Bethel Baptist Church Bessemer

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

My wife, Sue, and I had just finished walking five miles across the Mackinac Bridge, which links Michigan’s two peninsulas. This annual Labor Day event in the United States is a tradition in our state dating back to 1958. We grabbed a seat on a park bench to rest. A man sat down next to us to catch his breath as well. Soon his wife and adult daughter joined him, and we learned that their family—also believers in Jesus—had suffered through the death of a teenage girl just as we did many years ago.
Together we were able to share how God has sustained us and given us strength and faith through the years. It was amazing to think that among the 33,000 walkers that day, we found a family that understood our hearts.
Two families with similar stories ending up together in a sea of people. It sounds a little like something that can happen only because of what God told King David in Psalm 32. After David expressed his appreciation to God for protection and deliverance, he got this encouraging word from Him: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (v. 8 nkjv).
God watches over His children, and He brings them together because they need each other. It’s another indication that “the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him” (v. 10).

Dear God, thank You that You’re real and that You’re always watching over me.

09/06/2026

"We do not Own the Rights to the Music in this Video"

09/06/2026

A twenty-seven-year-old student studying in Japan had to be rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week! After being airlifted during his first climb due to dangerous conditions, he realized he’d left his phone and other belongings behind. Four days later, ignoring warnings, he returned to the mountain, only to need to be rescued again—this time suffering from altitude sickness. His story made headlines for its rarity but also because he’d knowingly trekked back into danger.
This account mirrors a spiritual reality—we often tend to head back to what God has rescued us from. Jude captures this tension in his little letter. Written to a church threatened by false teachers and moral compromises, he exhorted believers “to contend for the faith” (1:3), not just for themselves but for others too. Jude challenged them to sn**ch others “from the fire” (v. 23)—taking an active role in shielding struggling believers from false teachers. As believers in Jesus, we can’t simply stand back and watch others flounder and fail.
Today, God is calling us to rescue others and to resist returning to the place we were rescued from. His grace will rescue us more than once, but it also calls us to live like we’ve already been rescued. Through God’s strength, let’s contend for the faith and help others be built up in the “most holy faith” (v. 20).

Dear God, please help me contend for the faith and help those experiencing doubt.

09/05/2026

In thirteenth-century France, legend has it that a knight left his baby boy at home guarded by his greyhound dog Guinefort. The knight returned to find chaos—the crib overturned, his son nowhere to be seen, and his hound’s mouth covered in blood. Assuming the dog had harmed his son, he killed it. Afterward, he found the body of a large snake covered in dog bites—and his son unharmed under the cradle. Guinefort had saved the baby’s life. The dog’s heroism and unjust fate so moved people that they misguidedly revered Guinefort as a saint.
Scripture records a similar incident, in which an animal was unjustly punished for protecting its owner. The prophet Balaam had been hired by the Moabite king to curse God’s people (Numbers 22:4-6). On Balaam’s journey, an “angel of the Lord . . . with a drawn sword” (v. 23) blocked his path. Balaam’s donkey, seeing the danger, avoided the angel twice—only to be beaten for his efforts (vv. 23, 25). When the donkey could no longer evade the angel, he refused to move and was again punished (vv. 26-27).
Finally, God enabled the donkey to speak and defend itself (vv. 29-30), and then He opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel and heed God’s instructions (v. 31-32).
We’re not likely to hear an animal talk back to us anytime soon, but God can still open our eyes in unexpected ways. When that happens, let’s be prepared to listen.

Gracious God, please help me to hear and respond to Your leading.