Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “Make room for us in your hearts.” 2 Corinthians 7:2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Take good care of your most important relationships.”

This morning I’m preparing for our Thursday night couples Bible study. It’s actually a marriage enrichment study. Eight couples meet every Thursday night to watch the DVD series “Love and Respect” by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, followed by a time of group discussion. The DVD is helpful and funny but the group discussion is the best part.

Although that study is specifically about helping husbands and wives to maintain a strong marriage relationship, the principles taught really pertain to all relationships. The primary lesson is that we have to nurture and care for the relationships that are most important to us because if we don’t, they won’t be healthy. And life is miserable when our most important relationships are not healthy. It’s tough to be light-hearted and happy, smiling and laughing, if your home is filled with tension and conflict, with bolts of lightening shooting back and forth across the living room.

Perhaps the most important key to keeping relationships healthy is committing time to them. In my sermon last Sunday I talked about this. 2 Corinthians 7:2 was part of the passage we looked at. In that verse Paul urged his readers to make room for him in their hearts. In other words, “Make room for me in your life. Give me some of your time and attention.” In my sermon I reminded my listeners of an important lesson Benjamin Franklin once taught about the value of time. In contemporary language it goes:

“Do you value your life? Then value your time, because time is the stuff life is made of.”

Your life is made up of the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years that God has granted to you. And here’s the thing, once a moment in time is gone, it’s gone; you can never have it back. It’s a piece of your life that is gone and which you will never get back. So when you give a person some of your time you have given them a piece of your life. Therefore your time is valuable and when you give a person some of your time (some of your life) you have given them a precious gift.

I encourage you to care for your most important relationships by investing time and effort into keeping them healthy. Don’t be like the guy who had the following conversation with his wife:

Her: Why don’t you take me out to dinner?
Him: I don’t go out with married women.
Her: But I’m your wife.
Him: I don’t make exceptions.

Don’t be that guy! Take care of your relationships and keep them healthy by committing time to them.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Maintain a positive attitude”

Charlie “Tremendous” Jones was a popular motivational speaker and author. He was hired by companies and organizations to speak to their employees to help motivate them and to help them develop and maintain positive attitudes about their work, but also about life in general.

Charlie was so upbeat and positive that his attitude was contagious. But it was a lot more than just ‘rah rah” cheerleading stuff. The reason his books and seminars were so popular is because his message resonated with people and his strategies worked. And also, deep inside, most people really do want to be positive and upbeat. People want to feel good and they want to enjoy life. Charlie was pretty effective at helping people to achieve that. Your life is better when your attitude is right. More than twenty-five years ago I bought one of his books called “Life is Tremendous!” and I still have it on my bookshelf today. In fact, I have it in front of me right now as I write this.

When it comes to having a good attitude I have always been inspired by God’s command to Joshua recorded in Joshua 1:9 above. Choose to be strong, courageous, and push back against discouragement. That command fits hand-in-glove with a similar command given by the Apostle Paul to his young protégé Timothy recorded in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear (or timidity), but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”

Your attitude and overall outlook on life is one of the most important things about you. A pessimistic person with a bad attitude is destined for a life of misery and failure. A positive person with a good attitude is much more likely to have a happy life. And, your attitude is your choice. You decide how you are going to approach life. You decide whether you will be downcast and morose, or upbeat and positive.

Personally I choose to believe that life is tremendous and full of fun and adventure, because that’s a better way to live than being pessimistic. Likewise, living with a sense of being empowered by God to accomplish meaningful things is so much better than being fearful or timid. Your attitude is your choice.

It has often been said, and I know it to be true, that a bad attitude is like a flat tire – you’re not going to get anywhere until you change it. So if your attitude needs changing don’t wait until you’re bumping along on the side of life’s road like a car with a flat tire and not getting anywhere. I encourage you to change it now. Your attitude is your choice.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:31-33 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be faithful and trust God.”

Matthew 6:25-34 is part of the Sermon on the Mount and it is one of my wife Linda’s favorite passages. In this passage Jesus assures us that we have a loving Father in heaven who loves us deeply, cares for us more than we can know, and who has committed to providing for us. If we will obey and honor Him, we can trust in Him to care for us. He is sovereign over the affairs of our lives, He is all-powerful, and He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

Although I too love that passage and have always been reassured and comforted by it, my personal favorite (especially as I’ve entered the senior years) comes from Isaiah 46:4. This is my personalized translation of it: “Even to your old age and grey hairs, Jim, I am He. I am He who will sustain you. I will sustain you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

Ever since we became Christians almost twenty-nine years ago Linda and I have strived to be faithful to God in acts of service, financial stewardship, and in overall lifestyle. Of course just like you we have been far from perfect, but I think our hearts have been right on the matter. And God has certainly taken care of us. We have never been wealthy, but we’ve also never been homeless and hungry either.

Financial and physical concerns are a common source of worry and anxiety for people. They are also a major joy-stealer. It’s impossible to be joyful and light-hearted if you’re fearful and anxious. Learning to truly trust in the goodness, mercy, and watch-care of your Father in Heaven is the key to breaking free from the bondage of being preoccupied with such matters. It will still be true that God expects you to work hard, earn a good living, be a good steward, make smart money decisions, and give generously to help support His kingdom-building work. But as long as you are doing your part, and as long as you are seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness, He will quietly and subtly take care of the rest for you. You will be provided for.

By the way, I usually end these devotionals about “Laugh Again” with a joke or some funny observation, but today I want to ask you to pray for me. I have an important meeting at a bank later and if everything goes right, I will be debt free and I will own everything I have. I’m so excited I can hardly get my ski mask on!”

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy … Galatians 5:22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Cultivate joy.”

In Galatians 5:22-23 the Apostle Paul lists what he termed “the fruit of the Spirit”. These are character traits that the Holy Spirit develops in a Christian’s life as that person grows in spiritual maturity. The passage reads: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Joy is one of the attributes the Holy Spirit develops in us as we mature in Christ. But we have to want it and we have to cultivate it. This involves being intentional in all the ways we’ve been considering this month – prayer, Bible reading, blessing others, surrounding yourself with happy and upbeat people, worship and counting your blessings, listening to Christian music, enjoying good clean comedy, and other activities that lift your spirit and cause you to laugh and be joyful.

True joy is usually found in the simple things in life. In his book “Laugh Again” Pastor Chuck Swindoll observed that:

“The happiest people are rarely the richest, or the most beautiful, or even the most talented. Happy people do not depend on excitement and ‘fun’ supplied by externals. They enjoy the fundamental, often very simple things of life … they savor the moment, glad to be alive, enjoying their work, their families, the good things around them. They are adaptable; they can bend with the wind, adjust to the changes in their times, enjoy the seasons in life, and feel themselves in harmony with the world. Their eyes are turned outward; they are aware, compassionate. They have the capacity to love.”

Joyful people who laugh easily and often are usually intentional about being that way. They pursue joy rather than waiting for it to come to them.

I encourage you to pursue joy. Be intentional about cultivating a bright and sunny disposition. Be a lighthearted person who laughs easily and often. Find humor even in situations that might otherwise cause frustration or discouragement. Pastors do this all the time. We make it a point to laugh about much of the sillier aspects of church life.

For instance, have you ever wondered why casual Christians even bother to change churches? I mean seriously, does it really matter which church you stay home from? (Sorry, that’s a bit of dark Pastor-humor late on a Sunday night. A little snarky but still funny. Lol)

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

Our thought for today: “Your happy place.”

One of the things I love about Oak Hill Baptist Church is the sounds of laughter that ring out throughout the place. When our church family is gathered it tends to get loud because there’s always so much laughing and joking going on. There are smiles and greetings, hugs and laughing, joking and kidding. In the Sunday school classes there’s lots of good teaching, but the fellowship among the members is even better than the lessons. In our worship service the time of greeting and fellowship is happy chaos as people wander around the sanctuary hugging, talking, laughing, and greeting one another. I frequently get the complaint that I don’t allow the fellowship time to go on long enough. (I think I could skip the sermon and just let the people spend those thirty minutes greeting each other and mingling and everyone would be just fine with that!)

And if you really want to hear some hearty laughter, you should listen-in on our Thursday night Marriage Enrichment Bible Study. Eight couples meet every Thursday evening to watch the “Love and Respect” series on DVD, followed by a group discussion. The DVD is funny, but the group discussion is hilarious. The things that get said in there! Good thing we have a rule that says “What’s said in here stays in here!”

Church is my happy place. Whether the church is gathered for worship, study, fellowship, work projects, recreation, or for any other reason, it is always a bright spot in my week. The rest of life can sometimes get heavy and maybe even a little discouraging. Gathering with the church family is the tonic that makes it all better.

A few years ago the Country singer Kenny Chesney had a hit song titled, “Everybody wants to go to heaven (but nobody wants to go now)”
“Everybody wants to go to heaven, have a mansion high above the clouds,
Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now …
I’m having fun down here, don’t you know that?
Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now …”

I’m sure you probably do want to go to heaven, but not right now. Well, it’s often been said (and I know it to be true), that church done right is a little taste of heaven. So come to church instead! At Oak Hill Baptist our Sunday school is at 9:00 and the worship service is at 10:00. We’ll make you feel welcome, you’ll get your share of hugs, you’ll probably laugh a good bit, and before long church will be your happy place too!

By the way, Kenny Chesney’s song reminds me of little Johnny in Sunday school. The teacher told the children to raise their hands if they wanted to go to heaven. They all raised their hands except for Johnny. The surprised teacher asked, “Johnny, don’t you wan to go to heaven?” Johnny hesitated and then said, “Well, I do, but do I have to go now? Mom said we’re having cherry pie for desert today and that’s my favorite!”

Amen Johnny. I can relate little brother. Heaven is going to be great, but I’d like a little more cherry pie before I go.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “Don’t allow yourself to dwell in despair.”

The concept of “mind control” sounds spooky to many people. It conjures up images of a diabolical genius who can control other people’s thoughts; or someone who dabbles in the dark side of the spiritual world and has learned to bend spoons with his thoughts.

But actually “mind control” is much simpler and innocent than that. Mind control simply means having control over your thoughts. It means taking positive control over the influences you allow into your mind and the thoughts you allow your mind to dwell on.

This is a bigger issue than you might realize. The things you allow your mind to dwell on determines how you think and what you believe to be true, and it also colors your personality – thereby determining how other people view you.

When it comes to our theme of “Laugh Again”, what you allow your mind to dwell on will determine if you are happy or sad, upbeat or depressed. If you allow your mind to dwell on negative thoughts and depressing situations, you will be negative and depressed. But if you make yourself focus instead on positive and upbeat things like encouraging bible verses, or humorous thoughts and jokes, you will be positive, upbeat, and maybe even funny.

“Mind control” is what Isaiah was referring to in Isaiah 26:3. Those who choose to keep their minds focused on God and on the things of God will find themselves to be at peace. You can accomplish that by memorizing and reciting encouraging passages of Scripture. You can do it by means of listening to uplifting Christian music. And yes, it can happen through comedy and laughing, and surrounding yourself with Christian friends who encourage you and lift you up.

All of us have times when we feel down, but we don’t have to dwell there. We don’t have to remain depressed and discouraged. We can be intentional about taking actions that will move us up out of despair. There’s a general principle about human behavior that applies here. It says, “All of my problems become smaller when I take action to deal with them.” That applies to problems of all kinds but especially to despair, discouragement, and depression. It all begins to dissipate when we take positive and intentional action to deal with it. You don’t have to stay there. You can control your mind.

And also, if you know someone who is struggling with this issue, please be sure your help is actually helpful. Don’t be like that church that started a support group for them but then put in the bulletin, “The Low Self-Esteem support group will meet on Thursday at 7:00 PM in the church basement. Please use the back door.”

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Keep it clean”

The other night Linda and I pulled out the TV trays, cooked ourselves a pizza, and sat down to watch a movie we had been eager to see for some time. The name of the movie is “Stan and Ollie” and it is about the real-life story of the famous comedy team Laurel and Hardy. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were the most popular slap-stick comedy act for much of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. They were hilariously funny, but in an innocent and clean way. The movie was a heartwarming behind-the-scenes look at their personal relationship as close friends and partners.

So much of what passes for “humor” in our day is dark and dirty and mean. It doesn’t uplift, edify, or enrich the minds and lives of the audience. Instead it has the opposite effect. It plants dark, dirty, and mean thoughts in the minds of those who listen to it. Worse, getting enjoyment from that kind of filth poisons a person’s personality. Fill your mind with dark, dirty, and mean thoughts and soon you will become a dark, dirty, and mean person. Comedy shouldn’t have that effect on people.

Ephesians 4:29 is one of several passages found in the New Testament which reminds us that as the people of God we should not use foul language. That would include telling or listening to dirty jokes. As a child of the 50s and 60s I grew-up on the comedy of Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges, The Little Rascals, The Bowery Boys, Leave it to Beaver, and the Andy Griffith Show. I’m so glad I did because it conditioned me to appreciate and enjoy good clean comedy.

The good news is that there is still plenty of clean comedy around today that will help us to laugh at life and to enjoy ourselves. Chonda Pierce, Jeff Foxworthy, and Louie Allen, are just a few examples. In our region of the country we also have The Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge, TN. There are actually more choices for clean comedy than you might realize. The reason is because many people prefer it to the dark, dirty, and mean-spirited stuff that passes for comedy in our day.

By the way, did you hear about the 17 year old boy who was in rebellion to his father? He insisted on wearing his hair shoulder length. His father wanted him to get a haircut. One day the boy came to his father and asked to borrow the car. The father said, “You can borrow the car when you get a haircut.” The boy replied, “You know Dad, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, the Apostle Paul had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair.” To which the father replied, “Yes, and they WALKED everywhere they went!”

I hope you have at good day today – even if you have to walk everywhere you go. (Trevor, get a haircut!)

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “A happy heart makes a face cheerful …” Proverbs 15:13 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Being happy makes you smile, and smiling makes you happy.”

It comes as no surprise to us that when we’re happy we smile. But did you know that smiling also makes you happy? It does. There’s an old saying that goes, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile is the source of your joy.” The truth of this has been scientifically proven in numerous psychological and neurological studies.

Psychologically there is a theory known as “self-perception theory”. It holds that acting as if you feel something will eventually lead you to actually experience that feeling. If you act like you are brave, soon you will begin to actually feel brave. If you act like you love someone, and if you continue in those actions, eventually you will begin to experience true feelings of love for them. Likewise, if you act happy, soon you will begin to actually feel happy, or at least happier than you were.

Most of us acknowledge that if we feel happy we will act happy. But it’s also true that if we act happy soon we will feel happy. Smiling is a major part of the happiness equation. When you’re happy you smile. So conversely, if you smile you will begin to feel happy. The self-perception theory proves it over and over again. If you want to have something to smile about, just go ahead and smile, and soon you will be smiling because you feel like it and not because you are trying to.

There’s also a neurological element to this smiling business. Smiling results in the secretion of endorphin hormones in the brain. Endorphin has an opiate kind of effect on us in that it makes us feel good. The physical act of smiling generates a release of endorphins in the brain. That in turn makes us feel good, which gives us even more reason to smile, which then releases more endorphins, which make us feel even better, which makes us smile even more … and on it goes. Smiling makes you feel good. And the more you smile, the better you feel.

This is good stuff, man. And it’s legal! You can get high on endorphins and there’s no law against it! The more you smile the better you feel and the better you feel the more you smile. Smiling is also contagious. If you smile at other people other people will smile back at you. Then they will experience the release of endorphins, they will feel better and happier, they will smile even more, which will cause yet more people to smile, releasing endorphins in them, causing them to smile at other people and … Wow. This stuff could change the world!

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile is the source of you joy. So smile today! Smile a lot.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again”

Our Bible verse for today: “Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.” Psalm 126:2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be joyful, and let it show”

I once heard it said that “The Christian should be one big “hallelujah!” from head to toe!” It’s true. Nobody has more to be grateful for than the Christian. Your sins have been forgiven. You have the Holy Spirit of God living in your heart. You have a loving Father in heaven who is always looking out for you and who is committed to meeting your needs. You get to experience the Fruit of the Spirit in your life in increasing measure. And, when this life is over, you have a wonderful eternal home waiting for you.

Yes, the Christian should be one big “hallelujah!” from head to toe!

I love the scene depicted for us in Psalm 126. It is known as “A song of ascents”. It was sung by the Israelites as they marched up to Jerusalem to worship. Jerusalem sat on a hill, which is why it is commonly referred to in song as “a city on a hill”. As that large throng of Israelites ascended the hill, with the city of Jerusalem in sight above them, they were laughing, singing, rejoicing, and calling out praises to God. It was a great scene of joy.

Our theme this month is “Laugh Again” – with an emphasis on “again”. The implication is that long ago we stopped laughing enough. The joy of life drained away and many of us simply resorted to getting through our days. May I politely suggest that you knock it off? To borrow a phrase from Sergeant Hulka in the movie Meatballs, “Lighten up, Francis!” Life is not as hard as you make it out to be. Go back and read the previous devotional about the 80/20 rule. You have been blessed beyond measure and there is much more good in your life than bad. Life is meant to be enjoyed not just endured. There is plenty to be thankful for and happy about. And there are lots of reasons to laugh.

Did you hear about the little boy who was invited to say the blessing at his family’s Thanksgiving dinner? He thanked God for his mother, father, brothers and sisters. He thanked God for their guests, and for the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and even for the Cool Whip. Then there was an extended silence until finally the mother looked up and saw the boy with his eyes open, looking at her, and in obvious distress. He whispered to her, “Mom, if I thank God for the broccoli won’t He know I’m lying?” Everyone at the table burst out laughing and they all agreed it was the best Thanksgiving prayer any of them had ever heard.

Make it a point today to look for things to be grateful for and to be happy about. And laugh. Laugh at lot. Go ahead and be one big “hallelujah” from head to toe!

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is: