Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted. His majesty covers heaven and earth.” Psalm 148:13 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Treat God like He deserves to be treated.”

 

The author Stuart Briscoe once observed, “If we knew who God really is, we’d show him a little more respect.” Stuart’s point was that we have an inadequate understanding of God and that results in us treating Him without the honor He is rightly due.

 

We’re often much too casual in the way we think about God and in the way we approach Him. We’re also sometimes too casual in our worship of Him. The problem isn’t really that we don’t have enough knowledge about God – the Bible tells us everything we need to know about Him. Instead the problem is that we don’t really think deeply about who He is and what He is like. We don’t mediate on His attributes or truly appreciate all that He has done for us and how much He loves us. Our problem isn’t really in the head it’s in the heart.

 

As I write this it is two days before Christmas 2017. This year Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. So we will hold our Christmas worship service Sunday morning and our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Sunday night. Christmas is a wonderful reminder of who God is, what He is like, how much He loves us, and all that He has done for us. It’s also at Christmas when our awareness of those truths is most likely to penetrate to the heart level. Our hearts are softer at Christmas than pretty much any other time of the year.

 

This year in our Christmas sermon at Oak Hill Baptist I’m going to challenge us to take our thinking about God and Christmas to a deeper level. Let’s go beyond the standard superficial focuses (even those that are Christian in nature), and go a little deeper into what it all means and what it teaches us.

 

If you’re anywhere near Cumberland County, Tennessee then we would like to invite you to join us as at Oak Hill Baptist Church as we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus. Our Christmas worship service will be at 10:00 and our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service begins at 5:00.

 

We often allow ourselves to become way too casual in our thinking about God and in our worship of Him. We find many excuses for doing so, but it’s never okay. Christmas is an excellent time to renew your heart’s passion for God and to appreciate Him anew for who He really is, and for what He is really like.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men …” Colossians 3:23

 

Our thought for today: “Do your best.”

 

Just do your best. That will always be enough. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect but He does expect us to do our best. That’s what Paul was teaching in Colossians 3:23. To set-up that point, in that passage he gave us a laundry list of everyday life situations. He wrote about how wives are to get along with their husbands and husbands with their wives. He told children to obey their parents, and He instructed workers to work hard. Then he said “Whatever you do …” do it enthusiastically as if you were doing it for the Lord. In other words, do your best in all situations. Don’t make excuses for being sloppy or mediocre.

 

In my first career I spent almost twenty-one years in the Navy. After I retired from that, and as I was going to Seminary at night, I worked during the day for the Department of Defense in a civilian capacity. Unfortunately, in a government environment it’s not uncommon to sometimes encounter a worker who makes minimal effort and who produces poor results. The phrase such a person will often use is, “It’s good enough for government work.”

 

Such an attitude is never okay for Christians. As the people of God we’re called to a different and higher standard. Christians should always be the best workers in every workplace. Christians should be the most attentive students, the most dependable friends, the best relatives. We should strive to do our best at whatever we’re doing. Paul said “Whatever you do …” do it as if the Lord Himself is on the receiving end of your efforts.

 

Well if we’re doing it for Jesus then that changes things, doesn’t it? That report you’re preparing at work – you’re preparing it for Jesus to read. The sale you’re about to make – Jesus is your customer. The math problem the student is working to solve – you’re solving it for Jesus. You think you’re washing that laundry for you family but actually you’re doing it for Jesus. Those boxers might as well be His.

 

So don’t make excuses. Never settle for less than your best. We are the people of God. We are to be our best and we are to do our best in all situations.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Do them a favor and take away their excuses.”

 

There is strength in numbers and therefore a wise person cultivates a small group of close friends they know they can always count on. It’s a foolish person who thinks they can go it alone. We all need others to walk through life with us. A good marriage is of course the best relationship a person can have on this earth. A spouse who is a genuine partner in life is invaluable and does a lot to strengthen and enrich your life.

 

But good friendships are important too. A wise person also has accountability partners and although that person is often a spouse, close friends make good accountability partners too. In order for an accountability partner to be effective you must be transparent and honest with them. This has to be a person (s) who has permission to ask the hard questions of you and who then has the boldness to speak truth to you, even if you don’t want to hear it.

 

One of the key ways in which an accountability partner can be most helpful to us is to take away our excuses. Change is hard and it takes discipline to stick with it. When we’re trying to implement needed changes in our lives – be they changes about diet and exercise, or better money management practices, or improved spiritual disciplines, or whatever, our basic human nature will lead us to make excuses for why it’s okay to eat that cupcake, or to spend that money, or to sleep late instead of getting up early to have time with God. A good accountability partner will challenge us on such issues and take away our excuses. That’s a good thing (annoying maybe, but good).

