Oak Hill Baptist Church

Is it okay to read for mileage?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have treasured your word in my heart so that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Is it okay to read for milage?”

This morning I want us to continue our thinking from yesterday regarding becoming increasingly familiar with God by keeping yourself immersed in the story of God (the Bible). I also noted yesterday that the more familiar you are with God and His story, the more you will develop a feel for God. A feel for God is a subtle sense (call it a gut-check if you will), that something is or is not from God. The well-known Southern Baptist leader Dr. James Merritt once said, “The primary purpose of reading the Bible is not to know the Bible, but to know God.”

I’ve mentioned before that I have the personal habit of reading the Bible cover-to-cover at least once each year, usually twice. I do that precisely to keep myself immersed in the story of God. (It’s true that it’s also important to slow down and do deep Bible studies of individual books, and to do character studies of people in the Bible, and to memorize verses and passages, but there’s great value in reading cover-to-cover as well).

Shortly after I became a Christian, I was reading a biography of the great missionary to China Dwight L. Moody. In his letters and writings Moody often spoke of his personal goal of reading the Bible cover-to-cover forty times before he died, and he kept his friends and readers updated about his progress over the years. He wrote in glowing terms about his increasing familiarity with God as a result of staying immersed in the story of God.

Moody’s example inspired me to set a similar goal. Since reading his story, I’ve also learned of many other famous Christians who had a personal goal of reading the Bible cover-to-cover a certain number of times, and who said so, including John Calvin, Billy Graham, James Dobson, and many others.

The obvious concern about this kind of reading is that it’s little more than “reading for milage”. You have a set number of chapters to read each day and so you just plow ahead to get through it, and as a result, your reading is superficial instead of deep. Well, yes, that can happen. But that’s why we should also participate in some of the other Bible study methods I referred to earlier. Every form of Bible study has its benefits and its weaknesses.

“Reading for milage” is just another way of saying, “I have a goal to read five chapters a day”. If you do that, you will read the entire Bible in a year. I encourage you to try it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Developing a feel for God

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”

Our Bible verse for today: “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Developing a feel for God”

I love Psalm 119. It’s the longest chapter in the Bible (176 verses), and it’s all about the Bible. Yes, the longest chapter in the Bible is all about the Bible. For 176 verses the writer speaks about the value of God’s Word and his love for it. He describes how the Bible teaches him about God, fills his heart with hope and joy, answers his questions, and shows him how to live. Verse 105 says that the Word of God is like a lamp that lights his path, showing him the way so he doesn’t get lost on his journey through this dark world.

So, how exactly does the Bible serve as a lamp that lights up our path and shows us the way forward? In what way does it answer our questions, and how exactly do we hear God speaking to us through His written word? God accomplishes that in multiple ways and we will take the next few days to consider some of them.

First of all, the Bible is a story. It’s a narrative which describes God’s interaction with the human race over the course of history. So, when we read the story of God from start to finish (Genesis to Revelation), we come to know God and to understand Him better. On the pages of the Bible we see how He has interacted with others down through the ages, and that helps us to better understand how He interacts with us.

One thing this does for us is it gives us “a feel” for God. This is subtle and easily missed or misunderstood, so we need to be careful with this, but as we come to know and understand God better, we can just feel if something is of God or not. You get to the point where you’re familiar enough with God and His ways, because you’ve spent so much time immersed in His story, that you can just sense if a leading is consistent with the ways He typically interacts with His people or not.

Again, this is subtle and it takes spiritual maturity to get this right. Therefore, we don’t rely just on this feeling. Instead, we confirm it by means of other ways in which God speaks to us. But this feel for God is an important and helpful indicator, and it’s developed over time as you become more familiar with God. One way you become familiar with God is by spending lots of time immersed in His story.

We’ll continue thinking about this tomorrow. For now, I encourage you to spend some time this morning reading your Bible.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Bibleman knows

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”

Our Bible verse for today: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word.” Psalm 119:9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Bibleman knows”

Over the last two days we’ve learned that the Bible is nothing less than a miracle from the hand of God, and it’s a gift to us from Him. The Bible is the most important book that has ever been written, and it is the bestselling book of all time – having been read by more people in more languages over more years than any other book ever.

Now we need to turn our attention to understanding how God uses it to communicate with us. Although God can speak to us in an infinite number of ways, including through a burning bush or the mouth of a donkey, in our day He generally speaks to us in five basic ways – in prayer, through the Bible, by means of circumstances, through the counsel of other Christians, and by affirmation from the church body. But the most common and most direct means by which He speaks to us is the Bible.

The Bible is God’s written Word to us and in it He tells us everything we need to know in order to live well. Either by direct command (dos and don’ts), or by means of general Biblical principles which apply broadly to many areas of life, the Bible is our guide. Therefore, it’s essential that we know how to use the Bible to hear from God. In the days to come, we’ll think about several of those ways.

This past week we held Vacation Bible School at Oak Hill Baptist. The curriculum was built around the adventures of Bibleman. Bibleman is a superhero who leads a team of other superheros to confront evil with the power of God’s Word. Throughout the week our children learned how to use Biblical truth to live in a manner that’s pleasing to God.

In Psalm 119:9 the writer posed the rhetorical question, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” Well, Bibleman knows the answer to that, “By living according to God’s Word.” That’s true for all of us, not just for children.

This Sunday, in our morning service, we will conclude our VBS with a video clip from Bibleman and with a short presentation from the children. They will recite some of their Bible verses from the week, sing some songs, and show some pictures. I will then preach a short sermon building on what we learned from Bibleman. If you’re in Cumberland County, TN please join us for the service at 10:00, followed by ice cream in the Fellowship Hall (Yes, ice cream before lunch. It’s always best to eat desert first so you don’t run out of room for it!) If you can’t join us in-person, then please join us online for the livestream on our Facebook page, or on the church website at oakhillbaptist.net.

How can we live in a way that’s pleasing to God? Bibleman knows – and if you join us this Sunday, you will know too.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s a miracle!

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”

Our Bible verse for today: “The grass fades, the flower withers, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “It’s a miracle!”

The written Word of God is a miracle. It has to be. There can be no other explanation for it. Beginning with the circumstances under which it came into existence, we see it had to have been by the hand of God and no other way. Paraphrasing author Josh McDowell in his great book, “A Ready Defense”,

“The Bible was written over 1500 years; over 40 generations; by more than 40 different authors – including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, and scholars; written in different places – including the wilderness, a dungeon, on a hillside, in a palace, in prison, while traveling, on the isle of Patmos, and during the rigors of military campaigns; written during both war and peace; on three different continents – Asia, Africa, and Europe; in three different languages – Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It addresses hundreds of difficult, complex, and controversial subjects, and yet the authors spoke with harmony and consistency from Genesis to Revelation.”

How could any book be written by more than 40 very different authors, over 40 generations, on three continents, in three languages, over the span of 1500 years and yet tell one consistent story woven intricately together from start to finish? It’s a miracle! It has to be. There’s no other explanation.

And then consider that the enemies of God have been working vigorously since the time of Moses (more than 3500 years ago), to diminish, discredit, and even destroy the written word of God and yet not only has it survived, it has thrived. For thousands of years the Holy Spirit has moved across generational, geographic, cultural, and language barriers to have the Word of God translated into the languages that people actually speak, so that the Bible can be read by everyone. Today the entire Bible is available in over 700 languages, the New Testament is available in over 1500 languages, and portions of the Bible have been translated into another 1100 languages. The Bible is the bestselling book of all time. No other book even comes close to the number of copies produced or the number of people who have read it.

The Bible you hold in your hands is nothing short of a miracle. It is God speaking directly to you. I encourage you to take some time right now to thank God for the Bible, and then I encourage you to spend some time reading it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

The Bible is most important

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Writing and reading”

Our Bible verse for today: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The Bible is most important”

The earliest evidence we have of any form of written communication comes from approximately 3200 B.C. Archeologists have discovered tablets from ancient Mesopotamia and Persia containing cuneiform inscriptions. So, humans have been communicating in writing for at least 5000 years, but probably longer than that. Yesterday I quoted Exodus 31:18 where we read of God inscribing the Ten Commandments on stone tablets and giving them to Moses. That was the first instance of God putting Scripture into writing for us, and it occurred somewhere around 1500 B.C.

Without question, the most important form of written communication there has ever been is the Bible. As Paul told us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (above), the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every word of the original manuscripts came from the mind and heart of God. He used human authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, as His instruments to record that communication, but it comes to us directly from Him.

The Bible is complete, and in it, God tells us everything He wants us to know about Himself and His ways. He also tells us what He expects of us and how He wants us to live, as well as about our future in heaven. Obviously, there’s much more that could be known about all those things, and someday in heaven we will know all there is to know, but in the Bible God has given us all the information He wants us to have at this time. And it’s a lot. You can be a diligent student of the Bible your entire life and there will always be something new to learn.

So, why don’t more Christians read the Bible? Since it is God speaking directly to us, you would think a professing Christian would be fascinated with the Bible and wouldn’t be able to get enough of it. But no, that’s not how it is. A recent study by the LifeWay research department (the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention), revealed that among Christians of all denominations fewer than one-third have ever read the entire Bible even once. Eighty percent admit that the only time they even hear the Bible read is in church.

Now, that’s true of Christians across all denominations. Those percentages are higher and better when they look at just evangelical Christians (and that’s encouraging to this Southern Baptist pastor’s heart), but the percentage is still low. Far too many professing Christians either never read the Bible, or only read it sporadically and not in a deep way.

This means that Biblical literacy in the USA is low – and declining. And that’s a problem for the Church. A serious problem. If you don’t know the Bible well, then you don’t know God very well. And if you don’t know God very well, you’re probably not going to obey Him, and you won’t be a very good follower of Jesus.

Of all the things you could read, the Bible is most important. It’s the written Word of God and it has been given to us by Him as a gift. We’ll think more about this tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s a great loss

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Writing and reading”

Our Bible verse for today: “When he had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.” Exodus 31:18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s a great loss”

I would like for us to think this month about the gift of writing. By that I’m not referring to those who seem to have a gift or talent for communicating well in writing. I’m referring instead to the gift of the written word itself. The ability for humans to communicate by means of the written word is a gift from God.

But sadly, it’s a gift that is increasingly under-appreciated and under-utilized in our day. Study after study reveals a serious, rapid, and steady decline of writing and reading of all sorts, on all subjects, across all age groups, and around the world. Literacy rates have actually been declining for almost forty years. I’m not referring to the simple ability to read, that basic measure of literacy continues to increase. What those studies measure is depth of literacy – the ability to engage in deep reading about meaningful subjects for a prolonged period of study, and to understand what was read.

The most rapid decline in this type of literacy is among the younger generations. The reason is technology. For that group, screen time spent on television shows, streaming services, social media, and games is more than ten times higher than time spent reading. But it’s not just young people. Only 19% of adults read for pleasure. Almost 35% of adults admit that once they left high school or college, they’ve never again read a book cover-to-cover. Not once. Not in all the decades of life since. Not one book.

This represents a great loss, and in some respects, it’s leading to a dumbing down of the population across age groups. Please don’t take that as an insult. I’m not making fun of anyone nor am I calling anyone stupid. I simply mean that when we don’t exercise our minds in the way deep reading requires, our critical thinking skills aren’t as strong as they could and should be. The brain is essentially a muscle and like any other muscle, it must be exercised in order to be strong. The lack of reading often leads to diminished critical thinking skills.

Written communication is a gift to the human race from God. There’s immense value in written communication of all kinds, and it’s a great loss that so many people do so little reading anymore. Throughout the month of June, we’ll consider this from many different angles. I look forward to exploring this important subject with you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s a matter of attitude and focus

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be smart, be strategic”

Our Bible verse for today: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “It’s a matter of attitude and focus”

In Acts chapter sixteen Paul and Silas where prisoners in the jail in Philippi. They had been falsely accused, arrested, stripped, beaten with rods, jailed, and locked in a cell with their feet in stocks. In Acts 16:25 we read, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

What a great attitude they had about their suffering for Christ! This is what Paul was writing about in Romans 8:37 when he said, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” At that moment they couldn’t control their circumstances, but they could control their attitude about their circumstances. That reminds me of a line from a poem about attitude and outlook which also alludes to a jail scene: “Two men looked out through the same bars; One sees the mud and the other the stars.”

It also reminds me of the elderly Christian woman who had been very active in church work and missions her entire life but, in her old age and due to declining health, she was now a shut-in. But instead of withdrawing and becoming depressed, she simply shifted gears and continued to minister in ways that her circumstances allowed. In her case she prayed over the church directory every day, looking at the pictures and praying for the individuals by name. She also made numerous phone calls to church members just to stay in touch and to encourage them. And she wrote letters and sent notes. She told her pastor, “I may be shut in, but I am not shut out.”

We’ve all known special people who seem to suffer well, or who rebound from one loss after another, or who just handle difficulties well. It’s not that they have fewer troubles than the rest of us – they may in fact have more, but they still seem to appreciate life and they find joy in the midst of the challenges.

What’s their secret? Attitude and focus. Their focus is on Christ and their attitude is positive. He is their source of strength and hope and joy. Consequently, they refuse to be defeated. They agree with Paul that despite the challenges, they are more than conquerors through Christ.

Having the right attitude and keeping your focus on Jesus is smart because with a good attitude and a right focus you will find ways to deal with and overcome your challenges. I encourage you to be smart and strategic by having a good attitude and keeping your focus on the Lord.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Knocked down maybe, but not knocked out

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be smart, be strategic”

Our Bible verse for today: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Knocked down maybe, but not knocked out”

Two weeks ago, I was among a small group of pastors who spent two hours with Dr. Randy Davis. Randy is the Executive Director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, and the leader of Southern Baptists in the State of Tennessee. In that capacity he has many roles, but the role that is nearest and dearest to his heart is that of being a pastor to pastors. After having been a pastor himself for over thirty-seven years, he now considers it his job to look out for and to take care of the Southern Baptist pastors in the State of Tennessee.

And right now, he’s concerned. Pastors and churches are struggling. Randy told us that more pastors are leaving the ministry right now than ever before, and fewer are entering the ministry than ever before. As a result, more churches are without pastors, and it’s taking them longer to find a new one. Also, for many reasons, many churches are still struggling to gain their footing after the pandemic. Some have closed. Others still may close. These last couple of years have been tough on pastors and on churches.

So, Randy is traveling all over Tennessee, to all forty-nine Southern Baptist Associations, and visiting with as many Southern Baptist pastors as he can. His mission is first just to minister to and encourage the pastors to hang in there. But second, to remind us that there is hope and things are getting better. Amidst the declines and difficulties, there are many positive things happening in SBC churches across the state. Attendance is slowly moving back towards pre-pandemic levels; people are being won to faith in Christ; new ministry and outreach efforts are being started; new churches are being planted; and much more. The Church is coming back. His word to us was, “We may have been knocked down, but we were not knocked out.”

Now is not the time for pastors or for churches to be discouraged. There’s too much at stake to give in or to give up. Instead, it’s time to get up, step up, and get busy. Our nation needs strong and active churches. As the English statesman Edmund Burke once observed, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” So, let’s not do nothing. Let’s do something.

At Oak Hill Baptist Church this is our week for Vacation Bible School. It’s a superhero theme – “Bible Man”. Bible Man is an animated superhero leading a team of superheros to confront evil with Biblical truth. The VBS is for children and teens of all ages. It runs from 5:30 – 8:00, Monday-Friday, with a free supper being served from 5:00-5:30. If you’re in Cumberland County, TN please come and join us!

God bless,
Pastor Jim

The Church has left the building

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be smart, be strategic”

Our Bible verse for today: “… on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “The Church has left the building”

I love the picture Jesus painted in Matthew 16:18. But, unfortunately, it is often misunderstood, or at least, under-appreciated and not taken literally enough by the Church.

Jesus had just asked His closest disciples who they believed Him to be. Peter boldly declared that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus responded that it would be upon such bold and confident faith that He would build His Church. In other words, the strong faith of His disciples would be the motive force that would propel them out into the world, and the bold proclamation of the Gospel message would draw multiple millions of people to Him.

And then Jesus declared that the gates of Hades (hell) would not prevent it from happening. Now, here comes the important understanding for us: Gates are defensive in nature. They’re designed to keep people out. When a gate is erected it’s because a threat is perceived and therefore a barrier is constructed to keep the threat out. The lesson is that Satan sees the advance of Christ’s kingdom as a threat. Therefore, he has constructed gates (barriers) to protect his territory. But Jesus says that the obstacles and barriers Satan has erected in an attempt to stop the progress of the kingdom of God will not prevail. Satan’s obstacles can’t stop God’s people.

What Jesus is describing here is a strong, strategic, intentional offensive action by His followers as we push into territory currently occupied by Satan, but which we are to conquer and claim in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus says that the obstacles created by Satan will not be able to prevent that from happening.

But then why isn’t it happening? Or at least, why isn’t it happening more? As has been noted in the two previous devotional messages, evil is pervasive in our society and is getting progressively worse. Where’s the church? What are we doing? Are we out in the communities, on the offensive and reclaiming territory for Jesus? Or, are we safely hunkered down in our little religious forts, gathered together in our holy huddles, singing songs and eating ice cream?

You know the answer. There is some good work being done out in the communities and neighborhoods by many churches – but not enough. Not even close. Far too many churches, and far too many Christians, are doing little or nothing. And therein lies the problem. There’s the answer to why evil seems to be winning in our society. The Church needs to step up its game.

It’s true that no single church can make much of a dent in the problem of evil in the nation as a whole. But every church and every Christian can make a difference in their own communities. So, rather than focusing on the big picture of an immense problem, focus instead on the person standing in front of you at the moment. And then, once you’ve made a positive impact in that one life, shift your focus to the next one. If enough of us do that, it will add up and ultimately make a big difference.

The answer is for each Christian and for each church to leave the building and storm the gates. Let it be known that we are on the move and we’re reclaiming territory Satan has stolen but which belongs to Jesus. On the streets, in the homes, in schools and hospitals and nursing homes, in offices and on job sites, in PTA meetings and on children’s sports teams, serving meals, offering rides, meeting needs, sharing the love of Jesus and ministering in His name.

Let it be known across the nation that the Church has left the building and is on the move. Better yet, just do it. If you do, it’ll become obvious pretty quickly.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Yes, the Church is the answer

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be smart, be strategic”

Our Bible verse for today: “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:13;14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Yes, the Church is the answer”

In yesterday’s devotional I quoted all of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13-16 regarding His intention that His followers be like salt, which acts as a preservative and helps to prevent the spread of decay and corruption; and like light, shining the truth of the Gospel into the spiritually dark places of the world. The Church is the answer to evil in the world.

But then I posed the question that if the Church is the answer, what’s the problem? Since there are hundreds of thousands of churches in communities all across this land, filled with tens of millions of professing Christians, why is evil still so pervasive in our communities? Could it be that we, as the followers of Jesus Christ, aren’t doing our jobs as intended by our Lord? Has the Church in our nation become ineffective?

Evil is present in our society. It is pervasive, and it’s becoming more so. The more our society drifts from the Judeo-Christian Ethic upon which our nation was founded, and from the Biblical principles which undergird that ethic, the worse the situation will continue to get. The question is whether or not the Church can help to prevent the spread of evil, or even slow it down.

And the answer is, “it depends”. The potential is certainly there. Individually and collectively we as the followers of Christ have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. So, yes, we can effectively stand against the evil. And yes, we can slow it down. In some cases, we can even prevent it altogether. The question isn’t if we can, the question is if we will.

The problem is that the Church in America today has become lethargic and weak, apathetic and ineffective. It’s as if we’re sleepwalking through this mess which is our society, numbed and overwhelmed to the point of indifference (or, maybe, to the point of despair). Attendance is way down in the majority of churches; ministry activities in and out of our churches have been pared back; Biblical principles have been compromised for the sake of getting along with the culture; and so much more.

Often, I hear Christians loudly condemning what they consider to be heavy-handed government intervention in our private lives as elected officials desperately search for answers to events like the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. And I agree. I don’t want government intervention either. But the fact is, the worse the situation gets in our society, the heavier the hand of government will have to be in an effort to contain and control it. If we, the Church, want less government intervention, then there will have to be more spiritual intervention.

And that’s on us. That will have to come from us. We’re the ones who have been commanded by Jesus to be the salt and light that is so badly needed in our world.

More about this tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim