Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit.” Ephesians 3:16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You’re not as strong as you could be.”   The other day in my reading I came across a reference to a university study that demonstrated that in our lifetimes most of us will only develop and use about 10% of our capabilities. The study covered our capacities for intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual development. Among other things, it referenced our powers of observation (we only notice and pay attention to 10% of what is around us); our powers of understanding (if we really applied ourselves, we would be able to understand at a much deeper level); our physical powers (think back to the illustration of Navy SEAL training from an earlier devotional); and it includes our spiritual powers (this is what Paul was referring to in Ephesians 3:16 above).   This particular study was actually not new or unique. Many such studies have been conducted over the years and they all consistently come to the same conclusion – we only develop and use about 10% of our capabilities and therefore we’re not as strong or as well-developed as we could be. Not even close.   This is why we should always have a plan to learn and grow and improve. During every moment that you are alive God is at work molding and shaping you into the person He wants you to be. None of us has “arrived” in life. We are all works in progress. That’s why we should always have a plan for our personal development and improvement. The spiritual is the most important and the disciplines of prayer, Bible study, participating in group studies, paying attention to sermons, and participating in acts of ministry, are essential elements in our spiritual growth. Likewise, there are things we should all be doing to improve our intellectual, emotional, and physical capacities. No matter your age, there is always room for improvement and growth.   There is so much wasted potential in all of our lives! We could all be better, stronger, more developed, in every area of life. This isn’t something we should get obsessed with, agitated about, or driven over. But we shouldn’t be lazy or indifferent about it either. We should want to be the best we can be.   Resilient Christians become and stay resilient because they are intentional about improving and growing. You can be stronger than you are, in all areas of life. You have a lot of untapped potential. I encourage you to have a plan to help you develop and use more of it. We’ll think a little more about this tomorrow.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength …” Romans 15:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Be strong for yourself, and for others too.”   In Romans 15:1 the Apostle Paul was writing specifically about those who are strong in their faith. He taught that they must use their strong faith to help and assist those with weak faith. The passage is primarily about conscience and holiness and helping others to be strong spiritually. But the verse is also part of a larger Biblical principle that teaches those who are strong to use their strength on behalf of the weak and vulnerable. The physically strong are to protect those who are physically weak (Ps. 82:4; Pr 23:11); the powerful are to look out for the vulnerable (Ps 82:3; Pr 19:17; James 1:27); the wealthy are to help the poor (Pr 19:7; Pr 28:27; Galatians 2:10); etc. Those who have strength in an area are to use it to help those who don’t.   Yesterday I told you the story about the body-builders who used their big muscles just to show-off, but not for any practical purpose that was actually of benefit to anyone. The lesson for resilient Christians is that we need to be careful not to do the same with whatever forms of strength the Lord has developed in us. If the Lord has helped you to be strong in some way, then be strong – for yourself but also for others.   I have friends (a husband-and-wife team), who run the Bread of Life Rescue Mission in our town. Day-in and day-out, all day every day, they minister to the homeless and the hungry. They provide shelter, food, counseling, medical assistance, love, compassion, understanding, mercy, and Jesus to people who are at rock-bottom in life. What truly amazes me about Ralph and Connie is not only that they perform this ministry every single day, but that they do it with joy and enthusiasm, and they treat each individual with dignity and love. Ralph and Connie are very strong in their personal relationships with the Lord, but they use their great strength for the benefit of others. They’re not just strong for themselves, they’re strong for others too.   I want to ask you this morning, “In what ways has God made you strong, and how can you use that strength to bless others?” Or, borrowing on our theme from yesterday, “What do you use all those muscles for?”   Yes, be strong for yourself. But also, be strong for others too.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!” Habakkuk 3:19 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “But what do you use all those muscles for?”   I recently read a story about a late-night television host who was interviewing three muscle-bound bodybuilders. They were standing there on the stage in front of the television audience in their tight little shorts with no shirts on. They had muscles on top of their muscles. The men were freakishly large, pumped up, and flexing. Unimpressed, the host looked at them and said, “So, what do you use all those muscles for?” Without responding, and as if this answered the question, one of the men simply struck a bodybuilder’s pose and displayed his large muscles. The host, still unimpressed, responded, “No, no. You didn’t understand my question. What do you “use” those muscles for?” Again, the same man simply struck his poses and showed off his muscles.   His answer was clear. He didn’t actually use the muscles for anything. It was all for show. They developed those muscles so others could look at them and admire their muscles.   In yesterday’s devotional I wrote that overcoming our challenges and limitations helps to make us stronger. It makes us stronger physically, mentally, emotionally, and most important, spiritually. To support that claim, I quoted James 1:2-4: “Consider it a 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.”   But that passage is actually just part of a much larger body of Biblical literature that supports the truth that God wants us to be strong, and that He will help to make us strong. Habakkuk 3:19 is another of those many verses and passages.     But to what purpose? Why does God make us strong like that? Is it just so others can see and admire our strength? Another way of considering this would be, “What do you use all those muscles for?” I can assure you that God does not make us strong just so we can show off and have others admire us. He also doesn’t make us strong just so we can then use our strength for our own benefit. Resilient Christians understand that God will and does make us strong, but then He intends for us to use that strength in good, meaningful, and productive ways that honor Him and which blesses others.   There’s more that needs to be said about this and so we will continue this discussion tomorrow. For now, please know that if God has made you strong, He didn’t do it just so you can show off and so others can admire you. He also didn’t do it simply for your own benefit. I encourage you to use your strength to help and bless someone else today.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “Consider it a 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.” James 1:2-4 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Overcoming our limitations makes us strong.”   Basic Underwater Demolition School (BUDS) is basic training for Navy SEALS, and it is generally considered to be the toughest military training in the world. Although many important lessons are taught in that training, the most important one, and the lesson that all the others are built upon, is that you are capable of doing much more than you ever thought possible. In BUDS the instructors take the trainees to their breaking points, to the absolute outer edges of what they ever thought themselves capable of doing or enduring, and then they push them past it. Soon the trainees learn that what they thought their limitations were, weren’t really the limits at all. They discover that they were actually capable of doing much more.   That’s also the primary lesson in the great book, “Toughness Training for Life” by James Loehr. In that book Dr. Loehr teaches us how to push past what we thought our limits were. The result is a life that is much more productive and much more successful than we ever thought possible.   Tim Hansel had to learn that lesson too as he struggled with the prospect of lifelong disability and pain as a result of his accident. At one point he asked his doctor how in the world he was supposed to adjust to all the pain and limitations. The doctor’s answer was insightful and priceless, and it changed Tim’s life. He said, “I suggest that you bite the bullet and live to be a hundred … live your life as fully and richly as possible … As far as I can tell, you can do whatever the pain will allow you to do. Bite the bullet and live to be a hundred.”   In James 1:2-4 we learn that we should view our trials as an opportunity to learn, grow, overcome, and to get stronger. Rather than shrinking from your challenges, or worse, running away from them, meet them head-on. Embrace the challenge, wrestle with it, fight with it, find ways to deal with it, and overcome it. The struggle will make you stronger and you will discover in the end that you were capable of doing much more about it than you ever thought possible. That’s how resilient Christians approach tough situations.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise.” Proverbs 13:20 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Walk with the wise.”   Eric Peterson grew-up as a PK (Pastor’s Kid). His father was the famous pastor and author Eugene Peterson. Eugene served as the pastor of the same small church in Maryland for over thirty years, and he was the author of the popular paraphrase of the Bible “The Message”. He also wrote numerous other books which were largely intended for pastors. He ended up becoming something of a pastor to pastors and he was a popular conference speaker.   So, Eric grew-up with a bird’s-eye view and with behind-the-scenes insight into a pastor’s life. He followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a pastor himself. But once he did, he discovered that despite having witnessed the ministry from the inside and behind-the-scenes, once the burden of leadership was on his shoulders, he realized it was different and harder than he expected. So, he reached-out to his now retired father for guidance. That began an eleven-year correspondence via letter between father and son in which Eugene shared insights and advice with his son. Those letters ended up being published by Eric in book-form with the title “Letters to a Young Pastor: Timothy Conversations between Father and Son”.      What Eric discovered in the letters from his father was something that resilient Christians also know and which Solomon wrote about in Proverbs 13:20: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise.” We need to appreciate and learn from the wisdom and insights of those who have gone before us – those who are older, wiser, and more experienced in the faith than we are.   The truth is that we are all “works in progress”. None of us have arrived. None of us knows it all. Therefore, we should always be learning and growing. We should acknowledge that there are others who have lived longer, experienced more, learned more, and who have greater wisdom than we do and therefore, we can and should be learning from them.   Resilient Christians understand this. One of the reasons they are resilient is because they do understand this and they do make it a point to walk with the wise so that they too can become wise.   I can’t think of a better place to “walk with the wise” than at church. This is one of the primary reasons that we need to “not neglect to gather together” (Hebrews 10:25). If the community of believers are gathered, we need to be there with them if we can be. There are wise people there who we can walk with and learn from.   