Oak Hill Baptist Church

Great thoughts from great Christians

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Great thoughts from great Christians”

Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise …” Proverbs 13:20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Surround yourself with the thoughts of the wise”

Leighton Ford was the brother-in-law of Billy Graham. He worked with Billy for a long time in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, but he also had a wide-ranging and successful ministry of his own through Leighton Ford Ministries. He was also a successful author.

Speaking of his own devotional life Leighton once said, “I surround myself with the thoughts of those who have thought much about God.” What he meant was that throughout the ages of Christian history there have always been men and women who had spent long years, decades, and entire lifetimes, thinking about God, studying His Word, praying, and seeking to know Him better. They were men and women who, like King David, were after God’s own heart.

We can learn much from people like that. When a man or woman of God has spent decades of their life thinking deeply about God – seeking Him, learning, growing, and experiencing God in deep and profound ways, they have much to share with the rest of us. This is what Leighton Ford was referring to.

Without question, the primary and most important way we learn about God and grow in our relationship with Him is through our personal study of the Bible. The Bible is God’s primary means of communicating with us. But the second most important way we learn about God is from others. That’s why we listen to sermons, participate in group Bible studies, and sing songs about God and to God that were written by others. It’s why we read books and magazine articles and daily devotional messages. When we do so, we’re surrounding ourselves – immersing ourselves, in the thoughts of those who have thought much about God.

All this month I want to share with you what I consider to be great thoughts from great Christians. These are nuggets of spiritual wisdom that I’ve come across in my own years of seeking and study which have spoken powerfully to me and which I have found to be insightful and helpful. Many of the thoughts come from relatively modern Christian men and women from the last couple of hundred years. Others are ancient, even thousands of years old. But they all have one thing in common – they are great thoughts from great Christians.

Let’s spend the month together surrounding ourselves with the thoughts of those who have thought much about God.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Laugh Again

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Philippians 4:19-20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Laugh Again”

As we conclude our month-long study about learning to laugh again, I want to revisit a few of the key themes we’ve considered.

One is that concern about physical needs and financial issues is one of the big joy-stealers in life. In Philippians 4:19-20 the Apostle Paul made a pretty bold statement about the provision of God in our lives. Please note that he wrote about God providing for “all” of your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. That’s a pretty all-inclusive statement. It’s similar to that great passage in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus taught us about the sovereignty of God. He said that your Father in heaven is aware of your every need. He has the power to provide for you, and He is committed to doing exactly that. That understanding should relieve us of a lot of stress and anxiety.

Another lesson we learned is that laughter is good medicine, but a heavy spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22). A heavy spirit makes you sour and grumpy. Laughter lightens things up and makes you feel better. Happy people are healthy people. Even if your body is sick, your spirit is healthy. Laughter is good medicine.

Many of our devotional messages this month were about the importance of being intentional about being happy (Psalm 118:24). You can’t always choose your circumstances but you can always choose your attitude about your circumstances. I encourage you to go back and review some of the strategies we discussed for being intentionally joyful in your outlook and attitude.

We also considered the brevity of life (Psalm 39:4-5) and the value of time (2 Corinthians 7:2). Life is too short and our time is too valuable to waste it in trivial pursuits or with a negative attitude. Life is also too short to live small or to whine about getting old. A great question once asked by Pastor Chuck Swindoll is “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” In other words, you’re as young as you feel. Laughter and a light-hearted spirit keep you feeling young.

Finally, this month I’m reminded of how much joy I personally receive from my little sissy dogs that I told you about in a previous devotional. But not everyone has that kind of a positive experience with their pets. I remember a story told the comedian Rodney Dangerfield. His childhood experiences with his dog were not happy. The dog’s favorite bone was Rodney’s arm. The dog was also evidently an Egyptian breed because he left little pyramids everywhere he went. And perhaps worst of all, Rodney’s parents had to tie a pork chop around his neck just to get the dog to play with him!

That’s sad! My prayer for you is that you have more to laugh about in your life than poor Rodney had in his. As the song says, “Don’t worry, be happy!” You bring glory to God when you live with joy.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

What do you choose to remember?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you …” Philippians 1:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “What do you choose to remember?”

