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.

Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Resilience” Our Bible verse for today: “And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Don’t underestimate the power of association” Yesterday I mentioned the importance of the power of association. The kinds of people we surround ourselves with matters, because over time we become like those we associate with. If you hang around with a bunch of bank robbers, soon you will probably be robbing banks too. If you spend your time with drug addicts, before long you’ll probably be doing drugs too. If you spend your time with strong, resilient, on-fire Christians, it won’t be long before you begin exhibiting those qualities. We become like those we associate with.  That’s what the writer of the letter to the Hebrews was trying to get across to his readers in Hebrews 10:24-25. When we’re in a group of fellow Christians who love one another, we will feel that love and we will share that love with others. If they are believers who regularly and enthusiastically engage in good works in the name of Jesus, you will probably get caught-up in that enthusiasm and soon you’ll be helping out with those good works too. If your church family is an encouraging place where believers lift one another up, pretty soon you will be encouraging and lifting others up as well.  And so, he tells us that we’re not to neglect being a part of those meetings. If our church family is gathered, and if we can be there, we should be there. We need to be there. We need to be there so we can be influenced in a good way by others, and we need to be there so others can be influenced in a good way by us.  The power of associate is real and it is indeed powerful. We become like those we associate with. So, like your mamma always said, “Choose your friends carefully”. Make sure the people you are with are people you want to be like because in time, you will be like them.  I can’t think of a better, more resilient, and more encouraging group of people to associate with than the brothers and sisters at Oak Hill Baptist Church (I’m sure your church family is great too but pardon me if I’m a little biased about this). We meet for Sunday school at 9:00 and for worship at 10:00. If you’re close to Cumberland County Tennessee then please join us. If you’re not close, or if you’re staying home out of an abundance of caution due to the COVID 19 pandemic, then please join us online for the worship service at 10:00. It will be broadcast live via live-streaming on the Oak Hill Baptist Church Facebook page.  Don’t underestimate the power of association. Be careful and thoughtful about who you associate with because over time, you will become like them.  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: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “The strength of others can make us strong.”   Yesterday I told you about the funeral for my friend Tom and how it is that his life was an example and an inspiration for the rest of us. There’s a bit more that needs to be said about that. Tom was also the leader of our men’s ministry at church. He taught a monthly Bible study for our men’s group, and he led us as we scheduled various activities for the group (which seemed to consist mostly of meeting for Saturday morning breakfast at Cracker Barrel or Shoney’s but hey, guys need to eat).   I failed to mention previously that because of the stroke Tom suffered almost thirty years ago, his mouth was twisted and it required a great deal of effort on his part to speak clearly. Listeners had to listen closely to catch what he was saying. Therefore, teaching a Bible study to a group of men took courage and extra effort on Tom’s part. But that was part of his strength. Tom didn’t shy away from challenges like that.   When Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”, he meant that as Christians we learn from each other, we draw inspiration and strength from each other, and we help each other to be better men and women. The strength of others can make us strong.   This is a vitally important truth that we need to understand, embrace, and take advantage of. When God puts strong, resilient, inspirational people in our lives, we need to take advantage of that and spend time with them, learn from them, draw from their strength. One of the ways we become more resilient is by hanging around with people who already are.   Tom was strong and tough for his own sake, but he was also strong and tough for the sake of others. Handicapped though he was, he worked at our local agency for the developmentally disabled because he wanted to be able to help those who were more limited in life than he was. Although he needed a walker to slowly even get to his truck once he was in his truck, he then gave rides to those who can’t drive at all. Although he himself lived on a small income, he gave generously to those who had less. He was strong for himself but he was strong for others too. Those of us who were close to him learned from his example, and we’re better off for it.   The power of association, and the impact that those close to us have in our lives, is an important subject that bears further discussion. We’ll come back to it again 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: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Be tough, stay strong, finish well.”   Yesterday we buried my friend Tom. He’s the one I told you about in a previous devotional, the one who had a stroke as a young man. He lived almost his entire adult life with serious disabilities, but he never gave-in and he never gave-up. Tom was tough, he was strong, and he finished well.   For the funeral message I used Joshua 14:10-11, “Here I am today, eighty-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.” I’ve never used that passage for a funeral message before and on the surface, it doesn’t really seem to fit Tom. Tom was not eighty-five, he was fifty-nine. And he wasn’t as strong in his later years as he was in his younger years, as Caleb claimed to be in that passage. But what Tom did have in common with Caleb was attitude. Caleb was feisty and determined and he refused to give-up. Tom was like that too. If we had to choose some character traits to describe Tom, it would be hard to come up with two better ones than feisty and determined (although stubborn would run a close third).   We began the funeral by playing the theme song from the movie Rocky. You know the song, you can probably hear it in your head right now, the one with those trumpets blaring and the chorus singing “Gonna fly now … gonna fly now …” I’ve never heard that song used in a funeral before but it sure was appropriate for Tom. Rocky was a fighter and so was Tom. Rocky never gave-up and neither did Tom. When an opponent knocked Rocky down, Rocky got back up and came right back at him. When life knocked Tom down, he got right back up and kept coming back at it.   Tom was tough and Tom was strong. He was a great example of what it looks like to live a resilient life, a flourishing life, despite hardships and challenges. He was an inspiration to the rest of us and I’m sure we’ll be telling Tom-stories for many years to come.   We’re often inspired by the lives of others, and we learn from their examples. Tom Herring was a perfect example of what it means to be a resilient Christian. May the rest of us go and live likewise.  Be tough, stay strong, and finish well.     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: “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish they answered …” Matthew 14:17 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Jesus can do a lot with a little.”   The disciples had a problem. There was a huge hungry crowd of people before them – 5000 men plus the women and children with them, perhaps as many as 20,000 people. They needed to be fed and Jesus had just told them (the disciples) to do something about it. The disciples were incredulous. “Feed 20,000 people, are you kidding me?” What could Jesus have been thinking?   But Jesus took the little they had to contribute to the situation, He added a miracle to it, and 20,000 people were somehow fed from a supply of food that started out as only five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Jesus does stuff like that, and there’s a lesson in this for us.   Jesus will take the little we have to offer and do a lot with it. Understanding this calls for proper perspective. It’s the realization that anything done in the name of the Lord is meaningful and important, even if it seems small and insignificant. Another example of this is found in Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus taught a lesson about acts of ministry that are important in the eyes of God. In that lesson He didn’t mention things like leading stadium crusades, or founding a Bible college, or starting a hospital. Instead, He talked about doing things like feeding the hungry, taking care of the homeless, and visiting a prisoner. Small things that make a difference in one life at a time (similar to the young boy and the starfish in yesterday’s devotional). The world is changed and made a better place by such small acts of ministry done over and over again, day after day, by countless millions of faithful Christians.   Resilient Christians are content to serve faithfully and diligently in small ways, person-by-person, day-after-day, because they recognize the great truth that Jesus can and will and does do a lot with a little. He will take the little we have to bring to bear upon a situation, bless it, and accomplish amazing things with it. Small things, done in His name and with His power matter a lot, and they do make a difference.   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: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Do something rather than nothing”   In recent days we’ve been thinking about the urgent need in our nation for resilient Christians and resilient churches to rise up and to make a meaningful difference for good in the middle of all the pain, heartache, struggle, and instability that exists in our land right now. I want to spend the next few days thinking about how to do that.   As we survey the political, social, economic, and spiritual landscape in our nation at the moment, we could easily get depressed and discouraged. The challenges seem insurmountable. And, for us as individuals, considering the magnitude and complexity of the issues, they are insurmountable. None of us individually can do much about the larger issues. But together, if we all do something rather than nothing, we can make a difference. And there’s the key – just do something.   Taking action is powerful. Taking action makes a difference. Most of us are familiar with the old story about the young boy and the starfish on the beach. An event occurred that caused thousands of starfish to wash up on a beach. The tide went out and the stranded starfish were slowly dying. A young boy came along, starting to pick up the starfish one-by-one, and toss them back into the ocean so they could live. A man came along, observed the boy amidst the thousands of stranded starfish, tossing one after another back into the ocean, and he said “Son, there are thousands and thousands of stranded starfish on this beach. What you’re doing really isn’t going to make much of a difference.” The boy thought about that for a moment, looked at the starfish he was holding in his hand and replied, “Well, it’ll make a difference for this one.” And he tossed it into the sea.   You and I alone can’t solve the problems our nation is facing. We can’t bless every person; we can’t calm every angry argument; we can’t lead every lost soul to Christ. But each of us can do something. We can “make a difference for this one”. We can be a blessing and a help to the person who is in front of us at the moment. And then we can do it again for the next one, and again, and again. And if enough of us do that, collectively we can make a big difference.   I encourage you to do something rather than nothing – for one person at a time, over and over again. Together we can make a difference.   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 are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains.” Matthew 24:6-7 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Resilient Christians act, but they don’t overreact.”   We’re living in unsettled times. We’re experiencing a worldwide pandemic, political instability, social unrest, economic struggles, and a rapid ideological drift to the left that’s taking us further and further away from Biblical principles. Our national dialogue is characterized by anger and bitterness, and the national mood is filled with fear and uncertainty. Into this setting the church must rise up and be the church. We need strong and resilient Christians who can be involved in the problem without being part of the problem.   Matthew chapters twenty-four and twenty-five together constitute one long discourse in which Jesus tells the future. New Testament scholars have long debated the precise meanings and timings of many of the specific details contained in the discourse, but it is clear that Jesus was alerting His followers about trials and hardships they would face in future times. Some of it pertained to the coming destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (which did happen in A.D. 70). Some of it clearly refers to the times immediately before Jesus’ second coming. But much of it also seems to pertain to trials and tribulations the followers of Christ will have to be prepared to face over the hundreds and thousands of intervening years from the time Jesus said these things until His return.   The point for us today is found in verse six when He said, “See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet.” What He was saying there was the same thing we read yesterday in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”   Jesus was telling us that we shouldn’t be surprised by or excessively alarmed about the unpleasant and difficult things that unfold in the world around us. As His followers we should remain calm and cool, reasoned and reasonable. That doesn’t mean that we can or should dismiss the importance of wars and famines, plagues and politics. But we shouldn’t become overwrought about them either. We must recognize the situations for what they are, keep our heads about it, and then do what we can to be a positive force for good in the middle of it all.   Resilient Christians act, but they don’t overreact.   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: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “We will need to be strong and resilient.”   Yesterday I told you about a joint research project involving the American Bible Society and the Harvard University Human Flourishing Program which proved that Christians who read their Bibles regularly and who are active in church are happier, healthier, and they handle tough times better than those who don’t do those things. Today I want to explain why that is going to be increasingly important in the months and years to come.   I’m currently reading a book called “Politics after Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World.” It was written by Dr. David VanDruenen, Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary in California. The premise of the book is that Christianity and Christian influence in the USA is suffering a similar fate as it did in Europe over the last three hundred years, only at a much faster pace. At one time Christianity was the dominant social, cultural, and political influence in Europe, but not anymore. Today Christians in Europe live in largely secular societies that are either indifferent to Christian thought and values, or even in strong opposition to them. The same thing has been happening in the USA over the last fifty years, but again, at a much faster pace than in Europe.   In his book Dr. VanDruenen has both good and bad news for us. The bad news is that the favorable political and societal conditions that once existed in Europe and the USA for Christians were unique and not the norm as depicted in the New Testament. Therefore, we should not expect such conditions to continue indefinitely. Dr. VanDruenen writes, “Therefore it is no surprise that the New Testament steers Christians away from staking very much upon government institutions. Christians may avail themselves of civil justice, pray for their civil authorities, and even exercise political office, but they should always keep the affairs of state in proper perspective. No affection Christians may feel toward their political communities can compare to their allegiance toward Christ’s heavenly kingdom.”   But there’s good news too: “Christians do not need a new and special kind of political theology for life after Christendom. Rather, Scripture itself provides a political-theological vision perfectly suited for a post-Christendom world. The New Testament envisions Christians living in a world such as this and prepares them for it. Scripture equips Christians to understand and function within societies that will remain foreign and often hostile to them.”   He goes on to say that living well within such a world requires us to be actively engaged in the life of healthy church communities, and to remain aware of and resistant to the false, misleading, and deceitful influences of the society in which we find ourselves.   This is why it’s increasingly important for Christians to be faithfully involved in a strong church. I’m not suggesting that we should give-up on our country. Not at all. But I am saying we mustn’t be naïve about it either. We live in a fallen world, and it’s going to keep getting worse until Jesus returns. That being the case, as Christians, we need to stick together in order to be strong and resilient. As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, Christians who read their Bibles regularly and who are active in a good church tend to thrive regardless of the difficulties they face.    God Bless, Pastor Jim

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