JULY THEME – “Seeing Ebenezer- “Hitherto Hath The Lord Helped Us” From God’s Perspective”
Join us in prayer and celebration as Belmont Baptist Church celebrates our Year of Jubilee, marking fifty years of God’s amazing faithfulness and looking forward with grateful hearts to all He has yet to do.
BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART
LOOK AND LIVE
The Greatest Battle Is Where You Fix Your Eyes
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” John 3:14
The Greatest Battle Is Not Around You—It Is Within You. Most of us assume our greatest battles are the painful circumstances surrounding us. We blame the diagnosis, the financial pressure, the broken relationship, the uncertainty, or the sorrow that has entered our lives. Yet Scripture reveals that the greatest battle is not the one around us but the one within us. The real battle is over the attention of our hearts. Whatever captures our gaze will eventually control our thoughts. Whatever dominates our thoughts will influence our emotions. Our emotions will shape our responses, and our responses will determine whether we walk in the flesh or in the Spirit. Long before our circumstances change, the direction of our heart must change.
Israel Looked at the Serpents Until God Told Them Where to Look
When fiery serpents invaded the camp of Israel, fear spread as rapidly as the poison itself. Everywhere they looked there was another serpent, another wounded person, another reminder that death was near. Imagine the panic that filled the camp. Parents watched their children suffer. Families grieved. Every eye was naturally drawn to the danger. Then God gave Moses an unexpected command. He lifted up a bronze serpent upon a pole and declared that everyone who looked upon it would live. Nothing happened until they looked. The poison was still present. The wilderness had not changed. Yet the very moment they obeyed God’s command and fixed their gaze upon what He had provided, life triumphed over death.
The Cross Has Become Our Place of Looking
Jesus removed all uncertainty about the meaning of that miracle. He declared that the lifted serpent pointed directly to Himself. The cross is far more than the place where our sins were forgiven; it is the place where our old life was crucified and where His life became our life. Too often we visit the cross only when we think about salvation, yet God intends for us to live there every day. We were never called to overcome life’s poison by self-effort. We overcome by continually looking to the One who has already overcome. The Christian life is not sustained by determination but by dependence. Christ is not merely our Helper; He is our life.
You Cannot Look at Christ and Yourself at the Same Time
One reason discouragement becomes so powerful is that we become preoccupied with ourselves. We measure our failures, analyze our weaknesses, replay our regrets, and wonder whether we will ever change. Self, whether proud or discouraged, is still self. Satan cares little whether we are admiring ourselves or condemning ourselves if he can simply keep our eyes off Christ. The Holy Spirit never magnifies us. He always magnifies Jesus. Freedom begins when we stop staring at ourselves and start beholding the glory of the Lord. As long as Peter looked at the waves, he sank. When he looked to Jesus, he found safety. The object of his faith mattered far more than the intensity of his emotions.
Peace Is the Fruit of a Christ-Filled Vision
Isaiah wrote, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” Perfect peace is not produced by perfect circumstances but by a heart that has learned to remain fixed upon Christ. There are moments when one quiet look toward Jesus changes everything within us. A few moments in His Word… a whispered prayer… a hymn that exalts His greatness… a fresh awareness that He is seated upon His throne. Suddenly the burden that seemed unbearable loses its power. The circumstances may remain exactly the same, yet the soul becomes still because Christ has become greater than the storm. His presence calms what His providence has not yet removed.
We Become Like the One We Continually Behold
Paul reveals one of the deepest principles of spiritual growth when he writes that, as we behold the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory. God changes us, not primarily through striving, but through beholding. The more we meditate upon Christ, the more His humility replaces our pride. His patience overcomes our frustration. His love casts out our fear. His joy becomes our strength. His life becomes visible through ours. Transformation is not produced by self-improvement but by Christ-occupation. We gradually become like the One who continually fills our vision.
Train Your Heart to Look
Learning to look unto Jesus is one of the greatest disciplines of the Christian life. Our hearts naturally drift toward whatever shouts the loudest—breaking news, fearful thoughts, painful memories, and uncertain tomorrows. Unless we intentionally redirect our attention, we will continually live beneath the weight of our circumstances. Every anxious thought should become an invitation to look again. Every disappointment should remind us to return to the cross. Every fear should become another opportunity to behold the faithfulness of Christ. Over time, what begins as a deliberate discipline becomes a settled habit, and that habit becomes a life of abiding. We discover that the secret of peace has never been the absence of trouble but the continual presence of Christ before the eyes of our heart.
Look and Live
The Lord’s invitation has never changed. Look and live. Look beyond the serpent. Look beyond the wound. Look beyond yourself. Look unto Jesus Christ, who was lifted up for you. The more you behold Him, the less you will be mastered by your circumstances. The more your heart is occupied with His glory, the more His life will be revealed through yours. In every painful, confusing, and discouraging season, the Holy Spirit gently whispers the same invitation He has always given: “Lift up your eyes.” For the soul that learns to live with its eyes fixed upon Jesus will discover a peace that the world cannot give and a life that no circumstance can take away.
Warfare Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive me for allowing my heart to become occupied with everything except Your Son. Too often I have stared at the serpents instead of the Savior, at the storm instead of the Sovereign, at my weakness instead of Christ’s sufficiency. By Your Holy Spirit, train the eyes of my heart to remain fixed upon Jesus. Deliver me from self-preoccupation and fill my vision with His beauty, His power, His love, and His finished work. As I behold Him, transform me into His likeness and let His perfect peace rule every corner of my heart. I declare today that Christ is my life, my peace, my righteousness, and my hope. In His mighty name, Amen.
Daily Challenge
Whenever fear, anxiety, discouragement, or frustration interrupts your day, don’t first analyze the problem—adore the Savior. Pause, open God’s Word, meditate on Christ, and intentionally fix the eyes of your heart upon Him. Refuse to allow the serpent to hold your attention longer than the Savior. Train yourself to look unto Jesus until your first instinct in every trial is no longer panic, but praise… no longer fear, but faith… no longer striving, but resting in the One who was lifted up and who now lives within you.
FRIDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS
Rob Davis – cancer
Mary Williams – Rehab for Broken Hip
Kim McClain’s Mother