Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given you a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:6-7 (CSB)

 

Our thought for today: “See the potential in others.”

 

One of the virtues the Apostle Paul possessed was an ability to see the potential in others. With the notable exception of Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, Paul had a unique ability to see potential in others and then to lift them up and encourage them to become all they were intended to be by the Lord. His mentoring relationship with young Timothy is probably the most notable example of that but there were others also, including Silas, Tychicus, Onesimus, Luke, and in later years (after reconciliation) Mark too.

 

Paul understood and practiced a principle that modern psychologists have long known to be true, that if you are an influential person in someone’s life, and if you treat them as they are, they will probably remain as they are. But if you treat them as you believe they can be, there’s a strong chance they will become what they could be. In other words, believe in people. See the potential in them, speak words of encouragement to them, lift them up, and help them to move in the direction of becoming what you know they can be.

 

There’s a famous story about a music teacher in Liverpool, England in the 1950s. In his class he had both Paul McCartney and George Harrison as teenagers. School records show that this teacher believed them both to be mediocre students at best, with little aptitude for music! Think about that – he had one half of the Beatles in his class and he didn’t notice anything special about them! Talk about not recognizing potential! Fortunately, in this case, Paul and George went on to fulfill their potential anyway – without the encouragement of the music teacher.

 

Jesus certainly had the ability to recognize potential in people. He selected some of the most unlikely characters to be His closest disciples and to then carry on His work for Him – characters like loud mouthed fishermen (Peter, James, John), a dishonest tax collector (Matthew), and a violent insurrectionist (Simon), just to name a few. These were men who didn’t believe in themselves, but Jesus did believe in them.

 

I encourage you to see the potential in people. Develop the virtue of encouragement. Be a source of motivation for others and help them to become the man or woman you and the Lord know they can be.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but in you forsake him, he will forsake you.” 2 Chronicles 15:2 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Honor the Lord and He will bless you. Dishonor Him and He will withdraw the blessing.”

 

Yesterday we considered the sad story of how King Solomon drifted away from the Lord. We learned that as long as he lived a virtuous life, as long as he lived Biblically and with moral excellence, he was blessed by God. But once he no longer lived within the Biblical boundaries and engaged instead in decades of promiscuousness, debauchery, conspicuous consumption, and disregard for others, his life became a mess. God withdrew His blessings.

 

Unfortunately Solomon’s story is all too common. Even right there in the book of 2 Chronicles we find more examples of it. Just a few chapters after Solomon’s story ends we find young King Asa making the same mistake. In 2 Chronicles 14:2 we read “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” Asa then went on to enjoy many years of peace and prosperity in his kingdom. But the older he got and the longer he reigned, the more prideful he became and the less he relied on God. So the Lord withdrew His hand of protection and allowed enemies to besiege him. Where there had been peace and prosperity there was now war and hard times. Finally, after forty-one years as king, Asa died a sad and diseased man who was far from the Lord.

 

Just a few generations after that, in 2 Chronicles chapter 26, we read the account of King Uzziah – different man, same story. 2 Chronicles 26:5 says, As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.” Uzziah did seek the Lord, and he did live a virtuous life of moral excellence based upon Biblical values – for a while. But then he became casual and lazy, not to mention prideful. “But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.” 2 Chronicles 26:16

 

We’re all familiar with plenty of contemporary examples of this same sad story. There’s the good Christian husband who had a great wife, beautiful children, a nice home, and a good life. But then he became bored and complacent. So he started flirting with the pretty secretary, ended up in an affair, and eventually lost his marriage, his children, and every good thing in his life. When he was faithful and virtuous God blessed his life, but when he drifted away from Biblical values and moral excellence, God gave him over to the consequences of his sin.

 

I encourage you to study the Biblical virtues of moral excellence. Pray over them, practice them, and don’t stray from them. As long as you honor and bless the Lord He will honor and bless you. If you stray from Him he will withdraw the blessings and give you over to the consequences of your sin.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.” 2 Chronicles 1:1 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t get casual and lazy”

 

Solomon started out so well. He was a young man with great responsibilities and he knew he needed the Lord. 2 Chronicles 1:1 begins by telling us that Solomon was great because God was with him and it was God who made him great.

 

Just a few paragraphs later we discover why God blessed Solomon so much. In verse 7 God encouraged Solomon to ask for anything he wanted. In verse 10 Solomon then prayed, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” To that God responded in verses 11-12, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given to you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever hand and none after you will have.”

 

Solomon had the virtue of humility. Even though he had been raised in wealth and splendor, and even though he had now been elevated to the highest position of authority in the land, he did not think too highly of himself and he earnestly sought the Lord. His desire was to simply honor God and to take good care of His people. God responded by blessing Solomon’s socks off. He gave Solomon the wisdom and knowledge he needed in order to be a good leader, and then He blessed him abundantly beyond that.

 

Sadly Solomon’s humility and devotion to the Lord didn’t last. Over time Solomon got casual and lazy. His descent into a life of conspicuous consumption and lasciviousness is recorded for us in the books of 1 Kings Chapters 10 and 11, and in the book of Ecclesiastes. He lavished upon himself every conceivable creature comfort and pleasure. He squandered the Lord’s resources and put a terrible burden on the people. He married 700 wives and had 300 concubines. And worst of all, he began worshipping foreign gods.

 

Finally it was too much for God. In 1 Kings 11:9 we read, “The Lord became angry with Solomon … “ 11:14 says, “Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary …” 11:23 goes on, “And God raised up against Solomon another adversary …” And then in 11:31 we read, “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand …”

 

And that is what happened. The blessing became a curse and his life became a mess. The entire book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age lamenting his stupidity for ever drifting away from the Lord.

 

Solomon started out as a virtuous and godly young man but as he aged he got casual and lazy – and then he started to drift. Soon he was living in ways he never would have imagined and he ended his life in sorrow and disgrace.

 

Being virtuous is a good thing. Remaining virtuous is vital. Don’t allow yourself to get casual and lazy in the practice of your faith. Stay faithful and continue to enjoy God’s blessings upon your life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Change will come from the inside out.”

 

Probably the most well-known list of Biblical virtues is found in Galatians 5:22-23. There Paul lists what he calls “the fruit of the Spirit.” These are virtues – character traits, which the Holy Spirit progressively develops in the life of a disciple of Christ.

 

Just before this, in verses 19-21, Paul listed what he called “the works of the flesh”: “sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.”

 

In verse 16 he prefaced all of this by writing, “walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.” In other words, as you place yourself in a position before God whereby the Holy Spirit can work in your heart, He will slowly and progressively remove the desires of the flesh from your heart and replace it with the fruit of the Spirit. The more frequently and the more completely you surrender yourself to the work of the Spirit in your life, the more and the faster that transformation will occur.

 

It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to bring about that transformation in your life. It is your job to frequently and consistently place yourself in a position whereby He can do His work in you. We do that by means of the basic spiritual disciplines of the Christian life which include prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, acts of service, good stewardship, etc. The more time we commit to the spiritual disciplines in our life, the more opportunity we’re giving the Spirit to do His work of transformation.

 

It’s a good thing to exercise personal discipline and through sheer willpower to force yourself to avoid drunkenness and carousing, sexual immorality and all of the other things Paul lists in that passage. But willpower is weak and temporary. What’s needed is spiritual discipline. Spiritual discipline helps to bring about a change of heart so that we no longer have any desire for those things. Give Him the opportunity and the time, and the Spirit will replace those desires with love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and goodness, faithfulness and gentleness, and self-control. This is the true moral excellence of a genuinely virtuous person and that change comes from the inside out. It takes place in your heart and shows itself in good conduct.

 

I encourage you to spend some extra time today praying for God to grant you more of the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Ask Him to change you from the inside out.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it. But if anyone loves God, he is known by him.” 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (CSB)

 

Our thought for today: “There’s a difference between knowledge and virtue.”

 

Knowledge by itself does not make us virtuous. The greatest modern proof of this would be Germany under Hitler. Throughout the 1930s and for the first half of the 1940s Germany may have been the most advanced nation in the world. They led the world in most fields of art, science, medicine and intellect. Some of the best universities in the world were in Germany. They had great artists, brilliant composers, and world-class musicians. Medical breakthroughs were common, German scientists were renowned, and in the early to mid 1930s German industry was recovering from World War I at an astounding pace.

 

Germans were smart, industrious, and cultured. And yet, they gave us the horror of the holocaust. Six million Jews incarcerated and exterminated in brutal conditions that boggle the mind with the extent of the cruelty and depravity.

 

Clearly knowledge by itself does not make one virtuous. It’s not enough to just learn about virtue, we must also have a change of heart and behavior. A knowledgeable person can easily recite long lists of virtues from memory while still living like a little Hitler. But a person who is truly virtuous will have had a change of heart that led to a change in behavior. Rather than just living a refined and cultured life, a virtuous person lives a life of moral excellence.

 

This is what Paul was writing about in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3. There were Christians in that early church who were still struggling with the concept of living by grace. They were still caught-up in Old Testament rule-keeping. Many of them were very smart, but they attempted to use their knowledge and their powers of persuasion to control others. They were convinced that they had advanced knowledge of right and wrong and anyone who disagreed with them was uninformed and unspiritual. They had rules about food and about lots of other things as well, and they dogmatically insisted that everyone else needed to follow their rules. In some respects some of the worst of them were being religious Nazis. Paul told them in this passage that what they really needed was a change of heart.

 

Knowledge without moral excellence can be a dangerous thing. Smart people are admired for their knowledge. Persuasive people are often followed even when they are wrong. Great knowledge without a pure heart often produces holocaust type tragedies. We’re all familiar with stories of the mad scientist or the diabolical genius.

 

It’s sadly common in our day to encounter Christians who have Biblical knowledge without a Biblical heart. They can recite scripture until you have to tell them to stop, but they are rigid and shrill, cold and hard. They have knowledge without virtue.

 

As we continue our study of being a virtuous person, rather than simply learning about Biblical virtues let’s be praying that the virtues transform our hearts.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue …” 2 Peter 1:5 (NKJV)

 

Our thought for today: “Strive to be a virtuous person.”

 

In 2 Peter 1:5 Peter tells us to add virtue to our faith. In other words, faith is a good starting point but it’s just the starting point. From there we need to grow and change, adding something called “virtue” to our basic faith.

 

The Amplified Bible doesn’t use the word virtue when translating this verse from the original Greek. Instead it uses the phrase “moral excellence” – we are to develop and add to our faith “moral excellence”.

 

A virtue is a quality or character trait that is morally good and which serves as a foundational principle and a guide for living. In the Greek world there were four primary cardinal virtues that were promoted – justice, courage, prudence (thoughtful deliberation), and temperance (self-restraint). The early Christian church adopted those four (which are all taught in the Bible), and added three from 1 Corinthians 13 (faith, hope, and love), forming the traditional seven cardinal virtues of the Christian faith – prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, and love.

 

However the Bible gives us other lists of virtues as well, particularly the Fruit of the Spirit as described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

 

If you are a virtuous person you are a person of moral excellence. You are firmly committed to doing what you know to be right. Your life is guided by deeply embedded virtues that have become so much a part of your character and personality, that moral excellence is simply a description of who you are as a person. Granted, we all still sin. But moral excellence is our goal, and it is what we strive for. It is our true north – the principle that directs and guides us through life, and to which we always return. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a mature Christian.

 

All this month we will explore the theme of being a virtuous person. We’ll consider many of the virtues listed in the Bible, and we will think about what those virtues look like being lived-out in everyday life. We’ll also consider the impact that moral excellence can have on the people around us. As a Christian we should be a walking, talking, mobile advertisement for Christ. Moral excellence helps us to do that. I look forward to learning and growing with you as we explore this theme of being a virtuous person.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Graciousness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.” Romans 14:19 (CSB)

 

Our thought for today: “A spirit of graciousness should reign in the church.”

 

As our study of graciousness comes to an end I want to conclude by considering Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:13-23. When Bible commentators attempt to summarize the main theme of this passage many of them choose the phrase “The Law of Love.” In other words, the guiding principle Paul was teaching about here is that in our interactions with each other Christians should be guided by the law of love.

 

The back-story behind this passage is that in the early Christian church there was a group called “Judaizers”. These were Christians who attempted to include in the practice of the Christian faith a lot of the rules, regulations, and traditions of Judaism – especially the Levitical dietary restrictions. Then they tried to insist that all Christians had to observe those restrictions.

 

So in this passage Paul taught that (1) Those dietary restrictions were un-Christian because Jesus Himself had done away with them. (2) By attempting to require other Christians to observe those restrictions they were requiring more of them than the Lord Himself requires. (3) We should never create stumbling blocks that might cause other Christians to struggle or fall. (4) Out of a sense of love and caring, we should put the well being of others above our own desires.

 

Clearly Paul was calling for a spirit of love and graciousness to reign in our churches. There should be no extra-Biblical rule-making; no judgmental niggling and nitpicking; and no inconsiderate or insensitive behavior. Instead we should deal with each other out of love and kindness, seeking the best for others, always striving to lift them up and encourage them.

 

I know that pridefulness is a sin if it is misplaced and for the wrong reasons. But sometimes a sense of pride is good and appropriate if it’s for the right reason. As the Pastor of Oak Hill Baptist Church I’m proud of our people because they practice what Paul preached here. A spirit of love and graciousness reigns in our church and it’s precisely because we do not have a bunch of judgmental rule-makers. Instead our folks are kind and gracious. There is a spirit of genuine love and concern for others and everyone strives to encourage and lift each other up.

 

If you are anywhere near Crossville, TN we would love to have you visit with us. Sunday school is at 9:00, Worship service is at 10:00, and Sunday evening Bible study is at 6:00.

 

As we conclude our month of study on the theme of graciousness I encourage you to be a gracious person. May graciousness be your personal legacy and may a spirit of graciousness reign in your church.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Graciousness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Let your graciousness be known to everyone.” Philippians 4:5 (CSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Graciousness, like ungraciousness, is contagious.”

 

In his book “What’s so Amazing about Grace?” Philip Yancey tells the story of a family that was plagued by generational ungraciousness. It started with the father of a young girl by the name of Daisy in the early 1900s. He was a tyrannical alcoholic who was merciless in his physical and verbal abuse. Daisy hated him and swore she would never be like him.

 

She wasn’t, in that she never touched a drop of alcohol in her life. But sadly she was like him in her tyrannical attitude towards her own family. Daisy grew into a tense, depressed, and easily agitated woman who was complaining and critical – especially towards her children. Daisy’s daughter Margret was especially impacted by that treatment. She disliked her mother and resented the way her mother treated her. But as is so often the case, she ended up becoming just like her – tense, depressed, and very critical. In the late 1960s, when Margret’s son Michael became a hippy, Margret complained about his lifestyle and criticized him without mercy, until she finally drove him away. He was in his late teens when that happened and they never did restore the relationship. So in that family there were four generations infected by the spirit of ungraciousness and it continued to spread.

 

Yancey writes, “Like a spiritual defect encoded in the family DNA, ungrace gets passed on in an unbroken chain. Ungrace does its work quietly and lethally, like a poisonous, undetectable gas.”

 

Graciousness, and ungraciousness, are both contagious and are easily passed along to those closest to us – especially to young children. Our own attitude and demeanor has more of an impact on the people around us than we realize. Very often those closest to you will in time begin to reflect elements of your personality. Don’t allow an attitude of ungraciousness to be your legacy. If you are somewhere in the daisy-chain of a heritage of ungrace, you can be the one who breaks the chain and stops the spread of that spiritual defect.

 

Graciousness is a powerful force for good and can have a great impact on those around you. Likewise, ungraciousness is a terrible force for evil and can do great damage. I urge you to choose grace.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Graciousness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – and I am the worst of them.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (CSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Nobody is beyond the reach of God’s grace.”

 

The other day in the mail I received the “2018 World Watch List” from the ministry Open Doors USA. Open Doors is a ministry that monitors Christian persecution around the world.

 

The annual “World Watch List” lists the 50 countries where it is most dangerous to follow Jesus. North Korea is #1 on that list. Afghanistan is #2. Rounding out the top ten are Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Eritrea, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran. Others of note on the list include India, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, China, Mexico, and Bangladesh.

 

As I read reports of what is done to Christians in other places around the world I’m reminded of how cruel humans can be to one another. It’s not uncommon for Christians to be arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and killed for their faith. What kind of person does that to another? Well, people like the Apostle Paul. Paul, in his former life as the Pharisee Saul, did exactly that, and worse. He was brutal in his treatment of Christians. That’s what he was referring to in 1 Timothy 1:15 when he called himself “the worst of sinners.” That was a period in his life he ended up being greatly ashamed of and he referred to it several times in his Biblical writings.

 

What does that have to do with our theme of “graciousness”? Two things: First, there is nobody beyond the reach of God’s grace. Even someone as despicable as the murderous Pharisee Saul could be reached for Christ, led to faith, and transformed into a person who would be known as “the Apostle of Grace”. Paul went from being a cruel murderous persecutor of Christians to being so gracious that grace became the primary theme in his ministry and writings, and he even authored the most famous and influential essay on grace that has ever been written, the letter to the Galatians. If Saul could be reached by Christ then anyone can be.

 

The second lesson for us to learn from this is that in our dealings with despicable people, we need to remember that this person can potentially be led to faith in Christ and transformed into an entirely different person. So we want to deal with them graciously. That does not mean that we excuse their abhorrent behavior, nor are we to allow ourselves to be a doormat the person can walk all over. We will stand up to them and we will oppose their inexcusable conduct, but we must do it with a strong sense of confident graciousness. It is possible to be strong and firm, and still be gracious.

 

Want an example of that? Look at Peter and the other Apostles appearing before the Jewish leaders in Acts 5:29. They refused to comply with unjust treatment by simply saying, “We must obey God rather than men.” Or look at Paul himself in Acts 22 on trial before King Agrippa. He vigorously defended himself, but he did so graciously and respectfully.

 

Remember that nobody is beyond the reach of Christ, not even the worst of people. Be strong and firm when dealing with such people, but do it with grace.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Graciousness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Nathan replied to David, ‘You are the man!” 2 Samuel 12:7 (CSB)

 

Our thought for today: “It’s all in how you say it.”

 

Our graciousness, or lack of it, is usually conveyed by our words. Words are powerful and they are our primary means of communication, so the content and tone of our words will determine whether or not they are perceived as being gracious or not.

 

But what do we do when we have a difficult word of truth that must be spoken to someone and there is the danger of it not being well received? One possible approach was modeled for us by the Old Testament prophet Nathan. He had to confront King David regarding his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah.

 

The entire story can be found in 2 Samuel chapters 11-12 but the gist of it is that David seduced Bathsheba, who was married to Uriah, and he got her pregnant. David then ordered the murder of Uriah and he married Bathsheba himself. In chapter 12 we read that God directed Nathan to confront David with his sin and announce the punishment that God was going to inflict on him.

 

Well how do you deliver a message like that to a king? David was known for his temper and he could easily have ordered Nathan arrested and executed. So instead of marching right in and delivering the message like he was swinging a sledgehammer, Nathan got creative. He told David a made-up story about a rich man who had huge herds and flocks of his own, and a neighboring poor man who had only one little lamb which he kept as a pet and treated as a member of the family.

 

One day the rich man received an unexpected visitor and needed to quickly prepare a meal for him. Not wanting to slaughter one of his own sheep, he had a servant burst into the poor man’s house, take his little lamb, slaughter it, and serve it to his guest. When King David heard this (thinking it was a true story) he exploded in rage and ordered the rich man to be punished. Nathan then told the king that it was not a real story. Instead it was an illustration of what he (David) had done to Uriah and therefore God was now going to bring upon David the punishment that David himself had just said the rich man in the story deserved.

 

My point here is that Nathan delivered the tough message, but he did it in a creative way. Rather than simply marching in and delivering it with a sledgehammer, he was thoughtful and creative about it and as a result, his words had the necessary impact.

 

Sometimes being gracious requires us to be creative rather than direct. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim