Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, ‘The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Choose hope and joy”   I’m a morning person. I especially love the early morning, before the dawn. It’s quiet and peaceful and serene. Yesterday morning I had an encounter with the Lord during which He reminded me of an important truth that was helpful for me, and which I believe will be helpful for some of you as well. I was standing at the front door of our house as the dawn was breaking, holding one of our little dogs (she loves the early morning too), and looking outside. We were just standing there, gazing out into the peaceful early morning. It had rained the night before. The air was cool, the birds were singing, the neighborhood was still, and it was … peaceful … and calming.   As I stood there soaking it in, I started to think about how all the events in our nation of recent months had been weighing heavily on me. The pandemic; the economy; the politics; the racial tensions; concerns for sick family members; disagreements in the church regarding policies and procedures for the pandemic; my responsibility as a pastor to help our people through these tough times; and more; all on top of regular life. Then, as my sissy-dog and I stood there enjoying the early morning, I realized I was starting to give-in to that sense of heaviness again.   Just then, the Lord reminded me of Lamentations 3:22-24. “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, ‘The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”   What a beautiful promise! Every day is new and there is hope and joy to be found in the Lord. We just have to choose to find it and focus on it. Then He reminded me of Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.”   Real joy isn’t derived from and doesn’t depend on circumstances. Circumstances may influence your happiness in a particular moment and for a short time, but true joy comes from the Lord. It comes from the inside and works its way out, not from the outside working its way in.   My situation is not unique. We’ve all been dealing with the same things and we’re all worn out by them. But we can choose joy over despair. We can rejoice rather than brood. We can focus more on God and less on the issues and events of the day. In Romans 15:13 Paul wrote, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”   We do have a choice regarding what we will allow our minds to dwell on. I encourage you to focus on the truths of God. I encourage you to choose hope and joy.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Be filled with the things of God”   This morning I want to share with you a passage from my sermon from this past Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church. We’re studying the Gospel of Matthew on Sunday mornings and this past Sunday we were looking at Matthew 12:38-50 where Jesus teaches about the danger of an empty heart. You can listen to the full sermon at http://www.oakhillbaptist.net.    The main point of my sermon was that God created human beings with an awareness of eternity and with a natural longing to know Him and to be in right relationship with Him. That’s what Solomon was referring to in Ecclesiastes 3:11 when he wrote that God has placed eternity in our hearts. There’s an empty place in the human heart that can only be filled by God and the more we fill our heart with the things of God, the more contentment and fulfillment we will experience. This is what the Apostle Paul was trying to get across to us in Philippians 4:4-8:   First, in verses 4-7 he urges us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”   Okay, that sounds great, so how do we get there? How do we get to the point where rejoicing in the Lord, and being aware of is constant nearness, and coming to the point where we are not worrisome but instead we pray about everything, and we live with a sense of thanksgiving, and we enjoy the peace of God, and we find that peace guarding our heart and our mind – how do we come to the point in life where those attributes describe our Christian experience? Well, now Paul brings us to verse 8:   “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.”   In other words, fill your mind and your heart with the things of God. That’s how the attributes listed in verses 4-7 become more and more a reality in the life of the Christian.   If you are seeking fresh wind in your sails and fresh fire in your soul, I would suggest you turn off the television news, log out of social media, put down the newspaper, and fill your mind and heart with the things of God instead.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, Fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “It will be true for you too.”   Yesterday I told you the story of a time in Billy Graham’s life when he was struggling spiritually. If you’re familiar with the story then you know it had been an exceptionally busy time in his life, for an extended period of time. Not only was he struggling with spiritual issues, but he was also physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. He needed renewal.   So, Billy did the thing he knew he needed to do – he carved out some time and he got alone with God. He placed himself in a position before God whereby God could speak to him and refresh his soul. That’s what David described for us in Psalm 23:1-3. There we get a picture of the Lord as shepherd, leading one of His sheep into a time of rest. The writer of Psalm 116 paints a similar picture for us:   “For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 116:8-9   In this case it seems as if the Psalmist had been in both physical danger as well as spiritual distress. If you read the Psalm in its entirety you will see that the writer sought the Lord, cried out to Him, spent the necessary time with Him, and ultimately found deliverance.   Both of those passages portray a person who found relief and renewal by shutting down and spending time with the Lord. And then, they came out of that time with fresh wind in their sails and fresh fire in their souls. It was true for King David, it was true for the unknown writer of Psalm 116, it was true for Billy Graham, and it will be true for you too.   During this difficult time in our life as a nation, we’ve all been under increased stress and we have all had to deal with many difficult situations. I encourage you to set aside some special time with the Lord to decompress and to be renewed.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you …” Jeremiah 29:13-14   Our thought for today: “Relive the moment”   Perhaps you’re familiar with the now legendary story of the turning-point moment a young Billy Graham had in his faith and in his ministry when he visited the Forest Home Christian Camp in the southern California mountains in the early 1940s.   Billy had just started his career as an evangelist. He was working for YWAM (Youth with A Mission), traveling around the country holding crusades for Christian youth groups. As such, he was the featured speaker for a weekend youth retreat at the Forest Home camp. But Billy was struggling with many questions about his faith, about God and the Bible, and about his future in ministry. One day while at the camp he went off into the woods by himself, put his opened Bible down on a tree stump, knelt down, and prayed for God to speak to him and answer some of his questions and doubts (or to at least give him some peace about it). It was in that moment that the truth of Jeremiah 29:13-14 became a reality in Billy’s life. God spoke to him.   God didn’t answer all his questions, but He did give Billy a reassuring sense of peace and assurance. Later, Billy wrote in his journal, “I sensed the presence and power of God as I had not sensed it in months. Not all my questions were answered, but … I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been fought and won.” It was a pivotal moment for him and it’s one he relived hundreds of times throughout his life in moments when he was struggling and needed fresh wind in his sails and fresh fire in his soul.   For many years I lived in California not far from Forest Home and on several occasions, I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time alone at that very spot where Billy had his encounter with God. They’ve built a beautiful little chapel there and it’s a great place to go to do your own business with God. In fact, I’ve resolved some issues of my own in that spot and all these years later (more than 25), I still revisit those times in my mind.   Have you had pivotal moments with God like that in your own life? If so, I hope you wrote them down in a journal and I hope you relive them with God from time-to-time. More than just being pleasant memories, reliving such moments serves to remind you of God’s faithfulness in the past and they can serve to open a door for new, fresh encounters with Him in the present. Jeremiah 29:13-14 really is true, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you …”   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Don’t let your life slip away”   I have a friend in law enforcement. He’s a young Christian man, early in his career as a law enforcement officer. He had a position with a police department that paid him well, but the hours were bad and his children worried about his safety. Deep in his heart he longed to be working with children, building into their lives, rather than chasing criminals. So when the opportunity arose, he left that job and accepted another position with a different law enforcement agency to serve as a School Resource Officer (a police officer stationed at an elementary and middle school). It’s a lower paying job but one he is likely to find much more rewarding and fulfilling. Not only will those children be safer because Officer Josh is there protecting them, but they will be encouraged and inspired by his solid character and strong Christian values.   I have another Christian friend who had a long and successful career as a medical doctor. Once he retired, he and his wife (a nurse) began going on three or four overseas short-term medical mission trips per year. In-between those trips they serve in their church, and at a local rescue mission in their town, and in other capacities that are helpful to people in need. Their retirement years are rich and full and very rewarding because they’re using them to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.   One of the most helpful things any of us can do to get some fresh wind in our sails and some fresh fire in our soul is to be involved in things that add real value to the lives of others. I realize that you may not be able to change jobs like my friend did, but are there activities you can begin to participate in that will be a blessing to others and add meaning to your own life as well? I’m sure there are. Regardless of your season in life, there are things you can be doing that will bless others and enrich your own life too.   Dr. David Jeremiah once wrote, “Too often a lifetime has passed and we’ve done little or nothing of eternal value.” I encourage you not to let that happen to you. Don’t let the years of your life slip away only to realize in the end that you didn’t do much that really mattered. Use your time in meaningful ways that serve and bless others. If you do, you’ll discover that by doing so, the quality of your own life improved too.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3   Our thought for today: “God’s love frees you to be real.”    In Jeremiah 31:3 God was talking about His love for the nation of Israel, but the truth He taught applies to us too. He loves us with an everlasting love. The other day I came across a cute story told by Pastor Chuck Swindoll which he borrowed from an old children’s book; it teaches a lesson about the impact of this kind of love. It’s a little lengthy but I want to share it with you this morning because it’s a great illustration of how, and how much, God loves you:               “The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.             “What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”             “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real.” “Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit. “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”             “Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”             “It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”   One of the most freeing moments any of us will ever experience is when we finally realize that God loves us fully, completely, and with an everlasting love, exactly the way we are. It takes time. Usually we have to live with God and experience His love for us for an extended time before we really begin to appreciate how perfect and complete His love for us is. But once we finally get it, the realization is transformative. You suddenly understand that you don’t have to be like anyone else, you don’t have to lose weight, you don’t have to own more things, or achieve great things, or look like a movie star in order for God to fully and completely love you. You are perfect and precious to Him just as you are and the sooner you realize this, the happier you will be.   I encourage you to relax and be comfortable in your own skin. Spend some time savoring the long and close relationship you and God have had. Re-live the special moments you’ve shared over your long time together. Know that you are precious to Him. Such knowledge gives you the freedom to be real, to just be you.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Stop expecting the worst”   Yesterday I suggested that we could all gain a little fresh wind in our sails and fresh fire in our souls if we would stop focusing so much on just the snapshot of time in which we live. Instead, we should take a step back and look at the big picture of God’s sovereignty over all the events of human history, from the beginning of time until today. When we do that it helps us to realize that God is indeed “large and in-charge”, and that as time passes, events and situations fade away.   In the research for their book, “The Coddling of the American Mind: How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure”, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt discovered that one of the reasons today’s college students tend to be so fearful and defensive, convinced that sinister forces are aligned against them and intend to do them harm, is because they tend to engage in a pattern of thought known as “catastrophizing”. It’s the belief that the worst possible outcome in any situation is the most likely outcome, and it is going to be awful. That then causes them to be emotionally triggered and they act out in irrational and often irresponsible ways.   Those students tend to be liberal in their social and political views and so their irrational emotionally triggered responses lead them to left-wing extremes. But conservatives sometimes engage in catastrophizing in the other direction. A common narrative we hear today, especially from far-right commentators, is that the leftward drift currently occurring in our national politics is the result of a vast and diabolical conspiracy that is leading us to socialism, or worse.   Hmmm … maybe. But probably not. If you step back and look at the big picture of U.S. history you immediately see that the political pendulum regularly and dependably swings back and forth from right to left and back again. We had conservatives George Washington and John Adams, but then there was the liberal Thomas Jefferson. We had conservative Teddy Roosevelt, but soon after that there was Woodrow Wilson. We had the liberals FDR and Truman, but then Eisenhower; there was Kennedy and Johnson, and then Nixon; Carter and then Reagan; Clinton followed by Bush followed by Obama followed by Trump. Back and forth it goes – so let’s not make more of this than it really is. There have been conservative shifts, liberal shifts, and even socialist and communist scares in our history more than once in the past and yet, here we are today, the strongest form of democracy there is, in the freest nation on the planet, with the best free-market economy in the world.   Let’s avoid catastrophic or fatalistic thinking. It just makes everything worse. It can make us as individuals irrational in our thinking and responses, and also, living in that state of mind is physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually exhausting. And, it only adds to the overall sense of anger, despair and frustration in society.   Would you like some fresh wind in your sails and some fresh fire in your soul? Then stop brooding about and expecting the worst of possible outcomes. Be engaged in the social and political process, do your part to make things better, trust God, and then don’t give in to fear or despair. Stop expecting the worst.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” 2 Peter 3:8 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Look at the big picture, not just the snapshot.”   In yesterday’s devotional I made the point that as we’re trying to form opinions, make decisions, and take actions regarding the difficult issues we all face in these perilous times, it’s essential that we stay focused on the truth of God’s word rather than on all the conflicting, contradictory, misleading, and false information we’re being overwhelmed with. God’s Word is the only dependable source of truth, and therefore Biblical principles have to guide our thinking and decision-making.   Today I want to pursue that thought further. In the letter we know as 2 Peter, the Apostle Peter was writing words of guidance and encouragement to Christians dispersed throughout the Roman Empire and living in dangerous and challenging circumstances. In 2 Peter 3:8 he reminded them that God’s agenda in this world is much bigger and overarching than just the circumstances they were faced with. In verse 8 he was actually quoting from Psalm 90 which reads:   “Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God … For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.” Psalm 90:1-4   God has been our refuge in every generation. He has watched over every event of human history from the dawn of creation until today and He remains sovereign over all of it. A thousand years of human history is like a day to Him, and a day is like a thousand years. In a single glance He sees the entire picture, from beginning to end, and He isn’t overwhelmed by any of it.   We tend to live our lives in snapshots of time. We focus on and become consumed by the immediate events of our day and we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture. We get tunnel vision, focusing on the proverbial trees in front of us and losing sight of the forest itself. But the current events of our day, whether we’re talking about this week, this month, this year, this decade, or even this century, are just a fragment of time which is here for the moment and then gone.   This is why it’s so important for us to take a step back and keep the events of the day framed within a Biblical worldview and within the context of Biblical history. Doing so will help us to focus on the big picture rather than just on this snapshot of time. It will also help to keep us calm and rational, rather than being emotionally triggered by the events in the world that disturb us. Seeing the big picture rather than just the snapshot can relieve some tension and renew our hope.   I encourage you stay focused on the big picture, not just on a snapshot in time.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Stay focused on what you know to be true.”   A big part of the problem we’re all faced with today as we continue to try to navigate our way through the pandemic, the economic meltdown, the social unrest, and the election year politics, is that we are overwhelmed with information. We live in the information age. We have a 24/7 news cycle that never stops, along with 24/7 instant access to social media from virtually anywhere on the planet. Consequently, we are all victims of information overload.   Worse, much of the information is false, misleading, or contradictory. A good case-in-point is the issue of best health practices for dealing with the COVID 19 virus. In our information-saturated world you can easily find lots of “evidence” to support whatever position you’re inclined to take on the issue. Some of the evidence is good and factual, some of it is false or misleading, and some of it is intentionally distorted to fit a particular political or social narrative. Some of it comes from reputable sources, but some of it comes from a Russian named Boris with a cheap laptop in an apartment in Moscow and posing as a medical doctor.   People can easily find “evidence” to support whatever position they’ve staked-out on any of the important issues of the day. Then, sadly, they often become dogmatic about their beliefs and even a little angry at, or mocking of, anyone who disagrees with them. (I’m thinking that Boris is enjoying himself immensely at our expense.)   In Matthew 10:16 Jesus was teaching that it’s a dangerous and confusing world out there, filled with many threats and lots of deceptions. That being the case we, His followers, have to be smart as we go about His business in this world. We do have to be as “innocent as doves”, in that our motives are to be pure and our intentions good; but we also have to be as “shrewd as serpents”, meaning that we are not to be naïve and easily fooled.   How do we accomplish that? We do it by staying focused on the only true, irrefutable, and unchanging truth there is – the Word of God. As Christians we need to have a clear and well-defined Biblical worldview through which we view all of the events going on around us. Then, we need to compare it all to how it lines up with God’s Word. Once we have done that, we make our decisions and take our actions. We look for clear Biblical principle and sound scriptural guidance to form our thinking about any particular issue. And then we use that to determine what is best and good. Always, we must default to scripture.   If there’s any doubt, any confusion at all, always err on the side of being faithful to Biblical principle. Take the course of action that most clearly fits with the Biblical principles that apply. And if you have to embark on a long and winding road of human reasoning in an attempt to somehow make the scriptures fit your preferred political or social narrative, then your reasoning has gotten you off track and led you astray. We should always check our thinking by returning to the most direct application of the applicable Biblical principles related to the issue.   In this confusing world of ours, I encourage you to stay focused on the only source of truth you can really trust – the Word of God.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.

Good Morning Everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire”   Our Bible verse for today: “He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’” Mark 6:31 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Come apart and rest, or you might just come apart.”   In Mark 6:31 we read of a time when Jesus and His disciples had been engaged in an extended time of intense ministry activities. Large crowds of people were milling around, others were coming and going, many needs were being met, and there was no sign that things were going to let-up for them. Finally, Jesus called a halt to it all and told His friends that it was time for a break, they were going off to a remote place to get some rest. The verse says that He invited them to “Come away …” The King James version translates the invitation as “Come apart …” I like that better only because it lends itself to a nifty and lyrical thought for the day, “Come apart and rest, or you might just come apart.”   Sometimes we push ourselves too hard for too long. That’s why God instituted the concept of Sabbath and He made it one of the Ten Commandments. We are to do all of our work and chores in six days, but on the seventh day we are to gather for worship and then rest.   This is important. We need it. We need to be together for group worship with our brothers and sisters. That’s why the New Testament instructs us not to skip the gatherings of our church family (Hebrews 10:24-25). And, we need the rest. That’s why there are still Ten Commandments instead of just nine. Observing the Sabbath day of rest is a God-given mandate that still applies to us in the New Testament Age.   Periodically we also need other, and sometimes longer, periods of rest. That’s what was happening in Mark 6:31. There’s no indication in the passage that this break of theirs was on a Sabbath day. It was an extra period of rest to compensate for the extraordinary workload they had been under. Sometimes we need those special extra times of getting away and decompressing. We also need our vacations – those extended periods each year of a week or more, when we just relax and play. I encourage you not to skip your vacation time. You need it.   When it comes to getting some fresh wind in our sails and fresh fire in our souls, we often need time apart. There’s a lot of wisdom in the old time-honored saying that sometimes we need to come apart and rest, or we might just come apart. I encourage you to get plenty of rest and relaxation during these difficult days we are living in.   God Bless, Pastor Jim

Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.