Weekly Encouragement
Good Wednesday Everyone,
Weekly blessings to all. Our Bethel family wants to congratulate the Senn family this week on the birth of their baby boy Blake Senn. Blake and his family need your prayers as Blake remains in the hospital as he continues to strengthen before coming home. Bethel family – Lift up the Senn family in continuous prayer. We share in the joy of Blake coming to us and we will rejoice completely when he is home soon. Remember, an addition to the Bethel family is never about getting bigger, it is about getting better. As we see Seth and Adrianne raise their boys, Bethel will always be there to encourage and help in any way. Again, congratulations to Seth and Adrianne on the birth of their son Blake.
We are back to our regular Wednesday Night Fellowship schedule tonight at 6:00 P.M. Tonight’s menu is Taco’s. Everyone loves tacos, and it is always a blessing to share a meal together. Families: As you complete your day, depart work, gather the kids, and regroup at home, come share the evening at Bethel Baptist. You can come early and fellowship as we begin serving at 6:00 P.M. If you are able, bring a dish or dessert to share. Bible study for the adults and children follows at 6:50 P.M
This Lord’s Day we introduced a new sermon series in the life of Job. The Book of Job is incredible. However, this book can be a misunderstood book. Job lived a good life, was a good man, and did good things, “continually” the Bile says. Then Job was struck by allowed and undeserved devastation by God. God did not cause Job’s devastation, nor did Job cause his own devastation, but God allowed it to happen. This truth takes a minute to fully absorb. Because: What God allows to happen in our lives now, is always for our good later. This truth brings so many questions to our minds about God Himself. And God is what the entire book of Job is about. God’s presence. God’s protection. God’s power. God’s prestige. God’s purpose. And then from the most personal Biblical account – Job is about God’s people.
Consider this two-step “Do/Don’t Outlined” answer for how to comprehend Job’s allowable yet undeserved sufferings. First: Don’t read Job with a comparison mindset. What happened to Job was meant for Job. How God responded to Job is meant for you. Your suffering in this life will be different than Job’s, but God’s response to your suffering will be exactly the same. Job was a child of God, as were others in Job’s time and beyond. Today, every Christian is a child of God. God’s greatest desire is to teach His children exactly who He is. No one seeks out nor wants to suffer, but when we do the difference between you and God is magnified. Amid our suffering God takes over. You lean on God more. You listen to God harder. You love God completely. Welcome the difference between you and God. Be thankful for the difference between you and God as you place everything into His hands.
Also, the distance between you and God is revealed. When you are suffering allowable yet undeserved tribulations you will feel the distance between you and God. You may be far away from God at the start of your suffering. Then God miraculously shrinks the distance. God becomes more precious to you. You spend more time with God in prayer and in the study of His word. You need the presence of God’s people more. You want God more!! We will always move closer to God when we suffer.
Second: Do read Job with a conquering mindset. We know the end of Job’s story, and it is how every story in the Bible ends. The sufferings experienced by Job are so harsh, so personal, and so intense, we can’t imagine victory will ever come. Yet, all events and every story available in our Scripture describes a difficulty, a hardship, an amount of suffering, and a time of certain disaster for one or many of God’s saints. Think about your favorite story in the Bible. It will involve an amount of real emotional, physical, and spiritual suffering, and every time God overcomes. God does not have a winning record. God has an undefeated record. Beloved – Here me. God will defeat everything you are suffering in this world, and you will be better for having experienced it.
Bethel’s faithful, you know people who desperately need to rid themselves of a comparison mindset and start living with a conquering mindset. Tell others about what you have. Others need what you have. Precious families you know want what you have, “They just don’t know it yet.” An invitation to church could be the start of their new life in Jesus Christ. Before this Lord’s Day, pray for a name, then: Reach out; Call; Email; or Text. Knock on a door. Find a way to invite someone to Bethel Baptist Church.
In Christ,
Pastor Michael
