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, answered prayers, saved souls, changed lives, and sustaining grace. As we look toward the cross this September, we praise the God who gave His only begotten Son and the Savior who declared, “It is finished,”trusting that the God who was faithful yesterday is already standing in our tomorrow. Thank You, Lord, for fifty years—TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!
BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART
WHEN THE WORD BECOMES THE WAY YOU LIVE
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man…” — Matthew 7:24
THE GOAL IS NOT JUST TO KNOW THE WORD
Jesus ended the Sermon on the Mount with an illustration about two builders. Both men heard His words. Both were exposed to the same truth. Both had the opportunity to build their lives upon what Jesus said. The difference was not what they heard; the difference was what they did with what they heard. One heard and obeyed, while the other heard and did nothing. Jesus said the obedient man was like someone who dug deeply and built his house upon a rock. It is possible to know what the Bible says, agree that it is true, underline it, memorize it, and even teach it to somebody else without allowing that truth to govern the way you live. The strongest life, then, is not necessarily the life that has heard the most truth, but the life that has actually built upon the truth it has heard.
STORMS REVEAL WHAT YOU BUILT ON
Jesus said the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew against both houses. Notice that knowing and obeying God did not keep the storm from coming to the wise man’s house. Christians still experience sickness, disappointment, loss, financial pressure, broken relationships, uncertainty, and seasons when we cannot understand what God is doing. But storms have a way of revealing what peaceful days can hide. When difficulty comes, do you immediately panic or pray? When someone hurts you, do you react from the flesh or respond from Scripture? When the future becomes uncertain, do you run first to fear or to God? Anybody can say, “I trust God,” when the sun is shining, but the storm reveals whether those words have actually become the foundation beneath your feet. The storm does not create your foundation; it simply reveals what you were already standing on.
LET SCRIPTURE LEAVE THE PAGE
God’s Word should eventually become visible in your life. Forgiveness should become more than a verse you believe; it should become something you practice when somebody hurts you. Love should affect how you treat difficult people. Faith should affect how you face uncertainty. Purity should affect what you watch and where you allow your mind to go. Stewardship should affect how you spend your money. Grace should affect the way you speak. Humility should affect how you respond when somebody corrects you. Scripture was never intended merely to fill our minds with biblical information; it was given to shape our lives into the likeness of Christ. Perhaps the greatest testimony to the power of Scripture is not a worn-out Bible in our hands, but a transformed life that demonstrates what that Bible has done within us.
WHAT WOULD CHANGE IF YOU ACTUALLY LIVED WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW?
Most of us probably do not need another hundred truths before we begin obeying the truths God has already given us. We often pray, “Lord, show me something,” when perhaps God is saying, “What have you done with what I have already shown you?” What would happen in your marriage if you actually practiced what Scripture says about love, forgiveness, humility, and putting another person before yourself? What would happen to your anxiety if you practiced what Scripture says about prayer and trust? What would happen to that broken relationship if you obeyed what God says about forgiveness? What would change in your finances, your attitude, your prayer life, your private life, your witness, or your priorities? Perhaps the next great step in your spiritual life is not learning something new, but finally obeying something you already know. Sometimes we are asking God for more light while He is simply waiting for us to walk in the light He has already given us.
KNOWING TRUTH WITHOUT OBEYING TRUTH CAN BECOME DANGEROUS
There is another danger we seldom consider: the more truth we hear without responding to it, the easier it can become to hear truth without being moved by it. We can become familiar with conviction. We know the verses, recognize the invitation, understand what God is saying, and even feel the Holy Spirit dealing with us, yet still walk away unchanged. James warned, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). The danger is not merely that I do not know what God wants; sometimes the greater danger is that I know exactly what God wants and have become comfortable not doing it. Every time God speaks through His Word, I am not merely receiving information; I am being given an opportunity to obey Him.
THE BLUEPRINT MUST BECOME THE BUILDING
Imagine a man who possesses the perfect blueprint for a house. He studies it every morning, highlights important measurements, memorizes sections of it, attends classes explaining it, and can tell everyone else exactly how the house should be built, but he never picks up a hammer. Nobody would call him a successful builder simply because he knew the blueprint. Eventually, the blueprint has to become a building. In the same way, we can study the Bible, underline it, memorize it, preach it, teach it, discuss it, and carry it everywhere we go, but somewhere the truth on those pages must become visible in the life we are living. God did not give us His Word merely to show us the life we should build; He gave it to become the blueprint by which we actually build our lives.
LET THE WORD BECOME YOUR LIFE
There comes a point when I must stop asking only, “What does this verse mean?” and begin asking, “What does this verse require of me?” If God’s Word tells me to forgive, I forgive. If it tells me to pray, I pray. If it tells me to give, I give. If it tells me to flee temptation, I run. If it tells me to wait, I wait. If it tells me to trust, I trust. If it tells me to surrender, I surrender. If it tells me to go, I go. The goal is not simply to finish another chapter of the Bible today. The goal is for the Bible to become increasingly visible in the way I live tomorrow. The Word has not finished its work in me when I understand what God said; its work becomes visible when what God said changes what I do.
WARFARE PRAYER
Father, do not allow me to become satisfied with merely knowing Your Word. Deliver me from the deception of hearing truth without obeying it. Expose every area of my life where I know what You have said but continue choosing my own way. Tear down pride, stubbornness, fear, rebellion, selfishness, and every stronghold that keeps me from immediate obedience. Build Your truth deeply into the foundation of my life. Give me grace to obey when obedience is difficult, courage to obey when obedience costs me something, and faith to stand when storms come. Let my marriage, words, choices, finances, relationships, attitudes, habits, private life, and priorities demonstrate that Your Word governs me. Lord, may people not merely hear me talk about Your Word; let them see Your Word lived through me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DAILY CHALLENGE
Do not look for something new today. Get alone with God and ask Him one honest question: “Lord, what have You already taught me that I am still not fully obeying?” Do not rush past whatever He brings to your heart. Write it down, surrender your excuses, and take one practical step of obedience before the day ends. It may be a phone call you need to make, forgiveness you need to extend, something you need to stop, something you need to begin, an apology you need to offer, a commitment you need to make, or an area you need to surrender. The truth that changes your life will not merely be the truth you learned; it will be the truth you obeyed. Don’t just own a Bible. Don’t just read the Bible. Don’t just know the Bible. Don’t just agree with the Bible. Build your life on it, and let the Word you read become the life you live.
SATURDAY’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