Baptist City Blog

When the Apostle Paul was transferred to Rome for his trial, the ship he was on encountered a storm. The storm, which is called Euroclydon, is a cyclonic wind that blows in the Mediterranean during the autumn and winter. Euroclydon is a very dangerous wind in which to sail. Paul and those on the ship encountered these winds and through a series of destructive events, including the breaking up of the ship, they made it safe to land.

If you are going to excel in any sport, you have to throw caution out the window and be all in with every play. When you watch star football players, you will see them sacrifice their body and future just to make a play. That is what makes them a great player. If they held back for the sake of caution, they would be an average player. Only those who go all in continually make great plays.

If you are going to be faithful in serving the LORD your entire life, you are going to have to come to grips with the fact that you will have to deal with divisions and attacks. Jesus warned us in Matthew 10 that people would hate us. It doesn't matter how pure your motive is; there are going to be times when you have to deal with divisions among friends and attacks from without.

One of the most amazing statements that God could say about a man is said about David. The verse above says, “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart…” This should be the desire of every Christian to be a person after God’s own heart. There is no doubt in my mind that any Christian who is doing anything for God has this great desire. But, what does it mean to be a man after God’s own heart? What was it that made David a man after God’s own heart? I believe this statement has a couple of meanings.

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The story of Peter and the disciples preaching on the day of Pentecost truly seems to be much different from a few days earlier when they were on the lake fishing. Just a few days prior they had given up on Christianity, and for good reason; they thought that Christ was dead. The verse above shows an obvious difference in the disciples as they boldly proclaimed the Gospel and thousands responded by accepting Christ as Saviour. Something had changed!

You know the story very well, the story of Peter denying the Saviour. You have heard how Peter declared that he was willing to follow Jesus to the grave just a few hours before he denied knowing the Saviour. You have heard how Peter warmed himself at the heathen’s fire and eventually came to the point where he denied the church, his faith and his God. This is truly a sad chapter in Peter’s life.

In a world where many voices claim validity in the Christian realm, how do you know which one is real and which one is not? Jesus answered this question by saying, “…though ye believe not me, believe the works…” Jesus encountered many people who questioned whether or not He was the Son of God. They constantly challenged His validity, but He countered their challenges by telling people not only to look at Who He said He was, but also to look at what He had done. I believe in this brief statement you will find the test you can use to validate whether or not a person is real.

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If you are successfully going to serve Christ for your entire life, you are going to have to carry a cross. Luke 9:23 says,“…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” There is no getting around the fact that you are going to have a cross that you must bear. Your cross will bring out a response in you that will either cause you to quit serving the LORD, or it will bring out a response that will magnify Christ through you.

An amazing result happened in the story of the ten lepers. Jesus was going to Jerusalem when He passed through Samaria and Galilee. When He entered one of the villages, there were ten lepers who saw Him at a distance and cried out to Him to have mercy on them. Jesus responded by telling them to show themselves to the priest. When these ten men turned and started to go to the priest, their leprosy was healed.

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When my daughter was younger, she struggled a lot with strep throat. I remember my wife taking her to the doctor to have them swab her throat to see if she actually had strep throat. That test helped us to determine if she had the infection and how to treat it if she did. That test was important because infection could lead to heart damage if she didn't get proper treatment.