DECEMBER THEME — FROM CHRISTMAS TO CALVARY – The Story Love Wrote
Friends, if your marriage feels heavy right now, I want to share something that can bring real hope and real change. Every couple goes through seasons where communication breaks down, feelings get buried, misunderstandings pile up, and the home feels more weary than warm. You’re not alone—and you’re not beyond help. That’s why I wrote 31-Day Reset for Troubled Marriages—not as a lecture, but as a lifeline. It’s a simple, day-by-day journey of Scripture, honest reflection, heartfelt prayer, and practical steps you can take together to rebuild what’s been damaged. This Reset helps soften hard places, reopen conversations, heal wounds you stopped talking about, and slowly restore the trust, tenderness, and unity you both long for.
You don’t need perfection to start.
You just need willingness.
One day at a time.
One prayer at a time.
One step back toward each other at a time.
No broken season is too broken for God to redeem.
No marriage is too far for God to restore.
There is beauty on the other side of surrender, and healing on the other side of hope.
If you or a couple you love could benefit from this journey, here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQCQB2KS
Let’s take the hand of every struggling couple and remind them: there is still hope… there is still healing… and Jesus still restores what feels impossible.
— Pastor Jackson
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
Waiting Together, Not Alone
“…exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” — Hebrews 10:25
In the centuries before Christ’s birth, God always kept a remnant—people who believed His promises, prayed together, and encouraged one another to keep trusting. Simeon and Anna in the temple are beautiful examples of this kind of shared waiting. They did not stand alone; they waited in the context of worship, community, and faithful gathering. In the same way, the closer we get to the Lord’s return, the more we need each other. The enemy loves isolated, discouraged believers, because they are easier to deceive, distract, and defeat. God designed us to wait together—praying together, gathering faithfully, sharing burdens, and reminding one another that “the day” is approaching. Church is not just a place we go; it is a people we walk with until we see Jesus. Encouraging others while we wait is part of how God keeps our own hope alive.
Isolation Weakens, Community Strengthens
One of the enemy’s most effective strategies is to pull a believer away from the flock. A sheep alone becomes a target. A soldier alone becomes vulnerable. A Christian alone becomes spiritually unstable. When we stop gathering, stop sharing, or stop opening our hearts, our thoughts grow heavier, our fears grow louder, and our faith grows weaker. But something powerful happens when we come together—truth replaces lies, joy replaces heaviness, and courage replaces fear. God wired us for connection. We were never meant to fight battles, make decisions, or carry burdens alone. Waiting together doesn’t make the wait shorter, but it does make the load lighter.
Shared Worship Builds Shared Strength
When Simeon and Anna waited for the Messiah, they did so in the atmosphere of worship. They prayed, fasted, encouraged, and reminded one another of God’s promises. Their strength did not come from self-determination but from shared devotion. The same is true for us. There is a kind of encouragement you can only receive in the presence of God with the people of God. When we worship side by side, when we lift our voices together, when we gather around the Word as one family, faith rises in the room. One person’s breakthrough stirs someone else’s faith. One person’s testimony ignites new hope in another. Shared worship is God’s way of keeping our eyes lifted as we wait.
Encouragement Is a Ministry, Not a Suggestion
The Bible does not say, “Encourage one another when you feel like it,” but “so much the more as you see the day approaching.” In other words: the darker the days, the brighter our encouragement must become. Encouragement is not flattery; it is warfare. It pushes back against fear, despair, doubt, and spiritual drift. When you speak life to a weary believer, you become part of God’s sustaining grace in their life. A text, a prayer, a listening ear, a reminder of God’s promises—these simple acts breathe strength into another’s spirit. And here’s the mystery: encouraging others strengthens you. In God’s economy, hope multiplies when it is shared.
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You have not called me to wait alone. Forgive me for the times I have neglected fellowship or pulled away when I needed others most. Help me to be an encourager to my brothers and sisters in Christ. Use my words, my presence, and my prayers to strengthen weary hearts as we wait for Your return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Challenge: Reach out to at least one believer today—a text, call, or visit. Encourage them specifically about the Lord’s faithfulness and His coming. Let them know they are not waiting alone.
THURSDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
June Cronan
Louise Jackson – Richard’s Sister – Open Heart Surgery
Betty Hammock
Brando Echarte
Cheryl Knight’s Brother
Debbie Foskey
Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
Gloria Young
Jake Jenkins
Jean Partee’s Sister
Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda
Deon Lotter
Doris Loyd
Nancy Brown
Amy Garner’s Dad
Annette Ford
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sisters
Ann Stanley
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
Linda Alexander
James Burnette
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Lonzo Christian
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Williams
Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom
Mrs. Franklin
Nora Allison
Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher