Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”
Our Bible verse for today: “You’re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again. But I’m in the very presence of God – oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord God my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!” Psalm 73:25-28 (The Message)
Our thought for today: “The more we rely on God, the more we realize that He is all we really need.”
Those of you who were at Oak Hill Baptist on Sunday October 4th for the mission trip report from our Haiti mission team, or if you viewed it online on our church website (www.oakhillbaptist.net), you know that during my message I used Psalm 73 in it’s entirety as my text.
I did that because it so vividly portrays what is true about the Christian community in Haiti. Even though those believers live in the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, and even though most of them live in plywood shacks or even tent homes, in a nation where the average annual family income is only $1600, they have a joy in the Lord and enthusiasm for His work that is truly exceptional.
How is it possible for Christians in such desperate circumstances to be so happy, so focused on God, and so enthusiastic about being involved in His kingdom-building work? Psalm 73 explains it well. In verses 1-2 the Psalmist declares definitively that God is good –always, all the time and in all circumstances. Then he recounts a time when he had shifted his focus to the things of the world instead of the things of God and when he did, he lost his joy – he found himself being envious of the rich and bitter about his own circumstances. But then he entered the sanctuary of the Lord and returned his thoughts completely to God and God’s kingdom and when he did that, His whole attitude changed. His joy returned.
Please note, his circumstances had not changed at all. But his heart did. He shifted his focus from his circumstances to his Lord and when he did that, his joy and his enthusiasm returned and he was able to proclaim, “I’m in the presence of God – oh how refreshing it is!”
Enthusiasm for the Lord and for His agenda in the world is a matter of heart and mind. It’s a question of priorities and what we choose to focus on. When we come to the point where we can honestly declare with the Psalmist, “You’re re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth”, we’ll discover that our circumstances, whatever they are, matter a lot less.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 