Thoughts of my mother make me smile. She was such a kind-hearted soul. She smiled a lot, laughed easily, she was sensitive and considerate, and she was an easy person to talk to. Even as a troubled teenager I would sit with her for hours and just talk.

My mom was also my best playmate for most of my childhood. She was the one who taught me how to play baseball and football; she taught me how to build a snow fort and a tree fort; we played board games, hide-and-seek, and so much more. She taught me how to sew, how to bake, and how to do my own laundry. She was the greatest Mom ever!

But she wasn’t perfect. For one thing, she was a terrible housekeeper. Our house was seldom clean. (At least it was never clean for long. Not with six kids, two cats, a dog, a duck, and most of the neighborhood kids always at our house). No, our house was a mess. Mom did try to clean, occasionally, but seriously, it was a lost cause.

But it’s not the messy house or any of the other imperfections I usually remember. Instead, it’s all the good things, the fun things, the long talks, and the happy times that I remember. Those are the things I choose to remember. And it makes me smile.

Philippians is the most joy-filled, positive, and upbeat book in the Bible. In verse 1:3 Paul started it by revealing that his memories of the Philippians brought him thoughts of joy and thanksgiving. Thinking of them made him smile. But do you think Paul had only good and happy memories of them? The truth is that the Philippians were little different from you and me, and their church was the same as your church and my church. Those folks had their share of warts and pimples, they passed gas and had bad breath, they got grumpy and difficult – they were just people. But Paul chose to remember the good things about them. And that made him smile.

What do you choose to remember about people and places? You do have a choice, you know. You can decide to remember and dwell on the good stuff. You can choose the memories that will make you smile instead of frown.

For instance, I still remember the cartoon I saw years ago of the SWAT team that was called to a little church in a suburban neighborhood. There were police cars with flashing lights, officers in tactical gear with guns drawn, and a police helicopter hovering in the air. Finally, the door to the church opened, a deacon stepped out, he waved to the law enforcement officers and said, “Sorry everyone, it’s not a hostage situation. It’s just a really long sermon!”

The memory of that cartoon causes me to smile (and it helps me to keep my sermons short).

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Choose joy

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Choose Joy”

I read an interesting statement the other day about choosing joy. It read, “Without exception, people who consistently laugh do so in spite of, seldom because of anything. They pursue fun rather than wait for it to knock on their door in the middle of the day.”

I think the author is correct. People who are habitually happy, upbeat, and joyful – people who laugh easily and often, are that way on purpose. They’re intentional about it. It’s not that they don’t have issues, they do. And it’s not that their lives are problem free, they aren’t. It’s just that those people have chosen to be intentional about maintaining an upbeat and positive attitude. They’re not being naïve, they’re just “choosing” joy.

Is it really possible to be faced with problems, even serious problems, and to actually deal with them effectively and realistically without giving in to brooding and despondency? Evidently the Apostle Paul thought so. In Philippians 4:4 he issued a very direct command. There he told us to rejoice in the Lord always. And just to be sure we didn’t miss his strong emphasis he repeated, “I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Philippians is considered to be the most joy-filled letter in the entire Bible. This is especially significant and meaningful because Paul wrote it when he was an old man, sick and in prison, and probably facing execution for his faith. Therefore, we need to understand that Paul wasn’t telling us to ignore our problems or to pretend they don’t exist, he was simply telling us to not be defined by our problems and to not let them steal our joy. It is possible to deal with your problems head-on, embracing them in a constructive and positive way, and to still be happy about everything else in your life that’s good.

Speaking of dealing with annoying problems, did you know that churches in the Las Vegas area frequently receive casino chips in the offering plates? It’s true. They get lots of them. Especially the bigger churches. That was an irritating and troubling problem because the church treasurers then had to make the rounds to the different casinos so they could cash-in the chips. So, there were always lots of church treasurers cashing-in casino chips all over Las Vegas – and it didn’t look good.

But then an enterprising Franciscan monastery, located just outside of town, offered to be the collection point for all the chips received by the churches. One monk is then assigned to sort them by casino and to go cash them in. Can you guess what his title is? Why, the chip monk, of course.

May you find humor and joy in the midst of your problems and challenges today.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Pray about it

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Pray about it”

Many Christians are too serious. Some of us go through life with long faces and heavy hearts, dreading what the day might hold. Sometimes our burdens and concerns seem more than we can bear and our countenance reflects it. People see us coming and they know before we even open our mouth that things are bothering us.

But shouldn’t Christians live above their circumstances? With the power of the Holy Spirit in us, with the peace of Jesus pervading our hearts, and with the joy of salvation that is ours, shouldn’t we be able to handle the simple trials of life with a better attitude?

The answer of course is “yes”, we should be able to. It’s certainly true that in every life there will be major events that cause us pain and suffering, and there will be moments of discouragement and even depression, but overall, our lives should be characterized by a light-hearted joy, a sunny and whimsical personality, and laughter.

In Philippians 4:6-7 the Apostle Paul tells us how to achieve that. There he instructs us to pray about the things that are bothering us. It’s hard to remain downhearted and depressed if you really do bring your issue to God in prayer and then leave it there with Him. Like Paul says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

So, pray about it. You can even get creative about it. I recently read a story told by Pastor Chuck Swindoll about a woman he knew who desperately wanted to get married and have children. But at the age of 31 she was still single, with no man in sight. (This is a true story). So finally, she decided to get creative in her praying about this issue. She took a pair of men’s pants and hung them on the end of her bed. Then each night she prayed this:

“Father in heaven, hear my prayer, and grant it if you can.
I’ve hung these trousers here, as you can see, now please fill them with a man.”

No kidding, within a year she was married and she had her first child at the age of 32. But the story didn’t end there. Pastor Chuck said he told that story once as a sermon illustration. A couple of weeks later a father in the congregation approached him with a grin on his face and said, “When you told that story two weeks ago my teenage son was sitting next to me. I noticed that while the rest of us were laughing he just sat there looking thoughtful. Last night I went into his bedroom to say goodnight and I saw that he had a bikini hanging on the foot of his bed!”

So the lesson is, whatever circumstances you’re dealing with, pray about it (and you can even get creative with your praying).

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Think like you want to feel

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Think like you want to feel”

Mondays are my day off. This past Monday was sunny and warm so I went for a ride on my Harley along beautiful country roads. And it was beautiful. The trees and flowers are in bloom, the fields are a deep rich green, the rivers and creeks are full and flowing, wildlife is out – the scenery was gorgeous!

But suddenly I realized I wasn’t really seeing or appreciating it. Instead, my mind was dwelling on, mulling over, wrestling with, things that were bothering me. There were work issues, personal issues, social issues, political issues, an extra five pounds of belly fat that I can’t seem to get rid of. You get the picture.

Finally, I realized that I wasn’t really enjoying my time off on this beautiful day, and it was my own fault. I was allowing my mind to dwell on things I should not have been thinking about instead of relaxing and soaking-in the peaceful beauty all around me. And as a result, I was not feeling happy or relaxed. Instead, I was brooding and a little stressed.

The fact is that we are responsible for the things we allow our mind to dwell on. It’s true that what the mind dwells on is largely a factor of influences we have allowed into it, but even if we have surrounded ourselves with good influences, we still need to choose to focus on them rather than on negative things. You see, you can be riding a motorcycle in the country but be thinking about a work project. You can be listening to Christian praise music but be thinking about your annoying neighbor. You get my point.

In Philippians 4:8 Paul counsels us to fill our minds with good stuff, and to then actually dwell on that good stuff rather than on negatives. Do you want to be happy? Then think about things that make you happy. Do you want to laugh? Then think about funny things. Think like you want to feel. Dwell on the things that will achieve the frame of mind you desire.

And speaking of funny things that make you laugh, when I got home from that motorcycle ride – a little grumpy and disappointed because I didn’t take full advantage of it, I was met at the door by our two little sissy dogs (8 pounds each). When they saw me, they yipped and yapped in joy; they jumped up and down and one of them ran in a tight circle chasing her tail; they rubbed up against my ankles and stood on their hind legs waiting to be picked up; all while furiously wagging their tails. Their minds were fully focused on me, and to them I was the most important person in the world. They were just happy I was home and that’s all they were thinking about. As a result, they were filled with joy.

I remember thinking to myself as I enjoyed their attention, “Lord, help me to actually be the person my dogs seem to think I am.” And then I laughed because I realized that dogs are better at being happy than we are. And that made me laugh some more.

I encourage you to think like you want to feel. Dwell on things that make you happy.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Just love them

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Just love them”

I once heard a disgruntled pastor say to another pastor, “You know, the only thing wrong with churches is that they’re full of people!” Evidently he was having a tough day. Someone in his church was probably making things difficult for him and he was exasperated with them. Church life gets that way sometimes.

Some of the best advice I ever received about that came from my Pastor, Oren Teel. Oren was the man who baptized me as a new believer. He then discipled me, guided me into my first ministry assignments, and when I sensed a call to preach, he led the church to license me to preach. Oren also encouraged me to go to seminary and he then led our church to ordain me as I was being sent out to become the Pastor of my first church.

The advice he gave me went like this: “Just love your people, Jim. Congregations will forgive a lot if they know that you love them. They will put up with bad sermons; they will laugh at your silly jokes; they will even ignore your ugly ties; just as long as they know you love them.” And he was right. I haven’t always done this well, and I’m certainly not the most loving or most loveable pastor, but I do believe that underlying any success I’ve had in ministry over these decades has been my efforts to simply communicate love to people.

That’s also true for life in general. If you are a person who radiates warmth and love for others, people will respond positively to you and your relationships will be healthy. That will be true regardless of whether you are rich or poor, fat or skinny, good looking or not, and regardless of your skills, talents, abilities, or achievements. People will like you simply because you are likeable – and you will be so likeable because people will know that you love them.

Also, people who love easily and freely are the happiest people you will meet. A warm and loving heart makes for a happy person. If you simply love and accept others, you yourself will feel happy and mostly content. This is part of the lesson Jesus was teaching. Strive to love others fully and unconditionally just as He loves you. Not only is it an effective method of evangelism and a great witness to the world about the love of God, but it makes for a happy life for those who have learned to love like that.

But sometimes love can be confusing. For instance, have you ever wondered why a wife can wear one of her husband’s shirts and its okay, but if he wears one of her dresses suddenly it’s time to talk? I know, it’s confusing, and it doesn’t seem fair. But just love her anyway, leave the dress alone, and have a good day today.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

You need other people

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “God sets the lonely in families …” Psalm 68:6 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You need other people”

Our church (Oak Hill Baptist) is a very active church. We have mission trips and community service projects that take us, as a congregation, outside the walls of the church buildings to do things together for others. We also go kayaking and hiking together, we have a group of motorcycle riders, and we have lots of fun social activities. My point is that our church life is vibrant and alive. We’re actively on-mission with Jesus in the world and we have a lot of fun together in the process.

That’s actually an important aspect of church life and it helps us to understand why it’s so important for every Christian to be part of a good church family. Gathering with the church should be a time of spiritual nurture, healing, encouragement, blessings, laughing, loving, and fun. If your church isn’t like that then I encourage you to take the initiative to begin turning it into that. And if you don’t have a church home then visit with us. It won’t be long before you’ll feel right at home.

Psychologists tell us that one of the most troubling and saddest maladies that people suffer from is loneliness. Lonely people are much more likely to be unhealthy and to die younger than those who have lots of family and friends. Church should be a haven for lonely people. God leads lonely people to church so they will have friends and so they will be part of a family environment. And also, so they will have good reason to be upbeat, joyful, and to laugh a lot. If you want a good laugh, just hang around Oak Hill Baptist Church for a little while. We’ll fix you right up!

I read a statement recently that really caught my attention and helped to convince me all over again that we all need to be part of a good church family. It was a health study conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School. They tracked 7,000 people over nine years, studying their overall health and evaluating the conditions that produced that health in that person. Here’s what it said, “People who had bad health habits (such as smoking, poor eating habits, obesity, or alcohol use) but strong social ties lived significantly longer than people who had great health habits but were isolated.”

Do you understand what that means? Eating Twinkies with friends is better than eating broccoli alone! It’s true! The research proves it!

