Be Encouraged

Good Wednesday Everyone,

Weekly blessings to all.  I hope your week has been full.  Our Thanksgiving and Christmas schedule is upon us as we begin this Christmas season with our Children’s Christmas Play on Sunday, December 3rd at 4:00 P.M.  Following the children’s play we will have a snack/dessert reception in our fellowship hall.  There will be more to follow as we near December on what to bring for the reception.  Then of course tonight we have our Wednesday Night Fellowship, and the dinner menu is camp stew with cornbread.  As always, come as you are to Bethel’s Wednesday Night Fellowship.  We have updated the “Events” tab on our website so please check there for any upcoming events.

The new flat screens are mounted and working great.  The flat screen cart will be here soon and available immediately for use throughout the church.  Many thanks to Lee Vickery as we mounted the flat screens with only a few tense moments.  Nothing is too heavy until it’s above your head.      

This Lord’s Day we concluded our sub-series on the life of Elijah and how God displayed His power through Elijah.  This takes us now back into our Romans series “The Righteousness of God.”  To recap, Paul is making a legal argument to the predominantly Jewish Christians in Rome of the how, through Christ’s life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, we are saved only by the power of God’s grace.  Paul sought to prove the goodness of the Law, while at the same time proving the power of God’s grace is what saves our souls apart from God’s Law.   

This is where we will pick back up in Romans.  In this life we are constantly seeking the benefits in something.  The benefits of anything draws our attentions.  What are the benefits of this cable plan?  What are the benefits of this cell phone plan?  What are the benefits of this insurance carrier.  What are the benefits of joining this club?  I love the big box wholesale club stores: The only benefit they offer is for a yearly fee you can enter their store and buy whatever you want.  These are worldly benefits and they will not last beyond your final breath.

Paul wants us to understand there are eternal benefits to believing in Jesus Christ.  Consider all the assurances, blessings, and promises from God in Scripture.  Now, these incredible things provided from God are only for those who BELIEVE IN HIM.  This is not an intellectual belief nor a practical belief.  It’s a deeper faith.  We believe God saved us from our sins by coming into the world in human form.  Then God lived with us, sacrificed and died for us, and rose again so He could reveal Himself to each of us personally in our spirits.  This is what we believe. 

There are tremendous benefits to believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness for our sins.  Because there is an enormous difference between knowing about God, accepting the Trinity, believing the Bible, and going to church, and believing IN Him.  The difference is not about choosing the best religion, the difference is about where you will spend eternity.  See, we all know about the different cell phone companies and their various plans.  But you don’t get any benefits from T-Mobile unless you belong to T-Mobile.  The greatest benefit of being a Christian is that you BELONG to Jesus Christ.  This is where Paul will take us next. 

We need to know what this means.  We need to understand what we have in Christ.  Knowing our benefits from believing in Jesus Christ will change how we approach everything in this life. 

The benefits of believing in Jesus Christ will not only impact your life.  It will impact how you see and treat others.  We cannot be selfish with our godly benefits.  God will never run out, and we cannot use up all He will give us.  It would shock us if will know how many people, “Really want what we have they just don’t know it yet.”  Are you, am I the reason they don’t know?  Don’t be.  Telling others about spiritual things is easier and even more natural as we approach Christmas.  This is the time of year when people begin to realize they need to be in church.  This is the time of year when they hear songs about Jesus Christ, and their spirits are receptive to Biblical truths.  Tell others our about all the benefits of Christianity, Christian fellowship, and about Jesus Christ.  Come this Sunday and bring someone with you.     

In Christ,

Pastor Michael