Oak Hill Baptist Church

Love is a verb

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: The power of hope”

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: “Love is a verb”

In its best tense, “love” is a verb. It’s an action word. It’s nice to say that you love someone but it’s better to show them your love with your actions. Demonstrations of love communicate in a much more powerful way than do words alone. Demonstrations of love can also give hope. Being on the receiving end of an act of Christian love, especially during a difficult time, can renew a person’s faith, lift their spirits, and give them hope.

Recently I learned about a deeply touching demonstration of love done for my family and I, which happened more than five months ago but which I only just found out about. As many of you know, last October I received a phone call informing me that our daughter Tracy had terminal cancer and had only a short time to live. I immediately got on a plane, flew to California, got Tracy out of the ICU, put her on a plane, and flew her to Tennessee. When we arrived in our town, I brought her to our local hospice center for evaluation and to be stabilized for a few days. Then we brought her to our home, where she died just days later.

What I didn’t know was that because hospice care is expensive, and because insurance only covers a small portion of it, the Hospice Center requires a fairly large cash down payment at the time of admission. However when I brought Tracy there, late at night after a long cross-country trip, no mention was ever made about a down payment being required. In the whirlwind of all that was going on at the time, the thought never occurred to me – not then or even later.

It was only recently I learned that while I was in the process of traveling cross-country with my dying daughter, some friends quietly went to the Hospice Center in advance of our arrival, paid the deposit for us, and never said anything about it. When Linda and I found out about it just the other day, the news brought tears to our eyes and we said a prayer of thanksgiving for such wonderful friends. Although the event took place five months ago, finding out about it now was a lift to our spirits at just the right time. God’s timing is always perfect.

In its best and most powerful tense, love is a verb. It’s an action word that is best demonstrated rather than spoken. When you demonstrate your love for someone by what you do, you bless them in that moment, but you also give them hope and assurance for the future. It’s wonderful to know that God has surrounded you with people who would do things like that for you.

I encourage you to be intentional about demonstrating your love for others. Such love is a great source of hope in a world that sometimes seems hopeless.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Your mess can become your message

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 1 Corinthians 1:4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Your mess can become your message”

Max Lucado has long been one of my favorite authors. Currently I’m re-reading what in my opinion is one of his best books, “You’ll Get Through This: Hope and help for your turbulent times”. The book is packed full of stories, scriptures, and promises, all designed to help us see the hand of God at work in the middle of our toughest times in life – and to help us remain hopeful and optimistic knowing that He is there, at work, and getting us through it.

In the chapter entitled, “Oh, so this is boot camp!”, Max refers to something the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:6, “You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials.” Peter was writing about how hard life can sometimes be but also, how it is that God uses such times to mold us and shape into the men and women He wants us to be. He will use our trials for His glory. The Apostle James explained it this way, “Consider it great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

God doesn’t cause most of the trials and struggles we go through in life. Usually those things are simply the result of living in a broken world that is filled with sin and sickness. God doesn’t cause those things, but He will use them for our growth and for His glory. That was Max’s point by naming his chapter, “Oh, so this is boot camp!” Like life, military boot camp can be hard. It forces the recruit to deal with trials and struggles, all of which are used by the instructors to train the person to be tougher, better, stronger, and more ready for service.

Max also says, “Your mess can become your message.” In other words, your current struggle can be a means for you to give honor and glory to God and, as Paul noted in 1 Corinthians 1:4 (above), God can and will use your current trials to give you a platform to provide comfort and hope to others who are also experiencing similar things.

With God you have the hope, the confident assurance, that you will get through this, and also that your mess can even become your message.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

The hope for a life that matters

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” John 15:5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The hope for a meaningful life”

Everyone has the desire to be successful in some way and at something – we all want to live a life that matters. However, not everyone agrees on what real success is. Many people believe success is measured in the accumulation of money and possessions. Others search for it in professional accomplishments or in popularity and fame. Success or failure is often determined by the scoreboard after time has expired at the end of a game.

All of those things are human measures of success and therefore they are all limited and temporary. But in John 15:5 Jesus clues us into another kind of success – success as measured by God.

In that passage Jesus compares His followers to branches on a grape vine. He says that just as the vine sends its nourishment and its very life out through the branches, and the branches therefore produce the vine’s fruit for it, so too Jesus lives His life through the lives of His faithful followers and they produce His fruit for Him. As long as the branch stays firmly attached to the vine, the life of the vine will flow through the branch and the fruit of the vine will grow from the branch.

Now there’s real success – the works of Jesus produced through your life! Suffering people comforted, needs met, the Good News preached, souls saved, and lives transformed. That’s what Jesus wants to accomplish through you. In fact, in John 5:16 He says that He actually chose you to be used by Him for that very purpose: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit…”

As a follower of Christ you have the hope – the confident assurance – of being used by Jesus to accomplish His works for Him. That’s true success as measured by God, and that is the hope you have. Regardless of any other metric the world may choose to use to measure the success and meaning of your life, if you have been fruitful for the cause of Christ on earth, yours will have been a life that mattered.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Hope in the Lord gives us courage

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.” Job 11:18 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “Hope in the Lord gives us courage”

In life attitude is everything. When you have a good attitude, you can accomplish much and you will go far. Sour, negative people seldom do well. That’s because in general, we tend to get what we expect. We attract to ourselves the things we believe will happen. And so, if you approach life with a negative and hopeless attitude, chances are that lots of bad things are going to keep coming your way. Conversely, if you are positive and optimistic, if you approach life with a bright and cheery disposition and you expect good things to happen, usually they will.

Being a hopeful person is an important attribute when it comes to living a full and successful life. A sense of hopelessness is a serious liability which will certainly hold you back and drag you down.

Nobody on earth has more reasons to be hopeful than the children of God. God has a great and wonderful plan for each of our lives (Jeremiah 29:11); He has promised to watch over us and care for us (Matthew 6:25-33); He is in the process of developing us into the people He wants us to be (Philippians 1:6); and He has a glorious eternity prepared for us in heaven (John 14:1-3).

It’s true, nobody has more reason to be hopeful, joyful, and positive than a Christian. Although it’s not possible or realistic to be happy and joyful all the time, our natural disposition and our overall approach to life should be hopeful.

Hoping and trusting in the Lord gives us the courage we need to face the future with confidence and with the expectation of good things to come.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Begin today to make a better tomorrow

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them … So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” Joel 2:19; 25 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “Begin today to make a better tomorrow.”

In the time of the Old Testament prophet Joel, the nation of Judah was devastated. Locust, like an invading army, had destroyed the crops. There was also a severe drought, and all of it was the nation’s own fault. God had sent the plagues as punishment for their disobedience and idolatry. They brought it all on themselves.

But then in the middle of chapter two Joel turns his attention to the not-to-distant future, to a time when the people would recognize their sinful ways, truly repent of their sins, and once again experience the blessings of God in their lives. Once they had turned back to Him, God would then send them grain, new wine, more oil, and they would be satisfied. He would restore to them the years the locust had eaten.

During my years as a Pastor I’ve known many people who have suffered greatly as a result of their own poor choices. Some have lost everything due to alcohol or drug addictions. Others have ruined their marriages through adultery. Some have lost good jobs because of poor job performance. Others have gone to prison for illegal activities.

But then in the midst of their misery and suffering they repented of their sins, turned back to Jesus, and began to experience the renewal and blessings that come with a life lived in obedience to the Lord. It’s always a joy to watch as the Lord begins to restore to them the years the locust of addiction, unfaithfulness, and criminal activities have eaten away. God heals, restores, and blesses to the point that soon, life is good again.

Maria Robinson once wrote “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

No matter what your past has been like, regardless of what your present situation is, your future can be wonderful if you live it with the Lord. You can begin today to make a better tomorrow. With the Lord there is always hope for a better tomorrow because He can restore the years the locusts have eaten.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

There is hope and healing for the depressed

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “There is hope and healing for the depressed.”

Should a Christian ever be depressed? Some people would answer that question “No, a Christian should never be depressed”. There seems to be the idea in some Christian circles that if you really have the Holy Spirit in your heart then you should be unfailingly upbeat, happy, content and perky.

But life isn’t all “happy, happy, joy, joy” and anyone who pretends to be happy all the time is faking it. Life is often hard, and sometimes things happen which hurt and disappoint us, and sometimes we get depressed. Yes, even Christians sometimes get depressed. Depression is a normal human emotion and we aren’t exempt from it. However, our Christian faith can help us to deal with it.

Dr. H. Norman Wright is a well-known Christian author and counselor. In his book “Crisis Care: Hope for the Hurting” he writes: “Depression is nothing more than a message system telling us that something else in our life is going haywire, and we need to listen to the message and deal with it.”

Depression always has a cause and once the cause is identified, it can usually be dealt with. Some depression is deep-seated and long-term and must be addressed professionally. Sometimes there are chemical imbalances in the brain which make a person more susceptible to depression. Such cases need medical intervention. But most depression is short-term and is just part of the normal human experience. Stressful situations, disappointments, hurt feelings, self-esteem issues, too little rest, health problems – they can all result in short periods of mild depression, and as Christians we aren’t exempt from such things. Those types of short-term circumstantially-based depressions can be dealt with.

One of the best resources I’ve come across for relying on our faith in Christ to help us deal with emotional lows is Dr. Neil Anderson’s classic book “Victory over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ”. It’s a very good study that helps us to live life based upon our identity in Christ rather than from our momentary emotional state.

There is good news. Our God provides comfort and help and hope for those in distress. There is hope and healing for the depressed.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

The hope for peace

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.” John 14:27 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “With Jesus there is always the hope for peace.”

Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of peace in the world today. According to the United Nations, at any given time there are approximately 120 armed conflicts taking place between nations and warring factions worldwide. Then there are the smaller acts of violence and conflict that take place in cities and towns all across the world – everything from armed robberies, rapes, murders and more. Then there are an incalculable number of fights and arguments going on between individual people. Nope, there’s not a lot of peace to be found in this world.

And yet, Jesus said He came to give us peace – His peace. So, is there evidence for the peace of Jesus in the world? Yes, I believe there’s plenty of evidence of it.

First, the peace of Jesus begins in the individual heart. My favorite evangelistic tool is Billy Graham’s little booklet “Steps to Peace with God.” Not only is it a clear and concise presentation of the plan of salvation, but I love the title, “Steps to Peace with God”. I want that. Everybody wants that. To be at peace with God is the starting place to being at peace with yourself, and then with the people around you. Getting right with Jesus will do that.

Once a person is at peace with God, then peace can then begin to spread. It spreads into the relationships you have with those closest to you, and then to those you meet. Eventually, it can spread exponentially as they then share His peace with others. Once a person has the peace of Jesus in their heart and begins to share that peace with others, there’s no telling what the impact will be.

It’s true that in many respects this is an evil, un-peaceful world. But imagine how bad it would be if it were not for the many millions of Christians already spreading the peace of Jesus in their neighborhoods, homes and workplaces. Despite all the evil and the fighting, there is also much good and much peace precisely because the peace of Jesus does reign and rule in the hearts of His followers.

With Jesus there is always the hope for peace. I encourage you to be a peacemaker today.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Praise Him in the prison

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:24-25 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Praise Him in the prison”

I love the scene Luke portrays for us in Acts 16:24-25. Paul and Silas were in the city of Philippi preaching the gospel. The enemies of God attacked them, severely beat them, and locked them up in the bowels of a filthy, stinking prison – with their feet in stocks so they couldn’t even move. Pretty tough stuff! They had been whipped until their backs were a bloody mess. Now they were sitting motionless with their feet locked in stocks for hours and hours.

How did they respond? The verse says that they sat there and had themselves a two-man worship service. They prayed and sang loud praises to God and witnessed to the other prisoners. Wow! Apparently they knew something about how to handle tough times.

Once, on a mission trip to the province of Transylvania in central Romania, our team was conducting free medical and dental clinics in remote Gypsy villages. In one village a little old lady invited some of us to come to her home. She was old, short, hunched-over, and had a weather-worn face. Her home was a small, dark, two room house that was made of cement and mud. The floor was concrete, the home was sparsely furnished, she was obviously very poor, and there was no indoor plumbing.

We sat at her table as she offered us cookies and a drink. She was a Christian and loved to talk about the Lord and as we talked, she absolutely glowed with joy and enthusiasm. Even in the midst of her grinding poverty she was joyful and generous, and she was a wonderful little host. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with her.

What Paul, Silas, and that little Gypsy grandmother all illustrate is the tremendous joy and peace followers of Christ can have – even in the middle of dark and desperate circumstances. It’s the “Victory in Jesus” that we love to sing about in our churches.

Periodically in life we all go through those prison experiences. Oh, you may not be locked-up in a dungeon with your feet in the stocks, but there are many other kinds of life experiences which are dark and difficult and prison-like – serious illness, unemployment, a struggling marriage, rebellious children, etc.

Regardless of the “prison” you may find yourself in you can choose to praise Him in the middle of it. Just like with Paul and Silas and the little Gypsy grandmother, the hope and joy you have in the Lord will raise your own spirits, as well as the spirits of others around you. It may even cause them to desire the faith which you have.

You can praise Him in the prison.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

The Bible is our dependable source of hope

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” Mark 13:31 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The Bible is our dependable source of hope”

The world we live in today is confusing. If you listen to the voices of our culture it can easily seem as if black is white, up is down, what used to be immoral is now considered moral, and what used to be considered moral is now narrow-minded and bigoted. There is no standard of absolute truth and situational ethics rule the day. Worse still, what standards there are seem to be always changing.

How is a Christian to live in such a world? Do we just go along so we can get along as we try to fit in? Or, do we swim against the cultural tide and endure the constant resistance? Or perhaps we should withdraw to a cave in the desert or a remote mountaintop and hope that Jesus comes back soon. Is the situation hopeless?

The answer of course is that we are not to give-in, fit-in, or run away. Instead, we are to be actively involved in the world around us and we are to be bold and confident advocates for the truth of God’s Word. We are to be “salt and light” in a world that is shrouded in spiritual darkness.

The way we do that is we stand firm on the absolute truth of God’s Word. It is the inerrant (without error), infallible (incapable of error) always dependable, and always relevant truth from God and it applies to all people, in all places, at all times. And it does not change.

The Bible is our moral and spiritual compass which always points us to true north, and God gave it to us so we can know His will and His ways. Culturally, morally, and spiritually we need never be confused or at a loss for direction because God makes His will and His ways clear to us in His written Word.

Yes, this is a crazy and mixed-up world. And yes, we can often find ourselves faced with challenging and confusing choices, but our situation is far from hopeless. The Bible is our source of hope. We need to know it, we need to follow it, and we need to share its truths with others. It really is true that the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet (Psalm 119:105). And since that’s true, it gives us the sure and confident hope we need for living in a broken, bleeding, and confusing world.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

We have the hope of guidance from God

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and wonderful things you did not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We have the hope of guidance from God.”

In the Bible God has promised that if we seek Him, He will not leave us wandering aimlessly through life without direction. This is a theme woven all throughout both the Old and New Testaments. We find it promised in many passages. “Call to Me and I will answer you …” says the Lord in Jeremiah 33:3. James 1:5 tells us, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously …” And in Proverbs 3:5-6 we read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”

When you’re confused, when you need direction and guidance, the Lord will speak to you. It’s true. But it is incumbent on you to seek that guidance – and that’s where the problem usually lies. It’s been my experience as a Pastor that although many people do want direction and guidance from God, not many actually do the work necessary to put themselves in a position before God whereby He can speak to them. Often, in a brief and hurried prayer a person will say something to God about needing guidance or insight, but then they just leave it there and they don’t pursue it any further. Or, they think that in response to that brief prayer there will be a profound and unmistakable response from God – a clear and audible voice, or a miraculous and unmistakable intervention, or an angel who appears in a dream. But that’s not usually how it happens.

How do we hear from God? In many different ways, but there are some things we can and should do to help us hear from Him. We do have to make the effort to do the things that place us in a position before God whereby He can and will speak to us.

First, spend lots of time in focused prayer on the specific subject. Second, search the Bible regarding the specific subject you are dealing with and let Him speak to you through the written Word. Third, consider your current circumstances as they pertain to the specific subject, and look for a pattern of God’s activity in your life that may point to the present and the future. Fourth, get good counsel (preferably from your pastor or from a mature Christian friend or two). Fifth, understand that God’s answers are usually subtle and require us to pay attention and to be discerning.

As Christians we do have the hope and the promise of being guided and directed by God. But we also have to put forth the effort to truly seek Him. We have to pray; we need to search the Bible; we need to look for patterns in God’s activity in our lives; and we have to get good counsel, because those are the ways in which He will probably speak to us. With God you can have the confident assurance that in His way and in His time, He will guide and direct you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim