Bethel Congregational Church

Safe Passage July 6 Give me understanding, that I may observe Thy law, and keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it. ... -Psalm 119:34-35 Imagine for a moment that you had to walk through a field in which someone had placed landmines that would do serious harm if you stepped on one of them. Now, suppose someone gave you a map and explained that it would guide you safely through the field. I am confident that you would receive that map and study it carefully before you took even that first step across the field. God’s Word is the map He has provided to guide us each day. It shows us clearly the way we should go, and it gives examples of men and women who have gone before us and found safe passage as they followed its directions. Consult it daily it will help you uncover and disarm the spiritual landmines Satan places across your path.

Under the true God July 4 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.... -Psalm 33:12 Frederick the Great supposedly asked his chaplain for a simple proof of God’s existence. The Jews, the chaplain responded. I would include America. I was disturbed as a young history major that what we learn from history is that we seem never to learn from history, to paraphrase one scholar. When God is Lord of a nation her values reflect His character, her culture reverences Him, and her leaders submit to Him as Supreme Sovereign. As long as a nation places itself under the true God, revealed in the Bible, she is blessed. America proves it. We must relearn that historic principle or lose the blessing.

Half-Hearted Devotion July 3 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.... -2 Chronicles 25:1-2 Amaziah was a young man when he became king. The Bible says he did right in God’s eyes but not with his whole heart. His half-hearted commitment to God became evident when he defeated the Edomites in battle and brought their gods home with him as spoils of war. King Amaziah conquered the Edomites, but their little gods conquered his heart. This can happen to us, too, if we allow the idols of this world to conquer our hearts. Half-hearted devotion to God diminishes the effectiveness of our lives and weakens our witness to the world. How do we prevent this from happening? By being wholeheartedly committed to Christ in every area of our lives. Then, we can do right in the sight of the Lord with a WHOLE heart, and make a difference for Him in this world! So I ask you now Are you wholeheartedly sold out to Christ?

The language of Jesus July 2 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.... -Ephesians 4:15 When ISIS terrorists were running rampant through the Middle East, they targeted a community of Aramaic-speaking Christians in Northern Iraq. Aramaic is the conversational language Jesus would have spoken. The stated goal of the ISIS campaign was to kill the language of Jesus! A Christian who escaped the slaughter said he was not surprised by such horrific actions. Two thousand years ago, hate propelled Jesus to the Cross, but from that Cross came an explosion of love that had never been seen before and has not been seen since. How we need to speak the language of Jesus, the language of love. It is best learned at the Cross and desperately needs to be spoken and heard around the world. So ask God to bring someone to your mind who needs to hear about the love of Christ, and then speak His language to them today.

Ears Only? July 1 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.... -James 1:22 A Japanese legend tells of a godly man who went to Heaven. As he walked the streets of gold, he noticed a little shop. In the window he saw rows of what looked like dried mushrooms. But as he looked closer, he saw they were not mushrooms, but they were human ears! He asked his heavenly guide, Why are these here? The guide replied they were the ears of people who heard the Word of God but never did anything about what they heard. So only their ears got to Heaven! Now don’t worry we don’t go to Heaven in pieces! But the point is well illustrated. We are to be doers of the Word not merely hearers. Hearing the Word of God should challenge us and change us! So don’t just hear take action! The Bible promises the effectual doer of God’s Word will be blessed in what He does.

Safe Passage July 6 Give me understanding, that I may observe Thy law, and keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it. ... -Psalm 119:34-35 Imagine for a moment that you had to walk through a field in which someone had placed landmines that would do serious harm if you stepped on one of them. Now, suppose someone gave you a map and explained that it would guide you safely through the field. I am confident that you would receive that map and study it carefully before you took even that first step across the field. God’s Word is the map He has provided to guide us each day. It shows us clearly the way we should go, and it gives examples of men and women who have gone before us and found safe passage as they followed its directions. Consult it daily it will help you uncover and disarm the spiritual landmines Satan places across your path.

Half-Hearted Devotion July 3 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.... -2 Chronicles 25:1-2 Amaziah was a young man when he became king. The Bible says he did right in God’s eyes but not with his whole heart. His half-hearted commitment to God became evident when he defeated the Edomites in battle and brought their gods home with him as spoils of war. King Amaziah conquered the Edomites, but their little gods conquered his heart. This can happen to us, too, if we allow the idols of this world to conquer our hearts. Half-hearted devotion to God diminishes the effectiveness of our lives and weakens our witness to the world. How do we prevent this from happening? By being wholeheartedly committed to Christ in every area of our lives. Then, we can do right in the sight of the Lord with a WHOLE heart, and make a difference for Him in this world! So I ask you now Are you wholeheartedly sold out to Christ?

The language of Jesus July 2 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.... -Ephesians 4:15 When ISIS terrorists were running rampant through the Middle East, they targeted a community of Aramaic-speaking Christians in Northern Iraq. Aramaic is the conversational language Jesus would have spoken. The stated goal of the ISIS campaign was to kill the language of Jesus! A Christian who escaped the slaughter said he was not surprised by such horrific actions. Two thousand years ago, hate propelled Jesus to the Cross, but from that Cross came an explosion of love that had never been seen before and has not been seen since. How we need to speak the language of Jesus, the language of love. It is best learned at the Cross and desperately needs to be spoken and heard around the world. So ask God to bring someone to your mind who needs to hear about the love of Christ, and then speak His language to them today.

Ears Only? July 1 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.... -James 1:22 A Japanese legend tells of a godly man who went to Heaven. As he walked the streets of gold, he noticed a little shop. In the window he saw rows of what looked like dried mushrooms. But as he looked closer, he saw they were not mushrooms, but they were human ears! He asked his heavenly guide, Why are these here? The guide replied they were the ears of people who heard the Word of God but never did anything about what they heard. So only their ears got to Heaven! Now don’t worry we don’t go to Heaven in pieces! But the point is well illustrated. We are to be doers of the Word not merely hearers. Hearing the Word of God should challenge us and change us! So don’t just hear take action! The Bible promises the effectual doer of God’s Word will be blessed in what He does.