Oak Hill Baptist Church

Eat your ice cream

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy …” Exodus 20:8 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Eat your ice cream”

So, we will finish our month of thinking about enjoying the journey, redeeming the time, living in the moment, and observing Sabbath worship and Sabbath rest, on a Sabbath day (Sunday July 31^st). Call it divine timing, or poetic justice, or whatever, but I think it’s perfect.

As we learned yesterday, God designed Sabbath worship and Sabbath rest into the DNA of creation. The six-to-one ratio is part of the God-ordained rhythm of the universe and when we are in synch with the rhythm of God’s universe, by observing a Sabbath day and by incorporating and maintaining a Sabbath mindset into the rest of life, we are then best positioned to truly enjoy our journey through life.

But isn’t it interesting – even odd – that God would have to command us to make Sabbath a regular part of our lives? It’s the only spiritual discipline that made it into the Ten Commandments. Reading your Bible did not. Nor did fasting, praying, or giving. All of those things are addressed in other places in the Bible, but they’re not one of the Ten Commandments. Only observing the Sabbath made that list. God has commanded us to do it.

But why was that necessary? If a Sabbath day and a Sabbath mindset are so good for us, and if they go such a long way towards enhancing the overall quality of our lives, why do we have to be commanded to do it? As John Mark Comer quipped, “It’s like commanding us to eat ice cream!” We should want it. We should be eager for it.

But we humans are stubborn and rebellious. We often reject and push back against the very things that are best for us, and the reason we do is simply because God or someone else has told us to do the thing. I imagine if God had commanded us to NOT observe the Sabbath, we would have to sell tickets to get into the churches and there would be waiting lines out into the parking lots!

Sabbath worship and Sabbath rest are good for you. Sabbath is part of the God-ordained rhythm of creation. Observing Sabbath is like eating ice cream – you should enjoy it and you should be eager for it. So, I encourage you to eat your ice cream. Redeem the time and enjoy the journey by making a Sabbath day and a Sabbath mindset the rhythm of your life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Keep the rhythm

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” Genesis 2:2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Keep the rhythm”

I think it’s perfect that our month of thinking about redeeming time, living in the moment, sabbath-worship, and sabbath-rest, is ending on a weekend (just in time to observe the Sabbath). What will you do this weekend? Will at least one of the days be spent in rest and worship?

In Genesis 2:2, in the creation story, we discover that after God had spent six days working and creating, He spent an entire day resting. Why? Was He tired? I think not. God doesn’t get tired. So, why did He rest? And why did He make it a point of not only recording in the Bible the fact that He did rest, but He then made it one of the Ten Commandments for us to do so as well?

The answer is that He did it as an example for us. If God can take time off then so can you. This is so important that when God made it part of the creation story and one of the Ten Commandments, He built worship and rest into the rhythm of life. John Mark Comer writes that God built Sabbath into the DNA of creation, “… he built a rhythm into the DNA of creation. A tempo, a syncopated beat. God worked for six, rested for one. When we fight this work-six-days, Sabbath-one-day rhythm, we go against the grain of the universe. And to quote the philosopher H.H. Farmer, “If you go against the grain of the universe, you get splinters.”

In other words, if Sabbath is not part of the rhythm of our lives we are out-of-synch with the tempo of creation – and there’s no way that can be good. There’s no way it can result in a contented and happy life. Words and phrases like hectic, disorganized, frazzled, discontent, and overly busy are coming to my mind.

The practice of a Sabbath day is important because it helps us create a Sabbath mindset that then carries over into the rest of life. A day of Sabbath-worship and a day of Sabbath-rest can become an orientation for all of life – a life that is lived in synch with the rhythm of God’s creation.

I encourage you to keep the rhythm. Observe the Sabbath. Observe it as a day, and then incorporate it as a lifestyle.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Slow down, simplify, and center your life

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Make it your ambition to live a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Slow down, simplify, and center your life”

Have you seen the movie “Yesterday”? If you’re a lover of Beetles music (as I am) then you will probably enjoy it. It’s about a young man named Jack Malik who has an accident, bangs his head, and ends up in an alternate dimension of reality where the Beetles never existed but where he, Jack, has all the Beetles songs in his head and all the musical talent of the real Beetles. As a result, he ends up a rock superstar performing all of the Beetles’ music, but doing so as if it was his own. However, he soon discovered that it was a crazy life lived at an insane pace and he really didn’t like it very much.

In one scene late in the movie, Jack pays a visit to a man who is an older version of the real John Lennon. But this man, now a senior citizen, lives by himself in a remote home on the seashore, spending his days painting and thinking and in other artsy kinds of activities. It was evidently a simple and quiet life that was very different from what he would have had as the rock star he actually was in real life.

Sometimes readers of 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 mistakenly conclude that Paul was calling all of us to adopt some kind of simple, sleepy, even dull lifestyle. But is that necessarily what Paul meant? Are we all supposed to be living the life of a recluse by the sea; or as a farmer scratching out a living on a small piece of land; or as a carpenter in a small village; or as a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker? What about school teachers who work in the classroom all day and prepare lessons at home in the evening? How about law enforcement officers who spend their days in dynamic and even dangerous environments; or nurses working twelve-hour shifts in a busy hospital; or busy mothers; or corporate executives? How does Paul’s teaching apply in those situations?

John Mark Comer offers some insight in his great book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”. He writes that whatever our role in our current season of life may be, our objective should be to simplify and center life around the things that truly matter. The fact is that most of us are too busy. Most of our lives are too crowded with things that aren’t really very important and which therefore don’t deserve much of our time or attention.

The point is that regardless of your current life situation, decisions have to be made regarding which people and which activities matter the most to you, and are therefore deserving of your time and attention – and which aren’t. Then we center our lives around the people and activities that truly are the most important.

I think another way for Paul to have expressed his point would be “Slow down, simplify, and center your life around the people and activities that truly matter.” That sounds like good advice for all of us.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

How you use your time shapes your life

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “How you use your time shapes your life”

As we begin to draw our month of thinking about redeeming the time to a close, let me ask you to consider, “What kind of a person are you in the process of becoming?”

We’re all in the process of becoming someone different from who we have been. Living things do not remain static. Even if you do nothing, time will change you. The days will pass, your body will get older, your patterns of thinking will become more established, the effects of your habits will accumulate and compound. Let me say it again, even if you do nothing, time will change you – either for good or for bad.

Therefore, it’s imperative that we be proactive and incorporate practices and patterns of living that will have a net positive effect on us, and which will help us to continue changing for the better. The best and most important use of our time is the time we spend with God. Redeeming the time and living in the moment by focusing on God draws us closer to God. You can be as close to God as you want to be, but it will depend on how much time you choose to spend with Him and how much you remain focused on Him. Throughout this month we’ve discussed various ways to accomplish this.

This morning I want to leave you with a question posed by Mark Buchanan in his great book “The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath”. Mark challenges us to ask ourselves, “Does the path I’m walking lead to a place I want to go? If I keep heading this way, will I like where I arrive?” That brings me back to my opening question, “What kind of person are you in the process of becoming?” If you continue doing what you’re doing, will you like the person you end up being?

We can be intentional about redeeming the time God has granted to us and use it in life-giving ways that are spiritually nurturing. I encourage you to make good use of your time. By doing so you are shaping your life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Redeem the time by guarding your heart

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Redeem the time by guarding your heart”

In Proverbs 4:23 Solomon issued an important word of caution regarding the critical role the heart plays in the quality and character of our lives. By heart he means mind (the place where thoughts and emotions originate) and he says that the heart is the wellspring of life, meaning that the rest of life flows from the heart. Therefore, we have to guard the heart by controlling what is allowed into it. And, if the heart has been polluted, then steps need to be taken to cleanse it.

Jesus spoke to this important truth on multiple occasions. In Luke 6:45 He told us, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

“Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” In other words, sooner or later whatever is in your heart will rise to the surface and show itself in words and deeds. You may effectively control your words and actions for a while, despite what is really in your heart, but sooner or later the good or bad that is in your heart will show itself in words and deeds. So, you had better pay attention to what’s in your heart. Guard it.

As Curtis and Eldredge explain in their book “The Sacred Romance”, “Our heart is the key to the Christian life.” And, “Sadly, most of us watch the oil level in our car more carefully than we watch over the life of our heart.”

It’s true – most of us pay more attention to the external things of life than we do to the internal things of the heart. But God is much more concerned about our inner life than our outer life because it’s the inner life that drives the outer life. That’s exactly what Solomon and Jesus were trying to get us to understand.

Our objective, moment-by-moment, should be to focus less on the externals of life and more on the internals of the heart. It is possible to reclaim a healthy heart-life. But you need to put your focus where the focus needs to be, and that’s on your relationship with God.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Don’t miss the romance

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t miss the romance”

How happy are you with your life? How content are you with the state of your relationship with God? Down deep do you sense that you were made for more than this?
You were, and you know it.

In 1997 John Eldredge and Brent Curtis published a book that changed the spiritual landscape for untold numbers of Christians. Like Henry Blackaby’s Bible study, “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”, and Richard Foster’s classic work “The Celebration of Discipline”, this book by Eldredge and Curtis provided insight and understanding about a deep relationship with God that became a game-changer for many of us.

The title of the book was “The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God”. In the book Eldredge and Curtis describe God as “The Great Romancer”. God is a lover at heart and His relationship with His people is one of an eternal romance (with God taking the lead). He calls to us and He woos us. He is always working to draw us to Himself and then, once we come to Him, He overwhelms us with His great love for us.

The true story of your life is the journey of your heart into a deep love relationship with God. The deeper and stronger that relationship is, the more satisfied and content you will be. The weaker, more distant, and more superficial your relationship with God is, the less content you will be (there will be something missing in you at a very deep level and as a result nothing in this life will truly satisfy you).

This is where most of us are missing the boat in life. We’re looking for love in all the wrong places. We’re seeking fulfillment and satisfaction from the things of this world when in truth, the only thing that will meet our deepest need is a rich love relationship with our Father in heaven.

This is the stuff of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”. It’s what Jeremiah was writing about in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.”

The Great Romancer, the One who loves you more than you can know, is calling to you. He is saying “Come and spend time with Me.” I encourage you to respond to that call today. Redeeming the time by spending it with God is the single greatest thing you can do to enhance your joy and to improve your life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

God speaks with His inside voice

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper …” 1 kings 19:11-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God uses His inside voice”

Yesterday I encouraged us all to consider taking a short spiritual retreat, some quiet time for just you and the Lord. That’s what the Old Testament prophet Elijah was doing in 1 Kings 19:11-12. He was alone with God in the wilderness.

There are many benefits to taking a spiritual retreat and one of them is that it helps us to focus. I’m talking about paying attention to what’s going on around you. In the military we called it “situational awareness”. But most of us aren’t very focused, at least not on the things that really matter. We’re too distracted. Our minds are filled with thoughts of the problems we believe we have, the things we need to do, and even fantasies of how we wish things were. There’s a lot of noise inside those heads of ours.

It’s true for all of us. We spend way too much time brooding about the past and being anxious about the future. Much of the time we’re thinking about “what was” and “what could be” rather than about “what is”.

A spiritual retreat helps to quiet the voices in our heads and to refocus on the present. I’m talking about mindfulness. It’s the ability to simply “be” and to see what “is”. It’s a time to savor and reflect and appreciate. It’s only then that we become truly alive. This is when we hear the birds sing, and we pause to appreciate the beauty of a flower, and we finally notice – really notice – how spectacular the scenery all around us is.

This is also when we begin to hear that “still small voice of God”. As Elijah learned during his time alone with God, seldom does God shout at us. Almost always He uses His inside voice – the voice we hear inside our heads and our hearts. It’s soft and quiet, and in order to hear it we need to be quiet too (and undistracted).

A spiritual retreat can help us to once again begin living in the moment and to be aware of God. Then, hopefully, some of that will carry over and come home with you. Perhaps you will begin to live more in the moment as a normal way of life.

In Psalm 46:10 The Lord said, “Be still and know that I am God …” It’s when we’re still and quiet that we begin to hear God speaking with His inside voice. A spiritual retreat helps to get us there.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Take a spiritual retreat

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Take a spiritual retreat”

Have you ever spent time in a monastery? I have not, but it is on my bucket list. I’ve read accounts written by other Christians who have gone to a monastery for a short retreat. They tell of how after a period of settling in and getting used to it, they found the seclusion and the profound quiet to be very peaceful and soothing, and they have had significant encounters with God in the middle of the quietness.

I haven’t had that experience yet but as I’ve traveled around the world, I’ve always enjoyed visiting some of the magnificent cathedrals found in places like Cusco, Peru or Budapest, Hungary. There too you can simply sit in the quietness, gazing upon the beauty of the artwork and the architecture, and soon a sense of the awesome majesty of God begins to envelope you. It’s really a very moving experience.

For most of us a spiritual retreat doesn’t involve monasteries and cathedrals. Instead, it’s usually more like Billy Graham’s time at Forest Home Christian Camp which I told you about in a previous devotional in this series. Or, a retreat like that can occur in most any setting that affords some seclusion and quiet. When I lived in the desert on the California/Arizona/Mexico border, twice a year I used to go to a cabin in the Laguna Mountains which separate San Diego from the desert. It was over 4000 feet in elevation, it was isolated, and it was rather beautiful. It was a good place for a retreat for a few days. Nowadays I sometimes rent a cabin in the State Park right here in our own county in Tennessee. It’s only twenty minutes from my home but it provides seclusion and quiet in a very beautiful setting.

Psalm 42:1-2 paints a word picture of a dry and dusty soul yearning for a cool refreshing drink of the Living Water. It’s a picture of a quiet and serene setting that renews, refreshes, and cleanses. That’s the purpose of a spiritual retreat – even if only for a few hours or half a day.

If you haven’t allowed yourself a spiritual retreat in a while, I encourage you to consider taking one soon. From time-to-time we all need a break from regular life to simply be alone with God.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Soul-rest comes from time with God

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “My soul finds rest in God alone …” Psalm 62:1 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Soul-rest comes from time with God”

There are different ways of redeeming the time in order to truly get the most out of this journey through life. Much of life consists of involvement in meaningful activities, but that should be followed by times of play and celebration, and also with times of relaxation and deep rest (soul-rest). We need a healthy balance.

The Lord brought that truth home to me this morning in a powerful way by reminding me of something that happened a few years ago. It involved my daughter Tracy and the time I spent with her every summer as part of my vacation. The specific reason I was thinking about her this morning is because I’m currently on vacation, but Tracy is now in heaven.

For many years, my summer vacation always included a trip to Southern California to have special father/daughter time with Tracy. She was mentally and physically disabled and needed a lot of special care and attention. On our vacation we would do things like go to the zoo and to movies, we would go shopping and to restaurants. Although my time with Tracy was very special to me, it was also labor-intensive.

On that last trip, after several days of constant activities and providing a high level of care for Tracy, my flight home was also delayed and I didn’t get home to Tennessee until 3:30 in the morning. I was exhausted. It was good time. Special time. Time well-spent. Time that was appropriately redeemed. But also draining.

Then came the time for relaxation and soul-rest. After getting some sleep I got up, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat out on the porch. There was a gentle breeze blowing, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, I had nothing to do and nowhere to go. After days of airports, rental cars, and caring for Tracy, now it was just me and God, along with the cool breeze, the singing birds, and the coffee. There was a deep sense of relaxation and peace. I just sat there in the stillness and enjoyed a great sense of God’s presence.

When we allow ourselves times of true Sabbath-rest; when our schedule is free and we can therefore just sit with the Lord as long as we please; it creates a bubble in time when we can relax and enjoy God. There are no pressing concerns, there are no distractions, it’s simply you and God, the soft breeze, the singing birds, the shining sun, and coffee.

Psalm 62:1 was very real for me that morning. My soul found peace and rest in God. I hope that’s sometimes true for you too. I encourage you to be intentional about carving out those relaxed, unhurried, peaceful times with God. This is how our soul rests.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Stop working so hard at your play

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Stop working so hard at your playing”

Gordan Dahl is a professor of economics at the University of San Diego. He once published an article in the magazine “The Christian Century” which reported his findings about the work and leisure habits of the average American. He wrote:

“In truth, for millions of Americans … leisure has come to mean little more than an ever more furious orgy of consumption. Whatever energies are left after working, are spent in pursuing pleasure with the help of an endless array of goods and services. This is “virtuous materialism” par excellence. It offers men the choice of either working themselves to death or consuming themselves to death – or both.”

What Dahl was referring to is the habit many of us have developed of being as busy in our leisure as we are in our work. Rather than really resting and renewing, we instead fill our leisure time with endless activities that leave us exhausted. We essentially work at our play. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone complain that they needed a rest after their vacation.

The great Christian writer A.W. Tozer once observed that we modern Christians have lost the ability to simply “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). We’re entirely too busy to be still.

As we’ve learned, there’s a lot to be said for playing and having fun and engaging in activities we enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s even good. But true Sabbath-rest also needs quiet times of inactivity. It should include what the Psalmist was writing about in Psalm 23:1-3, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”

In order for Sabbath-rest to renew and restore and to be spiritually nurturing, there needs to be times of quiet inactivity – time for reflection and just being still before the Lord.

I encourage you to stop working so hard at your play. You will enjoy the journey of life a lot more if you redeem the time by including time to really rest.

God bless,
Pastor Jim