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.

06/02/2026

See My Lawyer
June 2, 2026
“But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
1 John 2:1 (ESV)
Every time you sin, someone is lurking in the shadows waiting to drag you into court.
Revelation 12:10 calls him the accuser of our brothers, the one bringing charges before God day and night. And here is what makes him so dangerous. He is a prosecuting attorney who wants to give you the spiritual death penalty every single time you blow it.
And this is the one time the devil doesn't lie.
Let me show you what I mean. I get impatient with Teresa, and the devil accuses, "Did you see how he just spoke to her?" I have a lustful thought, and the devil says to the judge, "Did you see what he just thought?" I miss a chance to share the gospel and cop out completely. "What are you going to do about it?" Every charge is true. I start to speak up in my own defense, but I have nothing to say.
Then I remember I have an Advocate. That word means somebody who pleads your case, your defense attorney, and His name is Jesus Christ the righteous. He is a very unusual defense attorney. Jesus doesn't maintain the innocence of His clients. He acknowledges their guilt. But are you ready for this? He has never lost a case.
Here is why. He is Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the only person in that courtroom besides the Judge who has never sinned. More than that, the Judge is his Father.
He doesn't have to lie to get you off the hook, and He won't. Jesus is just going to tell the truth, that He has already paid for your crime in full.
Every time the devil comes to you and says, "Look what you did!" all you have to say is this. See my lawyer.
Prayer: Father, I know the charges the enemy levels against me are true. I have no defense of my own. But I am grateful beyond words that I have an Advocate who stands before You on my behalf. Thank You that Jesus has already paid for every sin the accuser can name. I rest in that today. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

06/01/2026

“He was against it.”
June 1, 2026
"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
Psalm 119:11 (ESV)
Calvin Coolidge is one of my all-time favorite presidents, a devout man so famously quiet they call him Silent Cal. A reporter bets him a hundred dollars she can get him to say more than two words. He delivers exactly two. "You lose."
Ask him what the preacher talked about that Sunday and Coolidge says, "Sin." What did he say about it? "He was against it." So is God. His Word is against sin. The cross is what He did about it.
In the first half of 1 John 2:1, John writes, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” (ESV) He is not saying that you will never sin. You have been delivered from sin's power, even if you still feel its presence. Sometimes we walk into sin, but if you're in fellowship with God and truly know Jesus, you won't wallow in it.
Your biggest weapon in this fight is the same one Jesus used against the devil in the desert. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." You have the weapon. The question is whether you have the will to use it.
When General Cornwallis surrendered, Americans walked into camp and found 144 cannon, thousands of cartridges, and enough supplies to keep fighting for months. It was not that they didn't have the weapons to win. They didn't have the will.
That is exactly what the enemy is hoping you will do with your Bible. Either this Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this Book.
God is against sin, and He has armed you to be against it too.
Prayer: Lord, I don't want to sin, not because I'm afraid but because I love You. Give me the will to reach for Your Word today, before I reach for anything else. Let it do what Psalm 119:11 promises and keep me from going where I shouldn't go. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/29/2026

The Equation
May 29, 2026
" If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
One thing I have always loved about math is that there are no gray areas. You cannot argue over the answer. You cannot say "you have your truth and I have mine." One plus one is always two, no matter who does the calculation and no matter how they feel about it. The equation does not negotiate.
John gives us an equation that works exactly the same way. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, ESV). Conviction + confession = cleansing. Every time, without exception, no matter how long you have been carrying it or how many times you have failed before.
When God convicts you, that is His invitation, never condemnation. When you feel uneasy after choosing compromise again after promising you wouldn't, that is not just guilt. That is the Holy Spirit refusing to let go of you. The fact that your sin still bothers you is one of the clearest signs that you actually belong to God.
The right response is not to try harder or feel bad longer. It is to name it and let Him do what He promised. You do not have to hope you will be forgiven. The equation is already solved. Confession is your side, and cleansing is His.
One plus one has never once come out wrong. Neither has God’s equation for forgiveness and cleansing. Do your part, let Him do His, and receive the forgiveness and freedom He promises.
Prayer: Father, thank You that Your forgiveness is not a possibility I have to hope for, it is a certainty I can count on. Today I am doing my part. I am naming it and handing it over, trusting You to cleanse me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/27/2026

Come Clean
May 27, 2026
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7 (ESV)
One of my dearest friends, J.D. Greear, describes a surprising Hindu ritual he encountered on a mission trip in Southeast Asia. A street full of men insert hooks through their backs, drag sleds toward a temple, and wash their wounds in sacred water, hoping to be clean. The desire to feel clean on the inside began at the beginning of time, when the first humans covered themselves with leaves.
But you cannot get there from the outside in. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7, ESV). There is a liquid that actually cleanses, and it is not sacred water. The blood of Jesus reaches every place that striving and religion never will.
But notice what John says comes before the cleansing. Fellowship. The Greek word John uses is koinonia, which means shared life, not just casual proximity. A father and his son are always father and son. That relationship is permanent, but it doesn’t mean they are close.
Koinonia is an active connection. It’s letting another believer see the temptation you don’t want to talk about right now (not just a temptation you faced twenty years ago). It’s being honest about the anger you struggled to control yesterday. When you open up honestly in fellowship with other believers, the blood of Jesus does its deep work.
I have watched the opposite across five decades of ministry. When a believer begins to backslide, the first thing they do is stop showing up to church. Darkness never wants to be near light.
Commit to fellowship and let people in. Get into fellowship and let people in. You cannot receive what the blood offers while hiding in the dark alone.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the relationships You’ve provided in my life. Keep me walking in the light today, connected to You and to the people around me. May the blood of Jesus cleanse me completely as I commit myself to fellowship with other believers. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/26/2026

Birthmarks of the Believer
May 26, 2026
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
1 John 1:6 (ESV)
I remember hearing someone describe their “Christian” faith and realizing that Jesus was completely absent from everything they said.
Her name was Alyssa. She was eighteen years old, articulate and confident, and she described God as "this magic person that can always cure it and make it okay." Many paths leading to the same happy ending, forgiveness without cost and heaven without Jesus. She meant every word, but there was no cross, no resurrection, and no repentance. She sounded credible. But she was deceived.
The apostle John describes that gap this way: "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." (1 John 1:6, NIV). He is giving you a way to look in the mirror and know, according to God's Word, whether what you say about knowing God is real. Not a feeling or how long you have been in church, but actual evidence.
I call these the birthmarks of the believer, and John says they show up in what you do, not what you say. A true believer doesn't say "do as I say." A true believer says "watch what I do."
Here is how to check if you are a little off:
Snapping at your children when you are tired is not really sin, just stress
Repentance is for new believers, not for someone who has walked with God as long as you have
Your irritation with the sales assistant on the phone is completely justified
Your job on Sunday morning is to evaluate the preacher's points rather than letting God's Word evaluate you, because you have been in church long enough to know better
That is not maturity; it’s a drift. The birthmark of a genuine believer is not perfection. It’s practicing the truth every day. It means that God's Word, not your own preference or comfort, is still the standard.
Prayer: Lord, I confess that sometimes I say I belong to You and decide what applies to me and what doesn't. I have been the judge when I need to humble myself and receive Your truth. Today I open Your Word and ask You to let it evaluate me, not the other way around. Show me where I have drifted and lead me back to the light. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/22/2026

More Than A Friend
May 22, 2026
”We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
1 John 1:3 (NIV)
Right now, almost half of all American adults report feeling genuinely lonely.
The U.S. Surgeon General called it a public health crisis. And the strangest part is that most of those people are not isolated. They have contacts in their phones, friends on social media, and colleagues who sit ten feet away. They may not be alone, but they are lonely. What they are missing is not more friends, but fellowship.
Those two words are not the same thing. Friendship can stay comfortable on the surface. Fellowship means you get to the heart of what’s going on within. It shares what you want to celebrate and what you cannot get through alone, and it requires a commitment that outlasts a good season.
The apostle John writes, "our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3, NIV), and follows it immediately with, "so that you also may have fellowship with us" (1 John 1:3, NIV). Both sentences belong together. Your vertical connection with God and your horizontal connection with other believers are designed to hold each other up.
If your relationship with God has produced no desire for community with other believers, something in that relationship needs a closer look. Real faith produces real fellowship.
Nobody is too spiritual, too mature, or too put-together to need fellowship. You need other believers and they need you. Don’t bring what you think they want. Show up with what is actually going on. That is where real joy lives.
Prayer: Father, thank You for drawing me into relationship with You. Show me what it actually means to share my life with other believers. Lead me to the people You designed to carry this with me, and give me the courage to actually let them in. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/21/2026

The Better Question
May 21, 2026
“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.”
1 John 1:2 (NIV)
What would you say if someone told you Jesus never really existed?
In the world of ancient historical documents, a dozen manuscripts is considered solid evidence. That is what historians have for Julius Caesar, and nobody questions whether he lived or led Rome. Fair enough.
But there are more than 24,000 verified manuscript copies of the life of Jesus Christ. 24,000. He is the most documented Person in the ancient world, and it is not close, or even in the same ballpark. And John says that is actually the smaller of the two things you need to know about Him.
John, the eyewitness who was there, says the more important question is not whether Jesus lived but who He was. "The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us" (1 John 1:2, NIV).
Every other religion has to point to something outside called eternal life, whether it be nirvana, paradise, or utopia. But Jesus points to Himself. He walked, He talked, He touched people's lives in the real world, and through His Spirit He is still walking, still talking, and still knocking on the door of your heart right now.
Whatever is weighing you down today, you are not reaching for a religion or theory. You are reaching for a Person. And He is always reaching back.
Prayer: Father, thank You that my faith is not built on a feeling but on fact. Help me move past every doubt and every argument to the one thing that actually matters, into knowing You personally right now. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/20/2026

Close Enough to Touch
May 20, 2026

“ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”
1 John 1:1 (NIV)

Picture yourself on a Galilean hillside, with your phone in hand, recording the preacher in front of you.

You could have photographed Him, videoed Him, and taken a selfie after the sermon. Jesus had a real voice you could hear, and a real body you could touch. He lived in this world, at a real time, in a real place, and one of the men who knew Him best understood that one day you would need proof.

So John opens his letter, not with a greeting, but with a courtroom. He writes like a witness under oath. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched” (1 John 1:1a, NIV). That word "looked at" is the Greek root of our word "theater." In the ancient world, the theatre wasn’t a place you checked your phone or half-listened. You would lean in and watch every single thing happening in front of you. That is exactly how John watched Jesus.

John heard Jesus, saw Jesus, and touched Jesus with his own hands. That multi-sensory testimony cannot be manufactured, and there is no stronger evidence in any courtroom than an eyewitness who was that close.

When you doubt, open 1 John this week and read it as sworn testimony from John. It’s not only inspiration. You are looking at evidence.

When someone challenges whether Jesus is real, you don't have to argue your way through it. You have something better than an argument. You have a witness.

Open 1 John and let the man who was close enough to touch Him remind you of exactly what he saw. Your faith is not a concept you defend. He is a Person you talk to, and He is already in the room.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that my faith is not built on a feeling or a guess, but it rests on the testimony of those who heard You, saw You, and touched You with their own hands. When doubt comes in, remind me of the truth of Your Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/19/2026

Know So
May 19, 2026

“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us."
1 John 1:2 (NIV)

What if the thing standing between you and certainty is not more information, but one decision you haven't fully made?

John writes his letter to two groups of people. One group is certain they are going to Heaven, but isn't. The other is going to Heaven, but is uncertain. He uses the word "know" thirty-nine times, instead of “hope” or “feel” because Jesus didn't die on the cross to give you a hope-so or feel-so salvation. Jesus died and rose again to give you a know-so salvation.

Yogi Berra once said, "Be careful, if you don't know where you're going, you might not get there." But be just as careful if you think you do know, because you still might not get there if you're not going the right way.

The right way is a Person. John says it this way: "We proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us" (1 John 1:2, NIV). Jesus doesn't hand you eternal life the way a clerk hands you a receipt. He is eternal life, and when you place your personal trust in Him, that certainty comes with the relationship.

If you have never done that, today is the day. Tell Him you believe He died for you, that He rose again, and that you are trusting Him completely. That is where know-so begins.

And if you have already done that but still wonder whether you are truly secure in Christ, say this out loud right now. "I have trusted Jesus Christ, and I am not guessing anymore." That is a know-so salvation, and it is exactly what Jesus rose from the grave to give you.

Prayer: Lord, I don't want a hope-so faith. Right now I place my trust in You completely, not in a feeling, but in the Person who is eternal life. I believe You died for me and rose again. Help me rest in that assurance today. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

05/18/2026

Dead Certain
May 18, 2026
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life”
1 John 1:1 (ESV)
I’m three and a half years old, standing before an open casket and staring at the man I called Papa. My aunt finally pulls me away. "He's not waking up." Standing over someone who is not going to wake up, you have to ask: when will it be your turn, where are you going, and how certain are you?
Mark Twain once said, "It ain't what you know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." There is nowhere that sentence makes more sense than talking about eternity. The apostle John writes five chapters to people who are confident in their salvation, but confidence is not the same as correctness. Being sure you are going to Heaven when you are not is the most dangerous condition any person can be in.
John doesn't write to scare you. He writes because Jesus didn't die on the cross to leave you guessing. He opens his letter like a witness on the stand. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes" (1 John 1:1, ESV). The foundation John is laying is not built on feeling, but on fact.
Before you close your Bible today, ask yourself one honest question. If someone pressed you right now on why you are certain of eternal life, could you answer with anything more than a feeling?
John wrote five chapters to answer that question, and every answer is built on fact, not feeling. Start here. Open 1 John today and let the man who heard Him, saw Him, and touched Him walk you from feeling all the way to knowing. Because being dead certain and being right are not always the same thing, but with John as your guide, they can be.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the certainty I have in You that is more than a feeling. Search me honestly today. Help me truly know the way Your Word describes, so I build my life on Your truth. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
James Merritt

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