Beasley Group Ministries

Beasley Group Ministries This page is to reach members within and outside of the Beasley Group of Companies to provide mental and spiritual support.

09/07/2026

The Unseen Power Source
September 7, 2026
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
The word “heart” is one of the most important words in the Bible.
It shows up more than 800 times. It means the center of your life, your thoughts, your will, and your spiritual health. Your heart is running everything in your life. It’s the power source.
Now, imagine being wheeled into the Cleveland Clinic, which is ranked the second-best cardiac hospital in the world. It’s home to brilliant surgeons, skilled nurses, and imaging machines your grandparents never dreamed of. Everything you could need for your heart is here.
But the part that matters most, you never see. It’s the power plant humming below the floor. If it fails, nothing else matters. Without it, that hospital becomes no better than a cabin in the woods.
Your heart runs your body the same way. It drives oxygen to your brain, your kidneys, and every cell keeping you alive. And your spiritual heart has a similar impact, running your life from the inside and determining your eternity. So today’s verse instructs us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
You can get the promotion, accumulate wealth, and present an image polished for everyone watching and still be running on a heart that isn’t connected to God at all.
When was the last time you took a spiritual EKG? Is your heart running on Him, or is it running on empty? Is your obedience steady, or is the signal breaking up? Are you actually listening to Him today?
A heart that’s healthy before God doesn’t get accolades. But it’s the part running everything else. Take care of it first, and everything else will finally have the power it needs to run.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for always looking on the inside to examine me. Search me, O God, test my desires, my innermost thoughts. Let my every inclination be obedience to You, Lord, not fulfilling the desires of my flesh. I want my heart’s energy and direction to come from Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
James Merritt

09/03/2026

Found the Remote
September 3, 2026
His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
Song of Songs 2:6 (NIV)
A wife lies in bed one night when she feels her husband’s hand caressing her neck. It slides down her side and stops at her knee, as far as he can reach without moving. He scoots closer and does the same on the other side, then stops just as suddenly and pulls away. Delighted, she says, “Honey, that was wonderful. Why did you stop?” He says, “I found the remote.”
King Solomon’s bride describes a very different kind of touch in today’s verse: “His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me” (Song of Songs 2:6, NIV). He’s not reaching past her for something else. This husband is holding her, completely undistracted in the moment.
Most men and women aren’t wired the same way here. A husband’s desire for physical closeness and a wife’s need for simple affection can seem to run on parallel tracks without crossing. She wants to be held and heard. She wants a hand on her shoulder that isn’t asking for anything else.
He wants sexual affection on all days that start with a T: Thursday, Today and Tomorrow, and Tatterday and Tunday. Wives, I fully understand that sometimes you’re just not in the mood. You also must be sensitive in those times. Ladies, don’t have a headache every night, or if you do, see a neurologist.
Men, before the television goes on this evening or the phone comes out, put your hand on your wife’s back for no reason at all. Hold her hand as you walk to the car. Sit close on the couch and stay close, even after the show ends.
The best touch in a marriage never reaches past the person to grab something else. It reaches for them and touches their heart in the process.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the gift of touch. Thank you for my arms that can comfort, encourage, and care for my spouse. I confess, I want them to change and reach for me. I feel weary of trying and trying again. But, Lord, You reach for me again and again. Teach me to love with that kind of compassion. Give me Your heart for my spouse. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
James Merritt

09/02/2026

Arise, Come Away
September 2, 2026
My beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.”
Song of Songs 2:10-11 (NIV)
When was the last time you gave your spouse the one gift you can never buy back?
In today’s verse, King Solomon invites his bride to spend time with him. “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land” (Song of Songs 2:10-12). This is not just a suggestion to go bird watching or flower gazing. He’s asking for some quality time together.
One of the greatest ways you spell love in a relationship is T-I-M-E. There’s no greater way to communicate to your spouse that they’re the number one priority over all other relationships than to give them the most valuable thing you possibly can, your time.
A marriage is a lot like a plant. It can look green and steady for a while, but without water it slowly dries out from the inside. Time is the water, and not the leftover kind where everything else gets fed first, but the time you choose on purpose, again and again.
Every October, my wife and I carve out a few days to drive up into the mountains, just the two of us. We started the habit back when our boys still needed a sitter. I let her know up front the days are hers to plan, whether that means a picnic blanket, a slow walk through town, or just talking until we run out of things to say.
There are a lot of ways you can connect without being in the mountains. Run an errand, take a walk, or sit on the back porch together without your phones. The point is that both of you need to communicate that the most important thing is making time for the other.
The winter doesn’t have to last. Arise and come away.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for handing my spouse only the leftovers of my time. Thank You for the years we’ve had together, and for whatever time You give us. Help me choose my spouse on purpose today. Teach me to treasure them in the everyday, not only on special occasions. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
James Merritt

There is much at stake! Gather some men from your local community or workplace and join the Beasley Group, Lumber City B...
09/01/2026

There is much at stake! Gather some men from your local community or workplace and join the Beasley Group, Lumber City Baptist Church, and REAL MOMENTUM for an empowering steak dinner and challenge focused on Helping Men Win.

Our speaker this month is Bryan Herrington. Lead Pastor for 29 years in Port St Lucie, Florida, at Family Church. Began as Lead Pastor at Southside Baptist Church in Hazelhurst, Ga in August 2023. Bryan has a passion for teaching the truths of God’s Word, shepherding the local church, and discipling men to be the pastors of their homes.

Register here, https://subsplash.com/realmomentum/lb/ev/+hdxj4yx/register

09/01/2026

No Flaw in You
September 1, 2026
You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.
Song of Songs 4:7 (NIV)
I heard about an older couple settling onto the couch with their magazines. The husband notices his wife’s new glasses and slides them off her face. “Without these,” he says, “you look just like the woman I married.” She looks right back at him. “Without my glasses, you don’t look so bad either.”
You might have chuckled a little reading that, but the truth is this: You can choose to see the beauty or the burden in your partner. King Solomon wrote the Song of Songs, and it’s called that because it is about the one topic that dominated the top #100 Billboard for decades: love. The words spill out of him, “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!” (Song of Songs 4:1, NIV). Then later he declares, “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you” (Song of Songs 4:7, NIV).
Did she have flaws? Of course she did. But that’s not where he’s focusing. He’s intentionally gazing at her loveliness, one feature at a time, building her up with his words. She then responds the same way, calling him handsome and charming. She refuses to let the compliment go one way.
These kinds of intentional words are what keep a marriage alive. Relationship researcher John Gottman found that healthy couples offer five positive words for every one negative word, and marriages running below that ratio are already in trouble.
Take a moment today and tell your spouse one specific thing about them that still makes you say, “Whoa, I can’t believe I get to be married to this person.” Instead of “You’re great,” try: “I noticed how patient you were with that difficult conversation today.” Let your uplifting words be the last thing your spouse hears before they close their eyes.
No amount of years erases the beauty God gave your marriage. Keep saying so.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for my spouse. It’s so easy to neglect naming the remarkable things. I so easily see the flaws. But Your Word teaches me to see the wonder of how You created them and to celebrate it by saying so. Help me today to tell them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
James Merritt

08/31/2026

“That’s Once.”
August 31, 2026
Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 (NIV)
I read about an elderly couple who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. A young man at the party asked how they did it: “Sir, I’m not yet married, but I want to be, and I’d like to know, what’s the secret to your long and happy marriage?” The old man pulled him over to the corner of the room and said, “Well, it all started on our honeymoon. We went to the Grand Canyon. We got on a couple of mules to ride down the canyon, and my wife’s mule stumbled a little and almost threw her off. She said very calmly, ‘That’s once.’ A few minutes later it stumbled again. She said, ‘That’s twice.’ When it stumbled a third time, she got off the mule and shot it right between the eyes.” The young man gasped and said, “What happened then?” The old man smiled and said, “Well, I looked at her, and I said, ‘Honey, now why did you do that?!’ She looked me right in the eyes and said, ‘That’s once,’ and ever since then, we’ve never had one major disagreement.”
Maybe your marriage hasn’t involved a mule, but you know what it’s like to keep score of every small hurt. Solomon wrote about a better way in Ecclesiastes: “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun…” (9:9, NIV). That’s not just wisdom; it’s a command. And whatever God commands, He also gives you the grace to do.
When two people marry, it’s God’s will for that marriage to be a happy union, not a civil war, but a happy union takes work. It’s hard to build a marriage that lasts, and it’s just as hard to live inside one that isn’t working. I like to say, “Choose which hard you’re willing to accept—the pain of progress or the pain of regret.”
Start with an honest assessment. How do you view your spouse right now? Has contempt crept in at breakfast, criticism where kindness used to sit? Get before the Lord today and get honest with Him about your marriage.
Let His love warm what’s grown cold, or blow on the embers if that’s all that’s left, until you begin to believe again in a love that lasts. You don’t have to have it all figured out today. You just have to be honest and let Him meet you here.
Prayer: Father, I don’t want just to endure my marriage; I want to enjoy it the way You intended. Help! Show me where contempt or criticism has taken priority over kindness and respect. Warm what’s grown cold. Fan the embers that are left, Lord. Let Your Holy Spirit guide us into a thriving marriage made in Heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
James Merritt

08/28/2026

Pleasing the Lord
August 28, 2026
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord."
Ephesians 5:8-10 (NIV)
Have you ever seen someone stumbling across the desert in an old movie, so thirsty they can barely stand, and up ahead they spot water?
They take off running for it with everything they've got. But it's not water. It's a mirage, and no matter how far they run, it just keeps moving further away.
That is what it looks like to chase everyone else's approval. Some people live for what others think of them. Others chase whatever makes them happy instead. Both roads lead to the same mirage, because both will keep you thirsty.
Paul offers us a different way: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord." Ephesians 5:8-10 (NIV) Not what pleases your boss or your desires, but what pleases God.
Only God never asks you to perform for His love. He never sends you chasing something that keeps moving. He already looks past your appearance and your achievements, straight to your heart, and in Christ, He is satisfied with what He finds there.
Before you say yes to one more thing out of fear of disappointing someone this week, wait and ask the Lord. "God, is this what pleases You, or am I chasing someone's approval?" Let that question be the deciding factor for your calendar, not someone else’s opinion.
The mirage was never real water. His approval already is.
Prayer: Father, I've spent too long chasing a mirage, chasing others’ approval. Show me what actually pleases You today. I want to stop running and start resting in what You already see in my heart. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

08/27/2026

Glued Together
August 27, 2026
"And because of this, a man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife, becoming one flesh—no longer two bodies but one. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart."
Matthew 19:6 (The Message)
What do you do when you feel permanently stuck with the person you married?
In today’s verse, Pharisees come to Jesus trying to trap Him with questions about marriage. He responds with one unbreakable statement: "...no longer two bodies but one. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart." That phrase used here for union literally means glued. Not loosely connected. And not together until it becomes inconvenient. Glued.
I once received an email from a woman who nearly missed that truth entirely. She had already started divorce proceedings against her husband when she gave her life to Jesus. A woman who discipled her handed her the Scriptures on marriage, and she stopped the paperwork. Her feelings told her that if she could not keep a promise to God, she would never keep one with anyone. She stayed married forty years. The Lord had just called her husband home when she wrote to tell me.
Marriage is not what culture joins, or about love, or even about law. It is what God joins, and He does not let go the moment it gets hard.
The next time you feel like walking out of a hard conversation with your spouse instead of through it, stop and pray. Remember that you signed a covenant, not a contract. And apart from the circumstances Scripture itself makes room for, the God who called you to stay will give you the grace to do so.
You may feel stuck today, but glued is exactly where God intends you to be, and He is not letting go.
Prayer: Lord, some days marriage feels less like a gift and more like a sentence. Remind me that You're the One holding us together and it’s not my own strength. Forgive me for my contempt, and give me grace to keep a soft heart toward my spouse. Help me stay wholeheartedly when staying is hard. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

08/26/2026

Marriage Math
August 26, 2026
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."
Matthew 19:5-6 (NIV)
Every math teacher who ever lived will tell you one plus one equals two.
But every married couple who ever lived knows better.
Jesus is building His case about marriage one block at a time, and now He lays down the next one in today’s verse: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." Leaving comes before uniting. A husband still checking every decision with his mother, or a wife still needing her father's approval before her spouse's, has never fully left. It’s that unfinished leaving that is where marital conflict often starts.
Then, because the point matters so much, Jesus repeats Himself in verse six: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh." A parent and child are two. A brother and sister are two. But a husband and wife become one, and one is a prime number. It cannot be divided the way two can be split into separate pieces.
That is marriage math. Two lives that refuse to stay separate or be separated.
The next time you catch yourself running a decision by your parents before your spouse, even something as small as tonight's dinner or this weekend's plans, stop and ask your husband or wife first. Say it out loud if you have to. Your spouse comes before anyone else’s opinion or preference.
In marriage math, one plus one has only ever equaled one, and God is still doing the addition today.
Prayer: Father, thank You for Your Word. I confess, I haven't always “left” the way You asked me to. Show me where I'm still dividing what You've called me to add together. Help me choose my spouse first, today, in the small decisions too. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

08/24/2026

The Better Question
August 24, 2026
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female," and said, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh"? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.
Matthew 19:4-6 (NIV)
Ever notice that on the Andy Griffith Show, nobody in Mayberry is married?
Well, almost nobody. Andy, Aunt Bea, Barney, Floyd, Goober, Gomer, Helen, and Thelma Lou are all single. The only married man in that peaceful little town stays drunk the entire show. Maybe not being married is the real secret behind Mayberry's peace!
Marriage stirs things up. It always has. That is exactly why the Pharisees corner Jesus with a loaded question in Matthew 19: "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" They want a technicality and a way out with no fault attached. But Jesus refuses to hand them one.
As He often does, Jesus answers a completely different question than the one they ask. Not how can you get out of a marriage, but why should you stay in one. He reaches all the way back to Genesis and God's original design for the very first couple, and He tells them: what God has joined together, let no one separate.
Marriage was His idea before it was anyone's opinion. And what He says about it should be where we start.
So go back to the beginning, where marriage began: with God. And let your reality today be shaped by His Word. Are you in one and want to get out? Are you single and struggling to believe in marriage at all? Open Matthew 19 and ask Him, "God, teach me to think about and respect marriage the way You do.”
Jesus never answered the question they asked. He answered the one that matters more, and it's the one your marriage needs answered too. Not, "How do I get out?" but "Why should I stay?" Ask Him that today, and let His answer be the one you build on.
Prayer: Father, I've spent too much time thinking about my own opinion about marriage instead of coming You. Turn my attention back to Your Word today. Show me what You hae said, and what it means to honor marriage the way You do. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

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