Weekly Encouragement
Good Wednesday Everyone,
What a blessing to have cooler days and hopefully a cooler weekend. We can enjoy being outside instead of having to be outside. Bethel Family: What a wonderful Lord’s Supper we shared during our worship service. All who attended were blessed. Never miss the Lord’s Supper. It is a time of renewal and remembrance of what Christ did for us.
We have some Bethel news to share. This evening is our monthly business meeting. Please attend as we will discuss the start of another weekly gathering for our congregation. This has been discussed and prayed for by our deacons and executives in the recent months, and we believe the discussion needs to continue with Bethel’s entire congregation. The time has come for Bethel to begin a return to normal. Your pastor is in place at the Bethel’s parsonage, and the time is right for a second meeting during the week. There is such a sweet fellowship at Bethel Baptist and extending our fellowship will only make us stronger in the Lord and closer to each other. Also, this is an excellent opportunity for outreach. The discussion and potential schedule will be presented for discussion this evening after our meal together. Be prayerful and be prepared for this meeting and our discussion. Also, we will suspend the September Brotherhood Breakfast and the next will be in October on 10/16/2022. This takes us to the end of October, and we are scheduling a “Trunk-or-Treat” for our children and community. Mark your calendars early.
We have two sermons remaining in our “Acts of the Apostles” series. Remember the leading title of each sermon is “The Supernatural Normal Life”. The Christian’s life is one of continuous and NORMAL interaction with the King of the Universe. This supernatural event to the world is a normal event for the Christian. During this interaction, our King leads us, protects us, watches over us, and yes, yes our King directs us to do His will. What kind of King would God be if He did not? As parents we direct our children, and this “directive” relationship within the family structure is vastly different than in our outside relationships. We obey directives. We heed advice.
Every directive from everybody else outside your family is really advice. The advice we are given can be followed and obeyed to the letter, or it can be discounted immediately and outright. Obviously, there are extremely negative consequences to not heeding the boss’s advice, but if we are willing to accept the consequences, we are free to do so. Most advice is not life threatening, but advice can certainly be life altering. We must recognize good advice. We must consider who is giving us advice. We must understand someone’s motive when giving us advice.
This concept of giving/receiving advice impacted Paul and all who are with him in Acts 27. Paul gives advice to those in charge of him, and Paul’s advice is promptly rejected. Who was Paul to those in charge anyway? What does Paul know about sailing and ships? Well, that’s the rub isn’t it. Who was Paul? He was the Apostle Paul of Tarsus, a devout Christian, personally connected to Almighty God, and chosen to fulfill God’s Will on the earth. These kinds of people need to be listened to and obeyed. People like Paul rarely give opinion laced advice to hear themselves talk. People like Paul are just like Jesus, and so are you.
Christians are examined closely, judged regularly, and viewed differently by those outside our faith. So, when you speak, they listen. What Paul told those in charge of him for their voyage, was given to save their lives. There were 276 souls onboard the ship headed for Rome. Paul was CERTAIN he would survive because he wasn’t in Rome yet. The others around Paul did not have the same assurance of a safe arrival. Apply this thought to those around you. What or where is your “Rome”? No matter what happens around you, or against you – You will survive and arrive where God wants you to be. What about the others who are around you every day? We need to give others the “advice” they need to make the right choice about arriving to Heaven. God wants everyone to come to Heaven. But they interpret God’s directives as advice for consideration and they never make it. Everyone wants Heaven, and we are enroute, but only Christians will arrive safely and securely. ALL “People really want what you have – They just don’t know it yet!!” So, tell them, pray for them, invite them, and let God’s Spirit lead them to obedience by faith.
Blessings in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Michael
