Baptist City Blog

Several times throughout history, governments quarantined people who had diseases considered contagious and dangerous to society. If doctors didn't know how to treat the communicable disease, the only thing they knew to do was quarantine the person with it so they wouldn't spread it to others. Though this practice may seem severe and to some inhumane, this is the only way to keep the rest of society from being contaminated from the communicable disease.

One of the common excuses people use when they do wrong is that they didn't know it was wrong. For some reason, people think that claiming ignorance is a good excuse to use. There is the mentality that says, “It’s easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission.” This may sound like a good defense, but this is not what the Scriptures teach.

One area in Christianity where there needs to be a revival is in the area of work. God gave Moses the guidelines on how to build the tabernacle, but it could not have been built unless someone worked. All the plans in the world mean nothing if someone doesn't work to make them happen. It always comes back to work. You shouldn't just be a worker, but you should be a smart worker. Many people work, but there are only a few who work smart. I believe God gives some characteristics in the verse above about some men who knew how to work smart.

The first way to work smart is to obey the LORD. It says about Bezaleel and Aholiab in verse 22, “…made all that the LORD commanded Moses.” Obedience always helps you to work smart. A person who obeys the LORD will be a person who works hard. I’ve seen people try to act spiritual who are lazy people, which only reveals their lack of character and their disobedience to God. Working smart entails obeying your Creator.

People pay a lot of money to have cosmetic surgery to change something that they don't like about themselves. Someone will pay a lot of money to change the shape of their nose or lips, the features of their face, or the marks of age all because they don't like how they perceive themselves. Everybody has seen that one person who looks worse after a facelift than before they had it done.

When God gave Moses the guidelines for the building of the tabernacle, He made it clear that there was to be a separation between the holy place and the holy of holies. He shows what divided these rooms in the verse above when He says, “…and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.”Only the high priest was to go past this vail, and he could only do it once a year. Behind this vail was the ark of the covenant upon which was the mercy seat. It was this mercy seat where the blood was to be sprinkled to atone for the sins of the people.

Whether it is a business, church or an organization, one of the key goals is to grow. Most pastors want their church to grow, and they constantly look for ideas on how to make it grow. A businessman doesn't start a business just to stay in a corner shop, but he starts it with an intent to grow. He understands that the larger the business grows, the more money he can make. No matter what the organism is, growing properly will determine the strength of the growth and the ability to exist.

One of the reasons why God sent so many plagues upon Egypt was so that the generation to come could see the signs that God is the LORD. Oftentimes, you hear people say about a tragedy, “It was plague like…” Every time this statement is made, the prophecy of the verse above is fulfilled. God told Moses that He would show these signs before him so that he would “tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.”

Anger, in and of itself is not a sin, but anger that is out-of-control is a curse. If anger is a sin then God is a sinner because He has displayed anger. The difference between God’s anger and out-of-control anger is that He dictates His anger and out-of-control anger is dictated by circumstances.

When you look at those who have been successful in life, you will find that most, if not all of them, have three characteristics. In doesn't matter what field of life you look at, those who are successful in every field have these three characteristics. These characteristics are what separates them from the crowd. Many times those who are successful are not the most talented or the most intellectual, but these characteristics were the ingredients that helped them overcome whatever shortcomings they may have.

One of the most incredible men in the Scriptures is Joseph. He faced more adversity than most, yet he still loved the LORD and never gave up hope. One of the adversities he faced was the hatred his brothers had for him. The verse above says that they “envied him.” This envy was a result of their hatred. Joseph’s brethren saw that their father loved him more than they, and they hated him because of it. This hatred and envy eventually led to them selling him as a slave in hopes that they would never see him again. Of course, we know that this was all God’s hand working to save that region of the world from a humanitarian disaster, but that certainly didn't make it any easier for Joseph to deal with their envy.