Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But I trust in You Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ The course of my life is in Your power.” Psalm 31:14-15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God is Sovereign, so trust Him for the future.”

 

One of the reasons our lives sometimes get out of balance is that we obsess about the future. We become so focused about preparing for it, and so worried about what could happen, that we don’t really enjoy or appreciate the life we have today.

 

Saving money is good. But if you’re so fanatical about saving money that you’re living like a miser today, that is bad. Storing some food and water, having an electrical generator in standby, and keeping a secure supply of cash on-hand in case of an emergency is a good thing. Developing a survivalist mentality is a bad thing. Locking your doors, having a home alarm, and keeping a firearm so you’re prepared for a potential future threat is smart. Becoming paranoid about it and turning your home into a fortress is not smart.

 

Psalm 31, the whole thing, reminds us that God is Sovereign over the course of our lives. He is Omnipresent (everywhere all the time); He is Omniscient (He knows everything); and He is Omnipotent (He is all-powerful). So there is nothing in your life now, or coming up, that God doesn’t know about and which He cannot handle.

 

That being the case, we can safely trust the future to Him and stop worrying about it so much. That doesn’t mean that we have no responsibility for preparing for the future, we do. We still have to do our part. We are supposed to save some money, and we should be prepared for potential emergencies, and we must take reasonable steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones from bad guys, etc. But we should not obsess about it and we should not allow such concerns to get us out of balance.

 

As I’m writing this I can’t remember the exact percentages involved, but I once came across a study by a group of psychologists regarding the things people fear and worry about it. In their research they discovered that something like 80% of the things we worry about never happen. Another 10% do happen but happen good instead of bad. And of the 10% of things we worried about that did happen and happened bad, most of them were not as bad as we thought they would be. And so we expend huge amounts of time and emotional energy worrying about, obsessing with, and preparing for things that probably won’t happen, or which will happen but will be good instead of bad, or, even if they are bad, won’t be as bad as we thought.

 

I encourage you to remember that God is Sovereign. So trust Him for tomorrow and allow yourself to enjoy today.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus is the firm foundation for the rest of life to be built upon.”

 

“Life is always better with Jesus than without Him.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve made that statement in conversations with people, in sermons and Bible studies, and in my writing of books, articles, and daily devotionals. “Life is always better with Jesus than without Him. Whether that life is lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills, in a shack in remote Africa, or in a prison cell, life is always better with Him than without Him.”

 

That statement is absolutely true and I’m passionate about trying to help people see that. Regardless of what the circumstances of your life are, the more you involve Jesus the better your life will be. With respect to our theme this month of achieving and maintaining good balance in life, it begins with Jesus. Jesus is the firm foundation upon which all the rest of life needs to be built. Get that right and you are then ready to deal with the rest of life.

 

I love the insight offered to us by the editors of “The Every Man’s Bible” as they introduced the life of Joshua. In their introductory comments they wrote, “Joshua led a focused life. When faced with choices, he didn’t have to think about whether he would obey God. He’d already decided that long ago, and he didn’t change his mind when challenges came. God wants us to be that focused today. He wants us to be able to say, from the depth of our hearts, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

 

If that is a settled fact in your life then you have a firm foundation in place from which to deal with all the rest of life. But it starts with Jesus. Place your faith in Him as Savior, and then follow Him every day as Lord. Pray, read your Bible, faithfully participate in the full life of a good church, serve others in His name, and stick close to Him.

 

Life is always better with Jesus than without Jesus. Choose to live your life in a close relationship with Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “He said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Just push pause.”

 

Last night I was sitting in my recliner in the living room. I had a fire going in the fireplace, some soft jazz playing in the background, and I spent a couple of hours reading a good book. It was quiet and relaxing. That’s one of my favorite ways to spend an evening. I rarely watch television. My idea of an evening well-spent is what I just described.

 

As I sit here this morning thinking about how relaxing that kind of an evening is for me, it brings to mind some other times when I also experienced a great sense of peace and relaxation. Many years ago I spent a few days by myself at a Christian camp in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. The name of the camp is Forest Home and it’s the same place where as a young man Billy Graham surrendered his life to God for evangelistic ministry. I sat in the same little chapel in the woods where Billy sat decades earlier when he came to that decision. I was alone. It was quiet, peaceful, very relaxing, and there was a great sense of the presence of God there with me. I vividly remember it to this day.

 

Another time that stands out in my mind was a couple of years ago here in Crossville, TN. It was a nice summer day, I was at the home of some friends out in the country, and we just sat out back drinking iced tea and talking for a couple of hours. There was a cool breeze blowing, I had nothing to do and nowhere to go, and we just sat and talked. It was enjoyable and very relaxing. I know there doesn’t seem to be anything special about that scene (except that I don’t do enough of it), but it stands out in my mind as a particularly enjoyable and relaxing time.

 

We all need times when we push the pause button of life and just chill for a while. Unfortunately in our fast-paced world many of us don’t allow ourselves enough of those times. It’s not that the opportunities aren’t there, they are. The problem is that we make excuses about being too busy, or having to do this or that or some other thing instead, and we simply do not stop and rest when we should.

 

In Mark 6:31 we read about one of the times when Jesus called a time-out and pressed the pause button for Himself and His followers. They all went off to a quiet place to just rest and relax for a while. It wasn’t the only time they did this and those times are recorded in the Bible for a reason. They’re there as an example for us. If those people needed to do it then so do we.

 

Today is Friday and the weekend is upon us. Do you have plans to push pause and relax for a while? I do, and I hope you do too.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth …: Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God doesn’t want us to overdo it.”

 

This morning I want to continue our discussion from yesterday with regards to overworking being a common source of imbalance in our lives. I’ve come to believe that people typically overwork for one of four reasons. The first is because we either believe it is expected of us or it actually is expected of us. In other words, the nature of the job is such that it requires an inordinate amount of our time.

 

A second common reason a person might overwork is they become so consumed with thoughts of advancement that they convince themselves if they just work long and hard enough they will get the promotions they crave. A third common reason is the desire to earn more money. This is seen most often with hourly wage earners who have the opportunity to work lots of overtime.

 

And then the fourth common reason for overworking is that the person simply loves what they do and they have difficulty leaving it alone. This is seen most often with small business owners and also with Pastors. This is my issue. I love what I do and sometimes I can’t seem to stop. Also, my primary office is in my home so technically I’m always at work. Often it seems like I just can’t to leave it alone.

 

In Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Moses explained that it is God who gives us our ability to do what we do. But as we’ve been learning this month, He desires for us to use those skills and abilities in reasonable ways that bring balance to our lives. We are not to be so consumed with our jobs (for any reason) that it throws the rest of our lives out of whack.

 

God gave you your skills and abilities so you can earn a living. He also gave them to you so you can add value to society and so you can serve others in His name. He can use you in that capacity without it being an all-consuming obsession on your part. If the performance of your job is causing other areas of your life to be out of balance then you have taken your job to an extreme that God never intended.

 

If we’ve learned anything so far this month it is that God intends for there to be a healthy balance to our lives. Therefore we should not allow our jobs to become so demanding that they throw the rest of life out of balance.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

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

 

Our thought for today: “Remember, it is balance we’re seeking.”

 

If you have been following along with these daily devotionals for a while, maybe even trying to connect the dots between last month’s theme of “Living with no excuses” and this month’s theme of “balance”, you could be confused. It could seem as if I’m urging you to both get moving and to slow down – to get busy and do something, and to stop doing so much. Well, the answer is “it depends.”

 

It’s important that each of us honestly assess who we are and what we are like. We need to be honest about how we’re living and whether or not we’re trying to do too much or not enough. Most of us do fall into one of those two categories and often both categories at the same time. Sometimes we’re very diligent in one area, almost compulsive, but then we’re neglecting another area of life. If so, it means you need better balance. You need to stop making excuses for doing too much of one thing and too little of another.

 

This is especially true when it comes to jobs and careers (which is why I chose 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 as our verse for today). Many of us work so long and so hard that we overwork. That then leads to serious imbalance in other important areas of life like relationships and health. The Japanese actually have a word for this. They call it “Karoshi”. “Karoshi” means “death from overwork”. It’s a major problem in their society, just as it is in ours. People work so hard for so long and under so much pressure that it damages relationships with spouse, children, and friends, and there is also little time or energy left for exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep. They’re working themselves to death.

 

With respect to work, we sometimes need to recalibrate our thinking and back it down a bit. No job is worth your health, your marriage, or your relationship with your children. It’s much better to have a simple job with good balance in the rest of your life, than an all-consuming career that’s sucking the life out of your life.

 

Work is often the most common cause of imbalance but it’s not the only one. It’s crucial for each of us to be honest with ourselves about where we’re at in this balance equation and whether we need to crank it up a bit in one area, or perhaps back it down somewhere else. Remember, it is good balance we need and are seeking.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Fight the FOMO”

 

Are you addicted to your smart phone? Are you connected to social media 24/7? Can anyone get in touch with you at any time in any place for any reason? If so, why do you allow it? Why do you feel the need to be so connected all the time?

 

Our smart phones and other technology provide us with continuous access to not just phone calls, but also to text messages, emails, internet access, and constant Facebook news feeds. Why do we need to (or even want to) stay so connected all the time?

 

FOMO is the “Fear of Missing Out”. It’s the fear that there’s an adorable video on Facebook of a momma monkey holding a baby monkey in her lap (complete with diaper and baby bonnet), she’s feeding it with a bottle, stroking it’s head, and lovingly gazing at her little baby. All of your friends have seen the video, they’re chuckling and cooing about it, but you haven’t seen it yet. You’re missing out. Or a group of friends are going to hang out later and they want you to join them. But if you don’t have your phone so you can take the call or receive the text, you could be missing out.

 

The Fear Of Missing Out – on anything – is what has caused so many of us to become so compulsive and obsessive about staying connected. But seriously, what are we gaining by allowing the world to have constant access to our minds and hearts like that? The answer is “not much”. We’re not gaining much. In fact we’re losing peace of mind. More and more studies are showing that excessive interaction with social media creates increased levels of anxiety, it raises blood pressure, and it actually results in a decrease in a person’s overall quality of life. Technology often creates an imbalance in our lives.

 

Also, staying constantly connected to social media like that crowds out God. Our minds remain focused on phone calls and text messages and video streams and snap chats, and there is little quiet time for God to speak to our mind and whisper to our heart. That’s what we’re missing out on. We’re losing peaceful meditative reflective time with God.

 

We don’t need to be better connected to social media we need to be better connected to Jesus. Social media doesn’t improve our lives, Jesus does. In John 10:10 Jesus reminds us that He offers us life in all its fullness. The connection we need is with Him. If you’re going to be in fear of missing out on something it should be the fear of missing out on time with Jesus.

 

I encourage you today to fight the fear of missing out. Lose the phone and find the Lord.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.” Deuteronomy 24:5 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Putting the Honey in the Honeymoon”

 

I enjoy using the “Every Man’s Study Bible” for my personal daily Bible readings. It’s a study Bible that is specifically designed for men and it includes lots of helpful (and often humorous) sidebars and editorial comments. Such is the case with Deuteronomy 24:5. The editors glibly referred to the practice described in that verse as “Putting the Honey in the Honeymoon”.

 

In this verse we read that early in the history of the nation of Israel newly married men were given an entire year off from work so they could stay at home to firmly establish a good home life with their new wife. Evidently this was a cultural thing that was planned for. Couples must have saved the money to cover their expenses for a year. Family and friends evidently helped; employers were willing to hold the job position for them; and the man spent that first year doing all the many things a man needs to do at home in order to make sure his wife is well cared for and happy.

 

This may be where we originally got the old adage “If momma ain’t happy then nobody is happy.” They seemed to recognize that a stable home life provides a solid foundation for the rest of life. But if life at home is unstable and chaotic, it can be a major distraction that prevents us from really focusing well on other things.

 

The primary reason so many marriages fail is because the spouses get caught-up in the busyness of life and they drift away from each other. Rather than doing the things necessary to keep their marriage healthy, they get sucked into the whirlwind of careers and kids and hobbies and friends, and they drift away from their spouse mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

 

That is a classic example of what happens when our lives get out of balance. Its how husbands and wives grow apart; its how distance is created between parents and children; and this is how we slowly but surely get fat and out of shape. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can be intentional about establishing correct priorities (that’s what was happening in Deuteronomy 24:5) and then we can take the steps necessary to protect those priorities. We can remain balanced.

 

I know a couple who appear to be on a twenty-five year honeymoon. They have been married for about twenty-five years and yet they still act like they’re on their honeymoon. They hold hands, they laugh and giggle, they treat each other not just as spouses but as best friends, and they do lots of stuff together. They’re intentional about keeping the honey in the honeymoon and keeping that marriage strong.

 

That’s a good example for everyone and for all of life – not just for husbands and wives in a marriage relationship. Establish right priorities and good balance. Then do the things necessary to protect that balance.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Breathe”

 

Last year there was a hit song that got a lot of airplay on Christian radio. It was by Johnny Diaz and the title was “Breathe”. If you’ve never heard the song and are therefore unfamiliar with the tune, as you read these lyrics try to hear in your head a very fast paced, high pitched, staccato tune, perhaps the sound of a small hammer rapidly hitting an anvil – a driving beat pushing the person to frantically race through life. And then suddenly, in the middle of all the loud noise and the high pitched driving beat a pause, total silence for a moment, and then the soft drawn out words … breathe, just breathe …

 

Alarm clock screaming bare feet hit the floor
It’s off to the races everybody out the door
I’m feeling like I’m falling behind, it’s a crazy life

 

Ninety miles an hour going fast as I can
Trying to push a little harder trying to get the upper hand
So much to do in so little time, it’s a crazy life
It’s ready, set, go it’s another wild day
When the stress is on the rise in my heart I feel you say just ….

 

Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at my feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need
Is to just breathe ….

 

I encourage you to Google the song now and listen to it. The reason the song is so popular is because it speaks directly to the condition of so many of our lives. We race through life at ninety miles an hour when what we really need to do is … just breathe.

 

The primary reason God established the Sabbath (the fourth commandment) was so we would stop and rest. I know, you thought the primary reason for the Sabbath is to get you to go to church. No, it was first and foremost to be a day of rest. Gathering with God’s people for worship, learning, and fellowship is an important part of that resting and renewing, but the Sabbath is a day of rest, a day to stop running and to just breathe.

 

This is what I was describing in yesterday’s devotional and it’s one of the primary reasons we all need to be in church. It’s a time to stop and to just breathe as you are refreshed and renewed spiritually. I encourage you to take the time out of your busy life to rest and renew. An important part of that renewal will take place as you gather with others for worship.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

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 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “You need this.”

 

King David knew the value of regularly gathering with God’s people. Not only did he recognize the value of it, but doing so brought him great joy. That’s what he was describing in Psalm 122:1. The Psalm is known as “A song of accents” and it pictures a joyful procession (a parade) of people singing and dancing as they’re walking up the hill into Jerusalem on their way to the temple.

 

I love it! I want us to do this on some Sunday morning at Oak Hill Baptist. Let’s gather the congregation, get some horns and trumpets and drums, wave some Christian flags, and march along the street to church. We can sing and laugh and wave to people as we invite them to join us. That’s what David was describing – a parade that leads to the church service.

 

Is that the way you feel about going to church? Do you have a joyful sense of eager anticipation? If not then you go to the wrong church. God created local churches so His people would have someplace to gather with other Christians on a regular basis. He intends for it to be a time of fellowship, worship, instruction, and spiritual renewal. It should be joy-filled, encouraging, helpful, and refreshing. Does that describe your church? Again, if it doesn’t then you go to the wrong church. I believe it does describe Oak Hill Baptist and I think if you will visit with us you will agree.

 

What does this have to do with our theme of “balance”? Regular participation in the life of a good church is an important way in which we maintain good spiritual balance. We need this. Life is hectic and often chaotic. We rush through our days pressured and pressed by the demands of life. But church is a sanctuary. It is a refuge. It’s the place we go to shut out the cares of life, to focus on God and on our brothers and sisters in Christ, and it is the place where we can recalibrate, refresh, and renew. Gathering with the church like this helps us to regain our center of balance.

 

This is why God has instructed us (commanded us actually), to not neglect these times of gathering together with our church family (Hebrews 10:24-25). He intends for each of us to be an active member of a local congregation and then to faithfully attend the regularly scheduled gatherings of that family of faith. We need this.

 

If you already are a member of a good church family then I encourage you to attend the services this Sunday. If you don’t have a church, then I invite you to visit us at Oak Hill Baptist. You can find us at 3036 Genesis Road in Crossville, TN. Sunday school is at 9:00, Worship service begins at 10:00, and the evening service is at 6:00. We look forward to having you join us soon.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Hello Everyone,

This message is being sent to the Daily Devotional Reader Groups on email, Facebook, and the Oak Hill Baptist Church website.

One of my personal goals for 2018 is to publish my next book. I have already had a meeting with my publisher and we have a tentative agreement in place. However, I have three different manuscripts, each of which is pretty much complete, with the exception of some formatting and editing. Therefore any one of the three could become the next book. My task is now to decide which of the three it will be. I would like to ask for your feedback to help me decide.

Whichever of the three manuscripts becomes the next book, the profits from the book will all go to the Oak Hill Baptist Church Mission Trip Scholarship Fund. This is a fund we maintain at the church to provide financial assistance to our church members who need it, in order to go on international mission trips.

Below I will provide the working title and a brief description of the book. I would like to ask you to vote for the book you would be mostly likely to buy, read, and give as a gift to friends and relatives (especially at Christmastime).

1. “Breakfast with Barnabas: Encouraging Devotionals to Start Your Day” This book was inspired by one of my favorite people in the New Testament, Barnabas “The Son of Encouragement”. This is a compilation of the 12 most popular Daily Devotional themes from the last seven years (as voted for by you).

The book will have 12 chapters. Each chapter will be about a particular theme and will contain 26 daily devotional readings on that theme. It can be used as a One Year Daily Devotional Guide or it can be used for quick reference. If the individual is seeking information or guidance on one of the 12 themes they can turn to that chapter and find 26 passages of scripture and 26 short teachings on that subject.

The downside here is that it is a daily devotional guide, and anyone seeking a daily devotional could simply sign up to receive the ones I write each day. (Unless you want two daily devotionals, one for the morning and one for the evening. Then you could read the new one in the morning and use Breakfast with Barnabas at night. I do this myself. I have the daily devotional I write for publication each morning and then I also have another devotional guide I use at night just before going to bed).

2. Grounded in Grace: Living free in Christ without running amuck.

A life application commentary of the books of Galatians and James. This book will be similar to my second book “Walking with Paul”. It will be a life application commentary which will examine the major themes in Galatians and James and it will offer practical applications for living the Christian life well.

The reason this book will consider both Galatians and James is because Galatians is all about grace and living free in Christ, whereas James is largely about the structure and self-discipline we need in order to live well. On the face of it those two emphasis’ could appear to be contradictory or even counterintuitive. But they’re not. Actually they compliment each other and fit hand-in-glove. We need to fully embrace the grace described in Galatians in order to enjoy our freedom in Christ, but we need the structure and self-discipline taught by James so that we don’t run amuck and slide into what C.S. Lewis once referred to as “cheap grace”.

3. Biblical Sexual Ethics in an Age of Controversy and Conflict: Getting along without going along; loving your neighbor without compromising your principles.

This book first of all establishes God’s ethics for sexual relations as clearly explained in the Bible. It then addresses a wide range of sexual ethics issues in our society today including homosexual behavior, same-sex marriage, transgender issues, sex outside of marriage, polygamy, open marriages, recent court decisions, social and legal issues faced by Christians today, and much more.

The book is based entirely upon what the Bible actually says, and is supplemented by significant social and scientific research. It is written from the perspective that Christians can stand firmly on clear Biblical principles, without apology and without fear, but we can do so without being mean, ugly, or unnecessarily provoking. It is possible to love your neighbor without compromising your principles.

So those are the three choices. Again, please tell me which of the three you would be most likely to buy, read, and give as a gift. Please rank them in order, 1-3.

Also, the titles listed are just the working titles and can still be changed. So if you have a suggestion for a better title by all means please share your suggestions with me.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

God Bless,
Pastor Jim