I encourage you to be actively involved in the full life of a good church. The gatherings of the church are one of your best opportunities to “walk with the wise”.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “… for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself.” Philippians 4:11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Don’t put off joy.”   One of the greatest joy-stealers in life is the inability to be content. It’s the state of never being satisfied, always wanting more, newer, bigger, better. It’s tough to be joyful if we’re living in a state or mild agitation and restlessness because we want, or believe we need, more than what we have. We fall into the trap of believing that if we could just find a better job, or if we just had more money, or a bigger house, or a smaller waistline, or if we could just make the situations of our life better, then we would be happy, then we would be content. But that’s almost never the case. Improved circumstances may bring a little relief and some brief happiness for a short while, but soon those yearnings will be replaced with new ones.   While it is important to have goals and objectives for improving ourselves and to live the best life we can, there’s a healthy balance that needs to be achieved in our thinking about this. Too many people waste years of their lives yearning for and fantasizing about the life they don’t have, rather than enjoying the life they do have. They’re so focused on the life they want that they fail to fully live the life they have.   What the Apostle Paul was writing about in Philippians 4:10-13 was a resilient life that was lived based upon the joy he had in his relationship with the Lord, not on the circumstances of the moment. He was content and joyful regardless of the fleeting and momentary circumstances of life, because his joy came from the Lord, not from the circumstances. That didn’t mean that Paul simply accepted circumstances that should have been unacceptable and which could be improved. He didn’t. If he was hungry, he did what he had to do to get food. If he was in prison, he wanted to be free. If he was being persecuted, he tried to make it stop. If he could improve his circumstances he did. But unpleasant circumstances didn’t define him and they didn’t defeat him.   It has been said that joy has more to do with who we are than with what we have; it’s more about the healthiness of our attitude than the health of our body. By all means, improve your circumstances if you can, but don’t surrender your joy if you can’t.   I urge you not to put off joy until your circumstances improve. They may never improve. Live the life you have, not the life you wish you had.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Choose joy”   The words recorded in Nehemiah 8:10 are famous and often repeated. They were spoken by the priest Ezra to the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from exile. Ezra had just spent some time reading to the assembled people from the Law of Moses. Upon hearing the words of Moses, the people realized how far they had fallen and what a tragic price they had paid. So, they were weeping. But Ezra encouraged them to choose joy over sorrow, hope over despair, and faith over fear. He told them that the joy of the Lord would be their strength for the tasks that were ahead of them.   I’m frequently amazed at how often the topic of choosing joy is written about in good Christian books – especially by authors who themselves have had to work through difficult times of trials and suffering. It’s a theme that Joni Eareckson Tada addresses frequently in her books, articles, and speeches. C.S. Lewis wrote about it often, especially in his book “A Grief Observed”, which was about his own time of grieving the death of his wife. Andy Andrews wrote about it in his great little book “The Traveler’s Gift”. He even included choosing joy as one of the seven major life decisions which help to form a successful life. And Tim Hansel wrote about it in his book “You Gotta Keep Dancin’”.   Joy is different from happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances, and circumstances change, often quickly and sometimes in a bad way. Joy however, is something that comes from within and it defies circumstances. Joy is an attitude rather than a feeling and it is based in a deep relationship with God rather than on the fleeting circumstances of the moment. And, we can choose joy. We can choose to be close to the Lord and to look to Him for strength, peace and comfort in spite of the circumstances of the moment. But joy does have to be chosen and it does have to be nurtured. Unfortunately and sadly, many people don’t choose to develop a life of joy. Tim Hansel observed,   “I know some people who spend their entire lives practicing being unhappy, diligently pursuing joylessness. They get more mileage from having people feel sorry for them than from choosing to live out their lives in the context of joy.”   Resilient Christians reject the easy path of victimhood and self-pity. Resilient Christians refuse to wallow in misery. Resilient Christians choose joy. Joy is such an important and vital characteristic of the resilient life that more needs to be said about it, so we will continue this discussion tomorrow.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Be careful what you talk yourself into.”   In the months after Tim Hansel suffered the rock-climbing accident which rendered him crippled and in pain, and as he was trying to come to terms with this new reality in his life, he found himself thinking constantly about his pain and his new limitations, and he quickly developed the habit of making excuses for himself. Rather than pushing himself to deal with and overcome his challenges, he was instead trending towards letting others do things for him and rationalizing why it was needed and necessary.   However, during his time of convalescence he came across the words of author Richard Bach in the book Jonathan Livingstone Seagull. Bach wrote, “Argue for your limitations long enough and, sure enough, they’re yours.” In other words, you can talk yourself into a victim mentality and a life of depending on others. But conversely, you can also talk yourself out of that mindset. So, be careful what you talk yourself into.   About that same time Tim also came across the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.” Be joyful always? Give thanks in all circumstances? Even if you have a broken back and you’re in constant pain? Evidently so. That doesn’t mean you have to be happy and joyful about the broken back, the pain, and the limitations. But it does mean you can pray, stay close to the Lord, and you can choose joy over sorrow, optimism over pessimism, and faith over fear. According to Paul, to choose to do anything other than that will result in quenching the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. It will limit the ways in which God can work in the middle of your difficult circumstances to help you and bless you (Romans 8:28).   There is no bigger waste of time and emotional energy than to wallow in self-pity. Self-pity and a negative frame of mind helps nothing; but a positive and determined outlook makes every situation better. And you can talk yourself into one just as easily as the other.   The most important conversations we have are the ones we have with ourselves. Be careful what you talk yourself into, because you will have to live with whatever that is.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “But those who trust in the Lord, will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Action and attitude”   I love inspirational stories because, well, because they’re inspirational. They make me want to be better than I am. I especially love being around inspirational people. Reading an inspirational story is good, but watching it being lived out before you in real life is better. That’s one of the reasons I’m grateful God allowed me to have twelve years of friendship with my friend Tom Herring, whose funeral I told you about last week. It’s also why I’m grateful for the example I see lived out in my own home day-after-day by my wife Linda. In March it will be fourteen years since she had the stroke that rendered her seriously disabled. But they have been fourteen years of resilience, achievement, and victory for her. Hard years, but good years.   I’ve also told you in these devotionals about resilience demonstrated by others who, although I’ve never met them personally, reading their stories has been inspirational and motivating for me. Eric Greitens, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Tim Hansel just to name a few.   In his book “You Gotta Keep Dancin’” Tim Hansel writes about others like that who have inspired him. He calls such people the “verbs” and “exclamation points” of life. In other words, they’re all action and attitude – despite their limitations. They’re people who, rather than sitting around complaining, rather than being victims of their circumstances, they find ways to live life to the fullest, with vigor and gusto. And they have chosen to live that way. They have chosen to be a victor rather than a victim. They embrace their situation as it is, and do what they have to do in order to live the fullest life they can under the circumstances as they are.     But this lesson isn’t just for those faced with a life of disability and pain, it’s for all of us. We will all have adversity and pain in life and the choice for all of us won’t be if we experience it, but how we deal with it. As Tim wrote, “What a test adversity is. It can either destroy or build up, depending on our chosen response.”   I thank the Lord for the inspirational examples He has put into our lives like Tom and Tim and Linda and Joni who show the rest of us how to do this right. They truly are the verbs and exclamation points of life – all action and attitude as they live life to the fullest.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Resilience”   Our Bible verse for today: “You have changed my sadness into a joyful dance; you have taken away my sorrow and surrounded me with joy.” Psalm 30:11 (GNB)   Our thought for today: “Sorrow into joy, sadness into dancing.”   You probably noticed that although we’ve begun a new month, we have not begun a new theme. That’s because I think there’s more that needs to be said about resilience. Especially now, as we’re going through what some negative individuals insist on referring to as “the dark days of a difficult winter.” I don’t like that term. The days are difficult but as we’ve learned, resilient Christians eat difficult days for breakfast. Resilient Christians can handle tough times and not just survive, but thrive. So, let’s continue thinking about what resilience is, what it looks like in actual life, and how we can develop more of it.   Without question, one of my favorite books about what it looks like to live the resilient Christian life is “You Gotta Keep Dancin’” by Tim Hansel. Seriously, you’ve got to get this book! It’s a short and easy read which is inspirational and fun. You’ll be glad you read it.   Tim was an outdoor adventure guy who led a ministry which took Christians on outdoor adventures so they could explore God’s beautiful creation. At the same time, they would engage in a deep and introspective discipleship experience. On one such excursion, Tim had a rock-climbing accident which left him disabled and in daily pain for the rest of his life.   After working through both the physical and emotional trauma of the accident, and after finally coming to terms with the fact that disability and pain were realities he was simply going to have to learn to live with, Tim decided he wasn’t going to just live with it, he was going to thrive through it. Long story short, Tim spent the rest of his life as a writer, motivational speaker, and something of a comedian. By means of his strong faith, along with determination and resilience, the Lord turned Tim’s sorrow and pain into a life of dancing (figuratively) and joy. The book is his story and the life lessons he learned as a result of it. It’s an inspirational story.   Regardless of what you’re dealing with in life, it is possible to not just survive but to thrive, and the Lord will help you do it. He will turn your sorrow into joy and your sadness into dancing. In the days to come we’ll see what we can learn about resilience from some of the hard-won wisdom of Tim Hansel.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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