Oak Hill Baptist Church

God created you for Himself

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

God often lets us choose for ourselves

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

The Bible proves that God speaks to us

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

God wants to be heard and understood

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

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