Oak Hill Baptist Church

Older Christians can be great mentors

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare: “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” Psalm 92:12-15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Older Christians can be great mentors”

I think Eleanor Roosevelt got it exactly right when she said, “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” Young people are often admired for their good looks and their slender youthful bodies, but that’s largely a function of genetics and good fortune. A beautiful old person is almost always considered beautiful for who they are on the inside.

A beautiful heart is a work of art and a winsome spirit is developed over time. Godly wisdom comes from a lifetime of walking with Jesus, and because this is true, such people continue to thrive even in old age. This is what the Psalmist was describing in Psalm 82:12-15 (above). Not necessarily physically thriving – the older body certainly isn’t as healthy and vibrant as the younger body was – but spiritually they bear even more fruit in the senior years than they did when they were younger.

Yesterday we asked the question, “Where have all the good mentors gone?” They haven’t gone anywhere. They’re right there in our pews. Older Christians are the hidden treasures of the church. If they have indeed spent a lifetime walking closely with Jesus, in old age they will be fonts of wisdom and insight. They have a lifetime of experiences to share and they have understanding of people and situations that runs deep.

If you’re looking for a mentor, pray and ask God to connect you to an older person in your church. And if you are one of those older persons, tell God you’re available and willing to be a friend and mentor to a younger Christian. Mentoring is an ideal ministry activity for older Christians. Richard Morgan, who spent a lifetime serving as a chaplain to older people, said that all too often the three temptations of older people are to decline, to whine, and to recline. But a fourth option, a much more worthwhile one, is to shine. You can indeed shine in old age, and mentoring is an excellent way to do so.

In the days to come I want to share with you some stories about older Christians who I’ve personally been blessed to know. But for today, if you don’t have an older mentor, then I encourage you to ask God to lead you to one. And if you aren’t serving as someone’s mentor, ask God to lead you to a younger person you can build such a relationship with.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Mentors inspire success

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.” So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit … He (Elisha) picked up the mantle that had fallen off Elijah.” 2 Kings 2:9;13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Mentors inspire success”

I recently came across a great quote from the actor Denzel Washington regarding the impact of a good mentor. He wrote, “Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living – if you do it well, I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing you the way. A mentor.”

Denzel Washington himself was influenced by the examples of pro football stars Jim Brown and Gayle Sayers, as well as by leaders in the Boy’s Clubs of America chapter he was part of as a child. He also had mentors in the church he grew up in. He believes so strongly in the influence of good mentors that he has used his own fame and fortune to help promote and fund the work of the Boy’s Clubs of America, as well as that of local churches, and many other charitable efforts which are designed to positively influence at-risk children.

The influence a mentor can have often turns out to be exponential in nature too. Such was the case with the relationship between the Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha. Elijah was a mentor to Elisha, and Elisha would ultimately step in and carry-on Elijah’s work. As it turned out, Elisha ended up having more than double the impact that Elijah did, performing just over twice as many miracles in his own long ministry career.

Going back to our example from professional football, Archie Manning was a great quarterback, but his sons Peyton and Eli were even better, and his grandson Arch is now said to be more talented than any of them.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance and value of good mentors. Therefore, as has been noted in previous devotionals in this series, not only should we all seek to be a mentor, but we all need to have a mentor as well. But how do we find one? Where are all the good mentors these days? We’ll think about that tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Grandparents can be great mentors

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly …” Proverbs 17:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Grandparents can be great mentors”

Our grandson lives a thousand miles away in Texas. So, we don’t get to spend anywhere near as much time with him as we would like. But, thank God for technology! We live in the age of “Facetime” and so live video chats are always an option. We did that this past Sunday over Sunday dinner. As we sat at our dinner table in Crossville, TN, we had a dinnertime chat with Oliver as he sat in his highchair in San Antonio, TX. It was wonderful to see him smiling into the screen, giggling and reaching out for us.

Proverbs 17:6 says that grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and I know that to be true. Another translation says that “children’s children are the crown of the aged”. Yes, I have loved being a parent and I enjoyed raising my children, but it’s a real joy to watch my son’s son grow up. And just as I tried to be a good influence on my children, I intend to work just as hard to be a mentor and good influence for my grandson.

Grandparents are in a unique position to have a positive influence on their grandchildren. Grandparenting done right can be a powerful formative force in the life of a child. I have a friend who loves to tell stories from his childhood about the many hours he spent with his grandfather as a child. They were very close and that godly man was intentional as he built into the life of his grandson. He taught him Biblical wisdom and valuable life lessons. To this day the memories of those times with his grandfather bring a smile to my friends face and often a tear to his eye.

My mother had that kind of influence on her grandchildren too. She was such a kind and godly woman, and her grandchildren loved her so much, that her memory is something of a legend in our family. At family reunions, when the grandchildren are all together, there are always plenty of “Grandma Mersereau” stories being told.

Grandparents can be especially helpful and influential in the lives of struggling teenagers too. Often the teen will be more open and more transparent with a grandparent than with a parent, and consequently the grandparent can sometimes get through to the young person when the parent cannot.

Grandparents can be great mentors. Thank God for godly grandparents!

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Speak words of life

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue …” Proverbs 18:21 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Speak words of life”

Before we leave the subject of parents as mentors for their children and move on to considering other types of mentoring relationships, I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the power of the words a parent speaks.

Words are powerful. Words penetrate, and words stick. Forever. Once words are spoken, they can never be unspoken. If they were angry or unkind words then after the fact you can apologize for them and you can attempt to explain them away; you can try to minimize them, and claim they meant something other than what they seemed to mean, but you cannot unsay them. Once they have been spoken and heard, those words are in the child’s memory and will remain there forever. And that being the case, it’s essential that we choose our words carefully – prayerfully.

That’s true in general, regardless of who we’re speaking to, but it’s especially true with respect to the words a parent speaks to a child. Children tend to believe their parents. They especially believe what the parent tells them to be true about themselves. If you tell a child enough times that he’s a bad boy, soon he will become convinced that he is indeed a bad boy. He won’t just believe that a particular behavior is bad, but that “he” is bad. There’s a difference. (You can correct a wrong behavior while still affirming your love for him and his worth as an individual. It’s all in the delivery).

Even worse than repeated criticism are the angry and mean words some parents say to their children: “You’re so stupid!” “You’ll never amount to anything!” “You are a rotten kid!” Etc. Statements like that set a child up for a lifetime of insecurities and self-esteem issues. Over time, children will believe what their parents say is true about them.

But the opposite is also true. You can speak words of life into your children. You can speak Biblical truth to them. “God loves you and so do I.” “God has a great plan for your life.” “You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.” “God has not given you a spirit of fear but one of courage.” “You are a wonderful boy/girl and I’m so glad God gave you to me.”

You get the point. As a parent your influence upon your children is huge – for good or for bad. I encourage you to make sure your influence is good. The words you speak to them will go a long way in determining whether it is or not. So, speak words of life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Teach your children well

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Teach your children well”

When I was a child, our church was within walking distance from our home – just one block away. On Sunday mornings my mother would dress us up in our Sunday best and lead us up the sidewalk in a row, like five little ducklings following the mamma duck. We would all go to mass at Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church. On weeknights we would also go to catechism classes (Sunday school) to receive training for our First Holy Communion, and then later as teenagers for our Confirmation.

I dropped out of church in my mid-teens and didn’t return until I was in my mid-thirties, but during those faithful childhood years the seeds of faith were planted deep in my heart, and they would bear fruit many years later.

That storyline tends to hold true in a majority of cases. Proverbs 22:6 is a general principle that applies broadly, not an etched-in-stone guarantee that applies specifically in every case. But it is often true that those who receive good training in the Christian faith as children, usually either remain faithful throughout life or they return to the faith later in life if they drifted for a while.

The key is a faithful parent (or even better, parents) who taught the faith to the child. If they modeled it in their own life, and if they had that child in church and Sunday school throughout the growing up years, there’s a good chance the seeds of faith were planted.

This is without question the most important role a parent has to play in the life of a child. No other lessons about life issues, conduct, or behaviors are more important than instruction in the Christian faith. Nothing will have a greater impact in the life of that child, or be of more value to him or her throughout their life, than will the planting of the seeds of faith in their young mind and heart.

Children learn their lessons of faith first and best from their parents. When it comes to your responsibility to mentor and influence your children in good and positive ways, nothing is more important than what you teach them about God and about how to live the Christian faith well.

I encourage you to be the model of faith that your children need to see. Teach your children well.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Parents as mentors

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “Parents as mentors”

There’s a commercial on television from an insurance company which revolves around the idea of “young homeowners who become their parents”. It’s a series of funny skits about young adults who, once they own their own homes, slowly turn into finicky fussbudgets who start acting a lot like their parents. There’s an older gentleman featured in the scenes, sort of a mentor/life-coach, who tries to help the young homeowners avoid some of the worst parent-like tendencies. The spots are funny but also fitting – there’s a good bit of truth to them.

It’s amazing how much we inherit from our parents. I don’t just mean genetically, although that is huge. I’m talking about in terms of behaviors, mannerisms, and personality traits. We often hear it said, “He is his father’s son”, or, “She’s her mother’s daughter”. For instance, many people are amazed at how much Franklin Graham looks, sounds, and acts like his father Billy Graham.

Children pick up a lot from their parents over their years of growing up. In adulthood children often display many of the same character and personality traits they learned from their parents, unless the adult child is intentional about not doing so. As depicted in that television commercial, those tendencies will naturally come out unless they are intercepted and dealt with.

Parents are our first and most influential mentors. That can be good or bad, depending on the parent. The influence of a parent penetrates deep into the psyche of a child and it forms that child’s personality and self-image. For many children that’s a good thing and will bear fruit for life. For others, it’s an awful experience and that person may spend the rest of his or her life trying to get over their childhood.

It’s impossible to overstate the deep and profound influence a parent has on a child and therefore, it’s essential for parents to remember that their children are a gift to them from God (Psalm 127:3). God has entrusted those precious souls into our care and it’s up to us to raise them well.

Tomorrow we’ll think a little more about the parent/child mentor/influencing relationship. But for today, if you have children in the home, I encourage you to go hug them and tell them how much you love them and how special they are.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

We are influenced by our heritage

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth.” Isaiah 51:1-2 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “We are influenced by our heritage”

I remember when I was a teenager, quite a stir was created in our extended family (grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and out-laws), when we were all contacted by a man named George Whitney Mercereau, from California. He explained that he was part of the vast clan of Mercereau / Mersereau family, spread across America and Canada, and he was something of an amateur genealogist.

In his retirement years he researched the Mercereau / Mersereau family tree as far back as he could, and through as many branches down through the generations as he could. He traced our family all the way back to La Rochelle, France in the early 1600s, to a sea captain named John Mercereau. Captain John was a Huguenot and he and his family fled France because of religious persecution.

They came to the New World (America), settled in what would become New York, and proceeded to populate a large portion of the New York Metropolitan area. Our family ended up with business owners, judges, professors, five brothers who were spies for George Washington, and many other colorful characters. As a result of his work, I can trace my direct line of descent back ten generations to Captain John Mercereau, born in 1627 in France.

I’m not a Buddhist, but I did come across a compelling image created in a word picture by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh about ancestors. He wrote, “If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”

Family plays a big role in who we are as a person. That’s especially true early in life through the influence of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. All of them can be and are mentors and examples, to varying degrees. That being the case, we will now turn our attention to the important mentoring / influencing role parents and grandparents play in the lives of children.

For this morning though, I encourage you to give some prayerful thought to your family heritage and to how it may be influencing you, for good or for bad, right up to this very day.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Cast a big shadow

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.” Acts 5:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Cast a big shadow”

In Acts chapter five we’re reading about the newly anointed Peter, with the power of the Holy Spirit emanating out of him to such a degree that even if his shadow fell on someone he passed by, that person would be healed. Therefore, the bigger the shadow he cast, the more people who were positively impacted by it.

It’s an apt metaphor for the influence of a good mentor. Good mentors cast a big shadow, and those who fall under that shadow are impacted by it in a good and positive way. I would go so far as to say that the impact of a person’s life can be measured (especially in retrospect after their death), by the size of the shadow they cast and the impact they made on the lives of those who fell under their shadow.

In his great devotional book about the senior years of life, Richard Morgan quotes the Greek philosopher Pericles who once wisely observed, “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” Yes, that’s our true legacy – the influence we had on others. Benjamin Franklin said essentially the same thing, but in his typical whimsical way:

“If you would not be forgotten
As soon as you are dead and rotten,
Either write things worth reading,
Or do things worth the writing.”

In other words, live a life worth being remembered by others. As Morgan wrote in his book, “Our lives cast shadows as long as we live. These are the marks we leave on the earth by our passing. These are the memories of us in the minds and hearts of those we have loved and who have loved us. They are the legacy we leave for future generations.”

Usually, the first and most important mentoring relationship any of us are exposed to is the one we have with our parents. We will begin considering that relationship tomorrow. In the meantime, I encourage you to prayerfully consider who your shadow is falling on as you pass through life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Have a mentor, be a mentor

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The influence of a mentor”

Our Bible verse for today: “The things which you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things …” Philippians 4:9 (Amplified Bible)

Our thought for today: “Have a mentor, be a mentor”

Decades ago, at a Promise Keepers conference, I heard Professor Howard Hendricks preach a sermon that has stuck with me and which has influenced me ever since. I don’t remember the actual title of the sermon but I do remember the lesson. It was all about the influence of mentors and the importance of not just having a mentor, but of being a mentor.

I’m paraphrasing but essentially he said, “Every man needs three key relationships in his life: He needs a Paul, he needs a Barnabas, and he needs a Timothy. He needs a Paul – someone who is older and wiser and who will build into his life. He needs a Barnabas – someone who is his equal – a brother who loves him but who is not overly impressed by him. Someone who will speak straight truth to him. And he needs a Timothy – a younger man into whose life he can build.” Paul, was the Apostle Paul. Barnabas was his traveling companion and partner in ministry. And Timothy was a young man whom Paul trained for the ministry.

I believe Professor Hendricks was right. We all need a mentor, and we all need to be a mentor. And, we also need someone in the middle to keep us straight. This is Biblical and it’s an important part of living the Christian life well.

There are many variations of mentoring relationships in life, beginning with parents to children; grandparents to grandchildren; an older man or woman to a younger man or woman; teachers to students; pastors to congregants; and more. Those mentoring relationships take place in families, churches, schools, neighborhoods, work places, youth and children’s programs, and in many other settings.

All this month we will explore the value and importance of the full range of mentoring relationships. We’ll also think about many different ways in which a mentoring relationship can be carried on. Although sometimes those relationships are conducted in formal counseling sessions, the best mentoring and accountability relationships tend to be those that are relaxed and casual – usually carried on in social and recreational settings, and over long periods of time. We will consider all of that.

For now, let me ask you to prayerfully consider whether you have a Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy in your life, and also, if you are a Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy to someone else.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s your life; it’s your responsibility

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “It’s your life, it’s your responsibility”

When it comes to the subject of personal responsibility, there seem to be two negative and destructive mindsets which are becoming more and more widespread throughout our society. One is a sense of entitlement and the other is a victim mentality.

Many people feel entitled to being cared for and to have things provided for them – especially from the government. This is why socialism is becoming increasingly popular. The promise of welfare, food stamps, free money in the form of government stimulus checks, free healthcare, extended unemployment checks, student loan debt forgiveness, more free money, and on it goes. Many people feel like society and the government owe them a living. They feel entitled.

We’re also becoming a society of victims. Increasing numbers of people go through life feeling like every problem they face is someone else’s fault. Nothing is ever their own fault. (It’s so much easier to blame others for our situations than it is to accept responsibility for the consequences of our own actions.) They have a victim mentality.

As we conclude our two-month devotional study about “personal responsibility” let’s remember that we are each 100% responsible for our own lives. For one thing, we are each responsible for taking care of ourselves and our families to the greatest extent possible. This is Biblical. There are no free rides in life. We are “entitled” to nothing we haven’t earned.

And with respect to clinging to a sense of being a victim, while it’s true that we can’t always control all the things that happen to us in life, we can always control how we deal with the things that happen to us. We can choose to handle our situations with faith, courage, strength, and dignity. We don’t have to assume the manner of a helpless victim. Instead, we can be strong men and women of faith and courage; men and women who go boldly forward in life, doing the best we can under the circumstances as they are, and refusing to give up. We hold up rather than fold up.

In 2 Corinthians 5:10 the Apostle Paul reminded us that we are each responsible for our own lives, and we will one day have to answer to the Lord for all of it. So, to sum up these entire two months of devotionals I would say: It’s your life. It’s your responsibility. Own it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim