Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: ‘God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” Ecclesiastes 7:29 (TEV)   Our thought for today: “There is beauty in simplicity”   The older I get the more I find myself valuing simplicity. In my personal life, in the life of the church, in the practice of the Christian faith, simplicity can be of great value and can make things better. If we allow it to, life can become very complicated. And generally, the more complicated it gets, the less we enjoy it. The more tangled and frenzied our affairs become, the less time we spend savoring and enjoying life.   G.K. Chesterton lived in England from 1874-1936. He was perhaps the most prolific Christian writer of his day. He was the author of over 100 books. He also wrote newspaper columns, magazine articles, and he was a popular speaker. Chesterton was a very large man – robust, enthusiastic, jolly, and fun. He had a sharp wit, great humor, and was sort of the British version of Mark Twain. He had something to say about everything from Christian apologetics, to politics, to social issues, and more. He even wrote a popular detective series known as “The Father Brown” detective stories.   Chesterton was also an advocate of simplicity. He believed there is goodness and beauty in simplicity that is missed when life gets too complicated. He once wrote, “The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy … Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again”, and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon … The repetition in Nature many not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.”   There is goodness and beauty found in simplicity. God has made much of His creation simple and beautiful, but I wonder how much of the beauty we miss because we have made ourselves so complicated, so busy. When was the last time you said “Do it again, Lord” and then simply relaxed and enjoyed it when He did?   I encourage you to try to be a little less complicated today. There is beauty found in simplicity.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Remember 9/11”   This morning I want to share with you some excerpts from the devotional remarks delivered by President George W. Bush at the Episcopal Cathedral in Washington D.C. on the National Day of Prayer, on September 14, 2001, just three days after 9/11:   “It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves. This is true of a nation as well. In this trial, we have been reminded and the world has seen that our fellow Americans are generous and kind, resourceful and brave.   We see our national character in rescuers working past exhaustion, in long lines of blood donors, in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and serve in any way possible.   Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called, “the warm courage of national unity.” This is a unity of every faith and every background. It has joined together political parties and both houses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayer and candlelight vigils and American flags, which are displayed in pride and waved in defiance. Our unity is a kinship of grief and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world. America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for, but we are not spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom. They have attacked America because we are freedom’s home and defender, and the commitment of our Fathers is now the calling of our time.   On this National Day of Prayer and remembrance, we ask Almighty God to watch over our nation and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come. As we’ve been assured, neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth can separate us from God’s love.1 May He bless the souls of the departed. May He comfort our own. And may He always guide our country. God bless America.   9/11 was a tragedy of immense proportions. But in its aftermath, we were united as a country in ways we haven’t been since then. Pray that God would heal our divided nation and bring us together again in ways that truly honor Him.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “Isn’t this the carpenter?” Mark 6:3 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “What you do matters, if you do it for the Lord”   This morning I want us to continue thinking about the lesson we learned from the example of Brother Lawrence in yesterday’s devotional. Lawrence was a simple man performing simple tasks as a cook, dishwasher, and general helper in a monastery. But in the midst of that simple life filled with simple tasks, he had such a deep and meaningful relationship with God that he became famous for it, and Christians are still learning from his example more than 400 years later.   This is important because sometimes we tend to think less of people and professions that are not what we deem to be high profile and important. That was the case with Jesus. He spent most of his life as a carpenter in a small remote village. When He began His public ministry, some people dismissed him with the scornful observation, “Isn’t this the carpenter?”   Billy Graham had an insight about this which I believe is helpful and important. He wrote, “Do you tend to downplay the work you do? ‘I’m only a housewife … I’m just a plumber … I teach school … I’m merely a clerk in a grocery store … I make my living as an accountant.’ But if God gave you that skill, and you are where He wants you to be, then your work is valuable and significant in His sight.”   Moses had something to say about this as well. In Exodus 36:1 we read, “Every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability … is to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.” So, if God gave you the skill to teach students, to fix a busted pipe, to be an accountant, or whatever it is you do, then accept that gift with joy and thanksgiving and do your job well.   Billy went on: “Another thought to ponder: What kind of carpenter do you suppose Jesus was? Did the doors fall off His cabinets? Do you suppose He took shortcuts or did just barely enough to get by? No, of course not. The Bible says, ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.’ (Colossians 3:23)”   Thank God for who you are and for what you can do. Then, go do it with enthusiasm and joy, and do it very, very well because you’re really doing it for the Lord not for people.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men … It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23; 24 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Enjoy the continuous presence of God”   Over the last few days, we’ve been considering God’s call to us to encounter Him in deep and personal ways. Often, we will find a quiet place away from other people so we can be alone with Him. We also engage in extended times of prayer, meditation on Scripture, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines which help us to go deeper with God. While all of those are good things, and they are helpful in our efforts to create a deeper encounter with God, there is another way.   Nicholas Herman was a young man who lived in Paris in the 1600s. He was a poor peasant and a simple man with no special skills or abilities. But he did love the Lord and He had a strong desire to serve Him. So, he entered a Carmelite monastery, changed his name to Brother Lawrence, and spent the rest of his life working in the kitchen cooking, washing pots and pans, and serving the other monks by doing a variety of simple chores around the monastery.   What Brother Lawrence is remembered for, and became famous for even in his own day, was his unique ability to enter into deep and intimate fellowship with God even in the busyness of all his everyday activities. As he was cooking, cleaning, and going about his regular activities, he had an ongoing conversation with God about all of it. His relationship with God was so deep, so real, so natural, and so observable, that people from around France traveled to the monastery to learn from him. After he died, his lessons were compiled in a small book called “The Practice of the Presence of God”, which has never been out of print in more than 400 years. Here is some of what Lawrence taught:   “The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees … I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on a habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy.”   “It is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelet in the pan for the love of God … The most holy and important practice in the spiritual life is the presence of God – that is, every moment to take great pleasure that God is with you.”   Whatever it is you do today, do it for the Lord and do it with the Lord. He is there with you so talk to Him, and enjoy His presence.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your billows have swept over me. The Lord will send his faithful love by day; his song will be with me in the night – a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42:7-8   Our thought for today: “God is calling you explore the depths”   In a previous devotional message in this series, we learned from King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God created us with a sense of eternity in our hearts. Deep down we intuitively know that God exists and that we were made for more than just this lifetime. Yesterday we considered the insight from author Jim Peterson that the Christian life is an adventure of seeking and discovery as we continue to experience God in deeper and more intimate ways. Seeking Him and finding Him is the adventure of living the Christian life.   This morning I want to continue that thought by sharing a thought with you from pastor and author Chuck Swindoll. In his great little book “Intimacy with the Almighty: Encountering Christ in the secret places of your life” Chuck writes:   “Deep things are intriguing. Deep jungles. Deep water, deep caves and canyons. Deep thoughts and conversations. There is nothing like depth to make us dissatisfied with superficial, shallow things. Once we have delved below the surface and had a taste of the marvels and mysteries of the deep, we realize the value of taking the time and going to the trouble of plumbing those depths. This is especially true in the spiritual realm. God invites us to go deeper rather than to be content with surface matters.”   This is what the Psalmist was describing in Psalm 42:7-8. It’s the deep things of God calling to the deep things in man and drawing us to Himself – inviting us to explore the depths of His mysteries. This is that little bit of eternity in our hearts that Solomon wrote about, responding to the call of our Eternal Heavenly Father. It’s the restless heart Augustine wrote about, seeking rest in God. It’s the vacuum in the heart, the empty space that Pascal described which can only be filled by God, seeking to be filled with the presence of God. It’s the deep things of God calling to the deep longing in man and drawing us to Himself.    God is calling to you this morning. He’s speaking to that deep place in your heart. He’s inviting you to come, explore, discover, and be satisfied. Are you listening? Can you hear Him? He doesn’t shout, He whispers. The call is soft, it’s subtle, it’s for those who have the desire to know Him and who are willing to take the time to seek Him.   I encourage you to go to Him now. He is calling you.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “God always has something more for us.”   Ephesians 1:3 is a somewhat mysterious verse of Scripture. Paul says that God has blessed us with “every” spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. Seriously? All of the spiritual blessings in the heavens are ours in Christ? That seems like a lot. Actually, it seems impossible. How could this be?   Jim Peterson was the International Vice-President for the Navigators ministry. He spent much of his life helping the Navigators establish a thriving ministry presence throughout Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. He was also the author of the book “Lifestyle Discipleship: The Challenge of Following Jesus in Today’s World”. In that book, Jim shared an insight that helps to explain what Paul was getting at in Ephesians 1:3. Jim wrote,   “One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the infinite opportunity for spiritual growth. But however much we have matured, there is always more beyond. It is in this that we find the adventure of living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.”   What Paul meant in Ephesians 1:3 is that all of heaven is ours. Someday, eventually, nothing will be hidden from us. All will be revealed, all will be understood, and we will get to experience it all. That’s true. But until then, as Jim Peterson explained, our walk with Christ is a continuous unfolding adventure of discovery and growth. And no matter how much we have learned and experienced, no matter how much we think we have matured, God always has something more for us. All the mysteries and glories of life in Christ are ours, just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed, but it’s more than we will ever be able to take-in and absorb in this lifetime. The completion of the adventure and the fulfillment of the discovery won’t happen until we get to heaven.   So, no matter how much you have discovered so far, there is still more waiting for you. A lot more. This is the great adventure of the Christian life. It’s an adventure of discovery as we go deeper and deeper into the mysteries of God until eventually, one day in heaven, it will all be ours.   Tomorrow we’ll look to another modern-day Christian for more insight into this adventure of going deeper and deeper into the mysteries of God. His name is Pastor Chuck Swindoll.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “God created you for Himself”   Just as a reminder, all this month we’re exploring “great thoughts from great Christians.” The reason we’re doing so is because we can learn a lot about God from the experience and insights of others. Quoting Leighton Ford, “I surround myself with the thoughts of those who have thought much about God.” So, this morning let’s consider another deep and profound insight from a great Christian of a different era.   Augustine of Hippo, also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian, philosopher, and the bishop of Hippo in Roman North Africa around 400 A.D. He was one of the great thinkers in early Christianity. Commenting on Ecclesiastes 3:11 Augustine once wrote, “You have created us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless, searching, until we find our rest in you.”   What Augustine meant is that in the human heart there’s a deep and innate understanding that we were created for more than just this lifetime. God created us with a little bit of eternity in our hearts. Each person is in reality a spirit-being who will live forever. Although our spirit currently inhabits this physical body, and although this physical body will one day die, our spirit will exist for eternity, and the spirit knows it. The spirit longs for eternity, and for the God of eternity.     That’s why virtually every culture that has ever existed in the history of the human race has had a belief in the spirit world and an afterlife. It’s because God created humans with a sense of eternity in our hearts. Deep down we all know that there must be more than just this lifetime.   This is the great truth Augustine was striving to help us understand. The human heart is restless, searching, until it finds its rest in God. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal once expressed the same truth in a slightly different way, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the human heart that can only be filled by God.”   God created human beings to be in relationship with Him. Therefore, nothing in all creation will fill that place in our hearts. This is such an important understanding that we will continue to consider it tomorrow. This time we will consider the words of another great Christian, a man who lived more than 1600 years after Augustine and 400 years after Pascal. His name is Jim Peterson.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “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.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “God often lets us choose for ourselves”   Dallas Willard is in heaven now but during his lifetime he served as a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California. He was also a pastor, the mentor of pastors, and the author of many important books about living the Christian life well. In his book, “Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God” Dallas shared an insight that was very helpful to me as a young Christian regarding this business of hearing God and understanding his will.   Up to that point I believed that God wants to direct my every thought, word, and deed. Therefore, I was looking for explicit instructions about how to earn a living, and what to have for breakfast; how to raise my children, and how to mow my lawn. I really thought God had something specific to say about all of it and I was frustrated that I wasn’t hearing from Him like that. Then I read this from Dallas Willard: “Generally speaking we are in God’s will whenever we are leading the kind of life he wants for us. And that leaves a lot of room for initiative on our part, which is essential: our individual initiatives are central to his will for us.”   Dallas illustrated that important truth with an example from how he parented his children. When they were young, he would often send them out to play in the fenced backyard. There were some basic rules, such as they were to stay within the boundaries of the backyard and they were to behave themselves according to the standards of conduct he had taught them. But beyond that, they were then to choose for themselves if they wanted to play in the sandbox, swing on the swings, play with the dog, throw a ball, sit under a tree and read, or any number of other activities. Any of those choices on their part were just fine with their father, as long as they stayed within the established boundaries of location and conduct.   Dallas’ point was that as their father he wanted his children to learn how to use their minds and to make good choices. He didn’t want to dictate every thought, word, and deed for them. He wanted them to learn to think for themselves. And that’s how God deals with us. He gives us boundaries we are to stay within, but then He gives us the freedom to think for ourselves and to make choices. He wants us to learn how to use our free will in ways that honor Him and which bring us a sense of joy and fulfillment in life. As the old saying goes, “God gave you a mind and He doesn’t mind if you use it once in a while.” He was the One who created us with intellect and free will and the ability to reason things out and to make good choices.   As Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches, if your heart is right and you truly do want to honor God, just stay within Biblical boundaries, use your judgment to think things through, make the choice that seems best and most appealing to you, then relax and enjoy life.   God often lets us choose for ourselves.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “He who belongs to God hears what God says.” John 8:47 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “The Bible proves that God does speak to us”   Let me assure you that if you are a Christian then you have heard God speak. You probably didn’t hear an audible voice, but you did hear Him speak. God speaks to His people. He speaks in many different ways but one thing that is certain, He does speak.   In “Experiencing God: Knowing and doing the will of God”, Henry Blackaby wrote, “One truth that is evident throughout the Bible is that God speaks to His people.” That’s an important truth. The Bible itself is God speaking to us through His written Word. But then, all throughout the Bible, we get example after example of God speaking to His people in multiple and varied ways. He spoke through a burning bush; He spoke in dreams; He spoke through angels; He spoke through the mouth of a donkey; He spoke from a cloud; and from a pillar of fire. He spoke through His creation, and He spoke through His Son. He spoke through prophets, preachers, teachers, song leaders, and through regular everyday people. On page after page, we get example after example of God speaking to His people.   And He continues to speak to us today. If you are His then He has spoken to you – many times and in many ways. Even if you didn’t know He was speaking, He was and He continues to. The question isn’t “if” He is speaking to you, the question is whether or not you are listening. The question is also whether or not you have learned how to hear Him.   As Henry teaches in Experiencing God, God can communicate with us in an infinite number of ways, and many of them are one-time events that are unique to the individual (Moses and his burning bush). But with that said, in our day there are five basic ways in which God most often speaks. They are through the Bible; through prayer; through our circumstances; through words of counsel from wise Christian friends; and through the testimony of the church.   We don’t have the time or space to explore those five ways in this devotional. That’s something you will need to do on your own. I encourage you to get a copy of “Experiencing God: Knowing and doing the will of God” and work through that 90-day Bible study. It could very well revolutionize your relationship with God just as it did for me almost thirty years ago. But the important truth for us this morning is that God does and is speaking to us because He wants to be heard and He wants to be understood.    Tomorrow I will share with you another important insight about this business of hearing God when He’s speaking to you. It’s another great thought from another great Christian. This time from a man by the name of Dallas Willard.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”   Our Bible verse for today: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3   Our thought for today: “God wants to be heard and understood by His people”   Henry Blackaby spent decades as a pastor, preacher, teacher, church planter, mission team leader, and author. He was the pastor of churches in the United States and Canada. He helped to start mission churches in remote regions of Canada and he started a Bible college which has since grown into a full seminary. But Henry is best known for being the author of the Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and doing the will of God”.   I was fortunate to participate in that study early in my Christian walk and it was a formative experience for me. Of all the wonderful nuggets of inspiring spiritual insights that Henry shares in that study the one that caught my attention and captured my imagination the most was this, “One of the most exciting truths in all of scripture is that God wants to be heard and understood by His people.”   God wants to be heard and He wants to be understood. Hearing from God isn’t a mystery and it’s not a riddle that must be solved or a puzzle we must piece together. God wants to be heard so He can be understood and then obeyed. He reaches out to us. He goes out of His way to communicate in ways we can understand, to capture our hearts, and to hold our attention.  Jeremiah 33:3 is true. If we call to God, He will answer us. If we desire to understand Him and His ways, He will help us to hear and understand. If we want a deep relationship with Him, He was already wanting one with us first.   God is the initiator, the motivator, and the primary actor in this relationship. He wants it more than we do. All we have to do is cooperate with Him in the ways He has provided for us, which will then lead us into that deep and intimate relationship with Him.   This is exciting news! It certainly excited me when I first heard it. What a great insight from a great Christian. Thank you, Henry Blackaby. Tomorrow we will take this a step further and consider the ways in which God speaks to us so that He can be understood by us.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.