Oak Hill Baptist Church

Stay focused on what really matters

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Resilience”

Our Bible verse for today: “Then he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Stay focused on what really matters”

This morning I want to continue our thinking from yesterday because I’m convinced that in the months and years to come, it will become increasingly important for Christians in our nation to be strong, resilient, and focused. In yesterday’s devotional I said that I believe our nation is slowly drifting towards a situation similar to that of the nation of Israel during the days of the book of Judges. They had experienced a complete breakdown in the social order; there was no effective government; and the people of God had virtually no positive impact on their society. Therefore, “every person did what was right in their own eyes.” It was chaos bordering on anarchy. It was one big Gotham City.

I also noted that one of the reasons our society today has become so dysfunctional is because the church has become so ineffective. Too many Christians have lost focus and become sidetracked and distracted by secondary issues. They commit far more time, attention, and emotional energy to political and social issues than they do to God’s Kingdom agenda.

Is this a problem in your life? How would you know if it is? Let’s take a little test. I encourage each of us to spend a few moments in honest self-reflection. Answer these two questions about yourself:

After people have had an encounter with you and have listened to what you have to say, do they now know about your politics or about your Lord? And, once people have had an opportunity to observe your behavior, did they see you simply going about your own business, taking care of yourself, or did they see you serving others in acts of kindness, mercy, and compassion?

Of course, we have to live life and we have to engage in regular everyday activities. We can’t always be talking about Jesus and we can’t always be engaged in acts of service. But those two activities are so powerful and impactful that they will make a profound impression on the people we encounter. So, we need to dedicate more of our time, attention, and emotional energy to those things rather than to political and social issues. (This can be tricky because I personally believe that in general, conservative ideology does in most cases more closely reflect Biblical principles than does liberal ideology. So, wouldn’t that then mean that simply advocating for conservative causes is by extension advocating for Biblical principles? More about this tomorrow.)

Jesus didn’t call us to be Republicans or Democrats. He called us to be witnesses and servants. Resilient Christians have the discipline to stay focused on the Lord’s agenda and to keep those other things (as important as they may be) in their proper places.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

We need the church to be the church

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Resilience”

Our Bible verse for today: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “We need the church to be the church”

The Old Testament book of Judges is all about the break-down of society in ancient Israel. There was no effective government; the people of God had long-ceased to have any meaningful positive impact on their society; individuals had developed a fierce sense of independence and self-centeredness; and therefore, all throughout the twenty-one chapters of this sad history, we read that the people simply decided for themselves what they wanted to do and then they did that. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

I believe our own nation could be trending towards a similar break-down in civil and social order. Across the political and social spectrum, from far-left to far-right and everything in-between, people are in angry and often violent disagreement, sometimes to the point of riots, destruction, and loss of life. Respect for civil authority is at an all-time low, and more and more often I’m hearing people from both of the extremes declare that they’re ready for more chaos and more mayhem if they don’t get their own way.

What our nation needs today is the same as what ancient Israel needed in the days of the book of Judges – the church needs to rise up and be the church. I don’t mean that the church in our day needs to become more political, we already have too much of that, we already have too many Christians totally obsessed with political agendas (left and right). What I mean is that we need to keep political and social agendas in their place (second place, at best) and we need to put God’s agenda based upon Biblical principles in its proper place (first place).

That’s why I have continued for a second month to write about the theme of resilience. Now more than ever our nation needs Christians to be at their best – living joyful, dynamic, thriving, and victorious lives that exalt Christ and bless people in the middle of all the political and social chaos. While there may be some value in trying to persuade others to agree with our political or social opinions, our time and energy would be much better spent sharing the Gospel and winning people to faith in Christ.

As the people of God in our day, let’s commit ourselves first and foremost to being the church and doing what the church is supposed to do – sharing the Good News of the Gospel and serving a broken and bleeding nation in the name of Jesus.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Build your life on the firm foundation

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Resilience”

Our Bible verse for today: “I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.” Luke 6:47 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Build your life on a firm foundation”

Luke 6:46-49 is a fascinating passage of scripture in which Jesus reveals a great truth that everyone needs to hear and heed. He teaches there that the best life any of us could possibly have is the life that is lived in the center of God’s will, upon the firm foundation of faith in Christ.

He set the lesson up in verse 46 by asking the question, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don’t do the things I say?” The implication is that He had been teaching them the best and proper way to live but they had not been doing what He told them to do. Then in verse 47 (above) He tells them that He will illustrate for them the difference between a life that is lived in obedience to Him, and one that is not. In verse 48 he says of the person who builds their life on the firm foundation of faith in Him and obedience to His commands, “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it because it was well built.”

Then in verse 49 he contrasted the person who has chosen to build his life on something other than the firm foundation of faith in and obedience to Christ, “But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.”

Resilient Christians have learned the truth of what Jesus taught in that passage. They have built their lives on the firm foundation of faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ. It’s why they are resilient. It’s why they can live victoriously in the face of challenges and adversity. It’s why they can withstand the storms of life and not only survive, but thrive.

The best life any person can ever have is the one that is lived in the center of God’s will and in obedience to the commands of Christ. As a resilient Christian you have already discovered this to be true, but you know other people who haven’t. You know others whose lives look very much like that man whose life was built on a weak foundation and consequently, their lives are a wreck right now. Those people need to hear the lesson that you have already learned. They need to know about the firm foundation that is Jesus Christ.

In Luke 6:47 Jesus said that He would show people what a life built on a firm foundation looks like, then He told this story. It’s possible that the people you know will be impressed and impacted by Jesus’ story. But it’s more likely they will be impressed and impacted by how that story came true in your own life. I encourage you to go tell them about it.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Let’s get up out of the p-e-e-e-w

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Resilience”

Our Bible verse for today: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.” James 2:14-18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Let’s get up out of the p-e-e-e-w”

Does your church have chairs or pews? It doesn’t really matter, it’s just the place where you sit and listen when you’re “in church” and hearing a sermon. Tim Hansel says that for many Christians it’s not just a pew, it’s a p-e-e-e-w. The question he asked was, “Do you spend most of your Christian life sitting stiffly and quietly in a thing called a p-e-e-e-w?”

The implication is inertia, inactivity. And, unfortunately, for many, that is the extent of the practice of their faith. It consists of attending a service, singing some songs, listening to a sermon, and then going back to their regular life. But the practice of our faith isn’t supposed to be something we do for an hour on Sunday morning, it’s supposed to be the life that we live 24/7. It’s not an activity we participate in once a week, it’s who we are. It defines our life. And it is supposed to be a life of action.

In James 2:14-18 James said that faith without works is dead. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, only that it’s not a dynamic, thriving, resilient faith. Instead, it’s a limp, weak, insignificant thing that makes little real difference in the life of the individual who has it or in the lives of the people that individual interacts with.

In yesterday’s devotional I said that we all have considerable untapped potential in our lives and that we can all be stronger and better than we are. I ended by urging everyone to have a plan that will help you to develop and grow in the various areas of your life. One of the best things any of us can do to start making things better is to simply get up out of the pew, or off of the couch, and start doing something meaningful and helpful. Action creates momentum and as momentum builds, it keeps us moving in the right direction.

What can you do in order to improve and grow? The answer to that question is unique to you. It depends on what your life looks like right now. Just pick an area that needs improvement and start doing something about it. James encouraged us to be involved in acts of ministry that bless and help others. I think that’s a wonderful place to start.

We can all be better than we are, and that’s especially true in the ways in which we practice our faith.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You’re not as strong as you could be

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

Be strong for yourself, and for others too

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

But what do you use all those muscles for?

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

Overcoming our limitations makes us stronger

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

Walk with the Wise

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

Don’t put off joy

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