SEPTEMBER THEME – “Seeing THE CROSS 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’S
HIDING GOD’S WORD IN YOUR HEART
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” — Psalm 119:11
YOU NEED THE WORD BEFORE YOU NEED THE WORD
There will be moments today when you will not have time to stop, find your Bible, search for a verse, and decide what God says. Temptation can come suddenly. Fear can hit unexpectedly. Someone can say something that immediately hurts or angers you. A phone call can change your entire day. Your emotions can begin pulling you in the wrong direction before you even realize what is happening. That is why the psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart.” He was storing God’s truth before the battle came. We prepare for many things before we need them. We put money aside before an emergency, fill the car before the tank is empty, and charge the phone before the battery dies. In the same way, we need to fill our hearts with Scripture before the crisis comes. THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE BATTLE IS BEFORE THE BATTLE BEGINS. Remember three simple words today: STORE IT. SPEAK IT. STAND ON IT.
STORE IT — PUT GOD’S WORD IN YOUR HEART
Your heart is a storage place. Something is being deposited there every day. Conversations, television, social media, music, opinions, disappointments, fears, memories, worries, and the words of other people are constantly entering your mind and heart. The question is not whether you are storing something; the question is, what are you storing? Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). Eventually, what you continually put into your heart will come out through your words, attitudes, reactions, and decisions. If you continually store fear, fear will eventually speak. If you continually store bitterness, bitterness will eventually speak. If you continually store the world’s thinking, the world’s thinking will eventually influence your choices. But if you continually store God’s Word, then when life squeezes you, TRUTH CAN COME OUT. Do not make Scripture memory complicated. Start with one verse. Write it on a card. Put it on your phone. Read it while drinking your coffee. Say it while driving. Repeat it before going to bed. You are not merely memorizing words; you are placing truth in your heart that the Holy Spirit can bring back to your remembrance when you desperately need it. A LITTLE WORD STORED CONSISTENTLY CAN BECOME A GREAT WEAPON WHEN NEEDED SUDDENLY. Ask yourself: What am I putting into my heart today that I expect God to use when trouble comes?
SPEAK IT — ANSWER THE BATTLE WITH GOD’S WORD
When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He repeatedly answered, “It is written.” Jesus did not argue with temptation; He answered lies with truth. That gives us a practical pattern for everyday life. When Satan says, “God has forgotten you,” answer with, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). When fear says, “You cannot handle what is coming,” answer with, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). When worry asks, “What are you going to do?” answer with, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart” (Proverbs 3:5). When your past says, “God could never use you again,” answer with, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The enemy wants you to respond to life according to how you feel, but God wants you to respond according to what He has said. Feelings say, “I can’t,” but the Word says, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Fear says, “What if?” but the Word says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee.” Confusion says, “I don’t know what to do,” but the Word says, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Not every thought that enters your mind deserves to control your heart. LET GOD’S WORD HAVE THE LAST WORD.
STAND ON IT — USE GOD’S WORD WHEN THE BATTLE COMES
Ephesians 6:17 calls the Word of God “the sword of the Spirit.” A sword hanging on the wall may be beautiful and valuable, but it cannot help a soldier in battle until it is taken into his hand. The same is true spiritually. You can own several Bibles, have Bible apps on your phone, attend church every Sunday, listen to preaching, and underline hundreds of verses, but when temptation hits on Tuesday morning, you need more than a Bible sitting on the coffee table. YOU NEED THE WORD OF GOD ALREADY WORKING IN YOUR HEART. When fear awakens you in the middle of the night, you need, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3). When you receive the phone call you hoped would never come, you need, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). When your heart feels overwhelmed, you need, “When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). When you do not know what tomorrow holds, you need, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). That is when Scripture stops being merely something you have read and becomes something upon which you stand.
THE EMERGENCY KIT
Most people do not wait until their electricity goes out to begin looking for a flashlight. We keep flashlights, batteries, medicine, first-aid supplies, and other necessities available because we know emergencies can happen without warning. Imagine waiting until the lights go out during a storm and then saying, “I think I’ll go buy a flashlight.” The time for convenient preparation has passed because the emergency has already arrived. Scripture memory is like building a spiritual emergency kit. Every verse you memorize places another truth in your heart that God can bring to your remembrance—a promise for fear, a command for temptation, truth for confusion, encouragement for discouragement, hope for grief, and a reminder of God’s faithfulness when the future is uncertain. YOU ARE STORING TODAY WHAT YOU MAY DESPERATELY NEED TOMORROW.
WHAT WILL COME OUT WHEN LIFE SQUEEZES YOU?
The battle will come. The question is what will be available when it does. When somebody hurts you, what will come out? When temptation comes, what will come out? When fear rises, what will come out? When circumstances suddenly change, what will come out? When Satan whispers a lie, what truth will answer him? What comes out of us during pressure often reveals what we have been putting into us during ordinary days.
Do not wait until the battle starts to begin looking for your sword. STORE IT by putting God’s Word into your heart. SPEAK IT by answering lies, fear, temptation, and discouragement with God’s truth. STAND ON IT by believing what God has said even when your circumstances and emotions tell you something different. The goal is not simply to see how many verses you can memorize. The goal is to have enough of God’s Word living within you that WHEN LIFE HAPPENS, GOD’S TRUTH BECOMES YOUR FIRST RESPONSE INSTEAD OF YOUR LAST RESORT.
WARFARE PRAYER
Father, create within me a hunger for Your Word. Forgive me for filling my heart with so many things while neglecting the truth I desperately need. Help me hide Your Word deeply within me before the battle comes. When Satan whispers lies, bring Your truth to my remembrance. When fear rises, remind me of Your promises. When temptation comes, put Your Word between me and the temptation. When discouragement overwhelms me, remind me of what You have said. Guard my mind, my eyes, my ears, and my heart from things that weaken me spiritually. Fill me so completely with Your truth that when life squeezes me, Your Word comes out. Teach me to STORE IT, SPEAK IT, AND STAND ON IT. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DAILY CHALLENGE — ONE VERSE, ONE DAY, ONE HEART
Choose one verse that speaks directly to something you are facing right now. Write it down and read it slowly five times. Say it aloud five times. Carry it with you throughout the day and deliberately use it whenever the battle connected to that verse appears. Before going to sleep tonight, try to say it without looking. Then ask yourself, “If the battle came tonight, what truth have I stored in my heart to fight with?” Remember these three simple actions throughout your day: STORE IT. SPEAK IT. STAND ON IT. DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE BATTLE STARTS TO LOOK FOR YOUR SWORD.
TUESDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS
Anna Belle Taylor – Irregular Heartbeat – Jackson’s Special Friend
Britany Smith
Darlene Kelley – Our Cousin _ Recovering from Cancer
Darlene Thaxton
Ginny Ford
Kim McClain’s Mother
Nancy Brown
Rob Davis – cancer