 

As we get closer to beginning the New Year and you give more thought to the goals you will set and the plans you will make for 2018, do you have one or more accountability partners with whom you are sharing your goals and who have permission to hold you accountable to them? If not, I encourage you to find someone to fill that role for you.

 

Solomon was exactly right when he wrote “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their effort.” I encourage you to have at least one other person in your life who has the permission and the boldness to take away your excuses.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.” Hebrews 10:39 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “And then I got blown up.”

 

“And then I got blown up.” That’s the title for one of the chapters in Noah Galloway’s book “Living with no excuses”. Up to that point in the book he had been telling the story of his life as a healthy, whole, confident, and somewhat cocky young solider. But then he got blown up. Suddenly he was a bloody mess and missing two limbs. In an instant his life had changed forever.

 

Have you ever had a moment like that? You’re minding your own business, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and life is good. And then you got blown up. Maybe your “blown up” moment was a car accident, or a diagnosis of cancer, or the unexpected loss of a job. Maybe you received that dreaded phone call about a wayward child who was found dead. Maybe that crime you committed was finally discovered and now the police are at your door; or maybe that secret sin isn’t so secret anymore and you find yourself publically humiliated.

 

Have you ever had a “blown up” moment? If not, sooner or later you will. Maybe it won’t be a crime or a sin but at some point it will be the unexpected death of a loved one, or a serious accident, or something similar. Sooner or later we all get blown up by life.

 

And then the changes come. Getting blown up always brings changes. Inevitably you will go through the five classic stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). That’s normal and is okay – as long as you get to that crucial stage five of acceptance because that’s the point at which you make the necessary adjustments and start to get on with life. So go ahead and have your grief – process it, work through it, but don’t linger there and don’t get stuck there.

 

Hebrews 10:39 is a great set-up verse. It “sets up” chapter 11 which is known as “The Faith Hall of Fame”. I encourage you to read chapter 11. It’s mostly about Christians who got blown up in life but handled it well. The verse says “But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.” That then leads the reader to chapter 11 and the “Faith Hall of Fame”.

 

The lesson is that it is possible to endure great trials and tribulations and set-backs in life and to do so with courage, confidence, and strong faith. Jesus makes that possible. When you have those times when it feels as if you’ve gotten blown up by life don’t be one of those who draws back and is destroyed by the adversity. Have faith, lean into it, push through it, trust the Lord, and don’t make excuses.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you.” John 13:15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Look to the example of others.”

 

Several times this month I have referred to the example of Noah Galloway, the young soldier who lost an arm and a leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq. I told you of how he refused to allow his condition of being a double amputee to become an excuse that held him back in life.

 

Another important piece of that story however, which I haven’t mentioned yet, is that Noah’s father had also lost an arm in an accident early in his adult life. Decades later, as Noah was lying there in a hospital bed trying to come to terms with his own loss of limbs, the thing he remembered most about his father’s loss of an arm is how little it impacted his father’s life. Noah could not remember his father complaining about it, or making a big deal of it, or ever using it as an excuse. Noah wrote, “I watched him just get on with things with one arm. He never made a fuss about it. It was an example that growing up I didn’t know I’d ever need.”

 

In life we all encounter problems we have to deal with. Most of them are small but some will be big, maybe catastrophic. When that happens we will have to make decisions about what our attitude is going to be about it and how we are going to handle it.

 

One of the best ways to come to those decisions is by considering the good examples set for us by others who have endured similar situations. If you have to learn how to live with the loss of a limb, consider the examples of others who have successfully made that transition in life. If you have lost a spouse, look at the examples of others who have lost their spouses too and who worked through the loss. Whether your issue is a rebellious child, the loss of a job, a significant health issue, overcoming an addiction, or whatever, look to others who have had similar challenges and who have handled them well.

 

In John 13:15 Jesus called us to consider the example He set for us and then to model our own behavior after His. The Apostle Paul did the same in several of his letters. Learning from the good examples of others is Biblical and it is smart.

 

Life can be hard. When it is we will have to make decisions concerning what our attitude will be about it. To a large degree things will be about as good or as bad as you decide to make them. Considering the good examples of others who have endured similar problems and handled them well can be very helpful.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Remember this: the person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God has taken away your excuses.”

 

In the previous message I cited the Apostle Paul’s teaching from Philippians 2:3-4 where he instructs us to be humble and to give due consideration to the interests of others rather than just to our own interests. I also pointed out that doing so runs contrary to our human nature. So if we are going to do what Paul instructs, we will need some divine help.

 

Well, true to form, God never tells us to do something without also making it possible for us to do it. One way in which He helps us to put the interests of others above our own is by developing the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives (as described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23). There we learn that some of the virtues the Spirit develops in us include kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. That will certainly help.

 

But another way in which God helps us to be willing to help others is with the Biblical principle of sowing and reaping. In God’s kingdom you reap what you sow – you get what you give. That’s what Paul was teaching in 2 Corinthians 9:6. In this passage he was using money as an example and he was encouraging his readers to give generously to a charitable cause. In verse 6 he taught that if you are stingy, God and other people will be stingy with you. But if you are generous, God and other people will be generous with you. That’s consistent with what Solomon taught in Proverbs 22:9 when he wrote “A generous man will himself be blessed.” Paul’s lesson to his readers in 2 Corinthians 9:6 is “Right now someone else is in need and you are to bless them. The time will come when you will be in need and then others will bless you.” The law of sowing and reaping promises that will happen.

 

But sowing and reaping doesn’t just apply to issues of money, instead it applies across the spectrum of life. The Bible teaches that if you are mean to others, others will be mean to you. If you cheat people, people will cheat you. If you are a violent person, you will suffer violence. And on it goes. Sowing and reaping is a principle that applies in all situations in God’s kingdom.

 

So that brings us back to the question posed in the previous devotional “But what about me?” “If I’m focused on taking care of other people and minding their interests, who is going to take care of me?” The answer is that God will take care of you. He will implement the law of sowing and reaping and He will make sure that you are blessed in appropriate ways and at appropriate times.

 

Here’s a final thought to take with you today. It comes from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:33

 

So there you go. God has taken away your excuses.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for their own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t be self-absorbed”

 

In my father’s generation it was common for a person to take a job with a company and then stay with that one company for 35-40 years, eventually retiring from there. Not so anymore. Now the average worker will work for 4-5 different companies over the course of their working years. You retirement plan must be in the form of a transferable 401(k) so you can take it with you as you migrate from job to job.

 

That being the case, worker loyalty is seldom to the company they currently work for. Instead your loyalty must first be to yourself. A common refrain heard these days is “I am the CEO of “Me Inc.” In other words, “I am a corporation unto myself and my first priority is to promote my own interests and protect my own future. I am the CEO of “Me Inc.”

 

That kind of self-absorbed focus may be necessary in the working world today but sadly it’s also becoming increasingly common in all of life. Many people are first and primarily concerned with “What’s in it for me?” They might eventually get around to considering what’s best for other people, or what God might want in a situation, but that’s usually a secondary thought at best.

 

That kind of self-absorbed “me first” thinking then becomes an excuse for all sorts of behavior. It’s the root cause for a lack of generosity and for a lack of volunteerism in a person’s life (My money and my time are for me not for others!). This is also how a man or woman can rationalize bailing out on their marriage and children so they can start a new life with someone else (Let him (or her) raise the kids, I’m going to go live my life!). Its how multiple motorists can just pass by an accident scene without stopping to see if the victims need help.

 

The New Testament calls Christians to a different way of thinking and living. We are to put God and others first. This is what Paul was teaching in Philippians 2:3-4. He was encouraging his readers to take their eyes off of themselves and instead consider how they can be a blessing to others in the name of Jesus.

 

Our first thought when we read a statement like that is “But what about me? What about my needs?” That’s a perfectly natural concern and it’s one we will address in the next message. The thing to remember is that God always has our back. When He tells us to do something there is always a good reason for it and doing so will always ultimately be in our own best interest. We’ll leave it there for today. For now I encourage you to simply trust and obey. Focus on God and on others. Don’t be self-absorbed.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Happy is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.” Proverbs 8:34-35 (NRSV)

 

Our thought for today: “God is speaking but are you listening?”

 

There’s no question that God speaks. The problem is that many of us don’t really listen. From start to finish the Bible is evidence of the fact that God wants to be heard by His people and He wants to be understood by them.

 

The Bible itself is God’s letter to us. Beyond that, we find both in the Bible and by experience in our own lives and in the lives of others, that God also speaks in an infinite number of other ways. He speaks to us through His creation, through dreams, through circumstances, and through other Christians. We read in the Bible that to some people He spoke through a burning bush, through a storm, and even through the mouth of a donkey. That example has always been encouraging to me. I mean, if he can speak through the mouth of a donkey then He can certainly speak through me as a preacher (although between the two of us I’m sure I’m more of a challenge to Him than the donkey was!)

 

The problem isn’t whether or not God speaks to us – He does, the problem is that we don’t listen. There are things we have to do in order to place ourselves in a position before God whereby we’re attentive and can hear Him. God seldom shouts or even raises His voice. Instead He is soft and quiet and almost never audible (I’ve never audibly heard His voice). He speaks to us primarily through the words of the Bible, but also through prayer, and through the circumstances of our lives, and through the counsel of mature Christians, and through preaching and teaching, and through Christian music, and in many other ways too.

 

Unfortunately many of us make excuses for not doing the very things we need to do in order to hear from God. We make excuses for not reading our Bibles, or for not praying. We make excuses for not going to church, and therefore we don’t hear the sermons and Bible studies, and we are not in fellowship with other Christians. You get the point. If we want to hear from God then we need to place ourselves in a position before Him whereby we can hear Him.

 

The more ways in which we place ourselves before Him the more we will hear from Him. Seldom does He speak to us in only one way. Usually, if He has something to say to us, He will do so in multiple ways. That’s necessary because we’re thick-headed and spiritually dull. Therefore we need to have His word confirmed for us. So you will hear from Him through the words of the Bible, and then perhaps through impressions in prayer, and maybe in the words of a sermon, and perhaps through the counsel of friends, and probably in other ways too.

 

The fact is that God does speak to us, but often we’re not listening. Instead we’re making excuses for not reading, not praying, not going to church, etc. I encourage you to renew your commitment in 2018 to do as many things as you can to place yourself in a position before God whereby you can hear Him clearly and often.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Blessed is the man who endures trials, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that He has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “It will be very impressive.”

 

Earlier in this series I told you the story of Noah Galloway, the army soldier who lost an arm and a leg in a roadside bombing incident in Iraq. Although he could have used his status as a double amputee as an excuse for living a limited and restricted life, he refused to do that. Instead he pushed through it, found ways to adapt, and ended up becoming a physical fitness trainer as well as an author, a star on a reality television show, and he placed third one season on the show “Dancing with the Stars”.

 

Noah’s success at overcoming his disabilities came from his attitude. He refused to use his apparent limitations as an excuse. At one point it occurred to him that any life lived well is impressive, but just think how much more impressive it will be to live life well as a double amputee! From that point on his disabilities became a motivating factor for him. He was determined to find ways to accomplish things with only two limbs that many people with four limbs can’t do.

 

Have you ever thought of your perceived limitations as a motivator rather than as an excuse?  Colin Powell was raised by a single mom in an inner-city ghetto. He went on to graduate from West Point. He became a four star Army general, he served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and he was the Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. Joni Eareckson Tada has spent her entire adult life as a paraplegic in a motorized wheelchair. Yet she is the author of many books, she is a motivational conference speaker, she founded and leads a large Christian ministry, and she paints art gallery quality paintings by holding a paint brush in her teeth.

 

I could go on for many pages citing example after example of people – famous and not famous, who refused to use their personal limitations as an excuse, and who instead went on to accomplish meaningful things in spite of those limitations. But you get the point. Their accomplishments are all the more impressive because of those limitations.

 

So what is it in your life that you’re using as an excuse? Are you too old, too young, too big, or too small? Are you too poor, too busy, too weak, or too … what? What is it that you’re using as an excuse for not accomplishing the things you want to accomplish in life? Your limitations may be real but all that means is that your success will be even more impressive.

 

Don’t use your limitations as an excuse. Use them as a source of motivation – and then just go do the thing.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Living with no excuses”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Exodus 24:3 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “We need structure and discipline”

 

Dr. Richard Halverson spent his life as a Pastor. He was an intelligent man who received his education at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was close friends with many high profile Christians of his day like Billy Graham, Roy Rodgers, and Bill Bright (The founder of Campus Crusade for Christ). During his life Dr. Halverson wrote fifteen books, he served on the board of directors for World Vision, and he also served as the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate. So he spent his life among accomplished people who were intelligent, driven, and very successful.

 

One thing he discovered was that successful people are almost never lazy or unfocused. Instead they’re structured and disciplined. They know what they have to do in order to accomplish the goals they have set, and then they are methodical and disciplined in the pursuit of those goals. They don’t procrastinate and they don’t make excuses. They figure out what needs to be done and then they just go do it. Dr. Halverson once wrote:

 

“No man ever became great doing as he pleased. Little men do as they please. Great men submit themselves to the laws governing the realm of their greatness.”

 

As a Christian “the laws governing the realm of your greatness” are found within the pages of the Bible. To become the man or woman God wants you to be you have to be living with the boundaries He has given us in the Bible. That’s our structure, that’s the fence line for us. There’s a lot of room for a lot of living within those boundaries but still, there are boundaries. We have to know them and we have to stay within them. That’s what Moses was telling the Israelites in Exodus 24:3. “You will be great in God’s eyes when you submit yourself to the laws which govern life in His kingdom and then live within that structure.”

 

That’s true in life overall, but it’s also true when it comes to specific activities, goals, and objectives. When it comes to accomplishing the God-given goals and objectives we have for 2018 we need structure and discipline. We need the structure of a plan to guide us, and we need the discipline to stick to that plan.

 

Dr. Halverson was on to something in his statement quoted above. People who accomplish meaningful things in life do so because they have structure and discipline. I encourage you to set some good goals for 2018. Then make a plan to guide you in the accomplishment of those goals and discipline yourself to stick to it. We are at our best when we have structure and discipline.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim