consistent with your dealings of right and wrong. What I mean by this is you need to be consistent on how you treat wrong actions. In verse 15 it says, "...establish judgment in the gate:..." This is teaching us the importance of punishing evil and rewarding good when they happen. When someone does wrong, even if they are family or someone close, you need to be consistent in your punishment of that wrong. If you would punish one person one way and your family another way, then you don't truly hate evil. A hatred of evil will cause you to punish wrong in a consistent manner no matter who commits that wrong. If you truly hate evil, then you will punish wrong consistently.

Your response to good and evil will display how good of a Christian you are. The closer you get to becoming like Christ, the more you will have a hatred for evil. Work hard at being proper and consistent in your treatment of good and evil.