At Oak Hill Baptist Church the first Sunday of every month is “Donut Sunday” (I’m being serious, this is real – we feed everyone donuts on the first Sunday of every month). So there you have it, if you want to be happy and live a long life you need to come and eat donuts with us on Sundays.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

May your joy be complete

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” John 15:11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “May your joy be complete”

Each year around Easter we remember that on Friday Jesus died a terrible death on a cross. That was Friday, but Sunday was coming. On Saturday Jesus was in the grave and His followers were in mourning. That was Saturday, but Sunday was coming. On Sunday Jesus arose from the grave – and nothing has been the same since!

The resurrection changed everything, and that’s what we celebrate on Easter. But not just on Easter. The resurrection is a reality that we should remember and celebrate every day of the year. Death was defeated, and the promise of a glorious eternal life in heaven now belongs to all those who place their faith in the Resurrected Savior.

That in itself is reason enough for Christians to be overflowing with great joy. But that’s not the complete story, there’s more to it, and that was Jesus’ point in John 15:11. Eternal joy, as great as it will be, is only part of the story. The complete story must include the joy of Jesus in the life of the believer right now, in this life.

Are you experiencing the joy of Jesus in your life? All this month in our devotional series we’ve been exploring the concept of “Laugh Again”. The idea is that most of us don’t laugh enough and we don’t experience enough joy in life. Many of us have resigned ourselves to simply trudging through our days, wearing our circumstances like a heavy old coat, putting one foot in front of the other and simply getting through life. That shouldn’t be, and it’s not the life the Lord intends for us to experience.

In John 15:11 Jesus said that one of the purposes of His ministry was so that we might have His joy in our hearts, now and forever. That makes our joy complete. In Galatians 5:22-23 the Apostle Paul described for us what a life like that might look like. As the follower of Jesus embraces Him and learns to be more like Him, this is a picture of what it will look like: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” This is the “completion” Jesus was talking about. It’s about eternal life, that’s true, but it is also about fullness of life now.

Most devotionals in this series have ended with a joke or a whimsical thought, but no jokes this morning. Instead, I encourage you to simply spend a few moments thinking about the joy of Jesus in your life. I hope you are experiencing it in ever-increasing measure.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Cuddle up to that porcupine

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Cuddle up to that porcupine”

I love John Ortberg’s book, “Everybody’s Normal – Till You Get to Know Them”. It’s a great title that makes you grin and want to read the book. And sure enough, the title is a pretty good clue about the fun lessons that lie within.

The first chapter is entitled “The Porcupine’s Dilemma”. Porcupines need love too and they want to cuddle too, but when they get too close to each other there’s the danger of getting poked by a sharp quill. You see, if the porcupine gets a little agitated, for any reason, the quills come out and then someone is going to get poked.

Hello! Welcome to church. We’re all a bunch of porcupines with sharp quills. We need and want love, and we want to have good relationships with others in our church family, but if you get too close, and if someone gets a little agitated, the sharp quills might come out and someone is going to get poked.

The answer to our dilemma is found in Ephesians 4:1-3. There Paul urges us to consciously and intentionally live with humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love. He wrote it again in Colossians 3:12-13. There he put it this way: “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another.”

Rather than getting upset or annoyed at other people’s peculiar personality quirks, learn to laugh about them. Find amusement in the fact that we’re all a little weird. John Ortberg playfully illustrates this truth by explaining that if you were an item for sale in a department store, you would be featured on the bargain clearance table along with a sign that says “Slightly irregular. Flawed. Sold as is.”

The fact is that none of us are “normal”. We’re all flawed and we’re all annoying in some way. There really is no “normal”. So, lighten up and laugh about it.

By the way, if you’ve had to stand in a grocery store check-out line recently then perhaps you’ve seen the glaring headline on the front cover of a popular women’s magazine that reads, “Totally Normal Women Who Stalk Their Ex-Boyfriends!” Seriously? They stalk their ex-boyfriends but they’re totally normal? Evidently the dating scene has changed in the forty-five years since I’ve been in it! There must be a new normal these days!

I think I’ll just cuddle up to my sweet little wife and continue to appreciate her. It’s true that we’re both a little odd and occasionally annoying (me much more than her), and sometimes we’re like a couple of porcupines trying to be close without poking each other too much, but fortunately we’ve learned to just shrug it off and laugh about it. Like the Apostle says, we’re to “bear with each other in love”.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim