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

DELIGHTING IN GOD’S WORD

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” — Psa 1:2

WHEN GOD’S WORD BECOMES YOUR DELIGHT

Psalm 1 describes two completely different ways to live. One life is directed by the counsel of the world, while the other is shaped by the Word of God. The difference is not simply that the godly person reads the Bible. Scripture says, “his delight is in the law of the LORD.” The Word has moved from something he ought to read to something he wants to hear. He has discovered that within its pages are the voice, wisdom, promises, correction, comfort, and heart of God. You can read the Bible because you feel guilty if you do not, but God desires to bring you to the place where you open His Word because your soul is hungry for Him. Spiritual maturity begins when the Word of God moves from being a duty on your schedule to a delight in your heart.

DELIGHT CHANGES WHAT YOU DESIRE

We naturally make room for what we love. We do not have to be continually reminded to think about the things that capture our hearts. That is why David could say, “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). The more you know God through His Word, the more precious His Word becomes. What once seemed difficult begins to become necessary. You begin discovering promises you need, warnings that protect you, truth that corrects you, and wisdom that guides you. Jeremiah said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). When you truly develop an appetite for God’s Word, the things of this world begin losing their ability to satisfy your soul.

MEDITATION MEANS TAKING THE WORD WITH YOU

The psalmist says, “in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Biblical meditation is more than reading a chapter and closing your Bible. It is taking a truth with you. Read it. Think about it. Pray over it. Repeat it. Ask what God is saying to you through it. Carry it into your conversations, decisions, temptations, disappointments, and responsibilities. When worry begins talking, answer it with Scripture. When temptation whispers, bring Scripture to your mind. When discouragement comes, remember what God has said. When you lie down at night, let His Word be the final voice speaking to your heart. You have not finished with the Word when you close your Bible; the Word should continue working in you long after you have finished reading it.

DAY AND NIGHT MEANS GOD’S WORD BECOMES YOUR FILTER

“Day and night” does not mean that every waking moment must be spent physically reading Scripture. It means that God’s truth increasingly governs the way you think. Romans 12:2 speaks of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Before you react, ask what God says. Before you make the decision, ask what God says. Before you believe your emotions, compare them with what God says. Before you accept the world’s opinion, measure it against what God says. The goal is not merely to get more Bible into your memory; it is to allow more Bible to govern your life. Whatever consistently fills your mind will eventually influence your choices, and your choices will eventually shape your life.

THE TREE REVEALS THE SECRET

The next verse reveals what happens to the person who delights and meditates in God’s Word: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water” (Psalm 1:3). Notice—planted. Not drifting. Not uprooted every time circumstances change. Not spiritually controlled by yesterday’s emotions. The tree survives difficult seasons because its roots have reached a source deeper than the conditions around it. The heat may come. The drought may come. The winds may blow. But the roots are drinking from somewhere the storm cannot reach. A believer deeply rooted in the Word can remain spiritually alive in circumstances that should have dried him up.

THE COW DOES NOT JUST EAT; IT CHEWS

An old country illustration helps explain biblical meditation. A cow eats grass, but later brings it back up and chews it again. It continues drawing nourishment from what it has already eaten. In much the same way, we should not race through Scripture merely to say, “I read my Bible today.” Take one verse and carry it with you. Chew on it spiritually. Think about every phrase. Turn it into prayer. Apply it personally. Ask God to show you something you have missed. Sometimes one verse deeply meditated upon will change you more than ten chapters hurriedly read.

WHAT HAS YOUR MIND?

Something is occupying your thoughts day and night. Problems can become our meditation. Fear can become our meditation. Money, relationships, politics, sickness, disappointment, regret, and tomorrow can consume our thinking. The question is not whether you meditate—the question is what are you meditating on?

Psalm 1 gives us another way to live:

Delight in His Word.
Meditate upon His Word.
Plant yourself beside His Word.
Let His Word renew your mind.
Let His Word govern your choices.
Let His Word steady your emotions.
Let His Word become louder than everything competing for your attention.

You cannot control every thought that knocks on the door of your mind, but you can decide which thoughts you invite inside and allow to stay.

WARFARE PRAYER

Father, create within me a genuine hunger for Your Word. Forgive me for allowing the voices of this world, my circumstances, my fears, and my feelings to occupy more of my mind than Your truth. Teach me to delight in Your Word and meditate upon it day and night. When the enemy speaks lies, bring Your truth to my remembrance. When fear rises, remind me of Your promises. When temptation comes, strengthen me through Your Word. When I become discouraged, anchor my thoughts in what You have said. Plant me deeply beside the river of Your truth until my roots grow deeper than my circumstances. Let Your Word change the way I think, the way I speak, the way I respond, and the way I live. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY CHALLENGE

Choose one verse today rather than simply trying to read a large amount of Scripture. Write it down. Read it slowly several times. Emphasize a different word each time. Pray it back to God. Carry it with you throughout the day, and return to it before going to sleep tonight. Then ask yourself: What has been occupying my mind day and night—and what would change if God’s Word occupied that place instead?

DON’T JUST READ THE WORD TODAY.
LET THE WORD READ YOU.
DON’T JUST GET INTO THE WORD.
LET THE WORD GET INTO YOU.

MONDAY’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