Oak Hill Baptist Church

Trust God in the middle of it all

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Trust God in the middle of it all”

The last two devotional messages have been a little heavy, and maybe even dark. They were about the steadily declining levels of church attendance in America, along with the diminished influence of the church in American society.

But God is sovereign over everything that’s going on in our nation and in the world. In the middle of everything, He is still working miracles and bringing about blessings. Romans 8:28 assures us that good things are happening, even if we’re having trouble seeing them. (Let me be quick to point out that although the verse says all things work together “for” good, it does not say that all things “are” good, because obviously, many things are not good. What this does mean is that in the middle of all the bad things that are happening, God is at work bringing good things out of the bad.)

Is an increasing percentage of our population unreceptive to the Good News about Jesus? Yes. And yet, people continue to come to faith in Him every day (we had two teenagers in our church come to faith and present themselves for baptism just last week). Is overall church membership declining too? Yes. Any yet, people do continue to join churches (we’ve had new members recently). Do many professing Christians in our land seem to be sleepwalking through life spiritually? Yes. But many others are on fire for Jesus and actively on-mission with Him in communities all across the country.

The truth is that God is actively at work in the middle of all the tough stuff, and He is bringing good things out of it for those who love and honor Him. We just need to pay attention and look for the good in the middle of the bad. I’ve cited just a few examples. If you think about it, I’m sure you could come up with many more. And I encourage you to do that.

Spend some time this morning allowing the Holy Spirit to bring to your awareness some of the many ways God has recently brought something good out of a bad situation. Then give Him praise for it. One of the reasons we can be steadfast and immoveable in the midst of a broken, bleeding, hurting, and chaotic world is precisely because God is good and He is at work bringing good out of bad.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s time to wake up

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s time for all of us to wake up”

Yesterday’s devotional was about the alarming steady decline in church attendance in our nation, and the corresponding diminishing influence churches are having in our communities. I noted the large number of books, magazine articles, blog posts, and news items about this problem, and how denominational leaders, seminary professors, writers, and researchers are trying so hard to inform pastors about the scope of the problem so that pastors, the frontline communicators with God’s people, can then alert the people.

But alerting people is itself an increasingly difficult challenge. Just getting people’s attention long enough, and getting them to listen and to do what needs to be done to deal with the problem, is very hard. The great Christian author and social commentator G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “It isn’t that they can’t see the solution, it’s that they can’t see the problem.” Yes, that’s it. We won’t arrive at a solution to the problem if we aren’t even aware that there is a problem.

We live in such a busy and noisy world, and people are so caught up in the busyness of life, that we can’t see the danger and the damage that’s being done to our churches – and by extension, to our communities. If Christian’s are aware, for many of them it’s in a vague way, not in a real and urgent sense – not to the extent that they’re motivated to change their personal habits regarding church attendance and involvement. There are many professing Christians today who were, at one time, faithful in their attendance and who were fully involved in the life of the church. But not anymore. “I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian” is the new favorite mantra.

But the New Testament teaches that faithful church attendance, and full involvement in the life of a good church family, is a crucial part of the practice of our faith. Can we really expect to experience the full blessings of the Christian faith if we’ve detached ourselves from an important element of the practice of the faith? And by extension, can any society expect to experience the gifts of Christendom, the moral virtues and societal benefits, of a faith that a large part of the citizenry isn’t practicing?

But all is not lost, and we shouldn’t despair. The darker the world is, the brighter the church can shine. Historically this has been proven true. There’s still a lot we can do and the problem can get better. A little light chases away a lot of darkness, and while none of us can control the actions of other people, but we can each control our own actions. Each of us can resolve to do our part to be present and to be involved, and we can trust that God will use our faithfulness to have a positive impact on others.

It’s time for all of us to wake up and to step up. The problem will begin to turn around and get better one person at a time. Let’s each of us resolve to do our part to make our churches stronger and to restore the vitality that needs to be there.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

This is no time to give up

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and Immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “But know this: Hard times will come in the last days.” 2 Timothy 3:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “This is no time to give up”

These days I find myself reading a lot of books, magazine articles, blog posts, and news items regarding the dire state of the church in America today. Denominational leaders, seminary professors, researchers, writers, and everyday pastors are all sounding the alarm that the church in our nation is struggling and withering.

Much of what is written about that sad situation is directed at pastors, because pastors are the frontline communicators to reach God’s people in the churches. And so, we read report after report and article after article about the continuing decline of church attendance in America, along with the associated diminishing influence of the churches in our communities. Although research results vary, most reports indicate that only 24% of people regularly attend religious services of any kind. And the definition of “regular church attender” has been cut in half by the researchers who determine those definitions. A “regular” attender used to mean someone who attends church 3-4 times per month on the average. Not anymore. Now “regular” is 1-2 times per month. That means that three out of four Americans do not attend church even once or twice a month.

The result is that the church in the USA is struggling and withering. And, worse, pastors are giving up and leaving the ministry. One of the books I’m reading this month was written specifically to address that major problem. It is “The Resilient Pastor: Leading Your Church in a Rapidly Changing World” by Glenn Packiam. Glenn is a pastor as well as a researcher for the Barna Research Group. He reports that in 2021, twenty-nine percent (almost one third) of all pastors were considering leaving the ministry. (Can you imagine the devastating impact if a third of all the pastors in our country suddenly left the ministry? My goodness!)

The purpose of this particular book is first of all, to inform pastors regarding the full scope of the challenge facing the church, but also, and importantly, to equip pastors to better deal with it, and even more important, to encourage them to stick with it.

To set that tone, in the forward to the book, David Kinnaman, the President of the Barna Research Group, wrote, “The church is worth our godly agitation, ambition, and urgent prayer and action. Resilient leaders, in other words, must be filled with realism about the actual, tangible, brutal reality of leading the church and forming people into Jesus’ image … In addition to realism, resilient pastors must be anchored to hope. Hope in the Lord’s work in the world. Hope in a God who knows us and hears us. Hope in the reality of a resurrected Jesus. Hope that all this work and effort and toil really does amount to something both here and now and in eternity.”

I write this devotional first, for all my pastor friends out there. Be encouraged. What you do matters. Don’t give up! But second, I write it for all the church members so you can know that your pastor is engaged in a fight for your church. He needs your help and he needs your prayers. I encourage church members to get a copy of that book and read it so you will better understand the battle that is being waged for the church in America today, and perhaps you will find a larger role in that battle for yourself.

We’ll continue thinking about this tomorrow. At that time, I’ll have a word for church members – a word of hope and encouragement. All is not lost and the church in America is not defeated. This is no time to give up. Our communities need strong churches. It’s time for all of us to be steadfast and immovable!

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You are tough

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and Immovable”

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: “You are tough”

I distinctly remember a scene from a movie I saw many years ago starring Dwyane Johnson (The Rock). I can’t remember the name of the movie, or even the storyline, but I do remember this one scene. The Rock was in some kind of a jungle setting, captured by a group of natives. The natives were all very small in stature and The Rock was huge, something like six feet seven inches and two hundred eighty pounds of bulging muscles. So, by comparison, the size difference was significant.

The natives decided that for their entertainment, The Rock was going to have to fight their champion, who they then brought forward. He was like five feet two inches and maybe one hundred pounds – but he was wiry and muscular, not to mention cocky. He grinned at The Rock, sneered a little bit, taunted him, and then said, “Let’s fight!” It turned out this little guy was like the cartoon character The Tasmanian Devil. He just exploded all over The Rock in a blur of fists and feet and punches and kicks. The Rock was waving his arms around like he was swatting off a swarm of angry bees and he was getting his butt kicked.

I laugh when I think of that scene, and I suspect the Apostle Paul was something like that. I imagine him to have been this wiry little guy – tough as nails, fierce in his determination, and never giving up. That’s what he was describing in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (above). He wrote of being pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down; but never crushed, in despair, abandoned, or destroyed. He was tough.

In that passage he was saying that he believed that to be true of himself and of us as well. And at the conclusion of the passage, in verses 16-18, he explains why that was true of him and of us: “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

He means that our faith is our strength. It’s our faith in Christ that enables us to be tough as we deal with the challenges of life, and to be steadfast and immovable. My friend, you have that in you. I want you to know this morning that you are tougher than you realize.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

This is your time

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and Immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep …” Acts 13:36 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “This is your time”

In the words Luke wrote about the life of King David in Acts 13:36, we hear echoes of the story of Esther in the Old Testament. Esther was a beautiful young Jewish woman – an orphan being raised by her uncle Mordecai. They lived as part of the captive Jewish community in the land of Persia. When the king was in need of a new queen, his aides searched the kingdom for all the most attractive young woman and had them all brought to the palace for the king to consider. Esther was one of those, and as a result she was taken into even deeper captivity, now confined to the palace and subject to the whims of the king.

Esther was chosen to be the new queen and it turned out that she was there, in that strategic position, at exactly the time one of the king’s evil counselors conceived a plot to exterminate the entire Jewish race. Mordecai sent Esther a message, recorded in Esther 4:14, that said, “Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

Mordecai meant that God had Esther right where He needed her, at exactly the time He needed her to be there, for a specific and important reason. Luke meant the same thing in Acts 13:36 about David. God had David where He wanted and needed Him to be, and He kept him there until the mission was accomplished and the purpose was fulfilled.

The same is true for you. God is sovereign over your life and your circumstances. He has either intentionally placed you in your circumstances for a reason, or by means of His permissive will He has chosen to allow you to be there for a season and for a reason. Rather than complain about it, it would be much better to identify and fulfill God’s purpose for you in that place at this time.

Esther and David were steadfast and immovable in their resolve to do the things that needed to be done to achieve the thing God wanted done in that place at that time. Your mission is the same. You are where you are, so now do what needs to be done. Remember some of the synonyms for steadfast and immovable – steady, intent, undistracted, uncompromising, tenacious, resolute, and determined. Let that describe you.

This is your place. These are your circumstances. This is your time.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

In war and in peace

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is great and is highly praised; his greatness is unsearchable. One generation will declare your works to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts. I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty and your wonderous works. They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts, and I will declare your greatness. They will give a testimony of your great goodness and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.” Psalm 145:1-7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “In war and in peace”

Last night, as I watched the reports about the ongoing war in Ukraine on the evening news, my thoughts turned to my friends doing humanitarian work among the war refugees. One of them just returned home after more than a month there, one is still there, and a few others are running supplies into the refugee camps on both sides of the border between Ukraine and Romania.

When the news was over, I picked up the current edition of Christianity Today magazine and read a story about how gunman burst into a worship serve in Monrovia, Liberia and killed twenty-eight Christians as they were in church – and I thought about another friend who will be in that country in a few days with a medical mission team. Then my thoughts turned to other friends who are serving as missionaries in an Islamic nation that is unwelcoming to Christian workers – and they must therefore be cautious and discrete all the time.

Living and serving as a Christian in a world of war and chaos can be unpleasant at best, and dangerous at worst. And that doesn’t synch well with the way I prefer to imagine the Christian life as being lollipops and gumdrops as my friends and I hold hands, skipping down the yellow brick road of life, singing “Kumbaya”, and enjoying the fruit of the Spirit. Oh, there are in fact many days like that, and I enjoy them and am grateful for them. There are days of peace and plenty, with birds singing, babies laughing, and when all seems right with the world. But there are also plenty of examples of death and destruction, of pain and heartache and trouble. Both are realities of life for us.

For two thousand years, Christians have been steadfast and immovable in their determination to declare God’s greatness in good times and in bad, in war and in peace. And that’s why, despite all the world has experienced across the centuries, the kingdom of God on earth has continued to grow, and today there are more Christians on this planet than there have ever been in all of history.

As bad as things seem today, all is not lost, and as Christians we are not desperate. Our God is sovereign over all of this; and as individuals, He has us exactly where He wants us to be in the middle of it all.

We’ll think more about this tomorrow. For now, prayerfully consider the circumstances God currently has you in, be they good or bad, and how you should be handling those circumstances. I encourage you to be steadfast and immovable as you declare His greatness and advance His kingdom.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

We should be observably unique

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and Immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “Les us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.” Galatians 6:9-10

Our thought for today: “We should be observably unique in the world”

This morning I want to continue our thought from yesterday regarding letting our conduct speak for itself. We want the unbelieving world to observe and experience the love and compassion of Christ through the ways we conduct ourselves in this hurting and chaotic world we live in.

In his essay “Five characteristics that made the early church unique”, pastor and author Tim Keller notes, “In the first three centuries, Christians were persecuted more than any other religious group. Because they refused to honor other gods or worship the emperor, they were seen as too exclusive, too narrow, and a threat to the social order.” Well, that certainly describes Christians in our day too. We find ourselves increasingly out of step with the culture around us.” Keller went on:

“So why, if Christians were seen as offensive and were excluded from circles of influence and business and often put to death, did anyone become a Christian?… One main reason … was that the Christian church was a unique “social project.” They were a contrast community, a counterculture that was both offensive and yet also attractive to many.”

Those early Christians lived in a world that was even more hostile to their faith than ours is today. And yet, the Christian faith spread like wildfire. Why? What was it that got them past all those cultural hurdles and opened the door for the Holy Spirit to capture people’s hearts and lead them to faith in Christ? Two things: (1) The Christians were steadfast and immovable in their faith. They knew what they believed and why they believed it, and they weren’t afraid to say so.

And, (2) They were known for their kindness, compassion, and willingness to serve the neediest around them in the name of Jesus. The Roman world was cold, hard, brutal, and often heartless. The poor were allowed to starve. The sick simply died. Unwanted babies were tossed into ditches and abandoned. While so many in that culture turned a blind eye to the pain, heartache, and suffering all around them, the Christians waded right into the middle of the suffering and did something about it. It was what Keller meant when he wrote, “They were a contrast community, a counterculture that was both offensive and yet also attractive to many.”

Those early Christians were unique in their day; they were steadfast and immovable in their determination to honor Christ and to bless others. We should be as well. It was their very uniqueness that was the key to their success. How we conduct ourselves in this hurting world should be observably different in a way that’s hard for people to resist.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Let your conduct speak for itself

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.” 1 Peter 3:12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Let your conduct speak for itself”

I’m sure you’ve been following the horrific events taking place in Ukraine. Russia has not only invaded the country, but they’re using a scorched-earth approach and literally wiping out entire cities and towns. It’s awful – downright evil. The Ukrainians certainly need our prayers.

But they also need our help. Not just with weapons so they can defend themselves, but also with massive amounts of humanitarian relief supplies, and relief workers. I have two friends who have been serving inside Ukraine with the Samaritan’s Purse medical disaster relief team. I know another young missionary pastor in northern Romania who has been making continuous runs into the refugee camps on both sides of the border to deliver relief supplies. I have several other friends who are, as I write this, in the air somewhere over Europe on their way to spend ten days with that young missionary pastor to serve the Ukrainian refugees with him.

I have another friend who is currently leading a medical mission to a remote region in Liberia; and another who just came back from a medical mission to Mexico; and another who is forming a medical team to go to Ukraine later this month. Yesterday two members of our church made a twelve-hour round trip in a U-Haul truck to deliver food and clothes to our ministry partners in a little church in a little town in the coal-mining region of eastern Kentucky. And we, as a church, also have a full calendar of mission activities and humanitarian relief efforts planned for now through the end of the summer in a variety of locations.

What do all of those efforts have in common, and what do they have to do with our theme for this month about being steadfast and immovable? What they have in common is what Peter was writing about in 1 Peter 3:12 (above), that as followers of Christ we need to let our good works among the unbelievers of the world speak for us. The unbelieving world should look upon the activities of Christians and marvel at our willingness to serve and sacrifice in order to bless suffering people in the name of Jesus. And what it has to do with our theme is simply that the best way to boldly advocate for the cause of Christ in the world today is to let the world actually experience the love and compassion of Christ through us. And to do it, even in the worst of circumstances.

Perhaps you can’t go to Ukraine, or Liberia, or the Amazon Jungle, or even northern Kentucky, but maybe you can go to the rescue mission in your town, or to your neighbor next door. As the followers of Christ in a broken, bleeding, and confused world that is bordering on chaos, we need to be the rocks in the middle of it all – steady, grounded, undistracted, reliable, steadfast and immovable.

I encourage you to make sure your conduct speaks for itself. Let them see Jesus in you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Be steadfast and immovable

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be steadfast and immovable”

Originally, I was going to make the theme for this month either perseverance or consistency. I couldn’t decide which to go with, but I suppose it was really a matter of “six of one or a half-dozen of the other”. Perseverance and consistency are pretty similar concepts and the devotionals would have been close to the same.

But then I read Paul’s words of encouragement in 1 Corinthians 15:58 and I knew I had my theme for the month, “steadfast and immovable”. I like that. That’s what we as followers of Christ need right now in the middle of the chaos of this world – to be steadfast and immovable. And in order to be steadfast and immovable, we will have to persevere and be consistent as well. So, we’ll cover that this month too.

To give us a better feel for what it means to be steadfast and immovable, let’s delve into Rodale’s Synonym Finder. Synonyms for steadfast include, “steady, intent, undistracted, constant, dedicated, reliable, grounded, uncompromising, unyielding, tenacious, and resolute”. Some synonyms for immovable are, “stable, set, secure, anchored, settled, staunch, unflinching, unwavering, and determined”.

That needs to describe us. As we live in this increasingly crazy and unstable world, we, the followers of Christ, need to be steady and stable and grounded and tenacious and resolute and all of those other adjectives listed above. We need to know what we believe, why we believe it, and we need to be bold and courageous as we advocate for the cause of Christ on earth.

Throughout the month of April, we will consider what it looks like, and how we can be, steadfast and immovable. Paul’s words were written originally to Christians living in a different age, in a different part of the world, and under different circumstances. And yet, their challenges were not so different from ours. Paul’s call to be steadfast and immovable applies to all Christians in all places at all times, including us.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Invest your life in people

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Invest your life in people”

I love the thought Paul expressed in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (above) regarding his feelings for the Christians in the church of Thessalonica. He loved them so much that he shared his life with them. It reminds me of a favorite saying of mine from Benjamin Franklin regarding the value of time and how we choose to spend it. In contemporary language Franklin’s quote reads:

“Do you value your life? Then value your time, because time is the stuff life is made of.”

“Time is the stuff life is made of.” That’s true, and since it is true, when you give someone some of your time, you have given them a little piece of your life – and it’s a piece you can never have back. Once the time is gone, it’s gone, and that means that that little piece of your life is now gone too. When you give someone some of your time you have given them a little piece of your life, and that’s a precious gift.

Mentors invest their time (and therefore pieces of their life), into the lives of others. That’s a beautiful and special thing, so let’s be sure we don’t take it for granted. Appreciate and value what your mentor does for you. The investment of their time, and their efforts to build into your life, is an expression of their love for you.

But also, on the flip side, being a mentor is a rewarding and fulfilling experience. Few things are more satisfying than to make a meaningful difference in someone else’s life – it blesses the one doing the mentoring. This is one of the reasons that older people who serve as mentors tend to flourish in their old age when so many others struggle and wither. Mentoring creates a sense of purpose. Helping someone else to live well is a reason in itself to go on living.

One of the greatest things we can do with our own life is to invest in someone else’s life and help them to live well too. I encourage you to have a mentor and to be a mentor.

God bless,
Pastor Jim