/ Paul's Pen  / Testimony / 2nd Annual - Alumni Golf Tournament / 60th Homecoming /

Poem - Labor Of Love / Counseling Corner /  

                 ^{Rev. Paul Ritchie}                                    

Dear Bethel Friends,

Are you tired? Are you weary? God’s answer is rest. Matthew 11:28 ways; "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

God is there for you, but He will not force you. You must come to Him. Just like the story of the Rich Young Ruler who asked Jesus what he needed to do. Jesus told him to sell all he had and give to the poor. The man turned away, rejected Jesus’ answer because of his possessions. What do you value? We all value something. Just what are your priorities, your values? We establish a value for everything we have. We put our possessions in priority. The most valuable thing will rise to the top just like cream. The thing you value most will become your god. Jesus asks if you need rest. Then He says; "Come to Me." He will NOT reject you, but; He will NOT be in 2nd place in your life. Seek FIRST the kingdom of God. He will not settle for less.

To some, smoking is more important than their health. To some with diabetes, candy and sweets are more important than their health. What do you value? How much do you value rest? Enough to give your life to Jesus? "Come, and I will give you rest."

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3 What is the value of the kingdom of heaven? We are spiritually bankrupt. If you gain the whole world and lose your soul, what have you gained? You can’t buy your way into Heaven. You can’t buy peace with God. The only thing you have that you can give to God is your will. We value things we can see, feel or touch. Jesus says whosoever will may come. One will choose to come. Another will choose not to. Jesus asks: "Are you tired? Do you want rest? Then come."

I think about those children in Thailand who are being sexually used, abused, and degraded and I am reminded of the hopeless condition of this world. We must mourn over sin. The human race is made in the image of God, but many are living like animals. People are killing other people over a pair of tennis shoes or other clothing. As we weep over pain, tragedies and sin, we see God’s power move in. God wants us to be like Him, to look around and have compassion. God can flow through that. He can’t flow through a hardened heart. "Me, me, me!" "I, I, I!" "What’s in it for me?" Scripture says; "Blessed are the meek." We’ve got to humble ourselves and come. O" God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

I learned this from personal experience some years ago. I had a small welding and machine shop business. My major customer was on strike and it looked like I was headed for bankruptcy. That went against all my pride. I was very discouraged and depressed to say the least. At a Wednesday evening prayer service I went to the pastor and said; "Pray for me. I have more on me than I can handle." He said, "Pray for yourself." and pointed to the chair beside the remembrance table. It had a red velvet seat and back. I remember the tears falling on that red velvet seat as I cried out, "Lord, if it means going bankrupt to take this load off of me, then so be it."

As I knelt before the Lord in surrender, it was like a big crane came rolling into the church and lifted a load of bricks off of me. I could see in my mind’s eye, without looking up, the attendance board which was at the front of the church. It had the number of people that were in attendance the previous Sunday. Those numbers represented people. The Lord took a burden from me, but He gave me a new burden in its’ place - a burden for people!

All I had to do was humble myself and give it all over to the Lord. What a relief! In the following year, I gave to the Lord’s work whenever He would prompt me to in spite of all the past due bills. At the end of one year, all of the bills were paid and I was out of debt. Things just started to work out. Not much that you could put on paper, but it made a difference between profit and loss.

Whatever it takes! That’s the key. That’s what it takes. Going to the altar, crying out to God in total surrender.

Come to Me....recognizing that you are spiritually bankrupt. Come...mourning the heartache you see around you. Come...humbly. Come...hungering and thirsting after righteousness. The result will be that you will be given the kingdom of God. You will be filled. You will receive comfort and mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Is is worth it? You bet it is! You can’t out-give God! I used to be afraid He’s ask me to do something I couldn’t do; and He did. But He didn’t give me anything to do that He expected me to do without Him. He expects you to let Him do it through you.

Today something unusual happened. At Prayer Day this morning, I ended up with no one to pray with. As I was extremely tired anyway, I took advantage of the time and laid down on the sofa in my office to rest. And, I slept. When I came over this evening for supper, I still didn’t know what I was going to preach. I said; "God, You’ll give me what I need." He always does. Just rest. And, while resting, seek Him. "Come to Me and I will give you rest."

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden."  Heavy laden, discouraged, depressed. Don’t know how to get out of the hole you’re in? Jesus says; "Come to Me." What do you do for a beast of burden who is weary, tired, heavy laden? You take the burden off of him so he can rest. Jesus took my burden! I still owed the same amount of money, but I had rest, peace. I began to give as God instructed me to give and one year later I was out of debt!

Then He says; "Take My yoke and learn from Me." Put your shoulders into the yoke with HIm. He will take your burden and give you rest, but you have a responsibility in this too. It is your responsibility to receive what He’s got for you. He’ll not ask you to do anything that He won’t help you do. Notice that one side of the yoke is larger than the other. Jesus carries the heavier load. Come...Take...Have the same cause He does. His cause is tosave the lost. You need to be burdened to see the lost come to salvation through Christ. And then you need to want to mature and develop further than salvation. "Learn from Me." "Come to Me." Take My burden and I'll take your burden. Learn from Me. My burden is light. I’m there to bear it with you. Not for you; with you. It’s the best deal in town!

God Bless,

Pastor Paul Ritchie
Executive Director,
Bethel Colony of Mercy, Inc.  

 

 ******* PLEASE NOTE *******

BETHEL COLONY NO LONGER USES
A POST OFFICE BOX
TO RECEIVE MAIL.

BETHEL’S ONLY ADDRESS IS:
1675 BETHEL COLONY ROAD
LENOIR, NC  28645-8212

David Toney

Graduated Bethel
February, 07

"What you respect will come toward you, what you disrespect will go away from you." That statement is so true and is exactly what happened in my life. My name is David Toney and I am 40 years old. I was raised in a Christian home by two wonderful parents. I was very involved in church - Sunday School, choir and youth groups from an early age through college. The Lord blessed me with a wonderful Christian wife and two great children. I had a great career and was very involved in my church and community and I felt I had the world in my hands. There was the problem - I thought it was my accomplishments. Romans 1:21-22 says; "For although they knew God, they didn’t glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools." And boy, did I ever become a fool!

I turned my back on God and fell deep into a bondage of alcohol and sin. The deeper I fell in sin, the more alone I felt. I knew the life I was living was wrong, but I continued spiraling downward until I lost everything. If it hadn’t been for the diligent and consistent prayers to God from such a strong Christian mother, I’m sure that I wouldn’t be here today. She discovered Bethel Colony on the internet and encouraged me to contact them. After a lot of prayer and persuasion on her part, I picked up the phone, called and put in an application. Once I arrived at Bethel Colony, I could sense something which soon became very real to me. It was the presence of the Holy Spirit.

One of the first things I learned at Bethel was a simple word, but a very profound one - surrender. Pastor Ritchie speaks of it often and it is truly the secret. Surrender self to God and make Him Lord of your life. Once I did that, boy did He ever open my eyes and heart! I had such a peace and joy in my life that it was unbelievable. Here was a man that just a short time earlier was broken, beaten down and tired of life and now was filled with love and a positive attitude. That is just one demonstration of the power of God and the work that goes on everyday on "the hill". The tools and training I received at Bethel taught me that it’s not what I do, but what I allow God to do in and through me. He is and will remain Lord of my life.

I am often asked; "What has the Lord done in your life?" That’s kind of like asking; "How far is the East from the West?" because it’s just too much to answer. He has blessed me so much and He continues to each day. He has restored my soul, shown me how much He loves me and how He wants me to seek His will.

Matthew 28:18-19 says; "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Now with Jesus Christ being Lord of my life I can rise up with that authority, hold my head high and be the strong, Christian soldier that this world needs and that my Father desires me to be. In conclusion, to answer that question; "What has the Lord done in your life?" I would have to answer; "He has become the Lord of my life!"

^{2ND ANNUAL ALUMNI
&
FRIEND-RAISING GOLF TOURNAMENT}

^{Saturday, October 4, 2008
(Day before Bethel’s 60th Homecoming Celebration)}

^{Where: Lenoir Golf Club
Time: 12:00 - Lunch (included)
1:00 - Shotgun start tee-off}

^{4 person teams only, Captain’s Choice
(each player must have own set of clubs)}

^{Entry Fee: $60 per player ($240 per team)}

^{For more info or to sign-up, contact Bethel’s Pro; Mark Frazer at 828-729-2050 or Cathi Loss at 828-754-3781.}

Sunday, October 5, 2008