SEPTEMBER THEME — “SEEING THE CROSS FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”

Join us in praise and thanksgiving as Belmont Baptist Church celebrates our Year of Jubilee—fifty years of God’s amazing faithfulness. We thank Him for every prayer answered, every soul saved, every life changed, every need supplied, and every step of the journey where His grace has carried us. As we look toward the cross this September, we praise the God who loved us enough to give His only begotten Son and the Savior who declared, “It is finished.”The same God who was faithful yesterday is already standing in our tomorrow, and we trust Him completely for all that lies ahead.Thank You, Lord, for fifty years—TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART

LETTING GOD’S WORD CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  

YOUR LIFE OFTEN FOLLOWS YOUR THINKING

We usually think spiritual battles begin with what we do, but many of them begin much earlier with what we think. A thought enters your mind. You dwell on it. You replay it. You begin to believe it. Eventually, what you have believed begins affecting how you feel, how you respond, and how you live. That is why God is so concerned about our minds. Romans 12:2 does not simply tell us to try harder to live differently. It tells us that we are “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” God’s Word does not merely change our behavior; God’s Word changes the thinking that produces our behavior.

NOT EVERY THOUGHT DESERVES TO BE BELIEVED

One of the greatest spiritual lessons you can learn is this: Just because you think something does not make it true. Your mind may say, “Nothing will ever change.” Your feelings may say, “God has forgotten me.” Fear may say, “Something terrible is going to happen.” Guilt may say, “God could never use me again.” Discouragement may say, “There is no reason to keep trying.” But every thought must eventually answer to the truth of God’s Word. Feelings are real, but feelings are not always reliable. Thoughts are powerful, but thoughts are not always truthful. I must never allow what I think or feel to become a greater authority than what God has said.

THE BATTLE OFTEN BEGINS IN THE MIND

Before sin becomes an action, it is often entertained as a thought. Before discouragement controls your behavior, it usually dominates your thinking. Before bitterness becomes an attitude, the offense has often been replayed repeatedly in your mind. Before fear paralyzes you, your imagination has usually rehearsed everything that could possibly go wrong. Satan understands the power of repeated thoughts. That is why Scripture speaks of “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). You cannot always control which thought knocks on the door of your mind, but you can decide which thoughts you allow to move in. You cannot always stop a thought from entering your mind, but you do not have to give it a chair and invite it to stay.

REPLACE THE LIE WITH TRUTH

Victory is not merely saying, “I am going to stop thinking negatively.” You must replace the lie with truth. When fear says, “What if?” answer with God’s Word. When shame says, “You are finished,” answer with God’s Word. When loneliness says, “Nobody cares,” answer with God’s Word. When Satan reminds you of forgiven sin, answer with God’s Word. When circumstances scream, “There is no way,” answer with God’s Word. This is how the mind is renewed—not by pretending the problem does not exist, but by continually bringing what you think into agreement with what God says. The lie begins losing its power when I stop feeding it and start feeding my mind with truth.

Years ago, if something came on television that you did not want to watch, you changed the channel. You did not sit there for thirty minutes saying, “I wish this wasn’t on.” You changed the channel. There are thoughts you need to stop watching. Fear keeps replaying the same program. Bitterness keeps showing the same scene. Regret keeps replaying yesterday. Worry keeps showing you a tomorrow that has not even happened. Sometimes you need to recognize what is playing in your mind and say, “That does not agree with God’s Word. I am changing the channel.” Then deliberately turn your mind toward the truth of Scripture.

Perhaps one of the most important questions you can learn to ask yourself is simply, “WHAT DOES GOD SAY?” Not, “What am I afraid might happen?” Not, “What does everybody else think?” Not even, “How do I feel about this?” But, “What does God say?” When God’s Word changes the way you think, it eventually changes the way you respond. And when it changes the way you respond, it begins changing the way you live. You cannot always change what is happening around you, but God’s Word can change what is happening within you.

WARFARE PRAYER

Father, renew my mind through Your Word. Expose every lie I have believed and replace it with Your truth. Guard my thoughts from fear, bitterness, lust, pride, discouragement, condemnation, and unbelief. When Satan whispers something that contradicts Your Word, help me recognize it immediately. Bring my thoughts into obedience to Christ. Teach me to believe what You say above what I feel, fear, see, or imagine. Fill my mind so completely with Your truth that there is less and less room for the enemy’s lies. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY CHALLENGE

Catch one recurring negative, fearful, bitter, or discouraging thought today. Write it down, and then underneath it write, “WHAT DOES GOD SAY?” Find one Scripture that answers that thought. Every time the thought returns today, deliberately replace it with God’s truth. Don’t just try to stop thinking the wrong thing. Start thinking what God says.

FRIDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS                                                     

Anna Belle Taylor

Britany Smith

Darlene Kelley

Darlene Thaxton

Ginny Ford

Ian Bryan

Kim’s McClain’s Mother

Nancy Brown

Rob Davis