Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “Son”, Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.” Luke 16:25 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Things will be different in heaven.”

In Luke 16:10-31 Jesus told a story about a rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. In the story the rich man enjoyed a comfortable and leisurely life while Lazarus endured a life of poverty and sickness. The picture Jesus paints for us is of a rich man who reveled in his luxury and who seemed unconcerned about this poor sick beggar right there in front of him. Lazarus longed for scrapes and crumbs of food that might fall from the rich man’s table, but there’s no indication that the rich man helped him or even noticed him.

Then they both died. Lazarus went to heaven and enjoyed an eternity of pleasure and joy, while the rich man went to hell and experienced agony and suffering. In eternity their situations had been completely reversed.

Someone once commented to Billy Graham that they were sure that he (Billy) would have an exalted place in heaven because of his tremendous faithful service in this lifetime. Billy responded (I’m paraphrasing), “I’m not so sure about that. I am sure that I will be in heaven, and that I will be eternally happy, but God has blessed me so much in this lifetime with abilities and resources and talented people to help me. In heaven I think the bigger blessings belong to those who didn’t have the things that I have had and who lived faithful lives serving God and blessing others anyway.”

I think that will be true for my daughter Tracy too, and for other mentally and physically handicapped people like her. They go through this life without the mental capacity, physical ability, or resources that the average person has. There is so much in this life that they don’t have and which they cannot do because of their physical and mental limitations. But I think God will more than make that up for them in heaven. They have little now, but they will have a lot then.

Our world is filled with people who, through no fault of their own, go through life in deep poverty, or with physical and mental limitations, or they live a short life in a torturous prison in North Korea, or in some other way suffer tremendously while the rest of us have it comparatively easy. It seems so unfair.

But in terms of eternity this life is a puff of smoke which is here today and gone tomorrow. This is why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Things will be different in heaven. Many situations will be reversed. I believe there will be rewards in heaven for those who suffer and do without in this lifetime, but who are faithful to God and a blessing to others anyway.

Your life matters, and that’s true regardless of your circumstances. Be faithful to God now, and He will bless you later.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “Serving others adds meaning and value to your life.”

Linda and I live in a community that consists almost entirely of retirees. It’s not an exclusively “adults only” or “retirees only” community, but almost everyone who lives here is retired. (Except me. I’m probably one of the most “not retired” people I know. Lol. I’m as busy as I’ve ever been but, I’m not complaining. It’s by choice. I love what I do as a Pastor and I have no desire to stop.)

Over the years that we’ve lived here I’ve noticed a trend among the retirees. Usually they begin their retirement years with a big sigh of relief and the intent to rest and play and travel. And they do! They play endless rounds of golf, they sit around playing cards and drinking beer, they go where they want when they want, and basically, they live a life focused on fun and sun and on themselves. But then, after a year or two of that, it all begins to feel pretty empty. Soon they start wondering what the point of their life is now, and they begin yearning for meaningful ways to spend their time.

And so, another characteristic of this community is all the civic clubs and volunteer organizations there are. We literally have hundreds and hundreds of bored retirees looking for ways to enhance the quality of their own lives by finding meaningful ways to help make this world a slightly better place. And … they are right. Not only are there people in need of help all around us, and not only does every act of mercy, kindness, and compassion help to make this world a little bit better, but engaging in those activities improves the quality of our own lives too.

The truth is the more you serve others the more meaningful your own life will seem – to you, and to everyone around you. People will recognize you as someone who is kind and compassionate and attentive to others, and they will think well of you for it. But beyond that, you will think well of yourself for it. Serving others makes us feel good about ourselves – it helps us to feel that we are doing something meaningful with our life. And you are! That’s why the Bible is filled with exhortations to serve others. Doing so furthers the cause of Christ on earth, it brings relief to someone in distress, and it blesses you as well.

Serving others adds meaning and value to your own life. The more of it you do, the better you will feel about yourself.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You bless Jesus when you bless others”

In yesterday’s devotional we learned that Jesus reminds us that we will always have the poor with us. When He said that He wasn’t just talking about the poor, that was simply the example He chose to use. His fuller meaning is that because this is a sin-stained and broken world, there will always be lots of people in various kinds of distress and need. We also learned that the awareness of someone suffering or in distress will often serve to bring out the good in others. It will elicit acts of kindness and mercy and compassion. That still doesn’t make a bad situation good, but it does add value to it.

Since suffering in all forms is so much a part of the world we live in, the Bible is filled from beginning to end with exhortations for God’s people to do something about it. We are to be the conduit in this world through which the love, mercy, kindness, compassion, and resources of God flow to people in need. This is so important to God that in Matthew 25:40 Jesus said that when you do it for one of those in need, you have effectively done it directly for Him. He receives your act of mercy and compassion as if He Himself was the one in need and you did this thing for Him personally. Here are a few general principles which apply to situations like this:

First, if you are the one who is suffering or in need of assistance, please know that God loves you unconditionally. Your disability, or the tornado that destroyed your home, or the death of your loved one, does not mean that God doesn’t love you, and it doesn’t mean that your life is of less value because of this. Your suffering grieves God and He wants to minister to you in the middle of it.

Second, recognize that most of God’s blessings come to us through other people. Your suffering is an opportunity for them to serve the Lord by serving you – so let them. Be humble enough to graciously accept the help.

Third, for those who have the privilege of being on the giving side of the equation, recognize that “There but for the grace of God go I.” In other words, it could have been you in the place of that needy or suffering person. And, in the future, it very well may be. So, treat that person the way you would want others to treat you if it was you in that situation. Treat them with compassion and kindness and especially … with respect. Don’t treat them like they’re your ministry project. Don’t assume the attitude that they’re poor and you’re not and therefore you are going to throw them this little bone of assistance. This is a hurting person in need of help. This is a person God loves and whose suffering grieves His heart. This is Jesus in disguise.

Just because someone is limited, disabled, suffering, or in need, doesn’t mean their life is any less valuable than yours. Instead it means that you now have an opportunity to make this world a slightly better place, one person at a time, one situation at a time, by blessing them in their time of need. I encourage you to find someone you can help today.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “He also said to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner; don’t invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:12-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Those in need often bring out the best in others”

I travel a lot and often it’s with my wife, using her walker or wheelchair, and sometimes it is with my daughter, using her walker or wheelchair, and sometimes, on rare occasions, it’s with both of them at the same time.

Traveling with a disabled person can be tough. However, I’ve found that people are very nice and very considerate when they see a situation like that. They will rush to hold the door for you, they will offer to handle your luggage, they will smile and ask if there is anything they can do to help.

The fact is that seeing someone in need, whether it is a disabled person in an airport, a family stranded on the side of the road, a lost child crying for her mother,  a community devastated by a flood or tornado, or anyone else in a difficult or distressing situation, often brings out the best in people. Situations like that elicit acts of kindness, compassion, and mercy from people who otherwise might not be naturally disposed to be kind, compassionate, or merciful.

In Matthew 26:11 Jesus told us that “You will always have the poor with you …” That’s just a statement of fact. And in Luke 14:12-14 He told us to do something about it. We live in a broken and bleeding world filled with lots of people in all sorts of distressing situations. It’s not God’s fault. Sin and the devil are responsible for the evil and the suffering in the world. But the Bible teaches us that those situations are opportunities for us to show mercy and compassion. The awareness of someone else in need will often bring out the good in other people.

It is of course sad that someone is physically or mentally disabled, or that their car is broken down on the side of the road, or that their home burned in a fire, but in the middle of the pain and the sorrow and the struggle, God can and will redeem those situations by using them to bring out acts of mercy, compassion, and kindness. That doesn’t make a bad situation good, but it does add value to it that wasn’t there before. Your pain brought out something good in someone else. God has used a bad thing for a good purpose. We will think more about this tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor

Our theme for this month: “Your life matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” Exodus 4:11 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “People with disabilities love life too.”

Linda and I have a daughter named Tracy. She was born with cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, and mild mental retardation. Because of the cerebral palsy, she has always walked with a noticeable limp on her left side and she has never had more than 10% use of her left arm and hand. Because of the seizures, she has always had to wear a protective helmet to guard against injury to her head and face and she has always had to take large amounts of medicine in an attempt to control the seizures. But even still, the seizures have often resulted in injuries including broken bones, gashes requiring stitches, missing teeth, and a broken jaw.

As a result of the mental retardation, her intellectual capacity is that of perhaps a first grader, and her emotional development is that of a ten-year-old child. Tracy is now forty-nine and she has done her best to have as normal a life as possible under the circumstances as they are. But she has never been able to drive a car, or count money, or use a stove, or go to the store by herself, or get married, or have a baby, or a thousand other things that most people can easily do and consequently take for granted.

Over more than four decades of raising and caring for Tracy I’ve often wondered why God allowed her to be born this way. And she’s not the only one. There are many millions of people in our world today in Tracy’s situation – born with some major disability that limits their quality of life in significant ways. Do such lives matter? Do they matter as much as yours and mine? They sure do! And I’m saying that based upon four decades of personal experience of loving and caring for a disabled person.

In the days to come I’ll tell you more about why I believe such lives matter, and how it is that those people have a rich and full life too. But for today I will end by telling you that for those of you who know Tracy, you know that she is a very sweet person who is kind and caring, always looking for ways to bless and encourage others, and she is a fun person to be with. Remember the little girl with Down’s Syndrome from yesterday’s devotional? Remember her spunk and uninhibited personality? Hello Tracy! Tracy doesn’t actually have Down’s Syndrome like that little girl does, but she is full of spunk and good humor, she is sweet and funny, she loves Jesus and she loves people and she loves life.

If you spend time with people in the special needs community, you’ll discover that to be very common attitude. They love life too. We’ll explore this thought more tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him: ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered. ‘This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him.” John 9:1-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “All lives matter”

Recently I saw a video on Facebook of a children’s choir giving a performance in church. The children were all lined up on the stage, standing still shoulder to shoulder, hands at their sides, and singing their song. All except for one little girl with Down’s Syndrome. She started out standing still with the rest of them, but then she starts to sway with the music; then she begins to stomp her feet; then she leans her head back, raises her hands, and really begins to belt out the song. And then she starts doing some dance moves. And I mean, she was really moving! All the while the rest of the kids were standing still with their hands at their sides, well-behaved, and trying hard to remember their lines.

The video was hilarious but also inspiring. That little girl with Down’s Syndrome was completely uninhibited. The Spirit in her was moving her to worship, and she was determined to let it out and let it rip! And she did. By the way, the video went viral and has been seen by thousands of people.

Some people would question the value of the life of a child with Down’s Syndrome, or with any other major lifelong disability. There are secular ethicists who write books and articles, and who give lengthy speeches at scholarly conferences at places like Harvard University, who try to make the case that some life is less valuable than other life, especially because of things like Down’s Syndrome, and that child should have been aborted in the womb, or that her life should have been terminated shortly after birth. Their thinking is that such a life consumes resources that could be better applied to healthier people who make more of a contribution to society.

The Biblical teaching however, is that all life is valued by God and that He has a purpose and a plan for every person. Also, as we learn in John 9:1-3, all people, in all circumstances, can bring glory to God and they can bless and inspire others. That little girl in the video was an absolute hoot and I found myself wishing I knew her. I was certainly blessed by her style of worshipping God!

Over the next few days we’re going to explore this thought a little more. What about those people who are mentally and physically handicapped? Do their lives matter too? And if so, in what way? God says that all live matters – and therefore so do I.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.” Jeremiah 33:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Your life matters because God loves you so much.”

I have always found great comfort in the words of Jeremiah 33:3. God spoke those words to the nation of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah during a time when Israel was suffering greatly. The people (and Jeremiah himself) were in a time of life when it would have been easy to doubt God’s love for them, so He reminded them that despite their current circumstances, His love for them was complete, unconditional, and never-ending.

The same is true for you. Regardless of your current circumstances in life, God loves you more than you understand. His love for you is complete, unconditional, and never-ending, and even if your circumstances are difficult, that is not the result of God loving you any less than when your circumstances were better. And, when your circumstances improve, it will not be because God has suddenly started to love you more.

God created us out of a supreme act of love and in order to have an ongoing love relationship with us. On His side of the love equation, His love for us never waivers. And, also, He does not want our love for Him to waiver either.

The “Westminster Shorter Catechism” is a famous document explaining the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. It was developed by a group of English and Scottish theologians during a major Christian convocation that met throughout 1646-1647. One of the statements of agreement that came out of that convocation, and which virtually all Christians since then have agreed with is, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” That statement is often modified to read, “The chief end of man is to love God and enjoy Him forever.”

That’s really a very profound and insightful statement. The purpose of your life is to know God, to love Him, and to enjoy Him forever. That’s exactly why God created you to begin with – so He can love you, and so you can love Him back.

Today is Saturday. Tomorrow is Sunday. Sunday is the day we Christians gather in our church families so that together we can show our love for God, experience His love for us, and learn to enjoy Him forever. I encourage you to go to church tomorrow and celebrate your love relationship with God. Your life matters because God loves you so much.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “… I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Be content with the life God has given you.”

“Hi, my name is Jim and I’m an aging hippie.” It’s true, I came of age in the 60’s. I even have a red, white, and blue “peace sign” tattoo on my left shoulder. It has been there for almost fifty years. (It was cool at the time but has generated some questions and caused some problems since then. But those are stories for another time.)

I tell you that only as a means of introducing a song from that era which will help us to continue thinking about our theme from yesterday about learning to be content in life. The song is “Our House” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. It is a soft and beautiful ballad which paints a picture of a young couple in love, living a simple life in a simple home, and being completely content with it.

“I’ll light the fire, you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today.
Staring at the fire, for hours and hours as I listen to you play your love songs all night long for me.
Our house is a very, very, very fine house, with two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard, now everything is easy because of you …”

We live in a society today where, by and large, people are not content. Instead, we’re unsettled and constantly yearning for more, bigger, and better. But that’s not the life God wants for us. He wants us to learn to be content with what He has given us. That’s what the Apostle Paul was writing about in Philippians 4:11-13. His life had been a roller coaster of highs and lows, ups and downs, abundance and great need, but through it all he had learned to be content. And please don’t miss the fact that he had “learned” to be content. He said it twice in three sentences. This was something he had to learn.

What Paul discovered was that God is sovereign over all the situations and seasons of our lives and that regardless of whatever the external circumstances happen to be at any given moment, we can still be at peace in our heart and content with our life, thanks to the deep and rich relationship we have with Jesus Christ our Lord.

That doesn’t mean that Paul didn’t try to improve his circumstances as he could. He did. It just means that he didn’t stress and strain about it. He found the good in his circumstances; he fully enjoyed whatever there was to enjoy; he remained faithful; and he continued to trust God.

I encourage you to look for the good in your current season of life (it is there and you will find it if you look for it). Then learn to be content with the life that God has given you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Thessalonians 6:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Learn to be content”

In yesterday’s devotional I wrote of how it is that God calls most of us to live simple lives that honor Him and bless others. That reminded me of our Bible verse for today, 1 Thessalonians 6:6, and of a powerful and important lesson God taught me about learning to be content.

I learned how to be a Pastor in the high-octane Christian environment of Southern California in the 1990s. It was a time of hipster pastors, mega-churches, highly choreographed praise music, and stadium crusades. The emphasis was on big numbers – in attendance, in giving, and especially in baptisms. As Pastors we were taught that was what we needed to aspire to, and the success of our church would be measured by those numbers. It was a high-pressure church life that was never quite good enough no matter what your numbers were. But in my heart, I wanted something different. I wanted all the pressure to be gone and I wanted to be content with my ministry.

Many years after that God led me to be the Pastor of Oak Hill Baptist Church in Crossville, TN. It’s nothing like that Southern California scene. Crossville is a small town in rural Tennessee. Oak Hill Baptist is a small church on the boundary line between city limits and the country. We are a small congregation of simple people and to me, it is heaven.

A year or two after I came to Oak Hill, I was in small country store with some church members and I saw a picture of a little white country church, at night, in a snowy scene, with lights on in the church, and some horses tied up in front of it. It was a peaceful and beautiful scene of a simple church in a small setting. I loved that picture and I said so to the friends who were with me. Much to my surprise, a few days after that, when I came into my church office that framed picture was sitting on my desk waiting for me as a gift from those friends.

That was probably ten years ago and that picture has been sitting right there on my desk ever since, and it is a powerful reminder to me of how nice the simple life can be – especially simple church life.

Contentment is one of the greatest feelings we can have. It’s an emotional state of calm and a quiet satisfaction with your situation in life. It creates a sense of happiness which, rather than being euphoric and giddy, is settled and relaxed. Paul teaches us in 1 Thessalonians 6:6 that if you have a sense of contentment, and if it comes to you as a result of a deep and rich relationship with God, you have truly gained something precious and of real value.

One of the most important and meaningful turning points in life is when we have learned to be content. We’ll think more about this tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Your Life Matters”

Our Bible verse for today: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be grateful for the life you have.”

I once knew a young man who was a very talented singer, songwriter, and musician. He played multiple instruments including the guitar, piano, and drums, and he had a great voice. As a teenager and young man he was deeply involved in the music ministry of the church, and he seemed destined to be a youth pastor or worship leader.

However, he had dreams of fame and fortune. He wanted to be a professional Christian musician making records and performing concerts in large arenas. And in truth, he was probably good enough to do that. But, for various reasons, he was unable to break into the Christian recording industry, so in frustration he crossed over to the dark side. He moved to Hollywood and got involved in the secular music scene. There he did have some success. He became a session musician and found work playing and singing backup for non-Christian recording artists. He even wrote and performed the theme song for major movie. But he also got sucked into the drugs and alcohol that is so prevalent in that world. Long story short, I ended up performing his funeral when he was only thirty-two years old.

It’s typical of human nature for us to glorify and place on a pedestal people like actors, musicians, and athletes. We make celebrities out of them, pay them ridiculous amounts of money, treat them as if they are some higher life form than the rest of us, and secretly, many of us long to be like them. And yes, we do that in the Christian community too. We have our share of celebrity pastors and authors and musicians and we put them up on a pedestal. But that can often leave everyone else feeling substandard or inadequate, as if our lives don’t measure up.

The fact is that God doesn’t call us to be celebrities. Jesus is the only celebrity in Christianity. The overwhelming majority of Christians are called by God to be butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. We are teachers and accountants and police officers and store clerks and moms and dads and aunts and uncles and good neighbors. God wants us to be regular people living regular lives, honoring Him and blessing others. Oh sure, there are some who will write best-selling books or fill concert halls, but that’s the exception and it’s not what God intends for most of us. And also, that kind of life brings with it a whole host of its own unique and difficult challenges that most of us wouldn’t want if we did have it.

Your life is important and it matters exactly the way it is. Just focus on being the best you that God has called you to be at this time in your life. Be happy with the life that you have.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim