“BLACK OR WHITE, NO GRAY AREA”

Good morning.  I pray you have felt God’s hand on you and that you have a clear direction on what God desires of your life.  There is no better feeling than being in God’s will and allowing Him to use us to accomplish His tasks.

Today’s topic is another tough one.  It seems like God has been sending a lot of these to me for some reason lately, so I will continue to follow His lead.  Why is it, that we can plan an outdoor event according to a weatherman’s prediction, but we always try to make the Bible a book of gray areas?

Specifically today, I want to address the most important issue we face, (salvation) and what the Bible says about it.  Too many want to twist the words, or add to them or take away, to the point of trying to make enough gray area to allow all entrance into heaven.  Let’s look at some scripture.

Romans 3:23 says, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”  Romans 6:23 says, “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Acts 4:10-12 says, “ 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Romans 10:13 says, “13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Revelations 3:15 says, “15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.”  Matthew 7:22-23 says, “22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'   Romans 11:29 says, “29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”.

I know there is a lot of scripture this week, but if you will read it and re-read it, I believe it clears any gray areas that men come up with.  First we see, “all have sinned”.  No one is good enough nor can they do enough works to earn a place in heaven.  Second we see that the “wages of sin is death”.  It only takes one sin to separate us from God.  Third, we are told that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”.  Look at it like this.  Heaven is God’s house, and just as you would not allow someone breaking your rules to be in your house, God requires our obedience to come to His house.

Forth, we read, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”.  There is no limit to age, color, sex or area of town you live in.  God says whoever calls on His name “shall be saved”.  Next we read that God knows our works and that He says we are to either be “hot, or cold”.  If a real salvation, life changing experience has happened, you will be on fire for God and in His will.  If you walked some isle somewhere to please a friend or a parent or spouse or something and did not mean it in your heart, then you still have business to do with God.  Why do I say this?  Because the next scripture makes it clear when Jesus says to the “actors”, “I never knew you, depart from Me”.  Finally, if there was a real life altering salvation experience, then here comes the guarantee.  In Romans 6:23 we are told that the “gift of God, is eternal life” and in Romans 11:29 we are told “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.  IRREVOCABLE.

If you are truly saved, you cannot lose your salvation.  You can backslide, you can be out of God’s will, but you will not go to hell.  There is no gray area.  When we die, and we all will someday, unless Jesus comes back first, we will spend eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell.  To get to heaven, you MUST be saved and go by God’s rules.  To get to hell is to dismiss all of what has been said here, to believe as the world does that “if it feels good do it, you only live once”.  There will be those who say I’m crazy, a fanatic or I don’t know what I am talking about, but wouldn’t you rather try it God’s way and die and find out I am right, than to die and wake up in hell?

Remember:  Ephesians 4:13-15 says, “13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--“ It is as simple as Black or White.

Until next time, please pray for each other as I as I continue to pray you.  Love in CHRIST,

Brian Hanvey

Associate Pastor

Bethel Baptist Church

"SO, YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN?"

Good morning. I pray the grace of God delivered you through all the  storms and trials of this past week and that you were able to enjoy some rest and quality time with family, friends and God.

Please, don't be distracted by this weeks topic and think it does not apply to all. Just because it says "man" at the end, does not mean it does not also apply to women, boys or girls. This topic applies to all. With that being said, let's dive into it.

Most of life hit me at an early age. What I mean by that is, that I started almost everything early in life. I say this because I am having reference to the "I'm a man at 18" syndrome. I caught this illness at about 14, instead of 18, but we all have had it or will have it coming up. You know what I am talking about. It is that attitude where, when we turn 18, "of legal age by the worlds standards", we think we know it all and no one can tell us anything we don't already know or show us anything we cannot already do. For me, this was a time that I allowed the world to dictate the standards of a man. I did my best to live up to those standards and then some. The world will tell you a man is measured by how filthy his mouth is, by how much he can drink, by how he can dominate others or maybe even by how "brave" one is. I was the poster boy for their cause. At 6'1, 360 pounds, I was the power eater, drinker, belittler, lifter and bully the world would look up to or suffer the consequences. I was known to make the statements, "I am god", or "if you aren't god, you better stay out of my way". To make sure others knew I meant what I said, I made sure they heard of how I picked up the front of a car out of a ditch and rolled it on to the street, or how I would play around in the weight room leg pressing close to 1100 pounds. I say NONE of this to brag, but to illustrate the point, I was a "man", in the wrong eyes. To think back at that person now brings me to tears again. What makes you a "man", or "grown"? Can you relate to some of the things I have mentioned here?

God's Word, once again, provides direction as to how we should conduct ourselves when we think, "we are all that". Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, in Philippians 2:5-8 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6> who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7>but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8>And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". Being grown, or a man has nothing to do with our size, or age. Or how we dominate others, or even ignore them. It is a mind set. It is knowing that there is always someone bigger, stronger, smarter, faster, better looking or just better, in whatever other category we think we hold the corner of the market on. Christ, God in the flesh, did not come in royalty and throwing His weight around, but in a spirit of humility and service to others. The Bible says, "He was obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross". The maker of all there ever was, all there is and all there ever will be, was obedient and humble. The world has, and often does, call these characteristics week and meaningless, but if the creator of all that is, or will be, had them and lived them out, shouldn't we? One of the best, if not the best compliment I think I have ever received, came from a deacon at the church I attend. He said, " you are always so humble". To know the old me and the current "under construction" me, that statement is amazing. It proves God's change in me and shows how He can take a sow's ear and turn it into a silk purse (sort of speak). In closing, I just want to remind anyone who does not already know that the day will come, when we all will bow and confess Jesus as Lord, no matter what kind of a "man", we are or are not. Read Philippians 2:9-10.

Remember:  When you are trying to measure up to being a “man, or woman”, it is not the worlds judgment to fear, but God’s judgment will be the final say.

Until next time, please pray for each other and me, and I will continue to pray for each of you. Love in CHRIST,

Brian Hanvey

Associate Pastor

Bethel Baptist Church

“THEN CAME MORNING”

Good morning. And what a beautiful day it is dawning. I pray you had a weekend that was full of rest, enjoyment, love and time spent with family and God.  My week ended by donating a tooth to the dentist.  I am so thankful to have that pain gone and will be looking forward to the tooth fairy coming to visit.  If they pay by the size of the tooth, I should make enough to pay off my house.

Trying to deal with this tooth ache, I had not given much thought to the topic for this weeks devotional, until this morning. Sitting in front of the computer, watching the sun rise and listening to the birds, God reminded me that once again, today is a brand new day. I cannot rely on the sermon I preached last night, nor can I say, "well I was going to get to that tomorrow". It is all about what am I doing today, right now. After all, isn't that how we look at God?

For many people, what God did thousands of years ago is in the past. And the blessings promised for obedience are somewhere down the road. So we look, ask and wonder what is God doing for me today? The very first thing we should notice is the miracle of life happened. Our bodies went to sleep last night and somehow awoke this morning, to life and breath, that we did not know for sure we would have when we went to sleep last night. Next, through the assurance of Ephesians 6, we have the amour and weapons to see us through the day. Then God will speak to us through His Word, if we will read it, and reassures us of His presence in the song of a bird, or a light breeze, or maybe that soft calming peace that comes over us. All the day long He watches over us and see us through our accomplishments as well as our disappointment, while longing to be included. God provides safe travel to and from all the places life takes us today and the jobs or activities that we do. He provides physical food and material things to meet our needs of the day. He brings us back to the shelters He has provided us to once again feed the physical being and catch up on some of that rest, we feel like we so much deserve and before you know it, we are off to sleep, without a thought of waking up to another day.

 What did we miss in the previous day? More than we can cover here in a short devotion. We did not talk about all the sins and disappointment that a day of life brings with it. In Romans 3, we are reminded that all have/do sin and fall short of the glory of God. Where would we be, if when we woke up this morning, God sat us down and said, "you only get forgiveness for 3 sins today, after that, you are on your own"? Or where would we be if God's mercy was like a credit card, and had a 10 sin limit? In Romans 6:23 we are told that the wages of sin is death. It does not say one sin or a hundred sins. It says the wage of sin is death. But wait, here comes the good stuff. In Lamentations 3:22-23, we are told by the prophet Jeremiah,

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness". Does that mean we have an American Express Gold card to do as we please? God forbid. In Romans 6:15, Paul reminds us, "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!" The Old King James says, "God forbid".

I am thankful that God's mercies are new everyday.  My wife and I were talking the other day about how it seems like more thunderstorms come at night and what a difference a day makes. Look around you. The SON is shinning. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. It is always the darkest just before the dawn. To use one of my dad's sayings, "if you feel you are at the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on", Morning is coming.

Remember:  Today is the best day of your life.  Why, you ask?  Because it is one you have never seen before, and will never see again.  Make the most of it.

Until next time, pray for each other and me, as I continue to pray for you. God Bless and Love in CHRIST,

Brian Hanvey

Associate Pastor

bethelbaptistchurchtn.com 

“Schizophrenia”

Good morning everyone. Another week has rolled around and it is time
for a special message from God. I realize you have two choices when
you receive these, one is to just delete, the other is to read them. I pray
you read them and receive a blessing and word from God. If that
happens, God’s will has been accomplished and I have been obedient
and of some service.

Today’s topic will probably draw some “snickers”, but, read with an
open mind, I think you will get the point. One of the biggest issues I
hear from others who do not attend church, (and a lot who do), is
people are hypocrites. The complaint is that people appear one way on
Sunday at church, and then when you see them walking down the
street, or at Krogers, they pass you up like a stranger. Think about it.
How many people do you know who have one face for work, one for
friends, one for church and another for family? Why do we feel like we
must “act” one way or the other to conform to the “crowd”? Let’s take a
look at what God has to say about this.

Colossians 3:8-9 says, “8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another,
since you have put off the old man with his deeds,” James 1:8 says, “ 8 he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”. Isaiah 29:13 says, “13 Therefore the Lord
said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the
commandment of men,” Mark 7:6 says, “ 6 He answered and said to them, "Well did
Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.”

Do you know someone who attends church on Sunday, appears very
“religious”, and then just the night before you could have found them
out at the “club” drinking and using every vulgarity and profane word
known to man? With one mouth they praise and tell God how much
they love Him, and then that same mouth spits outs such “filthy” words,
puts in smoke, drinks, drugs, gossip and so many other things that tear
a person down, physically and spiritually. Are you maybe a person like
that? It is with great sadness and humility that I admit, I once was
included it this group. Many years ago as a young adult I used church as
a social gathering. It wasn’t until my mid twenties did I really accept
Christ and began seeking His ways in my life.

God’s word tell us, if we are really saved, we will “put off the old man
with his deeds”. There will be those who do and will say, “you are
judging me, or don’t start judging me”, and that is not what I am doing
at all. God is the one and only judge that holds eternity in His hands.
But God did tell us how to be “fruit inspectors” and to know people by
their fruit. Most of us either are, or have been guilty of showing more
than one personality at a time. God’s word reminds us that He sees and
knows everything and that kind of life style not only hurts us, our
testimony, our church and those around us.

I am not saying I am perfect now, nor will I ever be, nor am I telling you
that you should be perfect. What I am saying is if you truly are a child of
God, you know the bad things in your life that you should clean up.
Some of these things we need God’s help to clean up, but you can do
much on your own,,,,,,,,if pleasing God really matters to you.

Remember: God sees all of us, but only the “right” one will spend
eternity with Him.

Until next time, please pray for each other and me, as I continue to pray
for each of you.

Love in CHRIST,

Brian Hanvey
Associate Pastor
bethelbaptistchurchtn.com

“CAUTION, IMAGE IN MIRROR MAY NOT BE ACTUAL IMAGE!!”

Good morning everyone. I, once again, would like to thank you all for taking the time to
read these. It is my solemn prayer that you receive a blessing and a message from God
each time I send one of these out. I have just capped off one of the best weeks of my life.
I was able to spend a week with my wife on her “stay-cation”, I was able to spend a few
days getting to know my new daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I had the privilege of
officiating the wedding of my son and new daughter-in-law, (my first wedding ceremony)
and I was able to be in church. It has been a blessing I pray I never forget.

Today’s topic is something that runs through my mind a lot. Do you remember the old
carnivals and county fairs that use to have this room you could go in and you would see
all these different mirrors that would reflect you as shorter, taller, wider and so on? In
reality, none of the images were the real you. I also am reminded of the side mirrors I use
to have on my truck. There were these small round mirrors on the outside edge that had a
caption that read something like, “objects may be closer than they appear”.

With the above mentioned memories, I think about how we look in mirrors today. Some
people cannot pass up a chance to see themselves in a mirror. But, what are we really
seeing? All we see is the outside. If we don’t like what we see, we can shave, fix our hair,
put on make-up, we can change our clothes, brush our teeth and we try all these things to
make the outside look perfect. There is nothing wrong with trying to look your best, but
let’s see what God has to say on the issue.

Isaiah 64:6 says, “6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness’s are
like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us
away.” Philippians 3:9 says, “ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness,
which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
is from God by faith;” 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 says, “ 9 For we know in part and we
prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part
will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we
see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know
just as I also am known.” 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not
look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him.
For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart."

With the above scripture in mind, I wonder what we would see if we could look into a
spiritual mirror. I wonder how many of us would do our best to avoid mirrors altogether.
Can you imagine what your reflection might reveal if when you looked in the mirror all
you saw was you sin? Instead of working so hard on the outside, do you think we would
start doing a little more to work on the inside? The above scripture reminds us that our
very best in God’s eyes, is like “filthy rags”. Our righteousness is only found in the blood
of Christ. Our wisdom, understanding and knowledge is nothing compared to God’s and
we only see what is in our own little world. Man sees and judges others by there
appearance, but the “Lord looks at the heart”.

Looks, money, material possessions, wisdom, knowledge and most of everything else
will pass away someday, but God has always been, is now and will always be, and His
promises never fail. So, why do we do so much to improve the outside, when it is only
temporary and superficial, and neglect the inside which will have eternal consequences?
The next time you look in a mirror, try looking past the outside and take a good look on
the inside. Try to determine what things you can clean up and what will take God’s work
to clean up. In the long run, the work on the inside will make a much bigger impact on
your life and eternity that what we show on the outside.

Remember: The next time you look in the mirror to look past the pretty smile and see
what God sees, then see if you can keep that smile.

Until next time, please pray for each other and me, as I continue to pray for each of you.
Love in CHRIST,,,,,,,,,,,,,Brian

Brian Hanvey
Associate Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church