Oak Hill Baptist Church

God has your back

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:33 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God has your back”

Are you familiar with what we call “The do not worry” passage in the New Testament? It appears twice, in slightly different formats, once in Matthew 6:25-34 and again in Luke 12:22-34. It’s a parable told by Jesus to illustrate the sovereignty of God, as well as His watch-care over us and His provision for us. In the story Jesus explains that God is aware of everything, and He is in control of everything. In the whole universe. Everything. Everywhere. And He cares about it all. Including all the little details.

Jesus tells of God’s attention to detail regarding things like lilies in the fields and food for the birds. He reminds us that there also isn’t a single need we have, or challenge we face, or concern we have to deal with, that God isn’t aware of and capable of dealing with for us. And, our issues are much more important to him than the colors of flowers or worms for the birds. But since He does in fact attend to such minor and unimportant details regarding flowers and birds, then you can be assured He will attend to the details of your life too because (as Jesus says), you are much more important to Him than flowers or birds or anything else.

The key, according to Jesus, is found in Matthew 6:33 and again in Luke 12:31 – seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and leave the rest to Him. That doesn’t mean that you have no responsibility for your own well-being, for a job and security and financial accountability, etc. But it does mean that if your most important concern is to honor God with your life and to serve others in His name, then God has your back. You take care of His business and He will look after yours.

Even psychologists and professional counselors will tell you that the most unhappy and least well-adjusted people are those who are self-absorbed and compulsively fixated on themselves and on all their own perceived problems and concerns. The happiest and most well-adjusted people tend to be those who keep the focus on God and on others. These people do what Jesus called for in those verses, they give most of their attention, emotional energy, and efforts to serving God and others, and they trust God for the rest of life. They still do their part to take care of and provide for themselves, but they don’t obsess about it. They don’t have to. They know that God has their back.

Do you? Do you go through life with the calm assurance that your Heavenly Father loves you, is watching over you, and is taking care of you? He is. And embracing that truth is key to putting an end to a life characterized by anxiety, fear, and despair. I encourage you to become more God-focused and more others-focused, and a little less you-focused. Matthew 6:33 promises that if you take care of God’s business, He will take care of yours. He will have your back.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Don’t fear life

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear …” 1 John 4:18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t fear life”

I’ve mentioned in another devotional in this series that I’m currently rereading Brennan Manning’s classic book on the Christian life called “The Ragamuffin Gospel”. The other night I came across a statement from Brennan that’s just too good to pass up. I have to write about it. It’s about how it is that many of us live in fear – with doubts, anxiety, and in despair:

“Christians ought to be celebrating constantly. We ought to be preoccupied with parties, banquets, feasts, and merriment. We ought to give ourselves over to veritable orgies of joy because we have been liberated from the fear of life and the fear of death. We ought to attract people to the church quite literally by the fun there is in being a Christian. Unfortunately, we sometimes become somber, serious, and pompous. We fly in the face of freedom and grimly dig deeper into the trenches (of life).”

Wow. We should be preoccupied with parties, banquets, feasts, merriment, and veritable orgies of joy? Well, that sounds like fun! Sign me up! But wait. Back up. There’s a sentence in the middle of all that which we need to notice and deal with. According to Manning the reason we should approach life this way is because “we have been liberated from the fear of life and the fear of death.”

For the strong Christian who truly does believe in the reality of heaven it’s not a big stretch to have been liberated from an overriding fear of death. But freedom from the fear of life? Whoa. Full stop. I think we have some work to do here. Life is the very thing we do fear. We fear sickness, and economic hardship, and lost jobs, and the opinions of others, and for the safety of our children, and for the outcome of elections, and a thousand other things.

If we let it, life can become oppressive – and some people do wear it like a heavy old coat. We fear not only the problems and trials, but also the sheer drudgery of another day. And as a result, we allow anxiety and fear to grip us.

But the Apostle John tells us in 1 John 4:18 that fear should not be a driving and determining factor in our lives. He says that perfect love (the love of Christ) drives out fear. And if fear has been driven out (both the fear of death and the fear of life), then we’re in a much better position to live the life Brennan Manning was describing.

Sound good to you? Me too. Let’s think about this some more tomorrow. Let’s not go through life fearing life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

I need you, you need me, we all need each other

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “I need you, you need me, we all need each other”

I was a teenager and young adult towards the end of the hippie-era in the mid-late 60s and early 70s. It was the “Peace and Love” generation and we sure did love songs about peace, love, unity, and the brotherhood of man. One of the most popular ballads to come out of that era was a song with the title, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”, which was a big hit for the rock group the Hollies. The first verse and chorus goes:

The road is long, with many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where, who knows where
But I’m strong, strong enough to carry him
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother
So on we go
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear
We’ll get there

The phrase, “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother” actually came from Father Edward Flanagan, a Catholic priest and the founder of Boy’s Town in Omaha, Nebraska. It was a place where troubled or homeless boys could come for help. In 1943, Father Flanagan saw an older brother carrying his younger brother on his back. The phrase “he ain’t heavy he’s my brother” came to him in that moment and he wrote about it in a magazine article. Eventually it became the theme for a much-loved and very inspirational song.

