Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You take care of His business and He will take care of yours.”   In 1 Peter 5:6-7 Peter tells us we can and should cast all our cares upon Jesus because He cares for us. In Matthew 6:25-33 Jesus told us that the Father Himself is aware of our needs and will provide for us as necessary if we will just seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. In other words, we’re free to focus on God’s work instead of on our own needs because He’s got our back. While we’re taking care of His business, He’s taking care of ours.   In what ways does He do that? What’s the actual method and the practical means by which He delivers that care and provision? Sometimes by miraculous intervention, but more often through the obedient service of other Christians. I remember a great example of this from a few years ago which happened in our own church.   Oak Hill Baptist is an “Acts 1:8” church. We’re a service-oriented church who is on-mission with Jesus to share the Good News in both word and deed (especially in deed). We do a lot of humanitarian relief work. On the day I’m referring to, we were having a discussion and planning to meet some special needs within our own congregation. We also briefly discussed our plans for upcoming ministry projects with our partners in Cumberland County, and in our state, and in Kentucky, Haiti, and the Amazon Jungle of Peru. But most of our focus in this particular discussion was about how we could bless our own people with help and hope.     As I sat there listening to that discussion, I remembered how much hope and encouragement our previous acts of similar aid in the past had brought to those on the receiving end, and I knew that the things being discussed would have a similar impact. I felt blessed and privileged to be associated with a group of Christians who were so focused on serving others in need.   I still do.     As Christians, we are the hands and feet of Christ in our world today. It’s through His followers that the hungry are fed, the homeless are housed, the sick are visited, the elderly assisted, etc. God works through his people to help those who don’t yet know Jesus, but first we are to take care of each other. We have a responsibility to care for those in the family of God, as well as those who don’t yet know Jesus.   This brings me back to my point about how the truth of 1 Peter 5:6-7 becomes a reality in the lives of Christians. We have the security of knowing that we’re part of a loving, compassionate community of believers who care for those in need. Yes, we will serve others outside the church, but we will especially take care of our church family. If the local church is doing its job, then every Christian should have the hope and assurance that when we are in need, there will be brothers and sisters to lend assistance.   Yes, cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you – and more often than not He will deliver that care by means of other Christians. You take care of God’s business and He will take care of yours.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “The hope of transformation”   In his book “The Sacred Romance”, author John Eldridge writes about “glorious ruins” such as the Parthenon, the Coliseum, and the Pyramids. Eldridge explains that even though those structures are in ruins – mere shadows of the glorious things they used to be, their original glory is still so evident that many thousands of tourists from all over the world visit them every year. They may be ruins, but they are glorious ruins.   Likewise, human beings are “glorious ruins” of what God intended us to be; and just like the ruins of the Pyramids, our original glory is still evident. In every person there are intimations of the glorious being God intended us to be.   The difference between those ancient ruins and the human ruin however, is that as time passes those stone structures continue to deteriorate and waste away, but the exact opposite is true of us. As children of God, we’re in the process of being renewed and restored. The Holy Spirit is at work in our lives and is slowly but progressively transforming us into the image of Christ. That work will take a lifetime, and it won’t be completed until the day we arrive in heaven, but the restoration is in progress.   Personally, I’m painfully aware of the fact that I am not the man God wants me to be. I’m all too familiar with the chinks in my armor, the flaws in my personality, and the sin that lurks in my heart. Yes, I’m a ruin, but I’m a glorious ruin because God created me to be something much better – and He’s in the process of renewing, renovating, and restoring me. I know I’m not yet what I one day will be, but I thank God I’m no longer what I once was.   The hope that Paul wrote about in Philippians 3:12-13 – the confident expectation that he had for his life and that each of us can have for ours too, is that God isn’t done with us yet. He’s in the process of fixing us, and one day we will no longer be a ruin – glorious or otherwise. Instead, we will be the man or woman He always intended us to be.   Now there’s something to be hopeful about!     God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “There is power in hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Seek first His kingdom.”   Pastor Chuck Swindoll once wrote that, “In America we are guilty of playing at our worship, worshiping our work, and working at our play.” In other words, our priorities are out of order. Many people are casual and inconsistent in their approach to God; they treat their work as if it is God; and they put an inordinate amount of time and energy into their recreational activities.   They’re upside down and backwards when it comes to setting right priorities – and their lives reflect it. Broken marriages, neglected children, poor job performance, mountains of debt due to over-spending, poor health habits, and inconsistent church attendance all point to lives with mixed-up priorities.   Fortunately, the Bible gives us clear instructions on how to live the best life possible. Under the guidance and influence of the Holy Spirit, the Bible provides us with instructions from God on how to have healthy relationships; how to be a good employee; how to manage our finances properly; how to take good care of ourselves; how to serve Him through the ministry of our church; and much more. This is what Paul was referring to in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. The Bible provides us with the guidance we need in order to live well.   In the Bible God sets our priorities for us and then gives us instructions on how to live the life He wants for us. That’s when we will be living life to the fullest and the best. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:33)   Granted, life is complicated; and the Bible does not give us detailed instructions regarding every situation we’re faced with. But it does tell us all we need to know to live within Biblical boundaries – and the starting place for that is to develop a mindset of putting God first in all things. Once we have that right, everything else will begin to fall into its proper place. Just read the book, follow the instructions, make the necessary adjustments, and enjoy a life lived in the center of God’s will.   When you have truly surrendered your life to the Lord, and you are seeking His kingdom agenda above all else, and you are living according to His commands, you then have the hope (the confident assurance) that your priorities in life will finally be right.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, so that through our endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we may have hope.” Romans 15:4 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “God’s promises give us hope.”   More than twenty-five years ago I came across a wonderful little book with the title “Walk Thru the Promises”. It was published by “Walk Thru the Bible Ministries” and it has proven to be a big blessing to me. This little pocket-sized book presents the promises of God on eighty different subjects. For instance, if you want to read some of the promises of God on the subject of “physical sickness” you can turn to page 156 and there you will find fifteen scriptural promises from God on that subject. For “finances” you will find twenty promises; if you’re struggling with “depression” there are fifteen promises that will help you. There are similar sections for seventy-seven other life-oriented subjects.   Once, as a Bible study and prayer exercise, I began on page one in the book and put a checkmark next to every promise that I knew to have been fulfilled in my life. It was eye-opening to say the least!   I honestly don’t know how many promises God gives to us in the Bible. I do know that in that little book “Walk Thru the Promises” there are almost 1000 individual scriptural references on those eighty different subjects. That’s a lot of promises!   My point is that in the Bible God has given us numerous promises on all sorts of subjects that relate directly to our daily lives. And, He keeps those promises. That should be a source of great hope and encouragement for us.   As we’ve been learning this month – hope is powerful, and now we know that God’s promises are a great source of hope for us. I encourage you to spend some time today considering the many promises God has made to you – and the many promises God has already kept for you.   Trust God. Put your hope in Him. He keeps His promises.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “The ropes of death were wrapped round me; the torrents of destruction terrified me. The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice and my cry to Him reached His ears.” Psalm 18:4-6 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “God is our hope in times of trouble”   David was in trouble. Saul, the mentally unstable ruler of the kingdom was after him. In fact, Saul was obsessed with hunting David down and killing him. David was desperate and was running for his life. Things looked bad. He wasn’t sure he could go on. So, he cried out to God for deliverance.   Ever been there? Have you had a time in life when everything that could go wrong was going wrong and you weren’t sure there was a way out for you? Marriage problems, unemployment, unpaid bills, wayward children, health problems, and the list goes on. Sometimes life can seem pretty dark and bleak.   When that happens, you need to do what David did. Call out to God. Look to Him for deliverance. Put your hope in Him. And then trust Him.   Psalm 18 was written by David long after the events actually occurred. By the time these words were penned, David had long since been delivered, life had stabilized, and he was now the king in place of Saul. Looking back, he realized that God had heard his prayer and saved him; and as time passed things just continued to get better and better. David had placed his faith and his hope in God and God came through.   He always does. One way or another, He always does.   Whatever it is that you are faced with today, God is there for you. Call to Him, put your hope in Him for deliverance, and then trust Him.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “There is power in hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “The one who has the Son has life.” 1 John 5:12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Jesus is our hope”   In his book “The Journey of Desire” author John Eldridge writes about the tendency of the church in our day to focus too much on simply communicating facts and transferring information. He writes:   “Christianity is often presented as essentially a transfer of a body of knowledge. We learn about where the Philistines were from, and how much a drachma would be worth today, and all sorts of things about the original Greek. The information presented could not seem more irrelevant to our deepest desires.”   And then there is also the excessive emphasis on modifying behavior:   “Then there are systems aimed at getting our behavior in line, one way or another. Regardless of where you go to church, there is nearly always an unspoken list of what you shouldn’t do (tailored to your denomination and culture, but typically rather long) and a list of what you may do (usually much shorter – mostly religious activity that seems totally unrelated to our deepest desire and leaves us only exhausted).”   Eldridge’s point is that although knowledge is helpful and behaviors matter, Jesus didn’t come primarily to teach us things and to give us a new list of do’s and don’ts. He came to give us life. He came to help us experience life as a child of God in a full and deep relationship with God. And, deep in our heart, that is what we truly desire.   One of the major themes of Jesus’ teaching was that He came to help us experience life – really experience it, in all its fullness – both life eternal, and life now. “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10); “I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25); “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6).   Remembering our Biblical definition of hope: “A confident expectation of good things to come.”, we realize that as the people of God we have the hope, the confident expectation, of life as it was meant to be, life that is full and rich and complete. That’s life in Christ and it’s what Jesus came to bring. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Our hope, our confident expectation, is in Him.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “There is power in hope:   Our Bible verse for today: “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “God always has more for you”   Throughout the Bible, but especially in the Psalms, there’s an intentional tension created between longing for God and finding fulfillment in Him. Psalm 42:1-2 (above) is an excellent example of longing for God, as is Psalm 63:1: “God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.”   Many such passages portray the true seeker as one who longs, thirsts, and yearns for a deeper and more meaningful encounter with God. King David was described as “a man after God’s own heart.” And then passages like Psalm 16:11 speak of actually finding and experiencing that fullness and joy: “You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.”   So on the one hand, the Bible clues us into the truth that there is something more, something better than the experience of God that we’ve had so far – and it is attainable. But even then, once we have experienced it, we will find ourselves yearning for still more.   One of the best explanations I’ve ever come across for this experience of yearning for more of God, attaining it, but then yearning for even more, comes from author Jim Peterson in his book “Lifestyle Discipleship”:   “One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the infinite opportunity for spiritual growth. But however much we have matured, there is always more beyond. It is in this that we find the adventure of living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.”   This is the Christian life as it was meant to be – a rich and deeply rewarding experience of God, followed immediately by a longing for even more. We aren’t meant to fully attain it, not yet. That will come in eternity. For now, our hope is for an ever-fuller experience of God. Our pursuit of that hope is rewarded with a deeper experience of Him; but then there is always the promise of more to come, and that promise beckons to us to continue thirsting, seeking, pursuing.   The person whose heart is after God is confident that God always has something more for us.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “There is power in hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Strong faith leads to confident hope.”   Biblical hope is more than just wishful thinking. Instead, it’s a confident knowledge that God’s promises are true and that we can trust Him.   Sadly, we live in a world where many people are hopeless rather than hopeful. Many people base their hopes and desires on things and on people rather than on God’s promises, and so they are constantly disappointed and discouraged. They end up living with what theologian Emil Brunner once called a deep-seated “sorrow of heart”, or what the writer Henry David Thoreau famously described as “a life of quiet desperation.”   But for Christians the experience of hope can and should be very different. Theologians teach us that the Bible includes an entire “theology of hope”, meaning that the Bible provides us with a complete and systematic body of instruction on why we can have confident hope.   In Hebrews 11:1 the writer linked the Biblical concept of hope with the reality of strong faith (the stronger the faith, the more confident the hope). In his commentary on this verse Pastor and author John MacArthur writes: “The faith described here involves the most solid possible conviction, the God-given present assurance of a future reality.”   That’s what strong faith does. It gives us a profound hope – a confident expectation and a present assurance of a future reality. Therefore, you’re certain that the promises of God are true and so your hope and confidence in a glorious future is solid and assured.   Regular participation in the life of a dynamic church family is one of the greatest faith-building activities you can participate in. The faith of others helps to strengthen our own. Your faith is strengthened and your hope is renewed by your participation in a small-group Sunday School class, and in group worship services, and by fellowship with other Christians, and by participation in group ministry projects.   I encourage you to attend church services this Sunday, and make it a point to bring someone with you. Strong faith leads to confident hope – and we can all use more of that.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken.” Psalm 62:5-6 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Faith in God gives us hope for the future”   I once heard a story told by a man who grew up on a farm in South Dakota. On cold dark nights during the long months of winter his family would often sit in front of the fire looking at seed catalogues. They did that because the catalogues included brightly colored pictures of all the wonderful fruits and vegetables the seeds would produce. The man said that as the frigid winter raged outside, he and his family would enjoy the warmth of the fire and visualize the beautiful fruits and vegetables that would be theirs in the summer. That image gave them hope for the future and got them through the long dark nights of winter.   It’s a powerful metaphor. We all go through seasons of life that sometimes resemble those cold dark South Dakota winters. In the middle of it all, it’s easy to forget that better days are ahead. Nighttime passes, the darkness lifts, dawn comes, and things look brighter. Someone once said that their favorite passage in the Bible is “and it came to pass …” Those are actually encouraging words because in time, everything does pass.   In Psalm 62:5-6 King David reflected on his hope in God. If you read the rest of the Psalm you realize the context is that David was being threatened and attacked (verse 3); he was being lied about and cursed at (verse 4); there was evidently treason in the kingdom and perhaps his life was in jeopardy (verse 4). But in the middle of that he found his rest in God. He drew his strength and assurance from God and he found that God was his rock, his refuge, and his sure foundation. And as a result, David knew that better days were ahead. Despite tough times, David had hope for the future because he trusted in God.   What was true for David is also true for us. God is our fortress and our strength. He is our rock and our salvation. He is our trusted and glorious hope for the future.   Faith in God gives us hope for the future.     God Bless, Pastor Jim

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

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The power of hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:29-31 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Don’t be an Eeyore.”   Are you a hopeful person? Do you live with an eager expectation of good things to come? Is your disposition sunny and upbeat? Perhaps the answer for you depends on the context. As a Christian you should be hopeful regarding your eternal inheritance in heaven and it should show. But perhaps you’re less hopeful regarding things going on in this world, such as with the economy, or politics, or your health; and maybe about such things you come across pessimistic and even sour.     So, perhaps I should rephrase the question as, “Are you a hopeful person in general? Does hopefulness and an eager expectation of good things to come describe your general demeanor and your overall approach to life? Generally speaking, are you an optimist or a pessimist?”   To be hopeful means that you have a confident expectation that your desired outcome will happen (or at least you look for silver linings in dark situations); but to be hopeless is to be dismal and bleak. That definition of hopelessness reminds me of the character Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh series. Winnie is a bear; Eeyore is an old grey donkey. Winnie is usually upbeat and positive, but Eeyore is always pessimistic and gloomy. No matter the subject, Eeyore finds something negative or depressing to say about it. When complimented on his tail he replied, “Well, it’s not much of a tail, but I’m sort of attached to it.” When someone said “Good morning” Eeyore replied, “Well yes, good morning – if it is a good morning, which I doubt.”   We all know people who fit the Eeyore mold. Even Christians. But that shouldn’t be – especially not for a child of God. And especially not now, as our nation and our communities are increasingly troubled. If we’re going to be effective at winning people to faith in Christ and drawing them into Kingdom life, we won’t do it by being a bunch of sour old donkeys muttering and mumbling about how bad things are. Instead, we need to show people how it is that Jesus empowers us to live victoriously, positively, joyfully, and with great hope, even in the midst of a troubled world. When Isaiah said in the passage quoted above that our hope in the Lord would strengthen us and enable us to soar like eagles, he was talking about in this lifetime, now, even with all the trouble that’s brewing around us.   All this month we’ll explore what this hope is that Isaiah was referring to, and how we apply it in a practical way in the world in which we’re living. A Christian shouldn’t be an Eeyore.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

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