New Bethel Church of Christ

09/07/2026

A daily message from John White - 9/7/2026

We are continuing our journey through the alphabet this week since school has kicked off. This week we will look at the letters M-R.

Monday: M

Hmm..we could look at money, Moses, mountain, Mary, miracles, and on and on we could go. But today our focus is on the word:

Mercy: compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power also : lenient or compassionate treatment

Hosea 6:6 says,

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:6-8

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,


God calls us to show mercy to others just as he shows his wonderful mercy to all of us. We are to be patient and kind and forgiving and show compassion. God wants us to show this to others to show he lives in us.

James 2:12-13 tells us we are to give mercy:

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

09/06/2026

09/05/2026

A daily message from John White - 9/5/2026

Saturday: L

Lord, love, like, lion, lift, light, and many more words that begin with the letter 'L'. Today we are going to look at the word:

Life: the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual

God talks a lot about the sanctity of life. God wants us all to live our lives for him so we can have our best life now, and have eternal life with him as well. He gives us choice in how to live our lives, so we must choose to serve and follow God.

Jesus said that he came that we may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). A full life is a life lived for the Lord. Jesus laid down his life that we may have eternal life.

What are we doing with the opportunity God gives us to live this life? Do we seek him first? Do we strive to share Jesus with others? Do we serve like Jesus served? Do we strive to love like Jesus loved in this life?

2 Peter 1:3-4

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

God gives us all we need to live a godly life for him in this world. And when we do we will receive our eternal reward of a life lived with him forever.

09/04/2026

A daily message from John White - 9/4/2026

Friday: K

Let's see which 'k' word we will focus on today. Some options are king, kin, kiss, kill, keep, know, knowledge, and many more. But we are going to go with a word we have heard since we were young. We will look at the word:

Kind: of a sympathetic or helpful nature, gentle, patient

We were taught as little kids to be kind to others. Play nice.

Proverbs 11:16-18

A kindhearted woman gains honor,

When we seek to be like Christ we are able to be kind to each other out of love. We are willing to forgive as we remember how much God has forgiven us. Treat people right. Show the world how to be better by treating others with love and kindness. This includes words and actions.

Always stay humble and kind.

09/03/2026

A daily message from John White - 9/3/2026

Thursday: J

Jesus, Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah, John, judge, jealous, are just a few of the 'j' words that were considered for our daily message. But I decided to go with Jonah, the reluctant prophet.

The book of Jonah consists of 4 chapters and and each defines a season in Jonah's life.

1. Jonah runs away from God. God wanted him to go speak to the people of Nineveh, but Jonah did not want to. He ran the complete opposite direction,thinking he could get away from God. Unfortunately, people still do that today.

2. Jonah runs to God. He gets saved from the ocean by a big fish or whale swallowing him up. Jonah spends 3 days inside getting is heart right and coming back to God. Unfortunately, many people have to go through a lot of bad things for God to get their attention. God delivers in many ways, even from inside a big ole fish.

3. Jonah runs with God. Jonah decides to do what God asked him to do and shares the message with the people of Nineveh. All the people from the kind down believed the message and repented of their wrongdoing. God wants us to share the message with all we can. You never know what the response will be to God's Word.

4. Jonah runs ahead of God. Jonah did not like how God saved the people and he got all upset. He was full of Jonah because he did not think the people were worth saving because of all the bad they had done. Remember, God loves all people and wants them to come to him. We do not get to decide who is good enough.

09/02/2026

A daily message from John White - 9/2/2026

Wednesday: I

Issac, Issachar, instruction, interrupt, idols, and many other words that start with the letter 'I'.

I thought we would look at the word:

Identity: the distinguishing character or personality of an individual

When we give our lives to Christ we vow to live for him and strive to be like him in all our ways. We identify with Jesus, and we seek to find our identity in him. We find our worth, our meaning, our peace, our direction, as we identify with Christ.

Jesus taught his disciples to be like him and to learn from him. They learned to find their identity in him. Jesus said in

Luke 6:40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

John 13:14-16 says, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

You see our character, our identity is in being like Jesus and he defines us, not the world and its guidelines. We identify as followers of Jesus and he gives us our worth. God says we are so important to him and he will never stop loving us. Jesus sought to do the Father's will, and we as his followers, must do the same. Our identity is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

09/01/2026

A daily message from John White - 9/1/2026

Tuesday: H

We come to the letter 'h' as we work our way through the alphabet in our daily messages. We could look at heaven, hell, home, help, honor or so many more. But we are going with a prophet from the Old Testament.

Habakkuk

Now this book does not get a lot of study or preaching time it seems. It is not one that is normally quoted (yet Paul quotes from it in Romans). The book consists of Habakkuk issuing complaints to God and God giving answers back to Habakkuk. The last chapter is Habakkuk's prayer.

Habakkuk 1:2-3 says

How long, Lord, must I call for help,

Why is all this bad stuff happening in the world? Why do you allow it? Where are you God? And then God answers

Habakkuk 1:5

“Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.

God is still at work even if we do not think we see it. God is always around for his people.

God responds again in chapter 2:4 saying,

“See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness"

Romans 1:17 quotes from Habakkuk 2:4: For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed-a righteousness that is by faith and from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

God is calling for his people to accept his ways of doing things, and his timing for them. "Living by faith" means we trust God and follow his ways. We live by our faith in him that he knows what is best, even though we do not see it for ourselves. We have to remember that God's perspective is much different than ours.

08/31/2026

Donuts at the 4-way

We gave away 120 donuts and several hundred smiles and waves this morning. In return we got smiles, waves, and countless thank you’s. We got the better end of the deal!

Big thanks to Bruce & Joan for picking up the donuts and working a busy corner.

08/31/2026

A daily message from John White - 8/31/2026

This week we continue working our way through the alphabet for our daily messages. Last week we did A-F. We will focus on a biblical word or person, our both, in our devotional thoughts, using the ABC's. This will help us as begin the school year.

Monday: G

Today we come to the letter 'g', and once again there are so many options. God, grace, giving, Gideon to name just a few. However we are going with a different 'g' for our focus today. We will look at the word:

Guarantee: an assurance for the fulfillment of a condition

Let's look at some amazing scriptures that show us God's loving guarantee to us.

Romans 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 also talks about the Spirit guaranteeing us what is promised to come to all of us. How we will get a new body and we are all responsible for our own actions. It is a beautiful section of scripture and I encourage your to read it to be blessed.

Ephesians 1:13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

We are guaranteed a new body in a new heaven with God. When we live for God and walk in the light as Jesus did, and strive to live for him, and are covered by his grace, we are guaranteed our inheritance. And we all know that if God guarantees something you can take it to the bank.