Yesterday I said that those of us who know and love someone who is currently struggling with anxiety and despair can help them by simply letting them know we care and that we will help if we can. I think that mindset needs to also apply to Christian life in general, and to church life in particular.

The road through life is long, and it is often troubled and challenging. At times we all struggle with anxiety, doubts, and despair. That’s when we need each other most. The truth is that sometimes I need you, and sometimes you need me, and always we all need each other. Will you carry an extra burden for someone today? How about tomorrow when you gather with your church family? Someone could probably use your help right now.

By the way, if you Google that song you will find a YouTube video to play it for you. That would be a nice way to end this devotional time and to begin the weekend.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

How far are you willing to go for someone?

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “How far are you willing to go for someone?”

This morning’s devotional isn’t so much for those who suffer from anxiety and despair as it is for those who love them and who want to help.

I love the story told by Brennan Manning in his book “The Ragamuffin Gospel” about a pretty young woman who had a cancerous tumor in her cheek that had to be removed by surgery. In order to get the tumor out, the surgeon had to cut a small but critical nerve that controlled the corner of the mouth. As a result, the woman’s mouth was left in a permanent state of being twisted downward at the corner. It was a palsied, even slightly clownish look. And it would never get better. This was her new appearance, for the rest of her life.

Once the bandages came off the woman asked for a mirror so she could see what she looked like. After a minute she looked at the surgeon and asked, “Will it always be like this?” “Yes”, he replied, “it will stay like that.” The woman lowered her eyes and was silent. Her husband was standing there observing. He then stepped forward, smiled, and said, “I like it. I think it’s cute.” Then he bent down to kiss her and as he did, he twisted his own lips to match hers, thereby demonstrating that their kiss still worked.

Anxiety and despair are often the result of perceived imperfections and limitations that the person is struggling with. Often, those imperfections and limitations are real and they are long-term or even permanent. We can help others adjust to and live with the reality of their situations simply by being empathic and supportive. Understanding, compassion, and support can go a long way towards helping someone deal with their fears, insecurities, and limitations.

How far are you willing to go to help someone who is struggling with doubt, insecurity, anxiety, and despair? Will you be patient with them? Will you make some adjustments in your own life in order to help them deal with their issues? Will you twist your lips to show your spouse that your kiss still works?

One of the most helpful things you can do for someone who is struggling with anxiety and despair is to let them know you care, and then take practical steps to help them deal with it.

More about this tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

The quiet ministry of the living Spirit of the living God.

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “The quiet ministry of the living Spirit of the living God”

It used to be that I could sleep anywhere, at any time, under any conditions. In a bunk in a barracks with seventy other men; on a ship in the middle of a typhoon in the South China Sea; in a tent in the Amazon Jungle; once I even spent two weeks sharing a hotel room in Cusco, Peru with Jim Cox (he snores). In trains, planes, and automobiles, under virtually any conditions, I could get a full night’s sleep.

But not so much anymore. Did you know that the older you get the less well you sleep at night? It’s true. Now-a-days I fall asleep quickly, I sleep deeply and soundly for three or four hours, but then I often wake up. And that’s when the demons of anxiety and doubt and despair come to visit. I seldom experience anxiety or despair in the daylight hours. But in the middle of the night, there’s a dozen voices chattering in my head, and it will go on for hours – if I let it.

But I don’t let it. Instead, I turn my thoughts to Jesus. I think about Matthew 11:28-30 and I claim the rest and peace He promises. I also recite other Bible verses that I find comforting. Now that I’m in my older years I have a personalized version of Isaiah 46:4 that brings me comfort and assurance, “Even to your old age and grey hairs, Jim, I am He. I am He who will sustain you. I will sustain you and carry you; I will sustain you and rescue you.” I know from experience that Matthew 11:28-30 is true. And Isaiah 46:4 is true. And all of the promises of God are true. And soon …. I’m sound asleep again.

An essential means of dealing with anxiety and despair is to bring it to the Lord. Intentionally, purposefully, and with resolve, lay it at the feet of Jesus. Pray about it, claim the promises, and let Him take it from you. Isaiah 26:3 assures us, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you.” And He will. This is what Howard Thurman once called “The quiet ministry of the living Spirit of the living God.” I like that thought – the quiet ministry of the living Spirit of the living God. I want to experience more of that in my life.

God wants you to bring your anxiety and despair to Him. I encourage you to do it. You’ll be glad you did.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Enjoy it but don’t abuse it

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery … You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:1;13 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Enjoy it but don’t abuse it”

Many years ago, as the pastor of a church in another part of the country, I was witness to an interesting contrast of faith practices between three different women in the church. Two were middle-aged and one was a senior citizen. One was the proverbial “Church Lady” as depicted in the old Saturday Night Live skit by Dana Carvey. She was prim, proper, fussy, and nitpicking. She was sour as a lemon and she always had an opinion to share and a complaint to voice.

Another (the senior citizen) was a wonderful sister in Christ. She was carefree, happy, and a big blessing to everyone. The third was superficial in her faith. She was often involved in conduct that was questionable at best, and sometimes outright sinful.

The first lady was a legalist and a modern-day Pharisee. She was also a very unhappy person. The third lady was guilty of what Dietrich Bonhoffer once called “cheap grace” – it was an abuse of grace. She too was a very unhappy person. But the other sister had found the sweet spot in her relationship with the Lord. She had learned how to live free in Christ without being legalistically tied to a long list of rules and regulations, but also without abusing the grace of the Lord and engaging in unbiblical conduct.

That right there is a key element in learning how to minimize anxiety and despair in our lives. We must learn how to live free in Christ, by grace, without being legalistic and without abusing that freedom. This comes with spiritual maturity. It’s something you grow into. You have to want it and you have to be willing to put forth the effort to develop it. There are things we need to do in order to facilitate our spiritual growth and to live free in Christ.

This morning, I would like to recommend two resources for your personal study that I believe you will find helpful. The first is Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry Blackaby. That 12-week Bible study will go a long way towards helping you to learn how to live free in Christ without abusing that freedom.

The other is “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” by Philip Yancey. This study will help you to appreciate the full scope of God’s amazing grace in your own life, and how to extend that grace to others.

It’s essential for us to throw off the chains of legalism and learn to live free in the grace of God, but to do so without abusing it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s all about grace

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.” Colossians 3:12-13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s all about grace”

I have often jokingly accused our church of being like the Star Wars bar. I’m referring to a scene from the first Star Wars movie. Hans Solo and Chewbacca are in an inter-planetary bar. It’s filled with the weirdest creatures from across the solar system. There’s a purple guy with octopus-like tentacles. Then there’s the green man with a single eye in the middle of his forehead. There are large brown creatures with four arms, and small yellow ones with fur and pointed ears. You get the picture. It was a very strange group. But they all get along. They accept each other as they are and they just enjoy themselves.

We’re like that at Oak Hill Baptist. We’re all just a little odd and quirky (me especially), but we love each other, accept each other, and we get along well. Rarely are there any squabbles or disputes, and rarely does anyone make an issue out of anyone else’s less-than-perfect habits or mannerisms. Sometimes there is a big deal that does have to be addressed but it’s rare (most things really aren’t worth arguing about and easily can be, and should be, shrugged off).

We talking about grace extended to others and it’s a key to learning to live without (or at least with less) anxiety and despair. In yesterday’s devotional I encouraged us all to give ourselves a break. Today I’m calling us to give others a break. Go a little easier on yourself, and go a little easier on others. I’m not saying we should ignore sin. This is a call to stop being nitpicking and small.

Some of the happiest and most well-adjusted people I know are those who are easy-going and gracious. Some of the most hung-up and anxious people I’ve known are those who are self-appointed experts at pointing out everyone else’s faults and failures.

I encourage you to stop taking yourself so seriously, and stop taking everyone else so seriously too. Give yourself and others a break. You’ll be happier if you do, and so will everyone else. It’s all about grace.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Maybe your halo is too tight

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Maybe your halo is too tight”

Although anxiety and despair have many causes, one of the big culprits is attitude and perspective. It’s how we think about things. And very often, that includes expecting too much from life, and from ourselves.

I’m paraphrasing a story told by author Brennan Manning: A man went to his doctor complaining of frequent severe headaches. One look at him convinced the doctor that the man was wired too tight, he was tense and stressed out. To establish a baseline upon which to assess the man’s overall lifestyle, the doctor asked him a series of basic questions.

“How much alcohol do you drink?” the doctor asked. The man was instantly indignant and huffily replied, “None! I never touch the filthy stuff!” The doctor then asked, “Do you smoke?” Getting even more offended the man said, “Of course I don’t smoke. Smoking is disgusting!” The doctor then proceeded to ask several more lifestyle questions and the man continued to get more and more perturbed at the nature of the questioning. Finally, he blurted out, “What’s with these questions? What kind of man do you think I am??!!” Without any further questions or testing the doctor said, “I’ve discovered the cause of your headaches. Your halo is too tight.”

The doctor wasn’t advocating poor lifestyle choices, but he was counseling the guy to lighten up a bit. He was taking himself and life too seriously, and he was expecting too much from himself. He, like us sometimes, was striving for perfection. But the only perfect man to ever live was Jesus Christ and … (news flash) you’re not Jesus and neither am I. Therefore, you’re not perfect and neither am I – and we won’t be this side of heaven. So … stop expecting yourself to be.

I’m not issuing you or me or anyone a license to sin. But I am saying that maybe a chocolate donut for breakfast every once in a while, isn’t really that bad of a thing. And yes, maybe you would be better off without that ten extra pounds of belly fat you’re carrying but seriously, is it the end of the world? And yes, you should pay better attention to Pastor Jim’s sermons, take notes, and do what he says, but … I forgive you, and Jesus does too.

You get the point. Lighten up a little, especially on yourself. Jesus came to give us life in all of its fullness and sometimes, that just might mean a big dish of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Is it well with your soul?

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Is it well with your soul?”

Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer in Chicago in the mid-to-late 1800s. Unfortunately, he invested heavily in expensive real estate along the shores of Lake Michigan and he lost it all during the great Chicago fire of 1871. Several months after that disaster, he booked a trip to Europe for himself, his wife, and their four daughters. But business matters forced him to stay in Chicago for a short while longer and he sent his wife and daughters ahead of him. Sadly, their ship sank in the Atlantic and only his wife survived.

Imagine suffering financial disaster and losing most of your life savings, and then three months later all four of your children die in a single accident! That would crush the souls of most people. Horatio Spafford did suffer deep despair, but his faith in God was strong before all this happened, and so he leaned heavily on the Lord to get him through it. As a result, out of that tragedy, he ended up writing one of the best-loved and most reassuring hymns of all time, “It Is Well with My Soul”:

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll – Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well … with my soul … It is well, it is well with my soul.
Tho Satan should buffet, tho trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
It is well … with my soul … It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Horatio Spafford could have lived the rest of his life in deep despair and endless anxiety, but he didn’t. He grieved his losses, he leaned on the Lord, and he and his wife picked up the pieces of their lives and walked forward into the future side-by-side and with Jesus.

Life is filled with trials and tribulations, and there are always issues that could cause us to be anxious and in despair. I’m not suggesting that as Christians we won’t experience anxiety and despair, but I am saying we don’t have to be controlled by it. Anxiety and despair do not have to define our lives.

Our theme for this month is “The end of anxiety and despair”. By that I don’t mean that we will never experience it. But I do mean that we can deal with it, quickly bring it to an end, and then get on with life. We’ll spend the rest of the month considering how to do that.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Hold fast to your integrity

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9 (CSB)

Our Bible verse for today: “Hold fast to your integrity”

Job is a classic Biblical example of a man who endured terrible circumstances and yet he held fast to his integrity. He was known far and wide as a man of solid character and uncompromising integrity even before his trials began. In Job 1:8 God held Job up to Satan as an example of a man of notable integrity, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

Again, in Job 2:3, after the trials had started and Job had lost his children, along with many servants and much of his wealth, God was still commending him to Satan as a man of uncompromising integrity. By the time we get to Job 2:9 we find that he has now been afflicted with painful physical suffering as well, and things had gotten so bad that his despondent wife (this was all impacting her too) urged him to just give up, curse God, and die. But Job refused to even consider doing that.

We don’t know how long Job’s time of trial and suffering lasted, the Bible doesn’t say. It was an extended period of time but through it all Job held fast to his integrity. He suffered terribly, and he did give voice to his suffering, but he held fast to his integrity as a man of God.

It’s during the worst of times that our true selves emerge. It’s easy to come across as a man or woman of character, integrity, virtue, strength, and courage when times are easy. It’s when times are hard that we discover what a person is truly made of. This is when solid character and uncompromising integrity shows itself. This is when it becomes apparent what’s really true of us.

The kind of character and integrity we’ve been learning about all this month doesn’t develop overnight. It’s something that we have to want and something we have to strive for. It’s the result of years of learning, growing, and commitment to Biblical principles. It grows out of prayer, Bible study, and close association with others who are likeminded and just as committed to becoming a man or woman of good character and uncompromising integrity.

I don’t wish the trials and tribulations of Job upon you, but I do pray for the character and integrity of Job in your life. I encourage you to do the work to develop and maintain that kind of character and integrity, and then hold fast to it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim