Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Ephesians 5:3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Make room in your life for the good things God wants to give you.”

One of the helpful features of “The Every Man’s Study Bible” is that the editors included lots of sidebars which offer additional insights designed to help men become the person God wants them to be. Referring to Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 5:3-20 the editors wrote:

“Ever since God gave the Ten Commandments, some have been tempted to think he enjoys making people miserable and taking away their happiness by denying them earthly pleasures. The truth is, God wants to give us something much better. But in order for us to receive it, we need to clear some room in our lives. Often, that means getting rid of sins or bad habits that are using up the space God wants to claim.”

What an interesting thought – God wants to fill our lives with good things, but in order for Him to do so we have to make room to receive those good things by clearing out the bad things that are currently filling up that space.

I once heard a speaker at a conference tell about his life before Christ. It was one of drugs and drunkenness and sexual immorality. He said, “I had to give up so much when I became a Christian! I had to give up an addiction to drugs; I had to give up my habit of being gutter-crawling drunk every night and waking up the next day with a terrible hangover; I had to give up the constant threat of contracting a sexually transmitted disease; I had to give up being angry and miserable all the time and not even knowing why. I had to give up so much when I became a Christian!”

And he went on, “But in exchange for what I gave up, God gave me so much in return! He filled that same space in my life with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Yes, I gave up a lot. But I gained so much more!”

Are you ready to make room in your life for the good things God wants to give you? It’s your choice. You can allow your life to be filled with sinful things that hurt you and keep you miserable, or you can clear those things out and make room for the great things God wants to fill you up with.

It seems to me that’s really kind of a no-brainer.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Biblical virtues often seem foolish to the world.”

Sometimes we can’t understand a thing until we actually experience it. I can try to describe for you what it’s like to jump out of an airplane at 13,000 feet, but until you’ve experienced it for yourself you won’t really know. A new father can tell you what it was like to stand side-by-side with the doctor as he assisted in the birth of his first child. But until you’ve had that experience for yourself you won’t really understand the emotions involved.

Some things just have to be experienced in order to be understood. Christianity is like that. A person won’t really understand or appreciate what it’s like to have a close relationship with Jesus, until they have that relationship for themselves. They can hear other people describe what it’s like for them, and they can see the difference it has made in the other person’s life, but they won’t really get-it until they have that relationship too.

The same holds true for living a life of moral excellence based upon Biblical principles. Those of us who have the Holy Spirit of God living in our hearts and who know what it’s like to be in a love relationship with Jesus, we know and understand the deep driving desire to live in a way that honors and pleases our heavenly Father. But to the world such behavior often appears to be foolish.

Your friend might ask in astonishment, “That pretty woman was flirting with you, offering herself to you, and you turned her down because you didn’t want to be unfaithful to your wife? Are you nuts? Who does that?” Well, a godly man who loves his wife does that, that’s who.

Likewise, if you tell the truth when a lie would have been easier and more to your personal advantage, the world will often shake their collective heads and consider you naïve. If you object to an X-rated bookstore doing business in your community some will think of you as a narrow-minded prude. If you faithfully attend church every Sunday rather than treating Sunday like a second Saturday, you’re a religious nut. Why would you want to live like that?

Some things just have to be experienced to be understood. The message of the cross, and living in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, is often seen as naïve and foolish to those who don’t know Jesus. But to those of us who do know Him, it’s the only conduct that makes any sense.

Living a virtuous life of moral excellence based upon Biblical principles will sometimes seem foolish to the world. But that’s okay, be virtuous anyway.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.” 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “We must help each other be virtuous.”

I’ve heard it said and I believe it is true that if the church were more like Christ, the world would be more receptive to the message of the Gospel. Sadly, the behavior of Christians is often not too different from that of the culture we live in. Sometimes it’s worse. Sexual sin, dishonesty, gossip, back-biting, greed, gluttony, you name it – if it exists out there in the world you will also find it in the church.

Ironically, and to our shame, we’re often very vocal about the sins of the world and very blind about our own sins. We’re pretty good at pointing out all the things “those people” do wrong, and we’re pretty bad at acknowledging all the things that we do wrong. Picture the loud and opinionated big-belly preacher spitting and fuming about “them homosexuals”, while he himself is clearly in bondage to the demon of gluttony.

In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 Paul tells the Corinthians (and us) that we would be well advised to pay a little less attention to “them” and a little more attention to “us”. We’ve got a few things to get cleaned up in our own lives before we’re going to be very effective at convicting the world of their sin.

And for that, we need each other. We’ve all got blind spots and we need to help each other see them. That doesn’t mean that we’re to be running around inside our churches pointing out each other’s faults. It does mean that in gentleness and love we need to help each other see our own weaknesses. That’s usually best done in subtle ways. Sermons and Bible studies (and daily devotional messages) are helpful in this respect. Close friendships can also serve as a platform from which we can minister to each other in this way. Counseling with your pastor or other church leaders is another way these issues can get addressed.

But get addressed they must. We have a responsibility to help one another identify and deal with our own obvious (and not so obvious) sinful ways.

Being virtuous in a sinful world is not easy. We need to help each other. You help me to see and deal with my faults and weaknesses, and I’ll help you to see yours, and maybe then, together, we can help the world see theirs.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.” Job 13:5 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Silence can be a virtue.”

A wise person knows when to speak and when to remain silent. Sadly, silence is a virtue many of us lack. Or at least, we don’t have enough of it. Many of us speak more than we should, and often with inappropriate words which would be better left unsaid.

Such was the case with Job’s friends. If you’re familiar with the story then you know that Job suffered through a series of terrible calamities. In rapid succession he lost his children, his wealth, and his health. He quickly went from being the most prosperous and influential man in his community, to sitting in dust and ashes, covered in oozing sores, and despised even by the town drunk.

When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar heard about it they quickly went to Job and spent seven days just sitting with him and sharing in his grief. It was what we call “the ministry of presence”. They didn’t say a thing. They simply entered into his grief with him and comforted him by just being there.

But then they started talking. And when they did, they got stupid. They attempted to share wisdom they did not possess; they spoke words that hurt rather than helped; and they did it all in a reproachful and judgmental manner. Finally, in pain and anger and frustration, Job lashed out at them and said, “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.” One Bible commentator wrote, “Job’s friends spoke their wisest words during the first seven days they spent with him. That’s when they shut their mouths and kept silent.”

Some of you are old enough to remember the television commercial from the 1980s for the investment firm E.F. Hutton. E.F. Hutton claimed that their brokers only spoke when they had real investment wisdom to impart. Therefore when E.F. Hutton spoke, people listened. So the commercial showed two men in a crowded noisy room having a conversation about investments. One man said to his friend, “Well my broker is E.F Hutton and E.F. Hutton says …” As those words left his mouth the entire room fell silent and everyone turned to the man and leaned forward to hear what it was E.F. Hutton had to say.

In Ecclesiastes 9:17 Solomon wrote, “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of fools.”

Silence is often a virtue. If you’re the kind of person who just runs your mouth for the sake of making noise, people will soon tune you out because they realize you have nothing of value to say. But if when you speak you really have something meaningful (and accurate) to say, your words will have weight and people will listen. Don’t be like Job’s friends, opinionated and mouthy. Consider your words carefully and before you speak, make sure you really do have something helpful and of value to share.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “I know God that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there.” 1 Chronicles 29:17 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “God delights in people of integrity.”

If you are a person of integrity it means that you adhere steadfastly to a strict code of moral and ethical behavior. If you are a Christian than your strict code of moral and ethical behavior grows out of your relationship with Jesus Christ and it falls within the boundaries established for us by God in the Bible.

Some synonyms for integrity include upright, honest, truthful, sincere trustworthy faithful, moral, honorable, and just. If you are a person of integrity then those terms will describe you.

Coach Tony Dungy once observed, “The great thing about integrity is that it is truly no respecter of position or wealth or race or gender. It is not determined by shifting circumstances, cultural dynamics, or what you’ve previously achieved. From the moment you are born, you – and you alone – determine whether you will be a person of integrity. Integrity does not come in degrees – low, medium, or high. You either have integrity or you do not.”

There are many good Biblical examples of men and women of integrity. Joseph in the Old Testament comes to mind. So does Joshua and Daniel, Mary and Joseph, John, and Paul, and Barnabas.

The interesting thing about the virtue of integrity is that you control it. As Coach Tony pointed out, you and you alone determine the choices you will make and the actions you will take. You decide to tell the truth or not, to be honorable or not, to be faithful, to act with justice, to treat people with decency. Those choices are yours and they are the determining factor as to whether you really have integrity or not.

God searches hearts, and He is pleased when He finds true integrity. Will He find it in yours?

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “The entirety of your word is truth, each of your righteous judgments endures forever.” Psalm 119:160 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “A person of virtue embraces and holds to the truth.”

Recently some friends gave me the gift of a book about truth. The title is “The Moment of Truth” by Steven Lawson. I’m only a few chapters into it but already I can see that the book addresses one of the most corrosive problems in our culture today, one that is eating away at the moral fiber of our society. Lawson summarized it well in the opening pages:

“There is a hole in our moral ozone. This has produced an imploding world in which abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, pornography, transgender identity, and all manner of lewd behavior are practiced and approved of. This abandonment of moral values can be traced back to the rejection of the truth. When absolute truth departs, everything is up for grabs. Tragically, modern man now has his feet firmly planted in midair.”

That passage reminded me of two other quotes I came across years ago which together help to powerfully illustrate just how far our society has drifted away from Biblical truth, and the devastating result it has had:

“If God and His word are not known and received, the devil and his works will be. If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign …” Daniel Webster, 1787

“It is impossible to maintain civilization with 12 year olds having babies, 15 year olds killing each other, 17 year olds dying of AIDS, or 18 year olds getting diplomas they can’t read.” Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, 1994

It’s imperative that we, God’s people, know the Word of God and then stand on it without fear, or apology, or compromise. We are to speak the truth in love, but we are to speak it, and we are to take our stand on it. Of course this means that our churches must teach and preach truth, not some watered-down version of “Easy believe-ism Christianity.”

As the Psalmist declared in Psalm 119:160 the word of God is eternal, its truths endure forever. They apply to all people, in all places, at all times. At Oak Hill Baptist Church we are committed to knowing and living by God’s Word. We preach and teach it in its entirety and without apology. We do so kindly and in love, but also without compromise. We invite you to join us. Sunday school is at 9:00, the worship service is at 10:00, and evening services begin at 6:00.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We learn wisdom from others.”

Years ago I came across a wonderful little book which I’ve re-read several times. It’s by John Leax and the title is “Grace is where I live: Writing as a Christian Vocation.” John is a professor of English and the “poet-in-residence” at Houghton College in New York. He has written numerous books and articles, and volumes of Christian poetry.

His book is more or less autobiographical in nature because it records his journey as a writer, beginning in his early childhood and extending throughout his long career. At one point he tells the story of the powerful impact his grandfather had on his life. His grandfather was a simple but very wise man who lived on a small farm. He called John “Jackie”, loved him very much, and took great interest in him as he was growing up.

John recalls one funny instance from his early childhood when he was on his grandfather’s farm and he foolishly aggravated a very mean rooster. The rooster then chased young John across the barnyard, repeatedly pecking him in the butt with his sharp beak. John ran screaming and crying as he tried to get away from the bird as it kept stabbing him in his rear end. His grandfather observed all this and thought it was hilarious.

The next day his grandfather called him into the house for lunch and put a big plate of food in front of him. As they ate the grandfather said, “Jackie, roosters are mean. Never mess with the roosters, son. Do you understand?” The boy said “Yes sir”, as he contentedly munched on a drumstick that had been chasing him across the yard just the day before.

John’s grandfather had taken care of that mean old rooster for him, and together they enjoyed him for lunch. And John never forgot his lesson. To this day he doesn’t mess with the roosters.

Wisdom is learned, usually from the people we’re closest to. All throughout our lives we gather these nuggets of wisdom, these little pieces of hard won experience, and we fit them into the larger picture of our own lives. In time they accumulate and we slowly but surely become wise too. Then one day you are the wise grandfather imparting words of wisdom to a young and impressionable boy.

We learn best and most from those who are closest to us. Wisdom is an important and necessary virtue and we become wise by walking with the wise.

Surround yourself with wise people whom you admire and trust. Learn from them. Soak in their wisdom. And then be that person for someone else.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “What is desirable in a person is his fidelity; better to be a poor person than a liar.” Proverbs 19:22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “A virtuous person is honest – all the time.”

I’ve never much liked the politics of comedian and former United States Senator Al Franken, but I do like the title of a book he once wrote, “Lying Liars and the Lies they tell”. It’s a funny title. The book was meant to be a mockery of conservative Republicans but if you know Al Franken’s story (and his fall from grace), then you know the title ended up describing him pretty well. (It was discovered that he had a long and secret history of harassing and sexually assaulting pretty women. When the details began to emerge he vehemently and repeatedly lied about it until finally, there was so much evidence the truth could no longer be denied. It turned out he was a lying liar, and he told a lot of lies).

Lying is commonplace in our culture today (especially in the world of politics). Many people don’t hesitate to tell a lie if they believe doing so is in their own best interest in that moment. Other people have a bad habit of exaggerating. That’s a form of lying. Another common tactic is to shade the truth so a situation looks less bad than it would if the full truth were known. That too is lying. Any attempt to deceive or mislead people into believing a situation is different than what it really is, is a form of lying.

Lying (all forms of it) is a sin. The Ninth Commandment expressly forbids it. Not only is lying a sin, but it’s also the mark of a flawed character. A person who habitually engages in any form of lying is someone who cannot be trusted. The more a person lies, the less they can be trusted. Eventually it gets to the point that you have no idea what you can believe from that person and what you can’t.

This is especially dangerous when it comes to our elected officials. Lying outright, and shading the truth so things look different than they really are, has become so common in Washington D.C. that many of us have concluded it’s no longer possible to know whether our elected officials are being honest and straight with us, or if we’re being misled yet again.

An honest person does not lie. A virtuous person striving to live a life of moral excellence simply tells the truth and lets the chips fall where they may. Be that person. Don’t be one of those, “Lying Liars and the Lies they tell”.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “Mordecai was the legal guardian of his cousin Hadassh (that is, Esther), because she had no father or mother.” Esther 2:7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “A virtuous person does what needs to be done.”

I’m often inspired by the examples of others. When I observe or read about other people behaving in admirable ways it inspires me to want to live like that too. That’s one of the reasons I love to read biographies. I have about 150 of them on my bookshelves right now and I’ve read them all (some of the twice). It’s also why I love to conduct character studies of important people in the Bible. There’s so much we can learn from them!

Mordecai, in the Old Testament book of Esther, is one of those people in the Bible from whom we can learn a lot – especially with respect to being a virtuous person. Early in the story we find that he had a young female cousin whose parents died (Esther), and so Mordecai stepped right up and assumed responsibility for raising her as his own daughter. (Of course he did, that’s the kind of man he was).

A little later in the story the beautiful young Esther is taken into the king’s harem as a potential bride. She had no choice in the matter and Mordecai could not have stopped it if he wanted to. But every day he paced back and forth outside the palace gathering what news he could about how Esther was doing. He was deeply concerned for her and went to great lengths to watch over her.

At another point in the story he discovered a plot to assassinate the king. Mordecai revealed the plot, thereby saving the king’s life. As the story continues to unfold we read that he had the courage to refuse to bow down to an evil authority figure (Haman). Then he discovered that Haman intended to massacre all the Jews and so Mordecai took bold action of his own, and he counseled and guided Esther in taking action as well, so together they saved the entire Jewish race.

There’s more to Mordecai’s story but the point is that he was a bold and virtuous man of great integrity. He certainly meets our earlier definition of a virtuous person as being someone who strives to live a life of moral excellence, even when doing so is not easy.

Does that describe you too? Do you make a good effort to live with the utmost integrity and with moral excellence? Do you go to great lengths to avoid even the appearance of impropriety? Do you take the action that needs to be taken, and do what needs to be done, simply because it’s the right thing to do?

Consider the example of Mordecai and other great men and women like him, and use their examples to motive you to be that kind of a person too.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have learned the secret of being content – whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:12-13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Resilience is a virtue”

Part of the greatness of the Apostle Paul was his ability to simply play the hand he was dealt in life and to play it well. His life was not an easy one. Listen to his description of it in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28:

“Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches.”

In light of such challenges it’s pretty awesome that he would also write, “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Yes, Paul was resilient. It was one of his virtues, one of his outstanding character traits.

That’s also true for many of you. I know many of you personally and so I know about some of the things you deal with in life. You probably haven’t been whipped and stoned and shipwrecked (it just feels as if you have). In your life it’s been lost jobs, unfaithful spouses, rebellious children, serious health problems, difficult bosses, betrayal by friends, and much more. And yet, like Paul, you have discovered inner strength, along with peace and contentment, as a result of your close relationship with Jesus. With Paul you too can say:

“I am afflicted but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. I have learned to be content whatever the situation. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Strength of character and resilience in the face of hardship are important virtues. A person with those character traits has learned to play the hand they are dealt in life and they play it well.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is: