Oak Hill Baptist Church

Devotional for Monday December 14th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “Here I am today, eight-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Joshua 14:10-11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Celebrate staying active. It’s good for you.”

I love to hike and walk. It was instilled in me by my mother at a very young age. She was a walker. She walked everywhere. She walked to get places (our family only had one car and my Dad usually had it); but she also walked simply for the pleasure of enjoying the fresh air, seeing people, and getting exercise. We children walked with her and therefore, I’ve always been a walker too. I regularly go for long hikes on mountain trails, but I also go for an after-dinner walk almost every evening. I think it’s in my DNA.

My Mom reminds me of a lady in our church. She’s in her 70s now but she has obviously taken care of herself and she too loves to walk. Even now during the pandemic when she’s staying mostly at home in order to stay safe, she still walks every day. Her sons made a walking path for her at the back of their property around their pond, and she goes out pretty much every day just walking laps, breathing the fresh air, enjoying the sunshine, and basically staying healthy.

All this month we’re devotionally considering the idea that celebrating is good for us. I’ve called our attention to all the many ways we celebrate big occasions, like Christmas and Easter and birthdays, but I’ve also made the point that we need to be attentive to celebrating the smaller more routine things in life too, like puppy dogs and ice cream and time with friends and family. Even a good walk is a time to smile, give thanks, and enjoy.

I came across a great quote the other day from the poet and writer Robert Lewis Stevenson. He was a hiker/walker/traveler. In fact, he spent most of his adult life in the early 1800s traveling from one location to another and writing about it. He said, “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Stevenson simply enjoyed being active because there’s great joy in it.

During this time when so many people are staying home, or severely restricting their activities and travels, I encourage you to avoid being sedate. Be safe but be active. There’s joy to be found in being active. Be grateful that you can move, that you can go.

Whether you’re traveling around the world or around the block, I encourage you to “go”. Celebrate being active. It’s good for you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday December 12-13

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “… I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Matthew 16:18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Jesus wins. Celebrate the victory”

It appears at the moment that the church in the United States is on the ropes. Even before the COVID 19 pandemic church attendance had been in steady decline for years. Once the pandemic hit, many churches across the land stopped holding service for some period of months. Some still haven’t started meeting again nine months later. For those that are meeting, most only have about 65% of their pre-pandemic attendance.

Those who study church life and trends say that once the pandemic is over, churches will have to go into an intensive and extended time of rebuilding that will probably take 18-24 months just to regain what was lost. They also say that many churches won’t make it and will end up disbanding.

So, we could conclude that things look kind of bleak for the church. But I believe that would be an incorrect conclusion. For almost two thousand years Christianity has repeatedly gone through seasons of trial and struggle. Powerful leaders, governments, even entire societies have been aligned against Christianity. Churches have been destroyed, Bibles have been burned, Christians have been persecuted, imprisoned, and executed. There have been times of wars and famines, times of plagues and natural disasters. But through it all the church of Jesus Christ has survived and thrived and there are more Christians on this planet today than there has ever been at any time in history.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus declared that He would build His church and the gates of hell – even all the forces of Satan – wouldn’t be able to prevent it from happening. That was two thousand years ago and here we are today, even after having to face all those trials and struggles for two thousand years, and His church is bigger and stronger across the globe than ever.

Yes, the pandemic has been a problem for us. Yes, it has caused some temporary disruptions to our normally scheduled programing. It’s true that our numbers here in the USA are down right now. But Jesus is still on the throne, we are still saved, the message of the Gospel is still being shared around the world, people are still coming to faith in Christ, and the church is still growing worldwide.

Jesus said He would build His church and He has – and He still is – and He will continue to. Despite Satan’s best efforts to prevent it, Jesus is winning, and we are a part of His victory. Now that’s something to celebrate.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Friday December 11th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “Brothers and sisters, 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 3:13-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today; “Celebrate the change”

I have a childhood friend I still keep in touch with. We grew up together and did a lot of crazy stuff. Once, when we were sixteen, we each lied to our parents by saying we were going to spend the weekend with the other one’s family at the beach. Then we hitchhiked down the Jersey Turnpike all the way to Washington D.C. to participate in some big hippie demonstration going on there. When we got there, we discovered that the National Guard had locked down the city and the demonstrators had been forced off the streets. We ended up spending the weekend in the basement of a church with other demonstrators, and then we hitchhiked back to New Jersey.

Unfortunately, shortly after that, my friend became addicted to alcohol and he spent the next twenty years of his life as a barely functional drunk. Finally, he somehow found his way to Alcoholics Anonymous, got sober, and put his life back together. He got married, started a business, joined a church, and became active in the community. He also became a mentor for other alcoholics. Now, every year, on the anniversary of the day he became sober, he celebrates another year of sobriety. That’s been more than twenty-five years now and my friend has stayed sober. He will tell you that he is still a work in progress, and every day he tries to be a little better than he was the day before.

That’s what the Apostle Paul was writing about in Philippians 3:13-14. He had been a notorious sinner – a mean and cruel man who presided over the persecution, arrest, torture, and execution of Christians. Once he came to faith in Jesus Christ he was transformed and began to change, but for the rest of his life he considered himself to be a work in progress. He never “arrived”. He was always in need of continued growth and constant improvement.

The same is true of you and me. Your background might not be as dark as Paul’s, or my friend’s, but like the rest of us, you have your own skeletons hiding in the closets. And like the rest of us, you too should be in a constant state of growth and improvement. If you are, that’s something to celebrate.

There’s an old saying that goes, “I’m not yet who I should be, but thank God I’m not who I used to be!” Can I get an “Amen!”?

If you’re a little better today than you were yesterday, that’s something to celebrate. If you’re a lot better today than you were say, twenty years ago, that might deserve a party, or maybe an annual celebration.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Thursday December 10th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Even death can be a cause for celebration”

All this month we are devotionally considering the truth that celebrating is good for us. It’s even an essential part of life. The Bible itself is filled from beginning to end with examples of God’s people celebrating. In some cases, such as with the Lord’s Supper, God has commanded us to observe, remember, and celebrate, and He has given us specific instructions for how to do it. In many other passages we’re simply told stories about weddings and feasts and public ceremonies that God’s people participated in.

But not only is celebration an important and essential part of life, if viewed correctly we realize it can also be part of the death experience too. A Christian funeral is often referred to as “A celebration of life”. That’s true for several reasons. First, we make it a point to remember and celebrate the life of the deceased person. Their life was a gift to them and to us, and we celebrate the fact that the person was with us for whatever number of years they were here on earth.

Another reason we celebrate is because of the promise of eternity in heaven. Christians understand that when the person’s mortal body ceases to function, that person didn’t really die. Instead, the spirit simply left the physical body and transitioned from this realm into heaven. All the pain and suffering associated with this world ended for that person, and they immediately entered into a new reality that is glorious beyond anything we can imagine. That too is a reason to celebrate.

And then, as Psalm 116:15 explains, the passing from this life to the next is a precious thing for God. He was waiting patiently for His child to complete his or her journey through this world and arrive at their real home in heaven. The moment that happened was precious to God and it was a cause of rejoicing and celebrating in heaven. A dearly loved child was finally home.

So, the death of a Christian is a bitter-sweet experience. While it certainly is a time of grieving and mourning with sadness and with tears, for multiple reasons it’s also a time of celebration.

For those who have lost a loved one this year and are now approaching their first Christmas without that person, I encourage you to remember their life and be thankful for it. Then celebrate the fact that the person is now in heaven.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Wednesday December 9th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear; for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Celebrate your purpose in life”

Human beings need a clear purpose in life in order to thrive. It has been said that lack of clear purpose is as harmful and destructive as lack of adequate sleep. We can survive without it, but we can’t thrive without it. The greater sense of clear purpose a person has in his or her life, the richer, fuller, and more satisfying that life will be. I know of Pastors who are still preaching and teaching in their 80s and even 90s. Taking care of God’s people is what they do, it’s what gets them out of bed in the morning and it’s what keeps them going in life.

I once read an account from a humanitarian aid worker in a Bosnian refugee camp about the refugees whose lives had been shattered. They had lost everything they owned – they had no home, no money, no resources, and no prospects for the future. Most of the refugees were depressed and just shuffled through their days with no sense of purpose and with no hope. He said the refugees who seemed to handle it best were the parents and grandparents who had young children to care for. They knew they had to wake up every day and be strong for someone else. It gave them a focus and a sense of purpose.

The issue of purpose and meaning is relatively simple for Christians. Although God may call us to many different endeavors and responsibilities through the course of the different seasons of life, our most basic purpose in life is to know God well, honor Him with how we live, and bless others through acts of service in His name. For many of us we even get to enter a season of life (usually the last season) when the responsibility of jobs, children, and many other things are no longer present, and instead we get to devote ourselves entirely to times of prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, and service. Your purpose is clear and you have lots of time for it.

The words of Isaiah 43:1 were spoken to the nation of Israel. God called them by name and redeemed them. They were His and their purpose was to honor Him with their lives. But that’s true of us too. God has called you to Himself – you are His. And although you may have other purposes in your life too, your primary purpose is to know God, honor Him, and spend your life helping to build His kingdom on earth.

I encourage you to spend some time this morning thinking and praying about that clear and primary purpose of your life and the different ways in which you are fulfilling it.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Tuesday December 8th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.” Proverbs 9:11 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Celebrate the life not just the number”

One of the most common forms of celebration is a birthday celebration. In our church we celebrated two of them just this past week. One was for a boy who turned ten. His was celebrated with a party in the church gymnasium which included all the treats kids love, along with a NERF battle complete with NERF guns and swords. The other was for a man who turned fifty. For him family and friends provided a cake which we all shared in the Fellowship Hall after the service. Both birthdays were both special and both were celebrated.

Birthdays are important forms of celebration for several reasons. First, just the simple fact that the person was given another year of life is special. Many people don’t get the privilege of living a long life. Some who were here for their birthday last year are no longer with us today. A birthday party is a celebration of the gift of a life that continues.

Also, when we celebrate a person’s birthday, we aren’t celebrating a number but a life. We’re expressing joy and gratitude for this person. We’re celebrating the fact that this person was brought into the world to begin with and is still here with us today. Birthdays celebrate the gift of life and the uniqueness of this person’s individual life. Every person is special. Every person is a unique and much-loved creation of God. And every person is a reason to celebrate. (Speaking of unique, I once knew a man whose last name was “Christmas” and he was born on Christmas day).

The next time you get to participate in a birthday celebration I encourage you to really think about the person and the life you are helping to celebrate. We’re celebrating a life, not just a number.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Monday December 7th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse: “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Remember and celebrate your mountaintop experiences”

Ten years ago I wrote a book with the title, “Bringing it Home: A post-trip devotional guide for international and short-term mission teams”. It is a fourteen-day devotional guide which is intended to help those who have gone on short-term missions to process the experience and then hold onto the lessons, incorporating them into life back home.

The premise of the book is that short-term mission trips are often compared to mountaintop experiences because they’re so special. On a short-term mission we’re far removed from the hustle and bustle, the distractions and complications of everyday life. God has our full attention as we focus on doing His work in a different and often remote location. As a result, this is a time when people often experience lifechanging moments. They receive spiritual insights, or an answer to a problem they were struggling with, or perhaps a calling from God in terms of career or ministry.

The object of the book was to help the short-term missionary to bring that experience back home, hold onto it, and incorporate it into their lives. A primary way of doing that is to record the experience in a spiritual journal and then go back periodically to review and celebrate it. You can also acquire a memento or souvenir associated with the occasion and keep it in a spot where you will see it often and remember your special time. That’s true not just for experiences on short-term mission trips, but anytime we have a special encounter with God. That event, whether it be big or small, needs to be recorded, re-visited, and periodically celebrated.

We need to remember those important God-given times in our lives if they’re going to make a long-term difference. One application of the truth Paul expressed in Philippians 1:6 is that at the time of your mountaintop experience God initiated a change in you, a moment of growth, which He intends to carry forward in your life. But for that to happen, you will need to hang onto it and remember it.

From time-to-time we all have those personal mountaintop experiences with God. I encourage you to not let them slip away. Celebrate them at the time, but remember and celebrate them in the future as well.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday December 5-6

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts to the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.’” Leviticus 23:1-2 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Feasts, festivals, and celebrations are an important part of the practice of our faith.”

From start to finish, from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is packed full of examples of God’s people feasting and celebrating as a way of practicing their faith. Feasts, festivals, and celebrations are designed by God to call to our remembrance special occasions or significant events that are markers in the history of His people.

That was the case in Leviticus 23 when God instructed Moses to outline for the people seven major “sacred assemblies” that would be a regular part of their annual calendar. It began with the requirement for a weekly Sabbath gathering. It then included the Passover, the Feast of Firstfruits, The Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Each of these sacred assemblies had their own special purpose and were to be observed at their appointed times, and each would bring God’s people into a special time of worship as they remembered and celebrated that special occasion.

The Old Testament Jews actually had nine major and ten minor times of celebration like that which were included as a regularly scheduled part of their worship throughout the year. That tradition has carried over into the New Testament as well, and for us it also begins with a weekly Sabbath or time of gathering for worship. Easter Sunday is actually the most significant time of remembrance and celebration in the Christian calendar year, but every Sunday is also a celebration of the resurrection. Every Sunday is essentially a mini-Easter Sunday.

The Lord’s Supper is another such time of remembrance and celebration that is regularly included in Christian worship. Many churches, including my own, celebrate Christmas Eve with a Christmas Eve Candlelight service to help us recall and celebrate the birth of Christ. Depending on your faith tradition and denomination, there are multiple other times of feasting, celebrating, and remembrance included as acts of worship.

Not only is celebrating good for us in a general sense, but it’s also an important part of the practice of our faith. I encourage you to participate in that weekly celebration known as the worship service, but also be sure you don’t miss those special times of celebration too.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Friday December 4th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:22-24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Celebrating is already a big part of your life”

Human beings are naturally inclined to find things to celebrate. It’s just part of our nature. We like to be happy; we like to feel good; and we love it when things turn out well for us. So, we are predisposed to find reasons to celebrate. And that’s a good thing. As we’ve already learned, celebrating is good for us. It helps us to better appreciate life, it helps to relieve stress, it draws people closer together in a festive way, and it leads us to be grateful to God.

Also, celebrations are already more a part of your life than you realize. We already celebrate a slew of major holidays including New Years, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, July 4^th, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Then there are all sorts of minor holidays like Columbus Day, Susan B. Anthony Day, Confederate Heroes Day, Ground Hog Day, and so many more. Did you know that every single day of the year has multiple designations as being the national day of something? “National Pickle Day”; “National Donut Day”, ‘National Eat Your Beans Day”; “National Cow Appreciation Day”. There are more than a thousand national days of something.

Then add in all the personal celebrations like family birthdays, graduation ceremonies, job promotions, and a hundred other occasions which call for a celebration big or small. In Luke 15:22-24 we read about a father who put on a big feast to celebrate the fact that his wayward son had come home.

The fact is that we humans like to celebrate. It is an ingrained part of our nature and it’s good for us. Tomorrow we will consider the fact that God has established a long series of religious celebrations as a regular part of life for His people. But for today, I encourage you to find a reason, big or small, to celebrate. It shouldn’t be hard. You’re already preprogramed to celebrate anyway.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Thursday December 3rd

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating is good for us”

Our Bible verse for today: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Today may be all you have so enjoy it.”

This morning I want to continue our thought from yesterday about living in the moment, and celebrating the good things and the little victories that make up each day.

I once read a story about a man whose wife died suddenly and unexpectedly. Weeks after the funeral he was sorting through her things and he came across a fancy box that was still in the store bag. He opened it to find an attractive and expensive piece of clothing his wife had purchased and had been saving to wear for him on a special occasion. That special occasion never arrived and the special outfit was never worn. With that realization, a wave of sadness and loss and regret washed over him.

Far too many of us are waiting for some distant tomorrow before we do this or that; or before we celebrate some special occasion; or before we go to some special place, etc. But tomorrow may never come. Don’t keep putting off special things for another time if you could do them now.

I don’t mean to suggest that we should impulsively do everything today and never put anything off for another time. We celebrate birthdays on the person’s birthday. We plan vacations in advance and then we wait to go until the appropriate date arrives. We retire when we’re eligible to retire and until then we work. Also, learning the discipline of delayed gratification is a good thing.

However, it really is true that, “Yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow is but a hope; today is all we really have”. The Psalmist said “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Yes, the Lord made all of our yesterdays. And, if there are going to be any tomorrows for us, then He will be the Creator and Lord of those days too. But today is what we have right now. So, let’s be glad; let’s rejoice; and let’s enjoy it.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim