Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”   Our Bible verse for today: “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Psalm 90:12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Honor God by living in the moment”   I love Mark Buchanan’s wise observation that Sabbath is intended by God to be more than just a day of the week, but an orientation for all of life. To understand what he meant by that we need to think for a moment about what exactly Sabbath is. Sabbath has a dual purpose. It is both a time to rest from the labors and pressures of life, and it’s a time set aside to praise, worship, and honor God.   It’s easy to understand that we should carve out one day from seven for the dual purposes of being extra attentive to God and also resting from our labors; but in what way does that then become an orientation for all of life? We surely can’t be resting from our labors all the time; and as much as we would like it to be so, we aren’t able to give God all of our attention all the time.   Moses gives us a glimpse of the answer in Psalm 90:12. There he alludes to the wisdom of valuing the present, because the present is all we really do have. Life is brief. The days pass quickly. The past is past and the future is but a hope, all we really have is today, right now, this moment. So, what a shame if we were to fail to appreciate and enjoy the present because we’re stuck in the past or preoccupied with concerns about the future. The past is gone. Let it go. The future is important, but not as important as the present. The present is here, but there might not be a future for us. You could die tomorrow.   Every moment we have is a gift of life from God. We honor God and bring Him joy when we fully embrace each moment, paying attention to it, appreciating it, giving Him thanks for it. If a Sabbath day is both a time of rest and a time of honoring God, then a Sabbath orientation is a life that is lived at a relaxed pace and embracing every moment as a gift from God.   All of this reminds me of my favorite quote about the value of time. I’ve shared it with you before. It’s from Benjamin Franklin and in contemporary language it reads, “Do you value your life? Then value your time. Because time is the stuff life is made of.” That’s what Moses was teaching in Psalm 90:12, value your time because it’s the stuff life is made of.   We honor God when we live in the moment.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”   Our Bible verse for today: “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Be a good Christian citizen”   Yesterday at Oak Hill Baptist Church I preached a sermon entitled “The Christian Citizen”. It was based on the premise that as Christians we are called by God to dual citizenship – in the kingdom of God and in the kingdom of man, and we are to be good citizens of both.   The Apostle Paul affirmed our citizenship in heaven in Philippians 3:20 when he said, “but our citizenship is in heaven”. In Matthew 22:21 Jesus alluded to our dual citizenship and the responsibilities we have in each. I encourage you to go to our website at www.oakhillbaptist.net, or the Oak Hill Baptist Church Facebook page, and watch that sermon. Much of it is about the greatness and the goodness of our nation, and therefore it’s an appropriate sermon for the Fourth of July.   We know what it means to be a good citizen in the kingdom of God, but many Christians struggle in their attempts to balance that with being a good citizen of the nation we live in. Beyond that, many Americans are discouraged by the things that are happening in our nation today and they find it difficult to be proud of America.   I’m not one of them. While I do disagree strongly with much of what is happening in our land today, America is still the greatest nation in the world and I’m intensely proud to be an American.  I have long been a strong and outspoken advocate for the concept of what is known as “American Exceptionalism”. The phrase simply affirms that America is exceptional among the nations of the world – and that is a very good thing (for America and for the world). That’s not bragging, and it’s not meant to in any way demean or be critical of any other nation. Other nations are exceptional too, in their own ways. But not like America.   When it comes enjoying the journey through life by redeeming the time (the moments of life), I thank God that He has allowed me to live in this nation rather than in any other, and at this time in history rather than any other. Despite all our problems, I love living in America and I enjoy the American journey.   Today is the Fourth of July. I encourage you to take a few moments to thank God for the gift of this nation of ours and by all means, be proud to be an American.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”   Our Bible verse for today: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Work hard, rest well, play often”   I am truly a blessed man. I have work to do that I thoroughly enjoy and which I find to be rich, rewarding, and deeply fulfilling. I’m a pastor and a writer, and I love doing both. And let me be quick to add that those are not separate ministries that compete for my time and attention, they are one in the same. They’re both part of a whole. Writing is part of my ministry as a pastor and I love doing both.   I have friends who enjoy their work just as much as I enjoy mine, and I’m happy for them because I believe we should find joy and satisfaction in what we do. Also, that should continue to be true even after we’re retired and no longer working for a paycheck. Even then our lives should be filled with meaningful activities that we find rewarding and fulfilling, and which make a difference in the world.    I mentioned yesterday that I’m preparing for three weeks of vacation this month. As much as I enjoy my work, I do need a break from it. But if I didn’t have the work, what would I need a break from? The break is only helpful and meaningful if I need it because of the work that occurs the rest of the year. That’s also true for those who are retired but whose lives are productive and filled with meaningful activities that make a difference. Rest is better and more enjoyable when it comes after a job well done.   Our thought for today reminds us that we need to have a healthy theology of work. By that I mean “work” in the sense that Paul meant it in Colossians 3:23 – meaningful activities that make a difference even if it isn’t done for a paycheck. (I have many retired friends who are active in church ministries, community projects, and in service to others. They stay busy by helping sick neighbors, or volunteering at local non-profit organizations, or by mentoring at-risk children from broken homes, and so much more. Even in the “retirement” years, their days are filled with rich and rewarding activities that matter). That’s a healthy theology of “work” and it goes a long way towards enjoying the journey of life by redeeming the time that has been granted to us.   A healthy theology of rest and sabbath is essential. We need it. But it has to be connected to and flowing out of a healthy theology of work. I encourage you to have both. It’s important to be productive in life. We should work hard, rest well, and play often. We’ll spend the rest of the month gaining a better understanding of that important truth.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Enjoy the journey by redeeming the time”   Our Bible verse for today: “For I know the plans I have for you” – this is the Lord’s declaration – “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. “I will be found by you” – this is the Lord’s declaration …” Jeremiah 29:11-14 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Life is a journey, not a destination”   I have a little wooden box sitting on my desk, always within my line of sight. The lid is open. On the inside of the lid there’s a compass, intended as a visual reminder for me to give careful thought to the direction I’m headed in. Inside the box there’s a large copper medallion inscribed with the words, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”   I need to be reminded of that. More often than not I’m charging through my days accomplishing tasks and checking them off my list. For me, life very much is a destination – a hurried dash from point A to point B, from one task to the next. But living like that takes me out of the moment and causes me to miss so much. Instead of stopping to smell the proverbial roses, I tend to trample them as I’m rushing by.   Currently I’m preparing to take three weeks of vacation. It’s the time each year when I seek to unwind, decompress, and rest my heart, mind, soul, and body. Unfortunately, it usually takes a full week or more just to get my mind to stop racing and to get myself to the point that I’m ready to relax. So, this year I’m trying something new. This year I’m spending the two weeks before the vacation even begins to get myself ready to unwind and relax. I’m preparing by slowing down and being more reflective.   One way I’m doing that is by rereading Mark Buchanan’s excellent book “The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath.” Right at the outset Mark makes it clear that “God gave us the gift of Sabbath – not just as a day, but as an orientation, a way of seeing and knowing.” In other words, more than just being a day set aside to rest and worship, Sabbath is an attitude, an orientation to life – life that is lived in the moment, and life where time is redeemed in meaningful ways for God, for ourselves, and for those we love. This is when we learn to enjoy the journey of life rather than just constantly rushing to yet another destination. As Buchanan wisely notes, “We need a sabbath heart, not just a sabbath day.”   This month I would like to explore with you the idea of sabbath being an orientation to all of life; and I want to focus on how that orientation can help us to truly redeem all the moments of life so they can be fully embraced and fully enjoyed. We all need to learn to enjoy the journey of life by redeeming the time – moment by moment.   God bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”   Our Bible verse for today: “Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I don’t now how to read.” Isaiah 29:12 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “You can read and write, so please do”   In Isaiah chapter twenty-nine the prophet was speaking a word of woe upon the city of David (Jerusalem). He was speaking of a day when there would be all kinds of destruction and despair and the people would be suffering greatly. In verse 12 he made reference to someone who was handed a scroll with the words of God but who was unable to read them because he was illiterate. How sad to have the Words of God in your hand but to be unable to read them.   Fortunately, that isn’t the case for any of us. If you’re reading this right now it’s because you are not illiterate, you can read. And that being the case, you should read. What a shame to be able to read but then to not do so.   It’s my prayer that this month of devotionally considering the gift of writing and reading has given us all a new appreciation for writing and reading. Both are valuable and both come to us as a gift from God. Reading is an essential form of communication with more benefits than I can list here this morning. We’ve spent an entire month considering those benefits.   Writing helps to clarify our thoughts. We think more clearly when we write. Writing also helps us to remember things that are important. When you take the time to write them down those thoughts become lodged deeper into your brain. This is one of the reasons we encourage people to keep a journal.   God has given you the gift of literacy – the ability to read and write, so please don’t waste it. Be a reader and be a writer.   You can read and write, so please do.   God bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”   Our Bible verse for today: “The people here (Berea) were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Reading people are knowing people”   John Wesley was a pastor, theologian, traveling evangelist, and church-planter in the Church of England in the 1700s. Together with his brother Charles they developed what came to be known as the Methodist denomination of churches. John Wesley was a scholar. He was also a strong advocate for teaching Bible study methods and encouraging Christians to develop the habit of daily Bible study, as well as the spiritual reading of good Christian literature. To this day the system of study known as “Wesleyan Theology” places a heavy emphasis on intensive personal discipleship.   He wrote, “It cannot be that people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people.” His point was that if you are not a reading person, a person who digs into subjects and discovers the answers for yourself, you will always have to rely on what you are told by others. And that being the case, you will never know for sure if what you are being told is entirely true and accurate, because you didn’t take the time or make the effort to check it out for yourself.   In Acts chapter seventeen Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica preaching and teaching – promoting the Word of God and the cause of Christ. But the people there were only marginally interested and not very receptive. So, when a different group came in and argued against the teaching of Paul, the Thessalonians were easily misled and they turned against him.     Paul and Silas then went to the town of Berea and there they found a different quality of people. The people were students and they were eager to hear what Paul and Silas had to say. The big difference between the people in Berea and the people in Thessalonica is that the Bereans did their own study. Once they heard from Paul and Silas, they dug into the Scripture to verify what they were being taught. Luke’s point in the passage is that reading and deep study made all the difference.   For all the years I lived in San Diego, my favorite Christian bookstore was called “Berean Christian Bookstore”, in honor of the Bereans in Acts 17. They were a reading people, and consequently they were a knowing people. May that be true of us as well.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”   Our Bible verse for today: “Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.” Jeremiah 30:2 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Write something for history”   Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a famous Russian novelist in the mid-to-late 1900s. He was a Christian and a captain in the Soviet army who made the mistake of saying something critical about Joseph Stalin in a private letter, which was then opened and read by government censors. As a result, he was stripped of his military rank and sentenced to eight years in a Soviet gulag (prison camp). The conditions were hideous and inhumane, and Solzhenitsyn suffered terribly.   During those years in the gulag Solzhenitsyn decided that the world needed to know about the terrible injustices of the gulag system, so he secretly wrote about it, smuggling his notes out of the gulag when he could. Ultimately his writings became the core for two of his best-selling books, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and “The Gulag Archipelago”. As he was originally writing about those experiences, Solzhenitsyn was certain he would never live to see them published. He believed he was writing for history and that he himself wouldn’t live to see it. (He was wrong. He did live. He ended up surviving prison and immigrating to the West. He died in 2008).   The point is that Solzhenitsyn wrote for history. There were things that he wanted people to be aware of and to remember. That’s a pretty good reason to write. However, you don’t have to be a famous Russian dissident to have something worthy of writing about and preserving. When our grandson was born, Linda and I wrote him a long letter, put it in a time capsule along with family pictures and other memorabilia, and put it away for him to read, perhaps twenty years from now.   The Bible is of course the greatest example of important and worthy information that has been recorded in writing and preserved for history. Thank God that it has been! Solzhenitsyn’s books have been a gift to history as well, just for different reasons. Hopefully someday Oliver will appreciate and even cherish the letter Linda and I left for him. I have friends who had a beloved relative from a previous generation who made an entry in her personal journal almost every day of her life, and then left those journals for her family to read after her death. The entries were just of everyday activities, family events, and special moments, but the family sure was grateful to be able to read them after she was gone. What precious memories!   I encourage you to give some thought to writing for history. People fifty years from now might be inspired and touched by what you had to say. Or, maybe they’ll just get a good laugh. Either way, why not leave them a note? Write something for history.   God bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”   Our Bible verse for today: “It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.” Luke 1:3 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Writing brings clarity”   The Gospel writer Luke was a physician – a man of medicine and science. He was a logical and reasoned thinker and he recognized the value of clear, concise writing. So, when he decided to write an account of the life of Jesus, he “carefully investigated everything” and then he wrote it out in the clearest and most straight-forward manner he could.   Madeleine L’Engle was a popular writer, especially of young adult fiction. She wrote the bestseller “A Wrinkle in Time”. But she also wrote poems, plays, and many books about living the Christian life well. In her book, “Walking on Water” she was explaining the importance of writing in general and of journaling in particular. She said, “If I can write things out, I can see them, and they are not trapped within my own subjectivity.”   Madeleine was talking about the fact that writing brings clarity to our thoughts. Writing causes us to think about what we want to say as we organize our thoughts and attempt to express them clearly. We can then read what we’ve written and think about it some more. Then, if needed, we can rewrite it, and rewrite it again, and keep rewriting it until we have expressed exactly what we are thinking and feeling.   With respect to using writing to bring clarity, I learned an important lesson from the example of Abraham Lincoln (which I adopted and have used myself for many years). If Lincoln needed to have a difficult discussion with a person, especially about a complex or unpleasant subject, he would often write that person a carefully worded letter about it first. He would ask the person to read the letter thoughtfully, multiple times, and then to respond to it, in writing, in the same manner (thoughtful and clear). Then, after they both took the time to clearly express themselves in writing and to give careful thought to what the other person had to say, they would meet to further discuss the issue in-person.   The reason Lincoln did that was because the things we say in face-to-face conversations (especially about sensitive or difficult subjects), are often spontaneous, not well thought out, and sometimes driven by emotions. We also sometimes don’t really listen well to the other person in those kinds of situations, because half our mind is thinking about what we want to say next rather than really listening deeply to what the other person is saying now. It can also be difficult afterwards to remember accurately and fully what was actually said during the conversation. Writing about it first helps to eliminate all those problems.   Writing helps to bring clarity, and we would all benefit from doing more of it.   God bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”   Our Bible verse for today: “I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” Psalm 119:15-16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Linger over it”   There’s a special kind of joy and satisfaction that comes from lingering over and savoring good writing. A well-turned phrase, an especially insightful and thoughtful statement, or a wise and helpful observation should be read slowly and thoughtfully, then read again and thought about some more.   In her book, “Pathways of Spiritual Living” Susan Muto was writing about the importance of slow and prayerful reading of the Bible and other types of Christian literature. She wrote, “Our spiritual life is refreshed whenever we take time to savor these timeless values. They become a living part of who we are. The text is like a bridge between the limits of our life here and now and the possibilities awaiting us if we open our minds and hearts to God.”   She was writing about the care and feeding of our devotional life. In order to truly appreciate it we must take the time to savor it. Last night Linda and I went to dinner in a very nice restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. The meal was excellent and we took our time enjoying it. What a shame it would have been to have just scarfed it down and quickly left. Instead, we lingered and savored both the food and each other’s company. That’s what our time with God should be like. Unhurried, restful, enjoyable, thoughtful, and prayerful. So, relax, linger, enjoy.   That’s also what we do on Sunday when the church gathers for fellowship, study, and worship. We enjoy each other’s company, we think deeply about small parts of God’s Word, and we savor our time with Him and with each other. We invite you to join us. We meet for Sunday school at 9:00 and worship at 10:00. Together we will relax, linger, and enjoy God and each other.   God bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading”   Our Bible verse for today: “And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.” Hebrews 11:32-34 (CSB)   Our thought from today: “We can learn much from the lives of others”   It was the reading of biographies that got me hooked on reading. From the time I was very young my mother used to take me to the public library to borrow books. I can remember as a young boy reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln and being completely engrossed in it. Soon I was reading biographies of other famous men and women and I’ve never stopped.   As I sit here this morning writing this devotional message, I’m looking at several bookcases in my office filled with biographies and character studies. There is at least one biography of every U.S. President. There are biographies of Diedrich Bonhoeffer, Ben Carson, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Saint Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Martin Luther King, Henry Kissinger, Tom Landry, C.S. Lewis, James Mattis, Nelson Mandela, Antonin Scalia, Mother Theresa, Mark Twain, and dozens more. I have the entire thirty-volume series of short bios of famous missionaries published by Youth with A Mission, and I have Chuck Swindoll’s nine-volume series of character studies of great Biblical figures.   The thing I love about biographies and character studies is that we can learn so much from the lives of others – especially others who have accomplished significant things in their own lives. That’s precisely what the writer of the letter to the Hebrews was doing when he wrote Hebrews chapter 11, which we often refer to as “The Faith Hall of Fame”. In that chapter he writes about some truly inspiring acts of faith by figures both famous and unknown, from early Biblical history. He lists nineteen of them by name, and makes references to multiple others who remain unnamed. His purpose in doing so was to use their examples to inspire us to similar acts of faith.   That’s what biographies and character studies do for us. They take us deep into the lives of real people who have gone before us, and then their life experiences can teach and inspire us. I encourage you to read a biography or character study of someone who’s life is of interest to you and see what you can learn from their life.   God bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.