Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t be fooled by appearances”

I’ve been in various levels of leadership positions for more than forty-five years, and too often I’ve allowed myself to be fooled by a person’s appearance, or their accomplishments, or their talent. That’s less true today than it was in the beginning, but my sense of caution about such things has been learned through painful experience.

I remember one time many years ago I had a talented young man serve as a guest worship leader on multiple occasions in our church in California. He was a great guitar player, he had a beautiful voice, he was dynamic in the way he engaged the congregation, and I liked his style of music. I did have a sense that something was not quite right about his character, but I couldn’t put my finger on it and I didn’t think too much about it. Besides, I really liked his music.

One day I learned that he was in jail. He had sold the family’s mini-van and used the money to buy a large quantity of drugs he was then going to resell (after he kept a good amount for his own use). It turned out he was a secret drug addict. His young family was in serious financial trouble because of his addiction, they now no longer had a car, and he was headed for prison. But, I really liked his music.

The lesson of 1 Samuel 16:7 is that God is totally unimpressed with a person’s appearance, talents, professional accomplishments, or wealth. What God pays attention to is the condition of a person’s heart. We need to learn to do the same.

Good moral character, a strong sense of integrity, humility, a determined sense of perseverance, a commitment to hard work, loyalty, dependability, and of course, a close walk with the Lord, are all character traits that are much more important than any of those other things.

In terms of personal responsibility there are two points of application here. First, each of us has a personal responsibility to be developing the virtues in life that really matter most. Professional accomplishments, education, creative talents, etc, are all helpful and important, but such things are not as important as the condition of your heart.

Second, in our interactions with other people we each have a responsibility to not be fooled by outward appearances. Instead, look for evidence that reveals what kind of heart the person has. That’s what matters most to God, so that’s what should matter most to us.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We need each other.”

As we continue to consider our theme of “personal responsibility”, we need to think about the responsibility we have to maintain healthy relationships. The truth is that we all need other people in our lives. Nobody makes it through life alone. And the more close relationships we have, the better the quality of our life will be.

In 1969 a hit song was released by the rock and roll band “The Hollies” which beautifully reflects the truth expressed by the Apostle Paul 1900 in Galatians 6:2. The title of the song was “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother”. It goes like this:

The road is long
with many a winding turn,
that leads us to who knows where,
who knows where.
But I’m strong,
strong enough to carry him.
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.
So on we go,
his welfare is of my concern,
no burden is he to bear
We’ll get there …

We need each other. At times I’ll be strong and I’ll help you, and at other times you will be strong and you will help me. That’s what happens when we’ve taken the time to develop and maintain close relationships.

But here’s the thing: Having close and healthy relationships in your life is your responsibility. There’s an old saying that goes, “In order to have a friend you have to be a friend.” You have to make an effort to cultivate close relationships with people.

Good friends and close relationships enrich our lives. I encourage you to make as many friends as you can, and then do the work to nurture those relationships and keep them healthy.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we do.” 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The health of the church is your responsibility”

The little church in Thessalonica was a good church that was faced with tough times. They were being persecuted and afflicted by a hostile society, but they were holding fast to their faith. This was a healthy church during a time when it wasn’t so easy to be a healthy church.

But many churches are not healthy. Hundreds of churches close their doors in the USA each week. (Fortunately, as those churches are dying and closing, the Lord is raising up new churches to take their places). Interestingly, while those churches are in the process of dying, the Lord lets them die. That’s right, He lets them die. He doesn’t have to. He is all-powerful. The Holy Spirit could draw people to those churches and fill the pews every Sunday if He wanted to. But He obviously doesn’t want to. Instead, He let’s them die.

The reason those churches die is because the people aren’t doing their part to keep them healthy. Often they get stuck in tradition and refuse to change their methods, even though the old ways of doing things obviously don’t work anymore. In other cases they have compromised their doctrine and therefore the Holy Spirit has withdrawn His blessing. In many cases the people have gotten lazy and they simply make little or no effort to keep the church healthy. Sometimes they have circled the wagons and are hunkering down inside their little church forts, having nothing to do with the outside world.

For many reasons churches die – and God lets them. But it doesn’t have to happen. Churches can continue to survive and thrive, but it’s up to the individuals to take the steps necessary to keep their church healthy.

This Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church we’re going to celebrate our annual Homecoming Day. It’s our way of kicking off the new church year in a big, fun way. Oak Hill is a church that was revived, and which is once again on-fire for the Lord and making a difference in our little corner of the world. In the sermon I will talk about why that happened and how it happened.

Come and enjoy the day with us! Sunday school is at 9:00 and the worship service is at 10:00. There will be special music from the choir, a commissioning service for our new missionary Trevor Wright, a word of greeting from our missionaries to Southeast Asia Jeff and Rachel Gayhart, and a special Homecoming message as the sermon. Afterwards we will enjoy a catered lunch from Big John’s BBQ. We would love to have you with us!

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for starting the day off right.”

Yesterday I told you about the commencement speech given by Admiral William McRaven to the 2014 graduating class of the University of Texas. The title of the talk was “Make your bed”. Admiral McRaven told the story of how when he was in training to become a Navy SEAL the first task of each day was to make his bed, and to make it so well that it would pass a rigorous inspection by a SEAL instructor.

Making the bed was an exercise designed to instill the virtues of attention to detail and of doing all tasks with a high degree of excellence. But the other point Admiral McRaven was making was that starting the day by making his bed very well helped to set the tone for the rest of the day. Now that he had started the day by doing one thing exceptionally well, he was ready to go forward into the day doing all things exceptionally well. Making his bed with that degree of attention to detail, and with such a commitment to excellence, helped to establish his attitude for how he would approach the entire day.

Starting the day with the right attitude is important. Then you can use that good beginning as a foundation to build the rest of the day on. In Philippians 4:13 the Apostle Paul reminds us of a great truth that is very helpful when it comes to establishing and maintaining a good and positive attitude. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In other words, there is nothing you will face in the upcoming day that you and Jesus can’t handle together. This is more than just a theological truth, it’s a practical reality. Claim the truth of Philippians 4:13 first thing. Then as you walk through your day you can keep calling on and relying upon the Lord, and He will help you.

The best way to start your day is in prayer and Bible study. Spend some time reading the Bible and then talking to God. Talk to Him especially about the day that lies before you. Review it with Him, asking Him for guidance and help. Ask Him also for a sense of peace and joy as you approach the new day. Then, get going. You have started the day well, now go live it well. This is on you. It’s up to you to get out of bed early enough so you can do this. Billy Graham once said “If I don’t start my day with Jesus, I meet Satan around every corner all day long.”

Navy SEAL trainees start their day off right by making their bed. The smart Christian starts his or her day off right by spending time with the Lord. It’s your responsibility to start the day off right.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for doing your best.”

Vice-Admiral William McRaven was a four-star Navy Admiral and the highest ranking Navy SEAL in the service. Not only did he spend more than thirty-five years as a member of the most elite military unit in the world, but he was the commander of that elite force.

In 2014 he gave the commencement address at the University of Texas graduation ceremony and the title of his talk was “Make Your Bed”. He told the story of how in SEAL training, known as “BUDS” (Basic Underwater Demolition School), the first task each day was to make your bed. And not only did you have to make your bed, but you needed to make it in an extremely precise manner. The sheet had to be pulled so tight that a quarter would bounce off of it. The pillow had to be positioned at the head of the bed in the exact spot it was supposed to be in, and likewise with the blanket at the foot of the bed (folded into a neat square with precise folds). A SEAL instructor would then enter your room and examine how well you made your bed. He would even pull out a little ruler and measure the positioning of your pillow and blanket to ensure they were in the exact correct location.

This was the toughest military training in the world. They were learning advanced military tactics and deep sea diving; they were becoming experts in explosives and all sorts of military weapons; they were learning how to evade the enemy, blow up ships, interrogate prisoners, and jump from airplanes. But they started each day with an inspection to see how well they made their bed? That seems silly.

However the entire routine was designed to teach and reinforce the importance of attention to detail and a commitment to excellence. If you pay attention to the small details you will also pay attention to the big details. If you are committed to doing the little unimportant things well, you will also do the big important ones well. Attention to detail and a commitment to excellence is an attitude that begins with the small things and then carries over into all of life. And, it is one of the foundational principles of success. Sloppy, careless people are seldom successful. And as a Navy SEAL such a person also wouldn’t live very long.

In Colossians 3:23 the Apostle Paul urges us to apply that attention to detail and commitment to excellence to all things in life, and to do it as a means of honoring Christ. As a follower of Christ you and I should be committed to doing our very best in everything we do – simply because it’s the right thing to do.

We will discuss this more tomorrow. For now just remember that the Lord expects you to do your best in all situations. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…”

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for how you think.”

“Sow a thought, reap an act; Sow an act, reap a habit; Sow a habit, reap a character; Sow a character, reap a destiny.” Those wise words came from the pen of the great American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson and they reflect the truth Solomon taught in Proverbs 23:7 – how you think matters.

Thoughts are the seed from which actions come; actions, if repeated, become a habit; habits determine your character; and your character determines your destiny. More than one hundred years ago the author James Allen expressed it this way: “As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them.”

You are responsible for how you think. The thoughts you think are determined by the influences you allow into your mind. If you fill your mind with junk then you are going to think junky thoughts. If your music, video games, movies, television shows, and reading materials are filled with sex, violence and profanity, then those are the influences which will shape your thoughts. But if you fill your mind with wholesome influences such as Christian music, Bible reading, good conversation with Christian friends, etc, then you will think good thoughts.

This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (NIV)

The fact is that you can control your environment. You have a choice about the music you listen to, the television shows and movies you watch, the books you read, the people you associate and converse with, etc. You can control how you think by controlling the influences you allow into your mind.

You and you alone are responsible for your thoughts and ultimately your life will be the sum total of your thoughts.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You have a responsibility to persevere and not give up.”

“Nothing is over until you choose to give up!” I don’t know who said that first but I’ve heard it repeated more times than I can count, and almost always it’s being said by someone who has accomplished some significant thing. Usually they’re explaining how they were able to accomplish the thing in question, and almost always it was because they just kept at it and refused to give up.

As we’ve been following the adventures of David Ponder in the book “The Traveler’s Gift”, we have seen him travel through time having significant encounters with real historical figures. In each case that person taught David some important life lesson which, if implemented, would improve the quality of his life and greatly increase the chances of his success.

On his seventh and final stop on his adventure David finds himself in an encounter with the angel Gabriel. This time he is in some supernatural storehouse filled with things that never happened. The storehouse holds college degrees that were never completed, and careers that never happened, and salaries that were never earned, and homes that were never owned, and achievements that were never achieved, and reports about amazing inventions that were never invented.

On and on it went, the storehouse seemed to extend endlessly. As they toured the facility Gabriel explained to David that these were all things that “would have been” if the people involved simply had not given up. In each case the individuals had stopped trying just before they would have succeeded.

The final life lesson for David (and for us) is: “I will persist and persevere without exception. I hold fast to my dreams and visions. I stay the course. I do not quit. Fatigue is often a precursor to victory. I will not be one of those who gave up just before the victory would have come. I waste little time worrying about how things are now, and focus instead on how they are going to be. In the game of life nothing is less important than the score at halftime. Trying times produce great men. I will persist and persevere without exception.”

I encourage you to hang in there and don’t give up. If you have a vision from God, don’t lose it. If you have a dream you are working to achieve, don’t stop. If you know where you are going in life and what you are working to accomplish, don’t give up. Too many people quit just before they would have succeeded. Your responsibility is to persevere and not give up.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against someone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.” Mark 11:25 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for forgiving”

Receiving and granting forgiveness is one of the dominant themes in the Bible. God forgives us, He wants us to forgive others, and we are also to forgive ourselves.

Forgiveness is a key ingredient to living a happy and successful life and it’s one of the primary reasons that many people aren’t happy. There are three avenues forgiveness must travel in our lives in order for us to be in right relationship with God, others, and ourselves. First, we must receive forgiveness from God for our sins. That comes through a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. When our sins are forgiven we will be at peace with God and then we can be at peace with others and with ourselves.

Second we must forgive others. God has forgiven us and He expects us to forgive others. Harboring a spirit of un-forgiveness becomes a toxic stew. The sense of resentment and anger plays in our mind, it churns in our gut, and it steals our joy. There are many good Bible studies and guides that can assist you in learning about the process of forgiveness. It is essential that we learn to forgive. You will not live a happy and well-adjusted life if you are not at peace with God and with others. And, you must learn to forgive yourself. God forgives you and you must forgive yourself.

In recent devotional messages we’ve been following our friend David Ponder, in the book “The Traveler’s Gift, on his adventures in time, encountering real historical figures and learning important life lessons from them. On his sixth stop in time David meets Abraham Lincoln and learns a powerful lesson about forgiveness. Here’s a summary of the principle David learned:

“I am a forgiving person. First, I forgive myself. When I forgive myself I release the demons of the past. I will no longer be my own worst enemy by reliving past mistakes and failures. Second, I forgive others. Forgiveness has power and value only when it is given away. I will not waste valuable time and emotional energy imagining revenge or fantasy confrontations. I am a forgiving person. I forgive myself and I forgive others.”

You are responsible for forgiveness. Seek forgiveness from God, give forgiveness to others, and be sure to forgive yourself.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for your own happiness.”

As we’ve been following our friend David on his adventures through time in the book “The Traveler’s Gift”, we read about him having brief encounters with actual historical figures. In each case he is taught an important life principle which, if he implements it, will have a profound positive influence on his life.

On his fifth stop in history David finds himself with the young Jewish girl Anne Frank, hiding from the Nazis in secret rooms in a building in Amsterdam during World War II. For three years Anne and her family lived a secret life confined to small rooms in an office building where her father had worked. And yet, despite living in such confined surroundings for such a long time, hiding from those who would take her to a concentration camp if they found her, Anne was a bright, happy, perky teenage girl who was a pleasure to be with. (Her story is recorded in the famous book “The Diary of Anne Frank”).

When David marvels at Anne’s positive and happy attitude despite her terrible circumstances, she tells him that happiness is a choice and we are all responsible for our own happiness. Here’s a summary of the life lesson David learned from his encounter with her:

“Happiness is a choice. I choose to be happy. I can choose to think thoughts and engage in activities that bring me joy. I choose to be happy. I choose to be grateful and I choose not to complain. I smile at people. People are drawn to me because I have joy in my heart, a smile on my face, and laughter in my voice. Life itself is a privilege. I choose to live it with joy and to the fullest. I do not deny the reality of my situation, but I do deny the finality of it. This too shall pass. I choose to be happy.”

In Nehemiah 8:10 we’re told that the joy of the Lord is our strength. In other words, when we look to the Lord for our joy, instead of to our circumstances, it makes us strong and gives us the ability to look difficulties in the face and smile. In Galatians 5:22 the Apostle Paul taught us that this joy is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Joy is something the Spirit develops in our lives as we grow in our relationship with Christ and become more spiritually mature.

You are responsible for your own happiness. It’s all a matter of how you think and the source you’re looking to for your joy and happiness.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for having a vision and for then acting on it.”

“The road of life is paved with flat squirrels that couldn’t make a decision!” So says the meme on Facebook, and I believe it’s true. A lot of people are like those flat squirrels – they get run over by life because they can’t make decisions. People who don’t have vision and purpose end up drifting through life with no sense of direction and they tend to be indecisive. Consequently they end up like a flat squirrel on the road of life.

That’s not God’s desire for us. He wants us to have vision and direction in life, and then to walk it out, day-by-day, one step at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, always moving forward with purpose and conviction. This is one of the keys to a successful life. Successful people know what they’re about. They understand their purpose and direction in life and they take the action necessary to fulfill that purpose. They don’t procrastinate and make excuses, they move forward.

That’s what Proverbs 3:5-6 is all about. Make sure your heart is right and you truly are seeking God’s will and not your own; check Scripture; consult with friends; make a plan; and then get going and keep going.

In the book “The Traveler’s Gift”, which we’ve been consulting in recent days as we consider this issue of personal responsibility, the fourth life principle our man David is taught is “I have a determined heart”:

“I have a vision. I have purpose. I am determined. I will persevere. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I have the power to control my direction, as well as my forward movement in that direction. I do not procrastinate. I have passion. Passion breeds conviction and conviction turns mediocrity into excellence. Passion overcomes obstacles. All my problems become smaller when I confront them. I have a determined heart.”

What could you accomplish in life with a vision, a determined heart, and the conviction to just keep moving forward? I encourage you to find out.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is: