“STORMS” “STORMS”

Good morning. I pray you all are doing well and this finds you wrapped in the arms of Jesus. It is a beautiful day and I am thankful God allowed me to see one more. Can you say that it is a beautiful day no matter what the weather outside is doing?

Today’s topic is something that we all are either in, has been in, or is going through now. I’m not talking about just the weather. I am talking about the storms of life. You know, the bank messes up your account and a check bounces. Or, you are all dressed up and on your way to work and you have a flat tire. Storms come in many shapes, sizes and categories. What is a storm for you may be nothing to me, and vise versa. Let’s take a moment to see how God’s Word encourages us.

John 16:33 say, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Matthew 14:24-32 says, ‘24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” Mark 4:37-41 says, “37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

So, what storms are you facing today? Are your storms so sever that they have you torn up inside and seeking for some place to just crawl into a hole?


We all have storms going on all around us. Our churches are experiencing a large reduction in attendance and this is causing great turmoil in the body of Christ. Families are facing the storms of financial issues; trust issues, relational issues as well as faith issues. Unemployment is at an all time high. People have not only lost their jobs, but they have lost their careers.


People are losing their homes, their insurance and their vehicles. Retirement funds that took years to build up have vanished in a seemingly matter of days.


Storms are all around us. God knew that we would face these and that is why He reminded us in His Word that in this world, we would have trouble and trails, but He has overcome this world, and if our faith and trust is in Him then we will overcome as well. We must always remember that we serve and are under the protection of a God that speaks to the wind, to the sea, to our neighbor, to our boss, to our vehicles and to us. There is nothing that God does not have control over, or is greater than He. We must remember to tell our storms how big our God is.


Have you ever been in a plane flying high above the land and looked out to see how small things are? Just imagine how much smaller the view looks from God’s height. What maybe a mountain to us, is nothing more than a bump to Him.


Remember: The next time a storm brews up, hand it over to the Lord and watch Him say, “Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid. Peace, be still.”


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


Love in CHRIST.



Brian Hanvey
Associate Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church

“CAN I HAVE A WORD?”

Good morning friends. I pray you are having a wonderful weekend and were not hampered be the frozen liquid that was coming into our area. We are showing the movie Courageous at church Sunday night and are praying that the weather does not keep people from coming.

Today’s topic is a real issue that is common with a lot of people. I want you to stop for just a moment and think about what you have talked about today. From the time you got up, until you went to sleep yesterday, what did you have to say? Do you ever think about what seems to be the most common topic of what you have to say from day to day? Are you the type that has a hard time starting a conversation? God’s word has an answer for everything we face in life and this is not an exception. Let’s be enlightened.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says, “4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Romans 3:31 says “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law” Matthew 12:36 says, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” Ephesians 4:25 says, “Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.” Titus 2:15 say, “Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.”

Well, now that you have had a bit of time to think about your recent conversations and read a few scriptures, what are you thinking about talking about now?

Why is it we can talk about the last few seasons of CSI, or Survivor or NCIS, like it is some common knowledge? We talk about sports and whom we are supporting and how bad the other teams are. We talk about politics and how bad the politicians are. We talk about our pets, our neighbors, the grass, our cars, the pot holes in the road, the traffic, our bosses, how bad our jobs are, our co-workers, our homes, the best movies we’ve been to lately, and the list goes on and on. But, when it comes to God, we are scared to death to open our mouths.

When it comes down to it, almost everything most of us spend so much time talking about has no eternal value. Think about it, when our time is up here on earth, and God calls us home, do you think God will ask us if we watched the last episode of CSI Miami? No. That would be ludicrous. What God will be asking us is, when I had you meet John, did you share Jesus with him. Or, did you pray over the lady who lived next door to you when she lost her husband? Did you take the lady down the road some groceries to help her feed her children? What about the single older man that lived across the street from you that needed a ride to the doctor, did you offer to take him? What about the man that worked with you suffering from loneliness, did you tell him that I, (God) loved him and am here for him?

How many opportunities can you think of over the past little bit were there, where you could have shared Jesus, the plan of salvation or what He has been doing in your life? What keeps you from doing this? Are you afraid of what others will think? Are you afraid of how others will treat you? Are you ashamed? Mark 8:38 warns us that if we are ashamed of Jesus and His words, then when He comes into His Father’s glory, He will be ashamed of us.

Now, I want you to think about the people you spend the most time talking to and ask yourself, “are they saved?” I’m not saying that you have to be spending 24/7 talking about nothing but God, I’m just saying we should be devoting more time sharing God, His love for us all and be as bold, open and as eager to speak about God as we are about everything else. When it comes down to it, don’t you want everyone you come into contact with to go to heaven? The only Jesus they may ever hear of or see is the one they see in you.

Remember: The next time you have an opportunity to have a word with someone, try sharing the Word of God.

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

Bethel Baptist Church

“UNANSWERED PRAYERS”

Good morning to everyone. I pray that you had a wonderful weekend and am pumped and ready to face the new week with courage and boldness. Just think, with God in us, what power can match us or hold us down.

Today, I want to talk about prayers. What are some of the things you pray about? When you pray, do you really expect an answer? How is your prayer life? Do you pray about small things, big things or everything? The Bible has much to say about this issue so let’s take a look at some of these scriptures.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” Matthew 6:8 says, “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Matthew 7:7-8 says, “7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 18:19-20 says, “19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 21:22 says, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” John 14:12-14 says, “"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 15:7 says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” James 1:6 says, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” James 4:2-3 says, “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.1 John 3:22 says, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” 1 John 5:14 says, “14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

So, how is your prayer life? How often do you pray? Do you really believe in the power of prayer? Did you know that in the 66 Psalm that we are told that if we regard iniquity in our hearts, God WILL NOT HEAR us? Have you ever prayed for something for a long time and felt like you were never answered? Or maybe have you prayed for something to work out one way or the other, and the problem did just the opposite? Did you feel that God was not listening? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us we are to “pray” without ceasing.

So, what are we to get from all of this information? First and foremost, the very first prayer God is waiting for is for our prayer for salvation, and if we make that prayer with a sincere, repentive heart, He is sure to forgive us and that prayer will be answered on the spot. If we have made that prayer and you are now a child of the King, then we have a 24/7 straight line to the Savior of this world. But, we have to remember that the Bible tells us that if we regard iniquity in our hearts God will not hear us. Maybe you have been praying for things that just haven’t happened. Could it be that you have some sin between you and God that is preventing you from receiving an answer?

Prayer was never meant to be some big complicated mathematical equation. After salvation, prayer really is as easy as 1,2,3. 1> Get right with God. Do your best to seek Him and live a life of obedience. 2> Ask God to remove any sin that maybe between you and Him. 3> Then pray in His will, expecting something to happen. Remember the scripture above says “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we ask or think”. I can think of a lot. Prayer is just a conversation between two people. Don’t make it more than that.

When you pray, you should remember that prayers are answered in one of three ways: 1> Yes. 2> No and 3> Not right now. Sometimes it is His will to give you what you ask for when you ask for it. Other times He says no because He knows what is best for us. And sometimes, the answer comes at a later time when He knows it will be better for us. Don’t be discouraged if you feel like there is no one on the other end of the prayer line. Just ask God if there is some sin standing between you and Him, and if so, confess it and walk on. If sin is not the problem, then have faith and know that God is at work and will answer when He is ready, and in the way that is best for us.

Remember: The next time you feel you have unanswered prayers, re-evaluate, it maybe that He answered in a way you didn’t expect and you just missed it.

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

Love in CHRIST

Brian Hanvey

Associate Pastor

Bethel Baptist Church

“SEPARATED”

Good morning to everyone. Last week the sun was shinning and the weather was warm and this week it is cold and dreary, but either way, it is the day the Lord has made and we are to rejoice in it. I am thankful to be able to see one more day and that the Lord allowed me to be in His house and around His people.

Our pastor preached on separation today and this has sparked some thought on my part and the topic for our devotion this week. What do you think of when you think about separation? Is it always a bad thing to be separated? Are we to be lonely during a separation? What does God expect of us when He says we are to be separated?

Leviticus 20:26 says, “And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” Numbers 16:9 says, “Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them;” Romans 1:1 says, “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God” John 17:13-20 says, “13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. 20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;” 2 Timothy 2:20-21 says, “20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” Hebrews 2:11 says, “For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,”

Separated. Does that word scare you? For many it does. Just the mere thought of being alone or by oneself, scares the daylights out of some people. When we read God’s word, we see God instructing His children to be sanctified, separated.

Does God expect us to be all alone? No. God’s word is teaching us to be separated from the world and all that is unholy. We are to congregate in fellowship with other believers in Christ. God doesn’t expect us to hold up in some closet and avoid the world, that would be unrealistic and God knows that.

We should live a life that if we were arrested for being a Christian, there would be enough evidence to completely convict us in a court of law. There should be no doubt about where we stand. This means if you are standing by the water cooler and someone starts to tell an off color joke, you either try to stop them or you walk away. If you are at the copier and someone tries to share a little gossip with you, you tell him or her you don’t want to hear that mess. If you are flipping through the TV channels and you see someone half dressed or worse, you don’t stop and fantasies, you move on. If you are on the Internet and something pops up inappropriate, you X out of it.

How ashamed would you be, if your pastor came to your house and turned on your computer and researched your history? What if he were to look through all your movie collection? What if he looked at your cable and or phone bill and your text messages?

You may say, “What difference can I make?”. Well one man was separated for you and His name was Jesus. All those who followed Him and swore allegiance to Him abandoned him. Even His Father had to turn away for a moment, but He allowed Himself to be separated and sanctified for you and for me. So, one person can make a difference. You may say, “I’m not Jesus”, and that is true, but God used Moses to lead thousands out of Egypt. You may say, “I’m not Moses”, and this is true, but God is using me to share this with you. Just think What God can do through you, if you will allow Him to sanctify you and separate you for a holy purpose

Remember: Separated and sanctified may mean you are set apart from the world, but it means you are closer to the maker of the world.

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

Love in CHRIST,

Brian Hanvey

Associate Pastor

Bethel Baptist Church