Oak Hill Baptist Church

Maybe the problem is internal not external

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Maybe the problem is internal not external”

Recently a friend gave me a little book of poems by the poet Kevin Nowak. I was not previously familiar with Kevin’s poetry, but I’ve discovered that I like it. I appreciate the simplicity and the clarity, as well as the thought-provoking imagery. One of his poems has the title “Clears” and it reminds me of what King David wrote in Psalm 51:10. In that Psalm David was introspective as he invited God to search his heart and to reveal to him any sin that needed to be dealt with. Here’s Kevin Nowak’s poem on that same theme:

It is easy to cast blame, on forces that are external,
But sometimes the root problem ends up being internal.

To get my life to go better and to improve,
There are some key things I will need to remove.

But I cannot do it myself, when my life is sputtering,
So I turn to Him, for help with the decluttering.

For those times when emotional drain appears,
I call to Him for help. God clears.

God clears my fears, so new paths can be explored.
God clears my doubt, and my confidence is restored.

God clears my reluctance, and sets my mind straight.
God clears my failure, and gives me a clean slate.

God clears the mental strain, that comes each day.
He helps me to progress, and get on my way.

For those times when emotional drain appears,
I call to Him for help. God clears.

In both poems, Psalm 51 by David and “Clears” by Kevin Nowak, the focus is on the individual getting right with God. As Nowak noted in his opening lines, too often we seek to cast the blame on external forces (events or other people), when in reality the bigger problem lies deep within our own heart.

Rather than seeking to blame other people or external events, we should first consider the condition our own heart. Our Christian communities would be so much better if we would all start right there – with ourselves. Very often, the real problem is internal not external.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Please join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.come/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group.

Our mailing address is:
Oak Hill Baptist Church3036 Genesis RoadCrossville, Tn 38571

Live life large

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

Our thought for today: “Live life large”

Late this past Sunday evening my friend Jim died. He had a form of cancer that was discovered late, was very aggressive, and it spread fast – and there wasn’t much medical science was able to do for him.

One day, just a couple of weeks ago, Jim and I sat and talked for a long time. We talked about faith issues (his was very strong), but he also reminisced about his life. Jim was a man who lived life large. He was very smart and highly educated, a scientist with a degree in geology. He worked for a time in the oil industry, then shifted his attention to water projects, and he even served as a city manager. His interests in life were wide and varied and his accomplishments many. He was a private pilot, a skilled woodworker, and an avid golfer. He and his brother John built and drove racecars (I’ve seen the pictures. Very cool.) Jim was also an accomplished sailor from childhood. He and Cindi even spent two years living on a sailboat and sailing around the Pacific Ocean.

There was more, much more. I haven’t mentioned all the volunteer work Jim did developing and supervising water projects in remote places around the world for Rotary International, or his service in the churches he was a member of (especially as the leader of mission committees and mission projects.)

As I listened to Jim’s stories and looked at the pictures, it occurred to me that here was a man who embraced life with gusto and who lived it fully. As we talked that day, knowing he was dying, and as he reflected back on his life, he was sad that he wasn’t getting more years (he was 71), but he was also grateful for the life he had and for the eternity that was waiting for him. Jim was especially grateful for the people the Lord had filled his life with. His wife, his daughters and grandchildren, his siblings, and his church family, all helped to make his life the amazing and enjoyable journey it had been. Like Paul, Jim was able to look back on it all and say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

I’m glad I knew Jim. He was a good church member, a great encourager of his pastor, and a friend. I want to encourage you this morning to resolve to live life large. Embrace every day with eagerness and enthusiasm. Life is fragile and there’s a thin line between life and death. The end can come quickly for any of us. Live while you can; don’t waste any of it. That’s the way my friend Jim approached life, and in the end, he was glad that he had.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Maybe you’re doing it wrong

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Maybe you’re doing it wrong”

In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 the Apostle Paul reminds us of two important truths. The first is that life is hard. That’s just a fact, and it’s true for everyone, Christian and non-Christian. Just because you have come to faith in Christ doesn’t mean that life will suddenly be filled with nothing but lollipops and gumdrops. No, life is hard whether you are a Christian or not.

The second truth we find in those verses is that even though life is hard, Jesus enables us to handle it – and to handle it well. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote that we are afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed.

But what if life is hard and you are not handling it well? What if you do feel crushed, in despair, abandoned, and destroyed? What went wrong? Why are you not handling it better? This is something we all experience from time-to-time and I have found in my own life that there are usually are two primary causes for it.

One reason I sometimes feel overwhelmed, maybe even to the point of despair, is because I have taken on myself more of a burden than the Lord ever intended for me to bear. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He meant that He would never put more of a burden on us than we can reasonably bear. So, if I am feeling overwhelmed to the point of being crushed, it might be because I have taken on more than Jesus intends for me to be carrying. I did that to myself, and I need to ask Him to show me the issues or tasks I need to lay aside instead of trying to carry.

The other reason I sometimes feel overwhelmed and crushed is because I’m not relying on my brothers and sisters for help. Either I’m not asking for help, or I’m not accepting the help other people are offering. In Galatians 6:2 Paul teaches that an important part of Christian community is that we can and should help each other carry our heavy burdens in life. Helping to bear one another’s burdens is an important part of life in Christian community – but we have to ask for help, and we have to accept it when it is offered.

Do you feel overwhelmed or crushed by life today? Well, maybe you’re doing it wrong. Maybe you have taken on more than Jesus intends for you to be dealing with and you need to lay something aside, or maybe you need to ask for help and then accept the help when it is offered. The issues you’re dealing with may still seem difficult and hard, but probably no longer crushing to the point of despair.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Please join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Let go and be lifted-up

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” Psalm 25:1 (NRSV)

Our thought for today: “Let go and be lifted-up”

In addition to writing a daily devotional message each morning, I also read some written by others. A devotional book I’m currently using in my personal quiet time is “A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotionals for Unhurried Living” by Alan Fadling. I’m finding it refreshing and helpful. Yesterday Alan offered this interesting insight about what King David wrote in Psalm 25:1 (above):

“The imagery of being lifted up here seems to be about buoyancy. Water lifts up a floating object like a piece of wood or a boat. A boat doesn’t expend immense effort to float. Floating is what happens when a boat is set in the water. It is carried without a great attempt at floating. I lift up my soul when I let God’s Spirit hold me and make me buoyant. I can cooperate with this lifting up, but I cannot control it.”

What Alan is referring to is surrender. He means we have to offer our soul to God and let it go. Then the Holy Spirit will lift us up into an encounter with God and it will have been through no effort of our own. We will be floating and rising higher like a boat on a rising tide.

As I write this it is Saturday morning. Tomorrow is Sunday when my church family will gather for worship. I’m visualizing myself in the midst of worship with my brothers and sisters. The spiritual dynamic is strong. We’re all lost in the music; offering our souls to God in an act of worship; surrendering; letting go as the Holy Spirit lifts us up higher and higher into an encounter with God.

This is one of the benefits of Christian community. It’s why we gather to worship together. We can, of course, worship alone, anywhere anytime. But when a group of Christians are gathered like that, the spiritual dynamic is strong and we can easily get caught up in the rising tide of a worship service that lifts us higher and higher into an encounter with God.

I encourage you to attend the worship service in your church tomorrow. Offer your soul to God in worship – then just let go and be lifted-up.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

May you prosper in every way

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.” 3 John 2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “May you prosper in every way”

As human beings we are God’s highest form of creation and we are very complex. Our being consists of body, mind, and spirit, and all three are inextricably connected. Each impacts the other. If your physical body is suffering that will impact you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Likewise, if you are suffering mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, that will have a negative effect on you physically. In order to be fully healthy and truly thriving we must be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

That is what John was praying for his friend Gaius. John prayed that Gaius would prosper “in every way.” And, evidently, John had heard that Gaius was in fact doing well in his whole life, and he was pleased to hear that. How pleased are you to hear that your brothers and sisters are doing well in all areas of life, and how much do you want that for them? Do you pray that for them? Do you even try to help them achieve it? An important part of Christian community is that we want the best for each other and we are willing to take steps and create conditions to help each other be whole – to be well in all areas of life.

Of course, church life must focus first and most on our spiritual well-being. If your church isn’t helping you to be spiritually healthy then you need to change churches. But how about physically, mentally, emotionally, and maybe even financially? Does your church promote good physical, mental, emotional, and financial health? Do the members help and encourage one another to be healthy in those ways too?

Being spiritually healthy will go a long way towards promoting good mental and emotional health if the teaching and preaching clearly shows how Biblical principles can be applied to mental and emotional issues. But likewise, spiritual nurture should also include sound teaching about good stewardship of our finances and of our bodies. The Bible does teach that our body and our money are gifts from God that are to be properly cared for and used for His glory.

Good Christian community promotes, encourages, and practices the health of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. So, let’s help each other to be healthy and whole in all of life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Be Barnabas

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Acts 4:36-37 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be Barnabas”

Barnabas is one of my favorite people from the New Testament. He was such a positive, uplifting, encouraging presence to other Christians that the apostles actually nicknamed him “The Son of Encouragement”. What a great reputation to have!

I’ve written before of how, back in the 1990s, my wife and I owned a book company called “The Barnabas Book Company”. Our motto was, “Encouraging books that will change your life.” I think I also mentioned that I was a terrible businessman. I was so eager for people to read our books that I gave away more than I sold. Obviously, that was not a sound business practice. I got a little carried away trying to be like Barnabas in terms of being generous as an effort to encourage others.

But what a great thing it would be if our Christian community today included more people like Barnabas. How much healthier our churches would be if more of our members were sons and daughters of encouragement. What if we were all less concerned with finding fault and nitpicking at others, and more concerned with lifting-up our brothers and sisters and offering words of encouragement and blessing rather than criticism or complaint?

I once heard a church referred to as “A house of joy.” I love it! Does that describe your church? And if not, what are you doing to change things so that it is a house of joy? And not just in church. What if Christians were known out in the world as being sons and daughters of encouragement? What if our reputation was as people who speak words of encouragement and blessing and who routinely bring sunshine and hope into dark and dreary situations?

I want to encourage all of us to be more intentional about blessing and encouraging rather than criticizing and complaining. Be a son or daughter of encouragement. Be Barnabas.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Instant karma’s gonna get you

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:20-21 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Instant Karma’s gonna get you”

“Karma” is usually understood to be a Hindu and Buddhist concept. “Instant Karma” was the title of an old John Lennon song that was intended to convey in a humorous but snarky way that what you do to others will come back on you and in the end (sometimes instantly) you get what you deserve.

But that concept is also Biblical and it’s what Solomon was referring to in Proverbs 18:20-21 with respect to how we use language. There he notes that the words that come out of a person’s mouth have a positive or negative influence, not just on the person or persons hearing those words, but also on the person speaking them. Let me requote those verses as rendered in the Amplified Bible:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.”

In yesterday’s devotional we considered the truth from Proverbs 16:24 that words of blessing and encouragement can build others up and have a positive impact on them physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. That is true. But as Solomon makes clear here in Proverbs 18:20-21, words can be either positive or negative – they can speak death or life. And those words have their effect on both the ones hearing them, and on the person speaking them.

The fact is that we make ourselves feel better or worse by the words we speak to others. So, if you aren’t motivated to speak words of life (words of blessing and encouragement) to others for their sake and for their good, then you should be motivated to do so for your own sake and for your own good. You yourself will feel better or worse based upon the nature of the words you speak to others.

This is an important issue when it comes to safeguarding our Christian community. You and others will be feeling better or worse based upon the nature of the words that come out of your mouth. It’s not just others who are impacted by your words. You are too. And so, as Solomon and John Lennon have both warned us, “Watch out! Instant karma’s gonna get you!”

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Rediscover the language of blessing

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.” Proverbs 16:24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Rediscover the language of blessing”

This past Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church my friend, Will Foster, preached an uplifting message about the importance of encouragement. You can watch the video of that message on our YouTube channel (see note below).

Encouragement and speaking words of blessing to each other is a crucial aspect of Christian community that is very much needed today. We live in a very negative culture – especially with respect to social and political issues. There is so much anger, bitterness, and mean-spirited discourse out there! Criticism, mocking, and even taunting seem to be the order of the day. Sarcasm, character assassination, and mean memes are all over social media. We’re awash in negativism. It seems to define our culture these days.

I think of it as a kind of nationwide Gotham City. If you remember Gotham City from the Batman movies you will remember that it was a dark, ugly place where hoodlums were unrestrained and innocent citizens were huddled in their homes, afraid to venture out. The social and political discourse in our nation is like that. We live in a verbal Gotham City and the rhetorical hoodlums are in charge.

But that should not be true of Christians. It should not be true of how we conduct ourselves out in the world, and it especially should not be true of how we conduct ourselves in church and in our interactions with other Christians. Instead, we should be the ones speaking words of blessing and encouragement. We should be the lights in an otherwise dark world.

In Proverbs 16:24 Solomon noted that pleasant words are like honey, sweet to the taste. Pleasant words are refreshing and enjoyable and they bring a smile to a person’s face. According to Solomon, pleasant words even bring health to the body. How could that be? In what way does the hearing of pleasant words improve someone’s health? Well, for one thing, pleasant words can help to relieve some of the stress and anxiety we’re all under. That then will lower the heart rate, clear the mind, settle the stomach, and calm the nerves. Pleasant words and a warm smile can help to improve a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

As Christians we need to rediscover the language of blessing, and then we need to use it a lot more than we do. The Christian community, and society in general, would be a much nicer place if we all spoke more words of blessing and encouragement.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Who are your mighty men and mighty women?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good character”
1 Corinthians 15:33 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Who are your mighty men and mighty women?”

In 1 Corinthians 15:33 the Apostle Paul gave us one of the most important rules of thumb there is regarding Christian community – choose your friends carefully because over time you become like those you associate with. That is a Biblical truth, but it’s also a basic fact of human nature. If you hang around with bank robbers, soon you will probably be robbing banks too. If your group of friends are all using drugs, you will be using them soon too. If the people in your circle all use profanity, you probably will too.

Conversely, if you surround yourself with good, strong Christians who love the Lord and each other – people who are kind, compassionate, generous, and faithful in their attendance at church, you will probably become like that too. Over time, we become like those we associate with. So, choose your friends carefully. Find a group of people who have character traits you admire and would like to develop in your own life. Surround yourself with people who have the kind of life that you would like to have and spend lots of time with them.

Much of your life’s accomplishments will be influenced by and determined by the people you associate with. For instance, consider what we learn about King David in 2 Samuel 23:8-39. That entire passage records the exploits of King David’s mighty men. They were the counselors and military leaders that he surrounded himself with and who helped to make David the success that he was. And please don’t miss that point – David’s reign was not a one-man show. David didn’t do it all by himself. Instead, he was constantly surrounded by mighty men of God who were bold, courageous, and very wise in the ways of the Lord.

That insight into David’s life and successes caused me to think back over my own life and to remember all the mighty men and women of God who have played such a big role in my life. I thank God for them. My life would have been so diminished and less successful had it not been for their crucial help, guidance, and influence all along the way.

Who are the mighty men and women of God in your life (past and present)? Do you have such people in your life? If you do, thank God for them. If you don’t, then ask God to bring you some. We become like those we associate with. The quality of the people we surround ourselves with matters very much. Who are your mighty men and mighty women? Choose them carefully.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

In the end it will be the people that mattered

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 2 Timothy 4:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “In the end it will be the people that matter”

One of the books I’m reading right now is “An Unhurried Life” by Alan Fadling. Yesterday I came to a passage where Alan wrote about how it is that at the end of life, during deathbed conversations, people seldom talk about accomplishments, possessions, trophies, or things like that. Almost always our final thoughts and words are about the people we loved and who mattered most to us. That caused me to think about my father.

For the last year of my father’s life, he and my mother lived with me and my family in our home in California. He died in his bed in my home with my mother, my wife, and myself sitting by his bedside as he breathed his last breath. The evening before he died, knowing he was about to die, he shared some final thoughts. He thanked me for bringing him and my mom into our home and caring for him as he died, and he asked me to continue caring for my mom (she lived another ten years). He also talked about his love for my mother, and for his six children, sixteen grandchildren, and (at that time) one great-grandchild.

As he lay there dying what mattered most to him was his family. That’s what he cared about and that’s what he wanted to talk about. In the end, it was the people that mattered. In the end, it’s always the people that matter. It won’t be the professional achievements, the houses, cars, money, or trophies. It will be the people. And if you are fortunate enough to have deathbed conversations before you die, I’ll bet that’s what you will talk about too.

But in order to have those fond memories and those warm feelings of love then, we have to be cultivating and enjoying those relationships now. In the end, will your thoughts be warm memories of good times together, or regrets over missed opportunities? I encourage you to spend time with people now, while you can, because in the end you will realize that more than anything else, it was the people in life who mattered the most.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)