Oak Hill Baptist Church

Growing older but not old

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “Here I am today, eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Joshua 14:10-11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Growing older but not old”

A few weeks ago, I ran into a friend who I hadn’t seen in a long time. He is ninety-three but looks and acts like a healthy and vibrant seventy-three. He is healthy and physically fit and very active. A few years ago, at the age of ninety, he got married to a woman who is probably ten or more years younger than him and who is also healthy and fit. They’ve been acting like newlyweds on an extended honeymoon ever since. They’ve been on a trip to Israel, and on a Caribbean cruise, and this summer they’re going on an extended tour of northern Europe. My friend looked at me with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye and he said, “Jim, I spent my whole life earning all this money, now I’m going to have a lot of fun spending it before I die.”

Right on, brother! Three cheers for old folks who are young at heart!

In his book, “No Wrinkles on the Soul: A Book of Readings for Older Adults”, Richard Morgan explains that all of us are actually three different ages at the same time. First, there is our chronological age, which is measured by years on the calendar. Then there is our biological age, which is a factor of our overall health and fitness. And then there is our psychological age, which is a measure of how old a person feels and acts.

Our chronological age is fixed and there’s nothing we can do about that. Obviously, there are things we can do to impact our biological age; but it’s our psychological age that we have the most control over. That’s a matter of attitude and perspective. It’s the understanding that you may be getting older but you don’t have to get old. You don’t have to retire to a rocking chair and long naps. You don’t have to think of yourself as infirm and incapable. You can work to stay as healthy as you can for as long as you can, and you can make it a point to stay as active as your circumstances allow for as long as you can. Some people age faster biologically precisely because they think and act old psychologically.

There’s something winsome and appealing and fun about a newlywed ninety-three-year-old with a grin on his face, a twinkle in his eye, on an extended honeymoon, and thoroughly enjoying life. The artist Pablo Picasso once quipped, “It takes a long time to become young.” – meaning that older people who have learned to relax, enjoy life, and live each day to the fullest, are younger at heart than many people half their age.

You may be getting older but you don’t have to grow old. I encourage you to embrace life with joy and eager expectation, and then live each day to the fullest.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

There’s a strong spiritual current working against you

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “If you don’t stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Isaiah 7:9 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “There’s a strong spiritual current working against you”

Last year a couple of friends and I were kayaking in whitewater. At one point, I hit a particularly rough patch of rapids and I capsized. Suddenly I was underwater being dragged along the rocks by a very strong current, while my kayak and paddle were swept away downriver. Fortunately, although I’m a strong swimmer, I always wear a lifejacket, and therefore I was only underwater for a moment before the buoyancy of the lifejacket brought me to the surface. But still, I couldn’t get my footing. The current was so strong and the rocks were so slippery that every time I tried to stand up, I got knocked right back down. The only thing I could do was let the current carry me downriver until it finally let up enough for me to stand, move to the bank, and go retrieve my kayak and paddle.

What I experienced physically in that river on that day is true for all of us spiritually all the time. There’s a strong spiritual current rushing through this world that is swift and potentially dangerous. It’s a cultural current propelled by Satan and if we aren’t careful, it will sweep us up and carry us away. The only way to protect ourselves from that happening is to heed Isaiah’s words of caution in Isaiah 7:9 (above). If we do not stand firm in our faith – if we don’t have a strong and secure footing, we will not stand at all.”

Oh, I know we think we can get away with being only marginally faithful, sorta-kinda active in the practice of our faith, and that will be enough. But no, that’s not true. If you aren’t standing on solid ground, firmly rooted and secure, you will be carried along by the cultural current. It could be in some dramatic fashion, like my experience in the whitewater; or, even more likely, it could be subtle and therefore much less noticeable. But you will be carried along nonetheless.

My experience in the whitewater happened on a Monday, a workday for most people, and aside from myself and my two friends, there was nobody else on the river who could have helped us if we had needed it. Fortunately, I was prepared (lifejacket), and my friends were experienced kayakers, and I recovered from my momentary loss of stability just fine. Likewise, God has provided similar help for us in life. It’s called Christian community. Sometimes we all hit the rapids of life and get caught up in the whitewater, sometimes we even capsize. Dependable Christian friends and a good healthy church are provided for us by God to help us through the turbulent times in life.

There’s a strong spiritual current working against you in this world, and you cannot be steadfast and immovable, standing securely with firm footing, on your own. If you try to, you will be swept up and carried away. Therefore, I urge you to maintain firm footing on solid ground in a good church and with dependable Christian friends.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Serve God in your generation

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep …” Acts 13:36 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Serve God’s purpose in your generation”

I’ve preached a lot of funerals over more than twenty-five years as a pastor, but as far as I can remember, I’ve only used Acts 13:36 as my text on one occasion. It was for the funeral of Dick Foster. Dick was a member of our church for most of his adult life. He served as a deacon for decades, and as Chairman of the Deacons for many years until his death.

The thing that Dick is remembered for most in our church, is his strong and steady leadership during numerous difficult years of church life. Sadly, as is true in many churches, there were some turbulent times in the history of Oak Hill Baptist, sometimes with rapid turnover of pastors. But through it all, Dick provided the steady hand of leadership which helped to hold the church together through the worst of times. He loved the church and he served it well, right up until his dying day. By then, things had settled down considerably. The church was stable, there was an entirely new leadership team in place, and so, like David, Dick had served God’s purpose in his generation and it was time for him to go home to heaven. He had been steadfast and immovable in his resolve to serve and protect the church.

Dick’s story has been repeated multiple millions of times down through the ages. Christian history is built upon the faithful service of determined Christians who were steadfast and immovable in their resolve to just hang in there and do what God had called them to do.

How about you? Are you serving God’s purpose for your generation? Are you firmly rooted in a place of service, steadfast and immovable, weathering the storms, and doing your part to pass The Christian faith and a strong church on to future generations? I hope you are.

Let me say it again, Christian history is built upon the faithful service of multiple millions of Christians who just hung in their and did their jobs. May you be remembered as having been one of those.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

In time, all things come to pass

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “And it came to pass …” Luke 2:1 (NKJV)

Our thought today: “In time, all things come to pass”

“And it came to pass …” is one of the most oft repeated phrases in the Bible. In the New King James Version, it appears 120 times and is applied to many different people and in many different situations. In Luke 2:1 it was used in reference to the birth of the long-awaited Messiah. The Jews had waited patiently for over 1000 years and finally, in those days, it came to pass …

In time, all things come to pass. Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years, and over time, all things come to pass. Are you anxious and impatient because your political party isn’t currently in power? Me too. But time will pass, new elections will be held, and power will change hands. It always does. Are you going through a difficult season in your personal life and you’re eager for some relief and resolution? I can relate. In time, that too will pass. Nothing lasts forever. In time, circumstances will change and life will be different. That’s not meant to diminish or minimize the importance or severity of current events, it’s only meant to illustrate that nothing lasts forever.

When it comes to being steadfast and immovable – especially when times are hard or things aren’t as we would like them to be, the most important thing we can do is to just keep on keeping on. Hang in there, don’t give up, and just outlast the thing. Also, if you are a resilient and determined person, the kind of person who simply will not give up or give in, that will be evident not just with respect to difficult times, but it will be a character trait that is evident in all aspects of your life. And that’s a good thing.

As a Pastor, I see and value this in our church life. There are people who have stuck with the church for decades, through thick and thin, hanging in there no matter what. They’re people who are consistently present, always ready to help, reliable and dependable, rock solid, steadfast and immovable. They’re a large part of the reason our church is now into its ninth decade of faithful witness and service in our community.

Likewise, I interact with tough and durable people all the time who have difficult life situations but who refuse to give up or to give in. Marriage problems, health problems, wayward children, the list goes on. Christians who are steadfast and immovable work through such things knowing that time will pass and things will change.

If you’re dealing with a situation that just seems to be dragging on and on, and you wonder if it is ever going to change, I encourage you to grab a Bible concordance (or even Google the phrase “Bible verses that say, “and it came to pass …”) and note all the instances when something did indeed come to pass. Soon you’ll realize that eventually all things pass, and therefore your situation will as well.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Nothing is over until you give up

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Nothing is over until you give up”

I recently read a quote that struck me as both clever and whimsical, but also profound and thought provoking. It went, “The future isn’t what it used to be.” That observation is sometimes attributed to Aristotle, as an example of deep philosophy, but also to baseball great Yogi Barra, who was known for the odd and often humorous things he said.

But for many people it can also reflect a sad loss of hope. In the past they looked forward to the future with eagerness and expectation, but now the future just looks bleak and hopeless. In that sense, the future isn’t what it used to be. It used to look a lot better, but it now appears less promising for them than it did at one time.

However, if you are a Christian, then the actual truth is that your future is bright – probably in this lifetime, but certainly in the next. And the Lord will walk with you every step of the way into that future. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote in Philippians 4:13 “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Paul wrote that as an old man, in prison, probably facing execution, and what he meant was that there wasn’t a thing he was facing that he couldn’t handle, because Christ was right there with him helping him and strengthening him. And also, Paul knew what the future held for him. Just a bit earlier, in this same letter (1:21-24) he had said that he was willing to go on living and working if the Lord willed it, but he was also prepared to pass from this life and go to heaven because he knew how much better that would be.

The same is true for you. The Lord will strengthen you and walk with you through whatever you are dealing with, and there are almost certainly many blessings and joys waiting for you along the road as you continue through this life. But there is without question a glorious future waiting for you in heaven as well.

If you’re going through a tough time and you’re thinking “I just can’t handle this”, I want to say to you “Yes, you can. With Christ you can handle all things.” And if you could use a bit of extra musical encouragement this morning, then take a moment to Google the music video “Move (Keep Walking)” by Christian artist TobyMac. It will lift your spirits and get your blood pumping, and it will encourage you.

And remember, nothing is over until you give up.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Stay focused on the goal and keep moving forward

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “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: “Stay focused on the goal and keep moving forward”

Last Saturday our Youth Department sponsored a 5K run/walk at the Cumberland Mountain State Park (a big “thank you” to Shawn and Amanda, Josh and Shelby for your excellent leadership in planning and supervising it. You did a great job!) It was a fun event complete with business and family sponsors, tee shirts for all the participants, water stations, music, and hot dogs on the grill at the end. There was also a park ranger with a gun. (I wasn’t sure if the gun was because of the possibility of bears or if he had heard that Southern Baptists can sometimes be stubborn and difficult. Either way, I felt safe).

The course was over a moderately difficult unpaved hiking trail with inclines and declines, small streams to cross, and other obstacles to navigate. It wasn’t particularly difficult but then again, I’m not twenty-five anymore. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be a jogger. I was never fast but I could jog a long time and cover a lot of distance. I once completed a half-marathon (13.1 miles). But that was then and this is now. I walked this course (meandered), and a six-year-old finished thirty minutes ahead of me (true story).

The key for me, whether I was jogging a half- marathon or meandering through at 5K while being beaten by a six-year-old, has always been to do what Paul wrote about in Philippians 3:13-14 (above), stay focused on the goal and just keep moving forward. My thoughts were on the finish line and I just kept putting one foot in front of the other until I got there.

That’s a good strategy for a run/walk event, and it’s also a good strategy for life. Stay focused, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and don’t stop. It has been rightly said that “many people leave the dock five minutes before their ship would have come in.” I’ve shifted metaphors but I think you see the point. Most people stop way to soon when they should keep going. It’s the primary reason people fail instead of succeed – they stopped when they should have kept going.

If something is worth starting then it’s worth completing. I encourage you to stick with the things you start. Stay focused on the goal and just keep moving forward.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Steadfast and immovable does not mean rigid

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law – though I myself am not under the law – to win those without law. To those who are without the law, like one without the law – though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ – to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every means possible save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Steadfast and immovable does not mean rigid”

There’s an age-old fable told, about a mighty oak tree and a willow tree standing in the same field. The willow tree envied the strength, power, and sheer majesty of the oak tree. One day a storm with great winds and torrential rains blew through the field. After the storm was over the willow tree saw that the mighty oak had fallen over. In confusion, she asked the farmer who owned the land what happened to the mighty oak. “How did the storm blow the oak tree over and yet I’m still standing?” asked the willow. The farmer explained that although the oak was mighty and solid, it was also rigid and inflexible. So, when the winds became too much for it to resist, it broke and toppled. The force of the wind and the pressure of the storm was just too much for the oak to withstand and so, it collapsed. By comparison, the willow was flexible and adaptable and was therefore able to bend with the wind and weather the storm.

Please note that the willow did not become uprooted – she held her ground and was immovable from the place she was planted, but she was flexible enough to bend as necessary and to do so without giving ground. Steadfast and immovable does not necessarily mean rigid and inflexible.

There’s a lesson in that for us. There is a lot to be said for the formidable strength of the oak, but there’s also great danger in being rigid. Often being flexible will be of much greater advantage – it allows us to bend while still holding our ground.

This is important. We Christians can often be rigid when we should be flexible. It is possible to be faithful to the Lord, true to our doctrine, and firm in our positions, while still being flexible enough to adjust ministry methods and practices as necessary according to the situations we find ourselves in. There’s a rule of thumb which applies to this. It reads, “The message never changes, but the methods must.”

That’s the lesson Paul modeled in his own life and ministry, as described in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 (above). Paul was rock solid in his faith. He was a pillar of strength and courage and fortitude and he never budged an inch in his doctrine. But he was also flexible in the way he interacted with people and in the ways in which he conducted his ministry among them. Therefore, he was about to adjust to the cultural settings he found himself in.

Paul had the strength of the oak, but the flexibility of the willow. That’s a pretty good goal for us too. Being steadfast and immovable does not mean being rigid.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

No timid silence, please

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you …” Acts 18:9-10 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “No timid silence, please”

If you’ve been following the events in eastern Europe then you may be aware that after decades of being officially “neutral”, both Finland and Sweden are on the verge of applying for membership in NATO. Russia has become so aggressive, and poses such a serious threat to her neighbors, that both countries have concluded they can no longer safely afford to remain neutral. They have to pick a side.

The Holocaust survivor, author, and Nobel prize winner, Elie Wiesel once wrote, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

Wiesel was entirely correct. If a brutal aggressor like Russia cannot convince you to be their ally, they will settle for your neutrality. If they can get you to simply stand aside, inactive and silent, that will suffice for their purposes. Satan operates in exactly the same way. If he can’t get Christians to actively engage in his schemes with him, he will settle for our neutrality. If he can get us to stand aside, timidly silent and inactive, that will suffice.

We cannot allow that to be the case. As we learned yesterday, we need to be people actively engaged in the arena of life. We need to be steadfast and immovable in our resolve to oppose evil. We must be people who will speak up and take action when and where it is needed. What was true for Paul in Acts 18:9-10 (above) is also true for us. The Lord urges us to put aside our fear and doubts, to speak up and to act as necessary. He is with us just as He was with Paul.

In Proverbs 31:8-9 Solomon spoke to this as well: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

As Christians we don’t have the luxury of remaining neutral in the face of sin and injustice. Our neutrality aides the enemy. We have to pick a side and take a stand. As we do so we must be cautious that our words and actions are in accordance with Biblical principles, and that we don’t allow uncontrolled anger to lead us to become sinful in our own words and actions, but we do need to pick a side and take a stand. No timid silence, please.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Be a person in the arena

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, since we also have a such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be the person in the arena”

On April 23, 1910 President Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. The title of the speech was “Citizenship in a Republic”. It was a good and inspiring speech in its entirety, but one passage has become especially famous and often repeated. The passage is often referred as “The Man in the Arena”. Here it is:

“It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but he who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Teddy was writing about someone who willingly enters into situations which require courage, skill, or tenacity, and then continues to strive and to push forward despite the obstacles – as opposed to someone who sits on the sidelines of life watching and critiquing the efforts of those who are actually attempting and doing things (often hard things).

For years I’ve had a framed copy of that quote in my office and I look at it frequently. I find it inspiring and encouraging, especially when times are hard and progress seems slow or non-existent. Teddy’s words also remind me of the words of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews in 12:1-2 (above). God calls us to run the race of life (a marathon); keeping our eyes on Jesus; continually pressing on and moving forward.

I encourage you to be a person in the arena of life. Don’t sit on the sidelines watching as others accomplish meaningful things for the cause of Christ. Be a part of it. And when times get tough and progress is hard, lean into it, push forward, keep moving, be steadfast and immovable in your resolve to be a doer of deeds rather than just an observer of them.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

He is risen!

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “He is risen!”

One of the most remarkable aspects of the early Christian church is not just that it somehow managed to survive, against all odds in a world that was strongly opposed to the teachings of Christ, but that it thrived. Yes, the church didn’t just survive, it thrived. It spread like wildfire across the known world and it has continued to do so for almost two thousand years.

They were in a Jewish culture that believed Christianity was a gross and offensive perversion of Judaism. They were also in a brutal Roman world that was harsh and cruel – a society that accepted and worshiped dozens of gods from multiple cultures and which therefore had little tolerance for a faith that claimed there is only one true God. Into that setting the apostles preached Jesus with power and effectiveness. So much so, that neither the Jewish nor the Roman authorities could stop it, despite their best efforts to do so.

The reason, as Luke says in Luke 4:33 (above) was the resurrection. Those early believers had personal encounters with the resurrected Christ and that provided them with the courage, boldness, and determination to preach the Good News at all costs and in the face of any persecution. They were steadfast and immovable in their resolve to tell others about Jesus.

Us too. We want everyone to hear about the resurrected Christ. We want others to have their sins forgiven and to receive the promise of eternal life too.

We also read that “great grace was upon them all.” They were together; they were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus; and the grace of God was heavy upon them all. Again, that’s true for us too. That’s what corporate worship is all about. It’s about giving glory to God in the name of the resurrected Christ, and it’s about His people experiencing an overwhelming sense of His grace.

This Sunday – Easter Sunday – we at Oak Hill Baptist will gather together to worship and celebrate the resurrected Jesus. We will have a brunch and Easter egg hunt beginning at 9:00, and our resurrection celebration will begin at 10:00. Please join us in-person if you can. If you can’t, then I encourage you to watch the livestream of the service on our Facebook page. And also, please be sure to invite your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

It’s really true. He is risen! It’s the greatest news the world has ever known and we want everyone to hear about it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim