Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, ‘Woman, you are free of your disability.’ Then he laid his hands on her, and instantly she was restored and began to glorify God. But the leader of the synagogue (was) indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath …” Luke 13:12-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “People are more important than rules.”

Once, many years ago, in another church in another state, a young single mother came to see me who was a member of a different church. She had gotten pregnant out of wedlock and although she had been encouraged by friends and family to get an abortion, she chose to have and keep her baby. Now, as a new mother and as a Christian, she wanted to have her baby dedicated to the Lord in a Sunday morning worship service. She acknowledged that she was wrong to have had sex outside of marriage, but she did the right thing by having the baby, and now she wanted to do the right thing by dedicating her baby to the Lord and raising the child in church.

But, the Pastor and leaders of her own church refused. They were hardcore legalists, and they were determined not to do or say anything that could in anyway be perceived as possibly endorsing or winking at the sin that had led to the conception of this baby, so they told her they would not participate in dedicating the child to the Lord.

I disagreed with their position. Regardless of the circumstances that led to the pregnancy, here was a beautiful little baby and a mother who wanted to do the right thing for her child. Our job as the church was to help this young woman draw a line in the sand and go forward from there, honoring the Lord and raising her child well. So even though she wasn’t a member of our church, I invited her to come on a Sunday morning and we would gladly assist her in dedicating that baby to the Lord. The leaders and the congregation of our church all enthusiastically agreed, and that baby was dedicated to God.

In Luke 13:10-17 Jesus encountered a woman in the synagogue who had been crippled for eighteen years. Having compassion on her, he healed her and freed her from her long years of affliction, pain, and suffering. But when He did, the leader of the synagogue complained bitterly that the healing had been accomplished on the Sabbath, thereby (in his opinion), violating the law and tradition of not performing any work on the Sabbath. But Jesus informed all of them that this woman was much more important to God than any rule, regulation, tradition, or religious ritual, and that freeing her from her suffering was the right thing to do, regardless of any rules about working on the Sabbath.

The lesson here is that we shouldn’t let anything deter us in our efforts to take care of people, because taking care of people is more important than rules, regulations, traditions, religious rituals, or any other excuse we might come up with for not taking care of them.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be a peacemaker”

As a child, teenager, and young adult, I had an anger problem. I had a simmering rage bottled up inside of me and sometimes it would erupt for little or no good reason. I was easily provoked and would sometimes explode over the silliest things. It made life difficult for my parents, for my brothers and sisters, and later in life, for my wife and children.

Fortunately as I got older I mellowed and my anger became less of a problem. And then, thirty years ago, when the Holy Spirit of God finally got ahold of me and started developing the fruit of the Spirit in me (Galatians 5:22-23), love and joy and peace and patience began to replace the anger and the offense.

I’ve discovered in the years since then that it’s a lot more pleasant (for me and for everyone around me) to live in peace than in anger and conflict. In fact, I’ve learned that one of the greatest acts of blessing I can offer to others is to be an agent of peace, to be a peacemaker. Instead of being easily offended or quickly angered, it’s much better to be the one who does not easily take offense and who is seldom angered. The truth is that most things aren’t important enough to get angry over or to be offended about. Even most things you disagree with aren’t important enough to risk a confrontation. I believe that how able we are to simply let unimportant things go is a measure of our spiritual maturity.

In Romans 12:18 the Apostle Paul encouraged us to strive for peace in our relationships with others. He acknowledged that sometimes it’s not possible to live at peace with everyone – sometimes there are issues that have to be addressed, and sometimes other people simply will not let you to be at peace with them. But if it is possible, then as far as it is up to you, work for peace.

When it comes to taking care of others one of the most helpful things you can do is to be an agent of peace, someone who brings peace and stability into relationships rather than anger and strife. I encourage you to help make everyone’s lives better by being the one who strives for peace. Be a peacemaker.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “May the Lord bless him because he has not abandoned his kindness to the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “This man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.” Ruth 2:20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You don’t have to be a hero; just be good.”

I love the example of the man Boaz in the Old Testament book of Ruth. If you remember the story, Naomi, along with her husband and two sons, were Jews who left Israel during a time of famine and immigrated to the land of Moab. Her sons met and married two Moabite girls and the family settled into life there. But then Naomi’s husband and two sons all died. Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth then decided to return to Israel.

When they arrived, they were homeless and with no means of support so Ruth sought work in the fields helping to bring in the harvest. She was hired to work in a field owned by Boaz, who happened to be a relative of Naomi’s. Boaz was an upright, kind, and compassionate man. He had mercy on Ruth and Naomi, helped them in their time of need, and he ended up marrying Ruth and producing offspring who were direct descendants of Jesus Christ.

The thing that impresses about Boaz is that he was simply a kind man doing the right thing. He saw two women in need and he helped them – and that was exactly what God wanted him to do. God wasn’t looking for Boaz to be a hero by doing some extraordinary thing. God just wanted him to notice a need and be responsive to it.

Solomon wrote about this as well in Proverbs 3:27, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” The Apostle James taught something similar in James 4:17 when he wrote, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

When it comes to taking care of others you don’t have to be a hero, you just have to be good. Boaz was a good man who simply and quietly did the right thing. That’s all God asks of us too.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching.” Titus 2:6-7 CSB

Our thought for today: “Set a good example; encourage those who are discouraged.”

One of the men in our church is the head coach of the boy’s basketball team in one of our local high schools. He’s a very good basketball coach. He has led his teams to multiple winning seasons and district championships. But he’s an even better role model for those boys. He loves them, teaches them valuable life-lessons, and he models character and integrity for them.

The other night his team was playing in the district championship game. The other team was good and they were tough. For four full quarters it was a close-fought battle with the lead changing hands multiple times. Finally, with only 3.4 seconds left, our team was ahead by 2 points and it appeared they would win another district championship. But the opposing coach called a time-out. He gathered his team in a huddle and devised a last-second desperation play – the proverbial “Hail Mary”. When play resumed they quickly passed the ball to their best shooter. He then launched what appeared to be an impossibly long shot towards the basket and it went in for a long three-pointer just as the buzzer sounded and time expired. The other team won the game by only one point.

As you can imagine, the arena erupted in pandemonium. The opposing fans went nuts. But our team and our fans stood in stunned silence, shocked to have had the win snatched from us in the last second like that. But what happened next was a powerful lesson for all of us. As soon as the frenzy started to die down our coach gathered his team, led them over to the other side, and then personally shook the hand and congratulated every player on the opposing team. He then led both teams to gather in a circle at center court as one of our young players led both teams in a prayer.

It was a powerful lesson in how a godly man responds to bitter discouragement, and it was done in a way that encouraged, uplifted, and inspired not just the boys who lost a tough game, but everyone else in the arena as well.

As Christians we have it within us to be a source of encouragement to those who are suffering bitter disappointment. That’s true even when (maybe especially when), we are suffering that bitter disappointment along with them.

Life is hard and it is filled with lots of times of disappointment and discouragement. In such times be sure to be a good example. Handle it with grace, and with character, dignity and integrity. If you do, you will be a source of encouragement for those who are also disappointed and discouraged.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Take care of your family”

I had a situation many years ago when a young single mother came to the church asking for help to buy food for her family. She explained that her ex-husband was behind in his child support payments and that it was creating a financial crisis for her and the children. The problem wasn’t that he didn’t have a job or income, he did, the problem was that he had other expenses as well and therefore he wasn’t paying the child support. Instead, he told her to go to the church for help.

We did help that family but there were a few things I would like to have said to that deadbeat dad. A man has a responsibility to take care of his children. He has a responsibility to pay his child support. If that means he has to work a second job, then he should work a second job. If it means he has to pick up aluminum cans on the side of the road to earn some extra cash, then he should pick up aluminum cans on the side of the road. He should do whatever it takes to fulfill his responsibility to provide for his children. And according to God in 1 Timothy 5:8, that kind of responsibility applies to all of us, and it to extends to other family relationships as well.

When it comes to providing for basic needs such as shelter, food, and clothes, I believe there is a hierarchy of priority in assuming responsibility for meeting the need. First, the individual has to do everything possible to provide for themselves. Then, if the person is truly doing what he or she can do to help themselves, and if the situation involves a true need and not just a want, then family members need to step up and help. It’s only then that the church or other helping agencies should be approached for assistance.

You have probably heard the old adage “Charity begins at home”.  That truth can be applied in multiple ways but it certainly is true that we need to take proper care of those close to us first. We are not to enable laziness or bad behavior, but if a close family member has a legitimate need, and if they really have done everything they can do to help themselves, and if we can help, then we should. The responsibility for helping belongs to family members first.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Stay calm and trust the Lord”

One of the nicest compliments anyone ever gave me came from a team member on a mission trip to Haiti. Haiti is the poorest and most lawless country in the western hemisphere. There is little effective government and almost no law enforcement. Port-au-Prince is a dirty, noisy, crowded city with horrendous traffic jams and piles of rotting garbage everywhere. Armed gangs are a danger that must be avoided. Many stores have a shotgun-toting guard standing at the front door.

The missionary compound we were staying in was in the center of a crowded neighborhood. It was surrounded by 20-foot-high stone walls topped with broken glass embedded in the stone. Huge metal gates provided entry into the compound but they were always locked and always guarded. If we left the compound it was in a vehicle, as a group, and we were escorted by an armed guard.

One morning we were meeting for morning devotions. The night before there had been gunfire in the neighborhood directly outside the compound. As I had been doing all throughout the mission, I spoke to the team about the security situation. I assured them that our hosts had gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure our safety, and that we should just trust in the Lord and stay focused on the mission. We would be smart, I told them, and we would not take unnecessary risks, but beyond that we would just do our job and trust the Lord.

That’s when the compliment came. The team member said, “Jim, you’re like good medicine. You make people feel better.” I’m not very good at taking compliments and so her statement made me a little uncomfortable. But then I remembered what was actually happening. What she and the others were actually seeing and sensing wasn’t me, it was the Holy Spirit of God using me, as the leader of the group, to comfort and reassure His people. That sense of calmness and assurance comes to us from the Holy Spirit. He may speak it through a leader, but it’s the Spirit who reminds us that God is in control and that He has promised to watch over us and to care for us. The Spirit reminds us of God’s past faithfulness to us in other dicey situations, and He speaks peace into our hearts.

As I think back on that situation, I realize that the only thing I did that day that was of any worth was that I allowed the Spirit of God to speak to His people through me. He will do that through you too. If you turn to Him, the Spirit within you will enable you to remain calm and unflustered in difficult situations. You then, can have a calming influence on others. But remember, it’s not you. It’s not you who is “the good medicine that makes people feel better”, it’s the Holy Spirit within you. He’s simply dispensing the medicine through you.

In difficult situations stay calm, trust the Lord, and let Him speak words of peace and comfort through you to others.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” Acts 2:42 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You need refreshing and renewal”

Taking care of each other is important and it is rewarding, but it can also be exhausting. For most of us, life itself is busy. If, on top of that, you’re the kind of person who pays attention to other people, and therefore you notice when they’re struggling, and if you then go out of your way to help and bless them, after a while you can begin to experience “compassion fatigue”. Taking care of your own issues, and then helping others with their issues as well, can just plain wear you out.

That’s especially true if you’re the caregiver for a sick loved one (which many of you are). It’s common for a caregiver to focus so much on the one they’re taking care of that they forget to take care of themselves.

Yes, taking care of each other can sometimes be labor intensive and it can wear you out. You can find yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually drained. And so, you need to take care of yourself.  You need renewal.

This is one of the reasons it’s so important that we not neglect gathering together with our church family each week (Hebrews 10:24-25). It’s a time to come together for study and worship, but also for fellowship too. It’s a time to set-aside the cares of life and to focus on meeting God in group Bible study and in worship. It’s also a time to relax and enjoy the company of your brothers and sisters in Christ. In short, it’s a time of renewal. You can rest and recharge physically, mentally, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually.

I encourage you to attend church this weekend. You need it. You need to be with your church family. Also, if you know of someone in your church family who typically goes over and above in the level of care they provide to others, they probably need renewal even more than you do, so make an extra effort to bless and encourage them while you’re all together at church.

By the way, if you’re in the vicinity of Cumberland County Tennessee this Sunday morning, please visit us at Oak Hill Baptist Church. This Sunday our Sunday School department will be serving a hot breakfast from 9:00-9:50. Instead of our regular classes, we will instead enjoy a time of feasting and fellowship. Plan to join us!

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

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 2:14-17 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Do something.”

I have some friends (a husband and wife team), who have the spiritual gifts of service and hospitality. They love people (especially their church family), and they’re always doing things to bless others. Together they deliver meals, visit in hospitals, help with work days, provide transportation for those who can’t drive, they help with chores in the church buildings, and lots of other acts of service like that. Actually, I have many friends who fit that description – good people who simply love to serve and who get great joy out of doing things to help and bless others.

In James 2:14-17 the Apostle challenged us to think about the fruit of our faith. His point was that if your faith is genuine then it should be evident by the way you live – and he wasn’t talking about engaging in religious rituals either. In James 1:22, when he urged us to “Be doers of the word, not hearers only …” he wasn’t referring to praying, reading your Bible, and going to church (as important as those things are). Instead, he amplified and clarified the meaning of the statement in 1:22 by what he wrote in 2:14-17 where he made it clear that if your faith is real and deep, it will show itself in acts of compassion, mercy, and service to others.

It’s good if you notice that someone is in need and it bothers you that they are suffering. It’s even better if you pray for them. But it’s something else again to actually do something about it. Nice thoughts are, well … they’re nice, and prayers certainly are important too, but your actions are what really matters. That’s where the proverbial rubber meets the road. It’s what you do that makes the difference, not just what you say.

When it comes to taking care of each other you have to actually do something. Words are cheap. It’s action that makes the difference. I encourage you to actually do something today. Put feet to your faith, put action to your words, and actually do something to help someone today.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s coworkers.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Find a partner to work with.”

As an “Acts 1:8 church” we at Oak Hill Baptist are committed to being on-mission with Jesus out in the world beyond the walls of the church building. Towards that end, we look for groups that are doing something good for the kingdom of God, in their little part of the world, who we can come alongside of and partner with. That’s how we ended up working with the rescue mission in our town, and a foster home for children in another county, and a little church in the coal mining region of eastern Kentucky, and a children’s home in the Amazon Jungle of Peru, and missionaries in Southeast Asia, and an orphanage in Haiti, and a small church in a remote part of Liberia, Africa.

Recently God has led us to what we believe will be a new ministry partnership here in Tennessee with the Lighthouse Christian Camp. The mission of the Lighthouse Camp is to provide a free one-week summer camp experience for underprivileged and at-risk children and teens who would not otherwise be able to attend camp. These are children from the counties in our part of Tennessee and they come from broken homes, foster homes, deep poverty, abusive situations, drug infested homes, etc. Lighthouse brings them to camp for a week in the summer, and then volunteers and partners stay in touch with the children all throughout the year – inviting them back to weekend camp retreats throughout the year, and to a big Christmas party at Christmastime. Church volunteers in the local communities also stay in touch with the children and teens from their own county, attempting to build relationships with them and their families, with the end goal of drawing them into the church.

Lighthouse also operates two foster homes on the camp property and they have eight apartments for widows. The widows live on the camp grounds, serve on the staff, and spend lots of time with the children. Lighthouse is a wonderful ministry that is worthy of your support and partnership. If you would like to learn more about the camp and the wide scope of their ministry activities, you can go to their website at www.lighthousechristiancamp.com.

Sometimes the best way to help take care of each other and of the most vulnerable who are in need of help, is to find a good partner to work with.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”

Our Bible verse for today: “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Treat others with kindness, mercy, and compassion – even if they don’t deserve it.”

Perhaps the greatest example of mercy and compassion that I have ever personally witnessed occurred in Spring Valley, CA in 1997. I was the Pastor of Bancroft Baptist Church. Bob and Carol were members of our church and they were in their early 70s. They had been married for almost forty years at that time, but Carol was Bob’s second wife. Bob’s first wife had been a fussy and angry woman who was not a good wife to Bob or a good mother to the children. Theirs was a short and stormy marriage that ended with her abandoning Bob and the children and going off to begin a new life with another man.

Over the decades that followed, the first wife remained fussy, unhappy, and mean. She continued to cause pain, heartache and trouble for Bob and their children all throughout the decades, right up until the end of her life. Which is where today’s story begins.

By the time that woman was in her 70s she was old, alone, and deathly sick with terminal cancer. She had alienated everyone in her life and it appeared that she would die alone in a nursing home. But Bob and Carol were strong Christians and although the first wife was still a mean-spirited shrew, Carol told Bob that she wanted to bring her into their home and care for her so that she didn’t die alone. And that is what they did.

For months Carol kindly and gently took care of her. She fed her, bathed her, changed her diapers, and spent many hours talking to her and praying with her. It was an indescribable act of kindness, compassion, mercy, and Christian love.

As Christians we ourselves are the recipients of grace and mercy from our heavenly Father. The love and forgiveness He has extended to us is completely unmerited and mindboggling in scope. Now He calls us to be kind, merciful, and gracious towards others.

I encourage you to consider who God has brought into your world who you could minister to with some act of kindness and compassion today. It doesn’t have to be through some great act like I described above. Small acts of kindness are important too. You will bless that person, it will inspire and motivate others to similar acts, and it will greatly please your Father in heaven.

Treat others with mercy, kindness, and compassion – even if they don’t deserve it.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim