Baptist City Blog

When going through the storms of life, we often misplace our faith only to make the storm worse. The disciples did this when Jesus commanded them to go to the other side. While they were in the midst of the storm, they thought they were going to die even though Jesus was in the boat with them. How ridiculous to think the storm was going to overcome them when they had the Master of the storms with them. Jesus revealed their misplaced faith when He asked them where their faith was.

Everybody has a tradition that they or their family have always done. I’ve traveled to foreign countries where their traditions have been different from mine. I’ve been to homes of people who have traditions different from mine. No matter where you go, you have to deal with traditions.

Jesus dealt with this touchy subject when the disciples sat down to eat without washing their hands. The tradition of the Pharisees was to wash their hands before eating bread. They literally felt that it was a sin to eat without washing your hands. Jesus very wisely instructed the Pharisees that not all traditions are about right and wrong; rather, some are simply a custom that has been handed down from previous generations.

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Jesus had just come down from the time of temptation, and the first thing He did was to go soul winning. He went to the Sea of Galilee and saw Simon and Andrew and said to them as they were casting their nets into the sea, “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” For most people, that would be a good day of soul winning. Imagine going home after seeing these two men get saved and telling others how the LORD used you on that day. That would be an exciting time!

In the verse above, a man was making a marriage for his son. In order for this marriage to be a success, someone had to prepare. It says about this man’s preparation, “…I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.” This marriage was a success because of the preparation that was made.

One of the things you will commonly deal with in church work is trying to bring back those who have gone astray. It is very difficult for parents to have to deal with a wayward child as it pulls heavily on their heart. I have also watched many pastors and church ministry leaders grieve over a person going wayward. Seeing someone you love and someone who you have invested time and energy into go the way of the world is no easy burden to carry. Trying to bring the stray back is one of the biggest tasks I see God’s people attempting to do.

The potential of your future will be determined by the way that you walk. A person who is careless in their daily walk will be a person who will do things that will severely limit their potential. On the other hand, a person who walks wisely and is careful with what they do in their daily walk will find their future a blessed one with increased potential. The psalm above gives us four characteristics of those who walk wisely.

Any farmer who has an orchard plants the trees so they will bear fruit. That is the only way the farmer can make a living. If he planted the trees and they never bore fruit, he would quickly become bankrupt. He needs the trees that he planted to bear fruit in order to make a living.

In the last few verses of the Book of Malachi, God deals with the relationship of the husband and wife. In verse 16, He specifically warns the husband to “take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” The spirit God was talking about was the spirit of the wife. God then says the one thing that can weary a relationship to the point of destruction are the words you speak.

God is a very reasonable and fair God. When He created us, He created us with a free choice to be able to do what we want to do. God could have chosen to create us with no ability to choose and only with the ability to act upon His command, but He loved us too much to do that. No other part of God’s creation was created with reasoning and the ability to choose.

One of the most discouraging things that many Christians face is not getting answers to prayers. The Devil loves to use the time when we perceive that God is not answering our prayers to defeat our spiritual confidence and he even attempts to get us to stop praying. He knows that if we stop praying, he can win some battles.