Oak Hill Baptist Church

Why are we so dejected?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 43:5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Why are we so dejected?

Have you ever had a fantasy about winning the lottery? Most of us have. The jackpots these days are typically in the hundreds of millions of dollars but seriously, I don’t need that much. I’ll gladly settle for say, four or five million. That should do it nicely, thank you.

But did you know that the majority of people who win those lottery jackpots actually end up worse off than they were before they had all the money? It’s true. Multiple studies have shown that most jackpot winners end up worse off not better. The winners report an endless stream of relatives, friends, and strangers begging for handouts. Also, there are scammers trying to entice them into investment schemes; charitable organizations (legitimate and not) asking for large donations; and lots and lots of arguments, fights, and broken relationships. The winners often end up bankrupt, divorced, estranged from family and friends, and addicted to drugs and alcohol. The studies show that over 70% of them encounter such problems!

But that wouldn’t happen to you or me, right? We would handle it well, right? You and I would withstand the pressure, make wise decisions, bless people, and honor God, right? Well … maybe. Or maybe it would ruin us too. Having lots of money and lots of stuff doesn’t necessarily make for a happy life.

To prove the point, today in the USA we have the highest standard of living any middle-class has ever had in any nation of the world. We have higher incomes, better housing, more access to good food and safe water, better healthcare, a better social safety net, and more financial security than anyone, anywhere. So, (think winning the lottery), we should be the happiest people on earth, right? Well, we’re not.

According to “The World Happiness Report”, the USA ranks 16^th in the world in terms of overall happiness (that’s up from 19^th last year). We’re behind such countries as Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Israel, Canada, and even Costa Rica and the Czech Republic.

Approximately 12% of the adult population (over 30 million people) report experiencing serious to moderate depression. Almost 50,000 committed suicide last year. I’m not telling you this to depress you (further?), only to illustrate my point that money is not the answer to our problems. I once heard a wealthy person say, “If anyone thinks having a lot of money will solve all their problems, they obviously don’t have a lot of money or they would know better.”

Now, having money is typically better than not having money (up to a point). And yet, there apparently must be more to leading a happy life than just having money and stuff, right? We already have more than anyone else in the world. Lottery winners have more than all of us. So, as the Psalmist asked in Psalm 43:5, “Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil?”

We’ll think more about this tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

We’re not done yet

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:17-18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We’re not done yet”

Two developments occurred last month as I was writing our devotional series about dealing with anxiety and despair, which I can’t ignore. The first had to do with the abundance of material and ideas the Lord brought to me throughout the month about this topic, and the second had to do with the response from readers.

With respect to the abundance of material, once I select a theme to write about for the month, that theme is then always playing in the back of my mind. I keep a 5×7 notepad handy because the Lord brings to my attention passages of scripture that apply, or illustrations that can be used, or items in the news, or examples from people’s personal lives. Ideas often come from books I am now reading or have read in the past, as well as from magazine articles, items on the internet, and things people say to me.

Almost always I end up with more material than I can use – but last month was exceptional in that respect. At the end of the month, I still had several pages of scriptures, ideas, illustrations, and personal examples about dealing with anxiety and despair. Why was there so much resource material available on this subject? It’s because anxiety and despair are such a big problem for so many people. It’s one of those topics God addresses more than one hundred times and in multiple ways all throughout the Bible, Psalm 34:17-18 (above) is just one of them. And there are endless examples from everyday life.

The second thing that alerted me to the fact that this theme was different from others is the response from readers. There was a lot of it. Apparently, the topic resonated with many of us and is addressing a need in our lives. So, I sense the Lord prompting me to continue exploring this issue in November. Evidently, it’s not time to stop yet.

Psalm 34:17-18 is true, God cares very much about the fact that we struggle with the issues of life, and He is ready and willing to help us. So, let’s see what else God has to teach us about this. We will never be completely free from anxiety and despair, but we can learn to deal with it more effectively. It doesn’t have to dominate our thinking and it shouldn’t control our lives.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

The greatest miracle in the world

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month” The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “For it was you who created my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The greatest miracle in the world”

This morning I want to continue our examination of Psalm 139 which we began yesterday. Psalm 139 is one of the most affirming and comforting of all the Psalms. Probably no other Psalm (besides perhaps Psalm 23) so clearly communicates the heart of God and His overwhelming love for you as an individual. I encourage you to slowly and devotionally read and think deeply about the following words from verses 11-18:

“For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.
God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.

In 1975 Og Mandino released a very helpful and encouraging Christian book. It was a small paperback with the title “The Greatest Miracle in the World” and it was based on Psalm 139:11-18. (It’s still in print so can easily order a copy for yourself, and I encourage you to do so).

The greatest miracle in the world? It’s you. You are God’s greatest miracle. He designed you. He knit you together in your mother’s womb. He lovingly formed you into the unique individual you are. There has never been another like you, and there never will be again. In the New Living Translation of Ephesians 2:10 the Apostle Paul says that you are God’s masterpiece. Psalm 139:11-18 explains why that is so.

Whenever you find yourself struggling with anxiety and despair, maybe even feeling discouraged and depressed, I encourage you to spend some devotional time slowly reading and thinking deeply about Psalm 139. God is always with you, and you are more precious to Him than you realize. To God, you are His greatest miracle.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You can’t get away from God

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You can’t get away from God”

It’s a rhetorical question. The Psalmist wasn’t expecting an answer because the answer is obvious. There isn’t anywhere you can go to get away from God because there isn’t anywhere that God isn’t present. God is everywhere, all the time. Theologians refer to this as the omnipresence of God. He is everywhere, always, all the time.

Is this good or bad? Does the thought comfort me or make me uneasy? I suppose that depends on what I’m up to at any given moment but overall, if I really believe that God is good and that He loves me unconditionally (He is and He does), then His omnipresence is a comforting reality. King David knew this. It’s why he wrote Psalm 139. So, this morning I just want to share more of the Psalm with you and invite you to find comfort in these words:

“Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away.
You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord.
You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me.
This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night – even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like day; darkness and light are alike to you.

I hope you find the reality of God’s presence comforting. You should. The fact that God wants to be with you all the time is proof of just how much He loves you and how much He likes you. Would you like more proof of that? Okay, we’ll continue this discussion tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Hope never gives up on you

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Hope never gives up on you”

Do you find the words of Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:22-24 comforting and encouraging? I do. But did you know they were written in the middle of the worst possible circumstances?

Jeremiah was an Old Testament priest and prophet. He spent more than five decades calling the people of Judah to repent of their ways and to return to the Lord. If they didn’t, their bad choices would have terrible consequences. But the people refused to listen and they refused to repent. As a result, the nation continued in a downward spiral.

While all that was happening, over a period of fifty years, Jeremiah endured terrible suffering. The leaders and the people hated him and abused him. Jeremiah is known in history as “the weeping prophet”. Now, in Lamentations, judgement has finally come upon the nation. The armies of the enemy swept in, they conquered the land, Jerusalem was in ruins, the people were in captivity, and there was devastation, hunger, and death all around (think eastern Ukraine in our day).

It was in that setting that Jeremiah spoke the words of Lamentations 3:22-24. It was as he walked the streets of the destroyed city, circled around the rubble, stepped over the dead bodies. Calamity, despair, and destruction was all around him. And yet, he professed unequivocal faith in God. He knew that God still loved His people and that He wanted to bless them. So, Jeremiah’s focus was on the Lord, and he had faith that God would yet show Himself mighty and merciful, compassionate and kind, in the middle of the disaster. “Therefore, I will put my hope in him.”

I doubt that any of us are experiencing anything close to what Jeremiah was experiencing when he wrote those words. But still, our own situations are hard and often painful in their own right. The words of Lamentations 3:22-24 are as true for us today in our circumstances as they were for Jeremiah in his day in his circumstances.

Whatever it is you’re dealing with today, I encourage you to put your hope in God. The worse the situation is the closer you need to be to Him and the more you need to trust Him. God is hope. It’s not just something that’s true about Him, it’s who He is. So, never give up hope, because Hope never gives up on you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

What if it’s you?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “What if it’s you?”

I love the observation Brennan Manning shared in his book “The Ragamuffin Gospel” regarding Matthew 25:31-40. That passage is famous because in it, Jesus teaches a parable about caring for the down-and-out of society, the “least of these”. He speaks of feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick, and visiting the prisoners, as examples of the ways in which His followers should be ministering to those who are suffering and in great need. Those are acts of kindness and compassion which flow from a heart of love, and He says that when we do such things for them, He receives it as if we have done those things directly for Him. That’s how important it is to Him that the neediest of all get cared for.

In reference to that teaching, Brennan Manning wrote this, “What if you discovered that the least of the brethren of Jesus, the one who needs your love the most, the one you can help the most by loving, the one to whom your love will be most meaningful – what if you discovered that this least of the brethren of Jesus … is you?”

Yes, what if it’s you? What if you are the one who needs your love the most? What if you are the one you most need to care for, minister to, and feel compassion for? What if you discovered that that one you need to forgive the most, the one who needs your acceptance the most … is you?

I’m not encouraging a narcissistic self-absorption with your own problems. We’ve already discussed the danger of that in previous devotionals in this series. However, as we’ve also already discussed, we’re often too hard on ourselves. We’re often our own worst enemy. The loudest voices of criticism and accusation sounding in our heads is often our own. What if the one you need to let up on and have some compassion for is you?

For many of us the problem isn’t that we love ourselves too much, but too little. I want to encourage you again this morning to give yourself a break. Cut yourself some slack. Don’t be so hard on yourself.

It’s not just the hungry, thirsty, sick, and prisoners who are near to the heart of Jesus. So are you. It’s not just them who His heart aches for. His heart aches for you too. Yes, take care of them. But take care of yourself too.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

What if it’s you?

Set yourself free

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Set yourself free”

The truth that Jesus is urging us to know in John 8:32 is multifaceted. As He said about Himself in John 14:6, He “is” the truth. If we know Him, we will find freedom. First and foremost, we are set free from an eternity in hell. But second, in the context of this passage in John chapter eight, the truth Jesus was referring to was all that He had been teaching about knowing God and living victoriously in this life. If we know these truths – really know them as in accepting, embracing, and living these truths – we will be set free.

A genuinely saved follower of Christ will know and embrace Jesus and all that He taught, and we will then have been set free from an eternity in hell, but also from a lifetime in bondage to Satan now. This is the truth Jesus calls us to truly know, and which will set us free.

What a sad thing it is to watch someone struggling with life and living in bondage to Satan. They have a hole in their heart that they’re desperately trying to fill with things from the world such as possessions, approval, accomplishments, relationships, sex, drugs, or alcohol, but which can only be filled by God.

Jesus is right there ready and waiting to set them free from all that. They only need to accept Him and His teaching, live according to Biblical principles instead of worldly standards, and begin to grow in spiritual maturity. What’s holding them back? The answer is that they’re holding themselves back. Jesus is ready to set them free but they’re not willing to be set free. In essence, they’re not willing to set themselves free. How very sad.

Even sadder is a Christian who has professed faith in Christ but is still not living in the freedom Christ has granted them. They have been set free by Jesus but they aren’t living like it because they haven’t set themselves free. They have faith in Christ, but they’re still allowing Satan to hold them in bondage to the things of the world. And they are allowing that to be the case. It is voluntary. The fact is that as a Christian Satan has no power to hold you in bondage. The only power he has over you is what you allow him to have. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13.

This is a common spiritual problem and it bears further discussion, so we’ll come back to it tomorrow. For today I want to ask you, have you been set free by Jesus? Then live like it by setting yourself free as well. Truly surrender all your issues to Jesus and then live like someone who has been set free.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Are you perfect yet?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Are you perfect yet?

I’m old enough to remember when the microwave oven first started to become widely available to the average household. It was an amazing thing to see food cooked in minutes when it used to take an hour or more in a conventional oven. I’m also old enough to remember the comedian Joan Rivers and her sketch about microwave ovens and impatient people. In the skit Joan stood in front of a microwave as it was cooking something. She was obviously impatient, tapping her foot and drumming her fingers on the counter. Finally, in great frustration and agitation she peers through the little window on the front of that microwave and yells, “HURRY UP!”

We Christians get like that when it comes to our own spiritual maturity. We get frustrated with ourselves and believe we should be further along in our growth than we are. I mentioned in a previous devotional that we often tend to be our own worst critics and our own worst enemies. In yesterday’s devotional I noted that sometimes the loudest and most critical voice in our head is our own voice. It’s us. Never mind the demons whispering the lies of Satan. Sometimes we do more damage to ourselves than they could ever do to us. That then causes us to have a poor self-image. Our perceived shortcomings cause us stress, anxiety and despair.

In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul was describing the process of his own spiritual growth. His entire life consisted of a slow, steady, progressive process of transformation from the man he once was, into the man God intended for him to be. It was a lifelong process that would only be completed when he finally arrived in heaven.

The theological term for that is “sanctification”. It’s the process of being transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ. But it is a process and it is lifelong. Therefore, we need to give ourselves a break. You aren’t going to become perfect overnight. You can’t stand in front of the spiritual microwave and yell, “HURRY UP!”

It is true there are things you can do that can cause the process to move along faster than it otherwise would have. That’s a function of how serious you are as a disciple of Christ and how much time you dedicate to placing yourself in a position before God whereby the Holy Spirit can mold and shape you, transforming you from the person you were, into the person God wants you to be. You can influence the speed with which that happens, but it is still a lifelong process.

Are you perfect yet? No, no you aren’t. Neither am I, and we won’t be this side of heaven. So, give yourself a break. Stop being so critical of yourself. Do your part as a good disciple of Jesus and then relax and let the Holy Spirit do his part – in His way and in His time.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

No nattering nabobs of negativism, please

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “No nattering nabobs of negativism, please”

The term “Nabob” has been around for hundreds of years. It goes back at least to the early 1600s in England. It was derisively used to describe businessmen and adventurers who went off to colonial India, made fortunes, and then came home to England to live leisurely lives of wealth and affluence, but they were snooty about it. They were way too impressed with themselves and they were arrogant. Therefore, they were called “nabobs” and they were lampooned and laughed at.

In more modern times, the term was used by presidential speech-writer William Safire in a 1970 speech for Vice-President Spiro Agnew. Agnew applied it to news reporters who he felt were unfairly dogging the Nixon administration. He called them “nattering nabobs of negativism”.

We all have to contend with our own nattering nabobs of negativism. They come in two varieties – physical and spiritual – people and demons. On the demonic side, they’re the voices in your head that whisper and shout the lies of Satan. (Also, often, the voices are of our own making. It’s not Satan, it’s us. We’re being tormented by our own voice. Either way, it’s a nattering nabob of negativism and it is harmful).

The other variety of nattering negativism comes from other people. They’re the nitpickers and fault-finders. They’re present in politics, the news media, the workplace, and in neighborhoods. Our world is filled with them. In the Christian world they’re the ones who seem to think fault-finding is a spiritual gift and that they’ve been appointed by God to go into all the world and find fault in the lives of others. They too are nattering nabobs of negativism and they can be annoying, or even harmful.

What to do with them? Well, refuse to put up with them – in your head and in your life. Shut them up and shut them out. For the voices in your head, Paul gives us the answer in Philippians 4:8 – intentionally flood your mind with lots of good positive influences. And for the actual people, David addressed that in yesterday’s devotional in Psalm 122:1 – choose to be with people who are uplifting and positive rather than negative and fault-finding.

Nattering nabobs of negativism are a common source of anxiety and despair in our lives. If you have one in your life, perhaps at work, or even worse, in your church, try to help them see the problems and damage they are causing with their nitpicking, fault-finding, and negativism. If they won’t stop, then distance yourself from them if you can. You don’t need that in your life.

I urge you not to be a nattering nabob of negativism, and I also encourage you not to put up with them either. Life is hard enough without harping negative people making it even harder.

God bless,
Pastor Jim