Oak Hill Baptist Church

Restrain evil and shine the light

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

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

Our thought for today: “Restrain evil and shine the light”

Our church is currently hosting the Cumberland Country Sheriff’s Department Citizens Academy. On Tuesday evenings members of our local law enforcement and justice agencies are educating the community about law enforcement policies and practices. It includes presentations about the use of force, self-defense tactics for citizens, investigations, traffic stops, SWAT tactics, active shooter scenarios, and much more.

The other night two comments were made that caught my attention, both of which reminded me of how fortunate we are to have good men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting the public. The first comment was made by a Lieutenant who is a narcotics investigator. He told us about the massive flow of drugs coming across our southern border, about the influence of Mexican cartels even here in Cumberland County, and about all the fentanyl being pumped into our communities from China through Mexico. The comment he made was that their work in narcotics can be frustrating and discouraging, because sometimes it seems like they aren’t making much progress dealing with the problem.

The other comment was made by an officer in the juvenile justice system. He talked about how his officers don’t treat the juvenile offenders as perpetrators but as children and teenagers who are struggling in life and who need positive role models and good encouragement. Their approach (in addition to enforcing the law) is to bond with the juvenile offenders, try to figure out what’s going on in their lives, and find ways to address the root causes of their criminal behavior. He told some heart-touching stories about juveniles whose lives were turned around simply because they encountered an officer who cared enough to get involved in their lives in a positive way.

Both of those stories reminded me of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:13-14 about being salt and light. Salt is a preservative that helps to prevent decay and rot. That’s what that narcotics officer is doing. He is acting as a restraining influence to hold back the spread of evil in our communities. It can be frustrating at times, but without him and others like him, there would be no restraint and things would be much worse. In a similar manner, Christians should be active in our world to help restrain the spread of evil in a wide variety of ways. Our presence in those situations should make a difference for good.

With respect to the comment from the officer from the juvenile justice system – light chases away darkness. That’s the influence that officer was describing. Instead of just arresting and incarcerating those young people, he and his team of officers treat them as troubled young human beings in need of help and enlightening. Likewise, that should also be the role of Christians in society as we interact with people lost in sin. Instead of just judging them and condemning their behavior, we should be helping them to experience the love of Jesus and to discover a better way to live.

The presence of those officers and their colleagues in those situations is making a real difference for good. That should be true of the followers of Jesus was we encounter people in our daily situations as well. Work to restrain evil and to shine the light.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Let’s stop sitting around looking at each other

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “When Jacob saw that there were food rations to be had in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you keep looking at one another?’” Genesis 42:1 (Jewish Publication Society Translation)

Our thought for today: “Let’s stop sitting around looking at each other”

Recently I was reading Dr. Dennis Prager’s commentary on the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis. It was contained in Prager’s work, “The Rational Bible”. If you remember the context of that part of the story, we read in Genesis chapter forty-two that the people were suffering from a prolonged famine. There was little food and everyone was starving. But thanks to the vision God had given to Joseph regarding the approaching famine and the steps Joseph had taken to prepare for it, there was abundant food in Egypt – even enough to sell to people from other lands.

Jacob and his family were in Palestine starving. So, in Genesis 42:1 Jacob asked his sons why they were just sitting around looking at each other while they all starve, instead of traveling to Egypt to get some food. They had a great need and there was something that could be done about it, but none of them were taking the needed action. In his commentary Dr. Prager observed, “He (Jacob) asked the question we should all ask when there is an ongoing and unaddressed problem: ‘Why am I – why are we – not doing something to solve it?’ Too often, we just keep looking at one another waiting (hoping) for something to change.”

This brings us back to the point we were considering yesterday about being men and women of wholehearted action. When problems exist and something needs to be done, we need to stop sitting around waiting for the issue to be magically fixed by God, or for someone else to do something about it. If you see something do something. If something needs to be dealt with, then deal with it. This pertains to our individual lives, our family life, our church life, and life in society.

How many of us are living with bad health due to poor lifestyle choices – and we want to be healthier, but we’re not doing the things we need to do in order to be healthier? Let’s just do it. How many of us in our family life see something that needs to be addressed (the trash needs to be taken out) but we leave it for someone else to do? Just take care of it. How about in our church life? How often do we see things at church that really do need some attention but we ignore it thinking someone else will handle it? The same is true in society. If there are issues in the community or the nation that bother you and need to be addressed, then get involved and do something about it.

Let’s stop sitting around looking at situations and at each other waiting for things to get better all by themselves. Instead, let’s go to Egypt and get the food (or lose the weight, or take the trash out, or, well, you get the idea). We have a responsibility to do something about it rather than just sitting around waiting for it to fix itself.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Be a person of wholehearted action

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “… I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.” Joshua 14:8 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Be a person of wholehearted action”

Caleb lived during the days of Moses. He was one of the twelve men sent out by Moses to conduct a reconnaissance mission of the Promised Land and he was one of only two (along with Joshua) to bring back a good report. Caleb is also one of my heroes from the Old Testament.

His words in Joshua 14:8 (above) provide revealing insight into his character. He was a man who wholeheartedly sought and followed God, and that was the key to his long and successful life. “The Every Man’s Study Bible” cites Caleb as a prime example of Biblical manhood and labels him “A man of wholehearted action.” Caleb had a single-minded, wholehearted, full-steam-ahead approach to living life with God, and he did so with purpose and passion.

For the next few days, we will continue our discussion from yesterday about taking responsibility for our own lives and doing so with purpose, courage, and confidence. We approach life with a Biblical worldview as we honor God and bless others. It’s up to us to establish that mindset and to create that structure in our lives. Nobody is going to do it for us. It’s our personal responsibility. We have to want such a life and we have to be intentional about creating the conditions for it.

Caleb succeeded in life while an entire generation of his peers failed, precisely because he was a man of action and he was committed to honoring God with his life. He did it with boldness and courage, and always within the boundaries of God’s commandments.

If you’re not clear on how to live in such a manner, I encourage you to go back and review yesterday’s devotional where we considered the lessons of Jeremiah 29:11-14 and Proverbs 3:5-6: Get your heart right; seek God; resolve to learn and abide by His standards; then go forward in life with boldness, courage, and passion, confident that God will lead you and guide you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You are responsible for your own life

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

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 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 …” Jeremiah 29:11-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for your own life”

Considering the Bible verses I quoted above, does our “thought for today” surprise you? “You are responsible for your own life”? Doesn’t Jeremiah 29:11 make it sound as if God is responsible for my life? Doesn’t it read is if He already has a great plan all worked out for me and I’m really just along for the ride?

Well, I suppose it could … if you stopped reading at verse 11. But if you continue on to verses 12-14 then you enter into the realm of personal responsibility. Yes, God has a plan for your life. But the fulfilling of that plan is contingent on you calling to Him, praying to Him, seeking Him with all of your heart, finding Him, and following Him.

Make no mistake, you are responsible for your own life. God does have a plan for you, that’s true, but you have some responsibilities too. You do your part and you can be sure He will do His. In Proverbs 3:5-6 Solomon told us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” There it is – in all your ways acknowledge Him, and then He will make your paths straight.

I recently came across an insightful statement written by author Elizabeth O’Conner in her book “Journey Inward, Journey Outward”. She wrote: “Each of us is the artist of his own life. The materials we are given to work with, the conditions we work under and what happens to us, are part of the drama of what we shall do with our lives. But materials and conditions and events are not, in themselves, the determining factors. Whether a man arrives or does not arrive at his own destiny – the place that is peculiarly his – depends on whether or not he finds the Kingdom within and hears the call to wholeness – or holiness. The man who hears that call does not have to scramble for a place in the scheme of things. He knows that there is a place which is his and that he can live close to the One who will show it to him. Life becomes his vocation.”

“Life becomes his vocation.” In other words, living well is the true purpose of your life. Everything else – conditions, circumstances, events, are all incidental. Your purpose is to seek God and follow Him. Do that, and all the rest of life will fall into place.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You are responsible for your worldview

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship – the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for your worldview”

Each of us is personally responsible for our mindset. Our perspective on things, the way in which we choose to view the world around us, and the way in which we choose to approach life, is all up to us. This is often referred to as our “worldview”.

A worldview is an all-encompassing perspective on everything that matters. It represents our most fundamental beliefs about the most important questions regarding God, creation, human existence, values, ethics, and morals. It’s the lens through which we view and understand the world around us, and it’s the basis upon which we make our decisions about what is right and wrong and how we will conduct ourselves in this world.

The problem is that many people don’t think through, at a deep level, what their worldview is and why they believe it to be correct and good. Many people simply drift along with the cultural tide, and they end up conforming to the pressures put upon them by society to think and act in certain ways. In other words, they allow their worldview to be defined for them by the culture.

For Christians our worldview, our system of values, ethics, and morals, has been worked out for us by God. In the Bible God gives us the framework within which we are to view, evaluate, understand, and interact with the world around us. Therefore, we compare everything we hear and observe against what the Bible says, and then we make decisions about right and wrong, and about our own behavior, based upon what the Bible says not on what the culture says.

That was exactly the point Joshua was making to the Jews in Joshua 24:15 (above). He told them that they could base their worldview and their behaviors on what they were seeing and hearing from the culture around them if they wanted to, but as for him and his family, “we will worship the Lord.” Joshua had a choice to make regarding his worldview, and he decided that his would be Biblical. He chose a God-honoring worldview based upon God’s commandments.

How about you? Where does your worldview come from? Make no mistake, you do have one (whether you’ve thought it through at a deep level or not), and you are fully responsible for it. If you are a committed disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ than you should be living with a Biblical worldview. (By the way, regular attendance in a good church goes a long way towards helping to form and maintain an accurate and dependable Biblical worldview. I hope to see you on Sunday!)

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Life in a good church helps

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Life in a good church helps”

By way of review, we spent all of last month considering matters of personal responsibility that God has revealed to us in the Bible. We learned that they create a pattern of living God calls His people too which will honor Him, bless others, and create for us our best life possible. We’re continuing our study of those lifestyle habits in February.

However, to guard against simply creating a New Testament version of Old Testament legalism, it’s essential that we understand these matters of personal responsibility as guidelines for living, rather than as a checklist of dos and don’ts. They help to create the conditions within which our relationship with God flourishes, and we will then find ourselves living our best life. God gives us these matters of personal responsibility for our own benefit.

But we need help creating those nurturing conditions within which our relationship with God will flourish, and that’s where life in a good church family can comes in. A good church creates an atmosphere where prayer, study, worship, and service are taught, modeled, and exercised. For instance, in the Old Testament passage cited above, from Micah 6:8, we find a general approach to the life of faith which includes justice (fair treatment of all); mercy (kindness and compassion, especially towards those who are suffering); and a humble attitude before God (a healthy relationship with Him). Life in a good church helps to create those conditions.

By way of example, as I’ve mentioned before, at Oak Hill Baptist our church life is based on the Acts 1:8 model of ministry. This model leads us, as a congregation, to be continuously involved in ministry projects outside the walls of our church buildings in our community, state, country, and in the world. Therefore, although we do pay close attention to keeping our internal church life healthy and vibrant, our primary focus is on others rather than on ourselves, it is outward rather than inward.

That’s consistent with the guidance God gives through the words of Micah, and it goes a long way towards helping us to stay spiritually healthy and vibrant. As a church and as individuals we’re involved in something larger than ourselves, something that truly matters and which makes a real difference. That’s the kind of life God wants His people to live.

Life in a good church helps to create the conditions within which a deep relationship with God is nurtured and grows. It’s the kind of help we need and therefore I encourage you to gather with your church family this Sunday.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You must create the right conditions

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ but then not do the things that I say?” John 8:36 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You have to create the right conditions”

You probably noticed that I’ve used the same Bible verse today that I used yesterday. I did so on purpose because we haven’t fully answered Jesus’ question yet. Why do we proclaim Him to be Lord but then not live in the way He has instructed us to live? And why is this so important?

In her book “Teaching a Stone to Talk”, author Annie Dillard wrote about our personal responsibility to structure our lives in such a way that we create the conditions within which we can grow in Christ and live our best life. She wrote:

“God does not demand that we give up our personal dignity, that we throw ourselves in with random people, that we lose ourselves and turn from all that is not Him … It is life with God that demands these things. Experience has taught (us) that if knowledge of God is the end, then these habits of life are not the means but the condition in which the means operate. You do not have to do these things … unless you want to know God. They work on you not on Him. You (also) do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary.”

Annie’s point is that God does not insist, for His own sake, that we give up our own will for His, or that we align ourselves with other believers in church families, or that we commit our full lives to Him, or any of the other ways in which the Bible instructs us to live. He calls for those things for our sakes not for His. Annie goes on to explain that if you want to know God deeply, experience Him fully, and live your best life, then there are conditions you will need to establish in order for that relationship with God to develop. Just like if you want to view the stars you will need go outside into the dark, so too if you want the life God wants for you, there are conditions you will need to establish in your life so that relationship can develop and flourish.

In John 8:36 Jesus asked those who profess faith in Him why they were not following through by creating the conditions that would allow for the development of the very relationship they were claiming to desire. Doing so is a matter of personal responsibility for all of us. It’s also a matter of choice. Do you remember yesterday’s devotional? We have been set free by Jesus to do this. But the question is “Do you want that life?” If so, then you must create the conditions for it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You are free to live your best life

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You are free to live your best life”

In John 8:36 Jesus was explaining that those who have placed their faith in Him and who follow Him as Lord have been set free. We are set free from being a slave to sin, and we are set free from legalism.

This is important, especially as we continue to consider this issue of our personal responsibility for the things revealed to us by God in the Bible. If we aren’t careful, our understanding and application of these matters can become little more than a New Testament version of Old Testament legalism. We can replace an old system of rules and regulations with a new system of rules and regulations. But Jesus sets us free from that.

Although I’ve used this illustration many times before, it’s still the best I know of to explain the concept of freedom in Christ and therefore I’ll repeat it here. When Professor Dallas Willard’s children were young, he used to send them out to play in the fenced-in backyard. Once they were out there, they could choose for themselves if they wanted to swing on the swing set, play in the sandbox, throw a ball, sit under a tree and read a book, or any number of other activities. As long as they behaved themselves in accordance with the standards of behavior established by their father, and as long as they stayed within the boundaries of the fenced-in backyard, they were free to choose all the rest of it for themselves.

That’s the kind of freedom Jesus has given to us in life. There are Biblical boundaries we have to stay within, and there are acceptable standards of conduct we are to observe, but beyond that, we’re free to choose the details and specific activities for ourselves.

Now with that thought in mind, let’s go back and apply it to our theme of personal responsibility for the things revealed to us by God in the Bible. For instance, we have a personal responsibility for our own spiritual growth. We are to pray, read the Bible, participate in group worship, serve in ministry, etc. But there are different ways to pray – so choose the one that works best for you; there are many translations and formats of the Bible – choose one that you like; there are a lot of churches to choose from in every community – find the one that’s right for you; there are lots of ways to serve in ministry – so try different ones.

You get the idea. As a follower of Christ, that freedom of choice applies to all of life. The personal responsibilities given to us by God are general in nature, they’re guidelines and boundaries we’re to stay within. But beyond that, you get to choose.

Legalism? I think not. This is freedom – freedom to live the best life possible. So, just stay within the boundaries, follow the guidelines, and enjoy!

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You have to want to do it

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and don’t do the things I say?” Luke 6:46 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You have to want to do it”

In yesterday’s devotional I noted that God wants us to have a good life that’s rewarding, fulfilling, and meaningful in significant ways. In the Bible He has given us the guidelines for living such a life. This isn’t legalism or a detailed list of dos and don’ts. It’s a description of the kind of life the Holy Spirit forms in us over a lifetime as we submit to Him and allow Him to mold us and shape us into the people God wants us to be. As that life develops, we will see certain patterns of living emerging.

Last month we learned that the most important matter of personal responsibility we have is responsibility for our own spiritual growth. The quality of all the rest of life depends on this and there are things we have to do in order to help facilitate it. We also considered other important issues like being deeply involved in the life of a good church family; intentionally participating in acts of ministry in order to serve and bless others; giving thought to and exercising control over our speech; avoiding needless arguments and protecting the unity of the Christian community; being good stewards of the resources God has entrusted us with; and more.

All of those things describe a life that is being lived well, a life that honors God and blesses others. But we have to want that. If we’re going to accept our personal responsibility to live in the ways God has revealed to us in the Bible, it will have to be because we want to. It will be because we want the life God wants us to have, and we’re willing to do the things He has told us to do and live in the ways He has told us to live.

But this is precisely where so many Christians fail, and that’s exactly what Jesus was referring to in Luke 6:46 (above). We call Him, “Lord, Lord’ but then we don’t do the things He tells us to do and we don’t live in the ways He tells us to live. Why? Is it because we don’t know? Of course not. We know. We’ve read the Bible. We know what it says. We’ve heard the sermons, participated in Bible study groups, read the daily devotional messages. What is it then?

It’s a matter of attitude and motivation. We have to want that life and we have to be willing to live within the Biblical boundaries. This is both easy and hard. It’s easy in that it’s not rocket science – it’s not hard to understand. In the Bible God is pretty clear about His guidelines for living. But it’s hard because it requires a change of heart on our parts.

Therefore, before we go any further considering Biblical boundaries and matters of personal responsibility, we’ll pause to spend a few days prayerfully considering attitude and motivation.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s not supposed to be like that

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s not supposed to be like that”

You may be familiar with the famous quote from the American poet and writer Henry David Thoreau, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” What he was referring to is how it is that many people just endure life. They shuffle through their days with a deep-seated sense of despair and disappointment, wanting life to be better, fantasizing about it getting better, but with little real hope that it will get better.

King Solomon expressed similar feelings in Ecclesiastes 1:2: “Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” And then there’s this dark and dismal observation from Shakespeare’s character Macbeth, “Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

For all three of them life seemed difficult, meaningless, and inconsequential. It was brief and full of nothing. But it’s not supposed to be like that. I like the quote from the Christian writer and philosopher William James better, “The great use of life is to spend it on something that outlasts it.”

James was on to something important there. The secret to a full and satisfying life is to live it with purpose and passion, involved in things that truly matter. This is exactly the life Jesus was calling us to in John 8:12 (above). He said that if we follow Him, living the way God has revealed to us in the Bible, we won’t be living in the spiritual darkness described by Thoreau and Solomon and Macbeth. And to make sure we didn’t miss that point, Jesus said it again, just two chapters later, in John 10:10, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

This is precisely why God has revealed to us in the Bible so many issues that He has made matters of personal responsibility for us. He has shown us how to live so we can have the best life possible. Those matters of personal responsibility that God has given to us are for our own benefit. It’s in our own best interest to do those things so that our lives won’t be meaningless and wasted. And there are so many more that we have not yet considered this month. Therefore, I’ve decided to extend the theme of personal responsibility into the month of February.

None of us wants to live a life of meaninglessness and quiet desperation, or a life full of sound and fury but ultimately signifying nothing – and God doesn’t want us to live that way either. It’s simply not supposed to be that way. In the Bible God tells us how to live a full, rich life that is meaningful and satisfying.

The Christian rapper Toby Mac sings, “There are no practice runs in life. This is not a test!” And he’s right. This is the real thing. There are no do-overs. So, let’s be sure we get this right and let’s not waste it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim