Relax and Remember!

Posted on April 13, 2011 by admin

Yesterday in our morning meeting Pastor Cook reminded us to relax and consider our God.  He read to us a portion of Psalm 46.  It was an encouragement and I hope that it will encourage you.

 Psalm 46 is a wonderful example of the call of God on every single believer to look to our God in the face of life’s circumstances. 

 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

 Just a few thoughts: 

 v.1 Our God is like an available shelter from any and every difficulty we come up against.  He is like a fortress, a stronghold.  Our God is a very real, available help to us in the face of uncertainty and difficulty.  No matter who you are, we have all faced uncertainty and difficulty.

v.2-3 Because our God is so powerful and available, we must not fear.  The Psalmist then uses extreme examples to say in essence, if the whole world falls in around you – do not fear!  God is still with you, available in every situation. 

v. 10 The Psalmist brings the entire passage to a climax, be still, stop, relax and focus your attention on the fact that I am God!  God will be exalted among the heathen, God will be exalted in the earth!  For every true believer, one of greatest longings is that God is exalted as He deserves to be exalted.  Stop trying to fix your circumstances and remember that God is still God.  He will be exalted, He will accomplish His purpose, and He will further His kingdom!

Everyone faces difficulty, tragedy and hardships in life; when you do remember that He is your God and relax.  You can trust Him today.  The only question is: will we trust Him?

May God grant us grace today to trust Him as we ought to trust Him.

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Let’s Pray

Posted on April 11, 2011 by admin

I recently came across this wonderful old hymn written by John Newton in 1779.  The first verse is a wonderful example of some of the messages we have heard on prayer at Bethel over the past few months.  God wants to answer our prayers, so let’s pray! 

Come, my soul, thy suit prepare

Come, my soul, thy suit prepare:
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He Himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay;
Therefore will not say thee nay.

Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much;
None can ever ask too much.

With my burden I begin:
Lord, remove this load of sin;
Let Thy blood, for sinners spilt,
Set my conscience free from guilt;
Set my conscience free from guilt.

Lord, I come to Thee for rest,
Take possession of my breast;
There Thy blood bought right maintain,
And without a rival reign;
And without a rival reign.

As the image in the glass
Answers the beholder’s face;
Thus unto my heart appear,
Print Thine own resemblance there,
Print Thine own resemblance there.

I included several of the stanzas and as you can see it is rich with reminders of our great God and the work of Christ accomplished for us and the transformation it should make in our lives. 

Enjoy!

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Men’s Breakfast

Posted on January 26, 2011 by admin

Beginning January 22, we had our first monthly Men’s Breakfast. The ‎breakfast began at 8:00 a.m. and ended promptly at 9:15 p.m. ‎We had “manly food” cooked by men (thanks to Mr. George Manseau and his crew), with plenty of calories for all ‎to share. The cost was a couple of dollars (however you chose to give), but the spiritual benefits were ‎tremendous.
Our goal is to provide spiritual fellowship that results in ‎spiritual relationships among the men of Bethel. After our breakfast, we ‎spent time understanding and discussing practical matters of spiritual growth ‎for men. Fathers with teenage sons are encouraged to bring them along. Don’t ‎miss the opportunity to join with other men in pursuit of godly relationships ‎and growth. The dates for future ‎breakfasts are: February 19, March 19 and May 21.‎ If you were unable to join us this past Saturday, please make your plans to join us in February. We will again look at the practical side of spiritual relationships.

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Train up a Child in the Way He Should Go

Posted on May 20, 2010 by admin

Throughout  Proverbs one is admonished to teach by example and by explicit instructions the following attributes:  diligence, industriousness, justice, kindness, generosity, self-control, proper speech, temper management, righteousness, truthfulness and honesty, discretion in choosing friends and particularly a spouse, caution and prudence, gentleness, contentment, integrity of character, humility, graciousness, forthrightness, restraint, faithfulness and loyalty in relationships, purity, vigorous pursuit of what is good and right, patience, skillfulness in work.

And then negatively, parents are to teach their children to REFRAIN from a pleasure-seeking life-style and revelry. Children should be taught NOT to be arrogant or vain. Parents who avoid measured physical discipline, and allow a child to be left to his or her own devices, can expect that child to eventually shame them.  Every Christian family should be totally immersed in the Proverbs.

Diligence and Industriousness: (6.6-11;  11.27; 12.24; 13.4; 15.19; 18.19; 19.24; 20.4,13; 21.5; 22.13; 26.13-16)

Justice: (11.1; 16.11; 17.23; 20.10, 23; 31.8-9) 

Kindness:  (11.17)

Generosity:   (11.24; 19.6) 

Self-control, particularly of speech: (12.18; 13.3; 21.23)

Temper-control: (14.17, 29; 15.18; 16.32; 19.11)

Righteousness: (12.21, 28; 14.34)

Truthfulness and honesty: (12.22; 16.13; 24.26)

Discretion in choosing friends: (13.20; 18.24)

Discretion in choosing a spouse: (18.22; 31.10-31)

Caution and prudence: (14.16; 27.12)

Gentleness: (15.1, 4)

Contentment: (15.16-17; 16.8; 17.1)

Integrity of character: (15.27; 28.28)

Humility: (16.19; 18.12; 22.4)

Graciousness: (16.24)

Forthrightness: (16.30; 17.20)

Restraint: (17.14, 27-28; 18.6-7; 29.20)

Faithfulness in friendship: (17.17; 28.20)

Purity: (20.9; 22.11)

Vigorous pursuit of what is right: (20.29)

Skillfulness in work: (22.29)

Patience: (25.15)

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Welcome to the Bethel Blog

Posted on April 3, 2010 by admin

We would like to thank you for visiting the Bethel Baptist Church Blog.  For many years, we have published a newsletter called “Bethel Today.”  The newsletter included articles that that were written to challenge the mind and hearts of our members, and it was a great way for us to keep you informed about some of the ministry highlights at Bethel.  We think that this blog will allow us to take the “newsletter” to the next level.  We are hoping to post church announcements, sermon notes, book reviews, spiritual growth articles, and other resources that will be helpful for you.  Our goal is that we can use this blog “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). 

There are three primary ways that you can benefit from the writings that will be posted here.

1) You can manually visit this site to check for new posts.
2) If you have other blogs or news sites that you like to read, you should consider using an “RSS feed reader.”  A feed reader saves you time by loading all of the new material from your hand-picked favorite websites into one easy-to-read location.  Instead of having to visit each blog site, you can simply check your “feed reader” to see if anything new has been written.  If you want to try using a feed reader, Google Reader is a good option, and it’s free!
3) If all of that sounds too complicated, you can also simply subscribe via email.  To subscribe, click the link at the top of this page.  If you choose this option, an email will be sent to you each time a new article is posted.

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