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How much do you trust Him?

To refresh your memory, I encourage you to read Genesis 22 today. In this amazing account, we find Abraham trusting what God has said to him, EVEN…EVEN to the point of being willing to take the life of his own son! He believed what God has said about Isaac being the heir. This is passage challenges us to the core of our being about REAL faith in God…really…truly…playing no games, believing what He says! In no way could Abraham SEE how Isaac could die on that altar, an...

A Proactive Pardon

We’ve all seen movies and read accounts of a guilty person, facing execution or extended time in prison, who is offered a complete pardon! What great news for them! God has offered to each of us a pardon! Read the devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah below. Note that as with the legal pardon, to receive God’s pardon we must also admit our guilt. Being pardoned by God! That should put a smile on our face every day! Turning Point Dr. David Jeremiah - A Proactive Pardon - DECEMBER 20, 2018 The next...

Hope’s Sure Foundation

Wow, it’s hard to trust God, when we can’t see how or when He will answer. In fact isn’t that really what faith is all about…the fact that we can’t SEE even IF He will answer. We must take that on faith! Here as a great devo that helps us visualise what our trust in our FAITHFUL God should be like. Our Daily Bread - January 14, 2019 - Hope’s Sure Foundation My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19READ HEBREWS 11:1–6...

Unfailing Love

God’s incredible love for us is referred to in the Old Testament by the word Hesed, over 180 times! This Hebrew word is deep in meaning. It would take pages to just begin to understand the depth of this word. However, a good understanding of the word would be unfailing love. How uplifting to be reminded of how intensely and unchanging is God’s love for us.  I was recently reading in the book of Jonah. There, I found a great reminder of the relentless nature of God’s unfailing love. Go...

God with us

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are familiar with the name Immanuel. We may even realise that this name is used of Jesus, and means, “God with us.” However, we likely have not taken this wonderful name for our Saviour to the depth that David Jeremiah does in the following devotional. Turning Point Dr. David Jeremiah - Tuesday, December 18, 2018 - God Is With Us  Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us. Isaiah 8:...

The Great Awakening

Even as Christians, we can tend to look with fear toward death. The following devotional by David Roper should help to dispel that unnecessary fear.  Our Daily Bread - The Great Awakening - 19 December 2018God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 1 Thessalonians 4:14READ DEUTERONOMY 34:1–8 I have a treasured memory of gatherings with family friends when our boys were small. The adults would talk into the night; our children, weary with play would curl up on a couch o...

The Wave Maker

Today I was reading in Daniel chapter 3 where three young men were thrown into a fiery furnace for not bowing to the king’s idol as he had commanded. What gives a person this kind of faith? Verses 13-20 point out to us how outraged the king was that these three young men would dare to defy him. He was so angry that he had the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. Verses 17-18 give us a clue to the depth of their faith. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is a...

Who’s Driving?

As followers of Jesus Christ, I believe we all struggle at times with a clear understanding of how we can be certain that we are following the lead of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I found the following devotional by James Banks to be helpful. I hope you will to.   Our Daily Bread - Who’s Driving? – Nov 12, 2018 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25READ ROMANS 6:1–14 My neighbor Tim has a figurine on his dashboard of a “wild thing” b...

Throne Of Grace

"Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16 Selwyn Hughes said of grace, "Grace is God's kindness bestowed upon the undeserving; benevolence handed down to those who have no merit; a hand reaching down to those who have fallen into a pit. The Bible bids us to believe that on the throne of the universe there is a God like that." J. Vernon McGee goes on to say, "We can speak freely to the Lord Jesus ...

100% Pure

Turning Point Dr. David Jeremiah - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - It Floats  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:3  In 1879, soap maker Harley Procter struggled to find a name for his company’s new line of soap. His Bible reading took him to Psalm 45:8: “All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces.” Inspired by that verse, Procter chose the name Ivory. People loved the soap because it floa...

You listened to me

This is one of the verses that I read in my quiet time today, "I told You about my life, and You listened to me..." Psalm 119:26a - Psalm 119 was written by an anonymous writer so we don't know who he is. However, we do know that he was seeking refuge from his persecutors and finding strength in meditating on God's Word. I just think it is really cool that he was telling God about his life and God was listening. So many times we seek advice from people and go to God as a last resort. However, Go...

Know More, Trust More

We often find ourselves struggling to feel close to God. We ask, “HOW do I deepen my trust in Him?” The following words by Dr. David Jeremiah are very helpful. Turning Point Dr. David Jeremiah - Monday, October 15, 2018 - Know More, Trust More  That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Philippians 3:10 Imagine you have your toddlers with you on a shopping trip and you need to dash into a store. So you ask a...

Better Than Ever

We all struggle, wondering how God can ever use us with the messes we make. He CAN! Here's an encouraging devotional from Our Daily Bread which helps us to see how! Our Daily Bread - Better Than Ever – 5 Oct 2018 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:12 READ PSALM 51:9–13 The story is told of a group of salmon fishermen who gathered in a Scottish inn after a long day of fishing. As one was describing a catch to his friends, his arm swe...

Brick by Brick – Turning Point

Here’s an encouraging devo from Dr. David Jeremiah Therefore we do not lose heart... the inward man is being renewed day by day.- 2 Corinthians 4:16 Thomas Carlyle labored with intensity on the first volume of a three-part study of the French Revolution. He felt it could be his greatest work. He loaned the manuscript to his friend John Stuart Mill to read, and Mill read it by the fire. One morning the maid, cleaning the room and seeing the scattered pages on the floor, threw them in the fire. ...

Taming The Tongue

James alerts us in his New Testament book that our tongues are very difficult to tame! 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. Kent Hughes on page 142 of his book, “Disciplines of a Godly Man” gives some great understanding to this challenge – The true test of a man’s spirituality is not his ability to speak, as we are apt to think, but rather his ability to bridle his tongue…A pr...

Crisis Of Faith

Many Christians face times when they struggle to believe that they are truly saved. Read below and find out how the late wife of Billy Graham found personal victory in this realm:  Ruth Graham's "Crisis Of Faith"I had what some might call a "crisis of faith," although that sounds a bit grand for a thirteen-year-old's first doubts. Still, age has nothing to do with a crisis, and the subject was my faith. Perhaps it resulted from unanswered prayer. I had begged God (and my parents) to le...

Christianity Explained

Looking for a great way to CLEARLY share the gospel with a friend? Christianity Explained is our “go to” study. In their 30+ years of ministry, Pastor Joel and Beverly have found no study which explains the gospel more clearly, even for those who have no prior understanding of the Bible.  The 6 sessions are so short and succinct that many people cover the entire study in only 3 or even 2 meetings.  This study can be purchased from your local Christian store, or find it at this link...

It Really Does Matter Who We Listen To!

Here’s a great reminder that it DOES matter who we listen to! Our Daily Bread - Direct Instructions - March 9, 2018 Read: 1 Kings 13:11–22 “I have been told by the word of the LORD.”—1 Kings 13:17 My second child was eager to sleep in a “big-girl bed” in her sister’s room. Each night I tucked Britta under the covers, issuing strict instructions to stay in bed, warning her I’d return her to the crib if she didn’t. Night after night, I found her in the hallway and had to es...

Trust God

Hi Everyone,Below is an encouraging devo that will reinforce what we’re learning on Sundays about the essential need to TRUST God with the details of our lives each day! Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah - Monday, September 3, 2018 - Refusal to Panic  Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Matthew 8:26  Many of the storms in the Bible were occasions for God to teach us about faith. Just as the weather changes from sunny to stormy, so some of our days are bright and happy...

We Need To Practice

Below is a great devo that will help us understand our current Sunday AM study on TRUSTING God so we can OBEY Him. I’ve emphasised the word TRUST below in the article to help us see the connection. The overall point below is, once again the truth that the better we get to KNOW our God, the easier it is to TRUST Him. Our Daily Bread - Serve Continually - August 27, 2018 Read: Daniel 6:10–22 Has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you?—Daniel 6:20 When educational p...

Men's & Women's Study

Both the Men's and Women's Study groups are studying the Book Of Revelations at the moment. Revelation is a book that is often avoided because it is seen to be too confusing or too hard to understand. Join us for our video study as Greg Laurie takes us through the book of Revelation, showing that it is not only understandable, but also very applicable for our lives today. You’ll enjoy Greg’s clear teaching and humour. The men and women are doing the very same study at the moment and at the s...

Trusting & Obeying God

Here’s a great devo that really helps us understand the TRUST and OBEY principle we’ve been studying on Sunday Mornings. This really helps us see how Trust (God) and Obey (God) are inseparable!  Today's Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah - Walking With God - AUGUST 21, 2018  Enoch walked with God. Genesis 5:24Recommended Reading: Genesis 5:21-24What does it mean to walk with God? There’s a clue in Hebrews 11:5: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ...

God Does Care

There are times when we find ourselves doubting that God really cares for about us…that He REALLY does love us personally. One of the SMALL indications He has given to reassure us is the incredible variety He invested in His creation! And God makes it pretty clear that these created beings are for us. Genesis 1:27-30. Also, the very fact that He so cares for these creatures is a huge reminder to us that He cares infinitely more for us, His children! Check out Psalm 104:24-34 (ESV).24 O Lo...

The History of Bay Baptist Church

In 1989 God called Joel and Beverly Shoaf and their young family to leave America to start a church in New Zealand. After three years of presenting their passion for New Zealand in over one hundred churches in America, they had raised sufficient support to begin their ministry.In September 1992 they arrived in New Zealand. For the first 15 months they settled into “Kiwi life” and developed the youth and children’s ministries at Calvary Baptist Church in Mt. Maunganui. They knew God wanted ...

Beth Moore Simulcast

Dear Sisters in Christ, Bay Baptist Church once again has the honour of hosting the annual Beth Moore Simulcast. We would like to invite your ladies and teen girls to attend this event. This is our sixth year hosting the event, and once again we know that we will be blessed by what God gives Beth to say. Here is a video link introducing the 2018 Simulcast: https://s7d9.scene7.com/is/content/LifeWayChristianResources/2018-Simulcast-host-invite-without-date Beth has had tremendous impact in m...