Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”   Our Bible verse for today: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you …” Acts 18:9-10 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “No timid silence, please”   If you’ve been following the events in eastern Europe then you may be aware that after decades of being officially “neutral”, both Finland and Sweden are on the verge of applying for membership in NATO. Russia has become so aggressive, and poses such a serious threat to her neighbors, that both countries have concluded they can no longer safely afford to remain neutral. They have to pick a side.   The Holocaust survivor, author, and Nobel prize winner, Elie Wiesel once wrote, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”   Wiesel was entirely correct. If a brutal aggressor like Russia cannot convince you to be their ally, they will settle for your neutrality. If they can get you to simply stand aside, inactive and silent, that will suffice for their purposes. Satan operates in exactly the same way. If he can’t get Christians to actively engage in his schemes with him, he will settle for our neutrality. If he can get us to stand aside, timidly silent and inactive, that will suffice.   We cannot allow that to be the case. As we learned yesterday, we need to be people actively engaged in the arena of life. We need to be steadfast and immovable in our resolve to oppose evil. We must be people who will speak up and take action when and where it is needed. What was true for Paul in Acts 18:9-10 (above) is also true for us. The Lord urges us to put aside our fear and doubts, to speak up and to act as necessary. He is with us just as He was with Paul.   In Proverbs 31:8-9 Solomon spoke to this as well: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”   As Christians we don’t have the luxury of remaining neutral in the face of sin and injustice. Our neutrality aides the enemy. We have to pick a side and take a stand. As we do so we must be cautious that our words and actions are in accordance with Biblical principles, and that we don’t allow uncontrolled anger to lead us to become sinful in our own words and actions, but we do need to pick a side and take a stand. No timid silence, please.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”   Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, since we also have a such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Be the person in the arena”   On April 23, 1910 President Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. The title of the speech was “Citizenship in a Republic”. It was a good and inspiring speech in its entirety, but one passage has become especially famous and often repeated. The passage is often referred as “The Man in the Arena”. Here it is:   “It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but he who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat.”   Teddy was writing about someone who willingly enters into situations which require courage, skill, or tenacity, and then continues to strive and to push forward despite the obstacles – as opposed to someone who sits on the sidelines of life watching and critiquing the efforts of those who are actually attempting and doing things (often hard things).   For years I’ve had a framed copy of that quote in my office and I look at it frequently. I find it inspiring and encouraging, especially when times are hard and progress seems slow or non-existent. Teddy’s words also remind me of the words of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews in 12:1-2 (above). God calls us to run the race of life (a marathon); keeping our eyes on Jesus; continually pressing on and moving forward.   I encourage you to be a person in the arena of life. Don’t sit on the sidelines watching as others accomplish meaningful things for the cause of Christ. Be a part of it. And when times get tough and progress is hard, lean into it, push forward, keep moving, be steadfast and immovable in your resolve to be a doer of deeds rather than just an observer of them.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”   Our Bible verse for today: “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “He is risen!”   One of the most remarkable aspects of the early Christian church is not just that it somehow managed to survive, against all odds in a world that was strongly opposed to the teachings of Christ, but that it thrived. Yes, the church didn’t just survive, it thrived. It spread like wildfire across the known world and it has continued to do so for almost two thousand years.   They were in a Jewish culture that believed Christianity was a gross and offensive perversion of Judaism. They were also in a brutal Roman world that was harsh and cruel – a society that accepted and worshiped dozens of gods from multiple cultures and which therefore had little tolerance for a faith that claimed there is only one true God. Into that setting the apostles preached Jesus with power and effectiveness. So much so, that neither the Jewish nor the Roman authorities could stop it, despite their best efforts to do so.   The reason, as Luke says in Luke 4:33 (above) was the resurrection. Those early believers had personal encounters with the resurrected Christ and that provided them with the courage, boldness, and determination to preach the Good News at all costs and in the face of any persecution. They were steadfast and immovable in their resolve to tell others about Jesus.   Us too. We want everyone to hear about the resurrected Christ. We want others to have their sins forgiven and to receive the promise of eternal life too.   We also read that “great grace was upon them all.” They were together; they were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus; and the grace of God was heavy upon them all. Again, that’s true for us too. That’s what corporate worship is all about. It’s about giving glory to God in the name of the resurrected Christ, and it’s about His people experiencing an overwhelming sense of His grace.   This Sunday – Easter Sunday – we at Oak Hill Baptist will gather together to worship and celebrate the resurrected Jesus. We will have a brunch and Easter egg hunt beginning at 9:00, and our resurrection celebration will begin at 10:00. Please join us in-person if you can. If you can’t, then I encourage you to watch the livestream of the service on our Facebook page. And also, please be sure to invite your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.   It’s really true. He is risen! It’s the greatest news the world has ever known and we want everyone to hear about it.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”   Our Bible verse for today: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” Acts 2:42 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “We need to be together”   I love the picture of the early church which Luke paints in Acts 2:42, they were together every chance they had because they knew they needed to be. They lived in a tough world. Life was hard for many reasons and church was their refuge from the storm, it was their safe harbor and their place of renewal. Their times together were spiritually rich, nurturing, and refreshing, and they needed it.   The same is true for Christians today. It’s a tough world out there and we need our times together. That’s why in Hebrews 10:24-25 the writer tells us that we are not to neglect our times of gathering together. Although that’s true all the time, it’s especially true when Christians are living in the midst of unholy chaos, like our society has become. In such times it’s even more important for us to come together on a regular basis – weekly at least, and other times throughout the week if possible.   When we’re together we strengthen each other, we encourage one another, and we minister to each other. This is why in Proverbs 27:17 Solomon tells us that “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.” And it’s why, in Psalm 122:1 King David declared, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” David looked forward to his time with other believers with eagerness and anticipation – and so should we.   But since all of this is true, it’s also true that one of Satan’s most effective tactics is to isolate believers from each other. We’re stronger together and weaker alone, and therefore, Satan will always work to keep us from gathering with other Christians. He will help us come up with a dozen reasons to skip church, and every one of them will seem convincing and logical to us (in our human reasoning). I encourage you to not allow him to do that to you. You are weaker when you are alone and you are stronger when you are with other Christians. There’s strength in numbers.   This Sunday is Easter. Typically, this is the high attendance day of the year for most churches. That being true, it’s also the best opportunity we have each year to draw people to the church. At Oak Hill Baptist we will have an Easter morning brunch beginning at 9:00, along with an Easter egg hunt for the children. Our resurrection celebration service will begin at 10:00. We will also be livestreaming on our Facebook page.   We invite you to join us! And please be sure to invite your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to join us too. There is strength in numbers and we need to be together.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”   Our Bible verse for today: “As long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies.” Job 27:3-4 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “A long obedience in the same direction”   One of my favorite Christian authors is Eugene Peterson. One of his best and most helpful books was, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society”. As the name implies, the purpose of the book revolves around the truth that discipleship is a discipline that takes time. In fact, it takes a lifetime. A person must want to grow in Christ, and then that person must apply him or herself every day to the basic disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship, service, and the other practices that the Holy Spirit uses to mold and shape us spiritually. It is “a long obedience in the same direction”. It takes determined effort, applied consistently, over a lifetime.   This morning I want to return us one more time to the example of Job from the Old Testament. He is a study in being steadfast and immovable – but not just during his time of suffering. Job was steadfast and immovable before and after the circumstances which are the focus of most of the book. Remember what the author said about him in 1:1, “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” And in 1:8 God Himself said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”   Job had obviously been diligent and resolute in the practice of his faith long before he was ever faced with the major trial of his life and therefore, he was ready for it when it came upon him. The editors of the “Every Man’s Bible noted, “God’s presence is so penetrating in Job’s damaged life that he can still conclude that God lives and redeems his own.” They were referring to Job’s declaration in Job 19:25-26, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”   If we live long enough, each of us will face major trauma and trials in life, probably multiple times. Are you ready for it? Will you be steadfast and immovable in the middle of it? As people observe how you handle it will the synonyms for steadfast and immovable come to their minds, “steady, intent, constant, dedicated, reliable, grounded, uncompromising, unyielding, tenacious, resolute, anchored, unflinching, unwavering, determined.”?   Now is the time to prepare for then. A long obedience in the same direction when times are good, helps us to be ready for when times are not so good. I encourage you to be prepared.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”   Our Bible verse for today: “Now when Job’s three friends … heard about this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head. Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.” Job 2:11-13 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “The ministry of presence”   Yesterday we learned an important lesson from the example of Job regarding being steadfast and immovable in the midst of pain and suffering. Today I want to return to his story because there’s another important lesson for us to learn, this one from the example of his three friends.   Overall, Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, handled themselves pretty badly. For most of the story we find them being critical of Job and unkind and unsympathetic. In the end, God gives them a pretty good dressing down for it. But they actually started out well. As we read in 2:11-13 (above), initially they were very empathic. They grieved for Job and with Job; they entered into his suffering and they simply sat with him as he suffered and grieved. That’s what we call “the ministry of presence”. We bless and help someone simply by being with them – showing them our love and support as they go through a tough time.   The ministry of presence is a powerful thing. Just being there communicates how much you care. Sometimes it may involve words of sympathy and comfort, but often there’s really not much that can be said – or which should be said. Sometimes words get in the way (Job’s friends were at their best when they were silent. It was when they started talking that they became a problem).   The ministry of presence can also include doing helpful chores for the person. While they’re dealing with their grief maybe you can wash their car, or mow the lawn, or cook a meal, or do the dishes. Better yet, maybe you can do those things with them so they are engaged in an activity that helps to take their mind off of their grief for a while.   Through the ministry of presence we bless someone by letting them know “I’m here for you and I will continue to be here for you as long as you need me.” Let them know they can count on you no matter what. Be steadfast and immovable in your support for them.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Steadfast and immovable”   Our Bible verse for today: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” Job 19:25-26 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “The language of pain and the language of faith”   The Old Testament story of Job is a great Biblical case study of being steadfast and immovable in the middle of personal suffering. Job was the richest and most respected man of his day. Job 1:3 says, “He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.” 1:1 tells us the reason he was so great and so blessed, “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Job was such a strong, steadfast, and immovable man of God that God decided to use Job’s faith to make an important point and to teach a powerful lesson about remaining faithful even in the worst of times, and even when we don’t understand what’s happening or why it’s happening.   God allowed Satan to attack Job and to remove all of his blessings – including his wealth, his children, his status, and even his health. And it wasn’t because Job had done anything wrong. On the contrary, it was precisely because Job had done so much right that God knew He could count on Job to model courage, dignity, and strong faith in the middle of suffering and pain.   But that doesn’t mean that Job didn’t complain or that he didn’t give voice to his pain. He did. Read the story. Job’s pain, anguish, and heartache were real, and it would have been artificial and phony if he had pretended otherwise. So, Job spoke about his pain, and he gave voice to his frustrations. He was honest about what he was going through. That’s what we call “the language of pain”. And it wasn’t wrong for Job to do that. Talking is therapeutic and often we need to get it out, we need to give voice to our pain.   But he never allowed the reality of his pain and suffering to diminish his faith in the ultimate goodness and righteousness of God. And so, even as he suffered, he told of his faith. That’s what we call “the language of faith.” The language of pain and the language of faith can coexist. Both are real, and both can be expressed without one diminishing the other. I would go so far as to say it’s important for both to be expressed. If we don’t give voice to our pain, we’re not being honest about what we’re experiencing, and others will see that. And if we don’t give voice to our faith, others won’t know that we still trust God, even though life is hard at the moment.   That’s the lesson of Job. That’s why God allowed him to experience those things for a brief season of life. If you read the story, you’ll discover that Job himself learned some important lessons about himself and about God through his experiences. But also, the lesson of Job has been a powerful example for God’s people down through the ages. It teaches us how to handle our own times of suffering and pain, and how to continue to trust God through it.   The entire story of Job is one long dialogue – it’s all about talking about what we’re experiencing. From that story we learn that there is a language of pain, and there is a language of faith, and it’s okay to give voice to both.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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

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

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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

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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

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