Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” John 15:5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus wants to use your life for His purposes.”

 

Yesterday I made the point that in order to live a life that is truly prosperous according to God’s standards, we have to make sure that our relationship with God is the number one priority in our lives. Nothing else in life can be more important to us. I then said that if we do that, we will live the best life we could ever have. In today’s verse Jesus helps us to understand how that can be.

 

In John 15:5 Jesus compared our relationship with Him to the relationship a branch has with a grapevine. The branch grows out of and is attached to the vine. The vine then lives its life out through the branch. The life of the vine flows in the branch and the fruit of the vine is produced through the branch. As long as the branch remains firmly attached to the vine good fruit will be produced. But if the branch becomes separated from the vine the life of the vine no longer flows in the branch and the fruit of the vine ceases to be produced through the branch.

 

Jesus teaches here that that is a perfect picture of our relationship with Him. As long as we remain in a healthy relationship with Him, firmly attached, His life is in us and His fruit is produced through us. He will actually live His life through you. He will speak His words out of your mouth; He will produce His acts of kindness, compassion and mercy through you; He will answer other people’s prayers by using you as a conduit through which His blessings will flow to them. His fruit will be produced through your life – as long as you are attached to Him by means of a deep and healthy relationship.

 

But should that relationship become fractured, should it be broken, that will restrict the flow and the fruit. If you were to separate yourself from Him you will be of no use to Him at all in terms of producing His fruit.

 

There is no higher purpose in life than to be a healthy branch on the vine of Christ, producing His fruit, and being a conduit for His blessings to flow to other people in a broken and bleeding and hurting world.

 

Jesus wants to use your life for His purposes. I encourage you to let Him. Stay close. Stay healthy. Stay productive and prosperous for the cause of Christ.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.” Deuteronomy 29:9 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “Make sure God is number one.”

 

The words of Moses in Deuteronomy 29:9 were spoken to the nation of Israel right at the end of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. They were eager to move forward to take possession of the Promised Land. They had visions of fertile land, new homes, and large flocks of sheep and goats and camels. It was going to be a good life.

 

While it was true that some or all of those material riches were in store for them, it was also true that those things would be empty blessings if they drifted away from the God who was providing those blessings. So here in Deuteronomy 29:9, through the words of Moses, God reminded them that the best life they would ever have is the life that is lived within the Biblical boundaries established for them by God. If they would carefully follow His commandments, live within His established boundaries of good conduct and right living, they would prosper. If they strayed from the Lord’s commands they would suffer – and that would be true regardless of the material riches they had.

 

Jesus reiterated this important lesson for us in His own teachings. In Luke chapter twelve Jesus used multiple illustrations of people who were preoccupied with thoughts of material possessions. Their obsession with money and things was damaging their relationship with God and with others. So in Luke 12:15 He warned “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”  And in 12:21 He said, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

 

As Christians we know this to be true. On an intellectual level we know that the most important things in life are not things, and that no amount of things can take the place of peace with God. We know this. And yet living in a material world as we do, we are naturally drawn to material things. Therefore in actual practice the majority of our thoughts, time, attention, and energy could easily focus on our desire for money and things. We have to be intentional about making God the number one priority in our lives. This takes discipline. We have to want it and we have to work for it.

 

In the coming days we will consider specific actions we can take to make sure we are keeping God number one in our lives. Money and things are nice to have, but they will never be better than a rich and deep relationship with God.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” Jeremiah 12:5 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “We need God.”

 

Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who had been given a seemingly impossible mission by God. He was to spend his life preaching an unpopular message to a nation of people who were completely unreceptive. It was a message of coming judgment and punishment from God if the people did not repent and return to Him. At first Jeremiah would simply be ignored by them, but eventually his ministry efforts would result in him being ridiculed, isolated, persecuted, beaten, and imprisoned.

 

While Jeremiah was experiencing all of that at the hands of Jewish people who were living far from God, those people themselves were living what seemed to be a prosperous and blessed life. So in 12:1-6 Jeremiah lodged a complaint with God about the apparent unfairness of it all. He noted that these wicked people were living lives of prosperity and ease, their vineyards were flourishing, their businesses were successful, and they were living happy lives in the midst of their great sinfulness. All the while Jeremiah, this faithful prophet of the Lord, was suffering rejection and deprivation.

 

In response, most of the rest of the book records God describing the judgment and punishment that was coming for them. But in 12:5 God used a rhetorical question as a means of guiding and encouraging Jeremiah. “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets of Jordan?”

 

The question was designed to remind Jeremiah of how much he needed the protection and power of God in order to accomplish the things God wanted him to do. In his own power Jeremiah could not do this. The assignment was too big, the challenges too tough. Jeremiah was struggling already and he was just getting started. But working with God, relying on His power and His guidance, Jeremiah would successfully accomplish everything God had planned for him.

 

That’s true for us too. There is no challenge too big, no obstacle too high, no problem too difficult that we cannot handle as long as we are in the center of God’s will and relying on Him to help us.

 

Whatever it is you’re facing today, rely on God to help you. With God’s help you can prevail.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For I know the plans I have for you” – this is the Lord’s declaration – “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Seek God’s will rather than your own.”

 

I grew up in New Jersey, about 30 miles outside of New York City, and so I was a fan of all the New York sports teams. Bobby Richardson played second base for the Yankees from 1955 to 1966 and he was one of my boyhood sports heroes. I liked Bobby because he was such an enthusiastic spark plug of a player. He loved playing the game, he gave 100% effort all the time, he was a very good baseball player, and he was also a nice person – a good role model for a young boy like me.

 

Bobby Richardson was also a committed Christian who spoke openly and boldly about his faith. After he retired from baseball he was a frequent motivational speaker at all sorts of events, especially Christian events like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). At one FCA event Richardson opened with the simple prayer: “Dear God, your will. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.”

 

That eleven word prayer is a perfect description of the kind of life God will bless – a life that is fully committed to knowing and doing His will. If your genuine desire is to know God’s will for your life, and then you are obedient to it, you can count on His abundant blessings.

 

This is what the Lord was telling us through the words of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:11. He has a good plan for each of us. When it’s His plan that is playing out in our lives, we will be living the best life we could possibly have. That might not mean that God will shower you with the riches of Solomon (although He can if He wants to), but it will mean that God will move in your life to accomplish His purposes in and through you. And since God’s will is perfect, and since He loves you more than you can possibly begin to understand, when you are in the center of His will you will be living the best life you could ever have.

 

Today is Monday. As you begin this new week why not start it out by making Bobby’s prayer your own? “Dear God, your will. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.” Then watch to see what He does in and through you. If you consistently seek God’s will rather than your own and you will end up with the best life you could possibly have.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Now when Job’s three friends – Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shumite, and Zophar the Naamathite – heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and offer sympathy and comfort to him. When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head. Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was great.” Job 2:11-13 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Improve your own life by helping others to improve theirs.”

 

In Biblical history Job’s three friends are remembered primarily for the fact that they ended up being very judgmental and critical of Job during a time when he was experiencing tremendous adversity in life. But it didn’t start out that way. Initially their response was very good. They were genuinely grieved for their friend and they attempted to comfort him by simply entering into his grief with him. They engaged in what we call “The ministry of presence.” They blessed him by simply being with him.

 

Being there for other people when they need you is actually a key element in living a prosperous life. This has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with a feeling of fulfillment and purpose. When we help others we feel good about ourselves. Intuitively we know that helping others is the right thing to do. When we do it, in addition to blessing the other person, we end up feeling good about ourselves because we realize we have done something meaningful.

 

Biblically, helping others in need has a two-fold purpose. First, it meets real needs in the lives of other people. The primary way that God cares for people is by bringing other caring individuals into that person’s life to act as the conduit through which the blessings of God flow. This is how needs get met.

 

But as I have already mentioned, another purpose behind helping others in need is that in doing so, you help yourself. You gain a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment and you end up feeling better for it. Psychologists will tell you that one of the best therapies for a troubled person is for them to go out and engage in acts of kindness to those in greater need than themselves. When they do that they are taking their eyes off of themselves and their own problems, and focusing on other people instead. Invariably in the process they will end up feeling better about themselves in the long run, and the overall quality of their own life will have improved a bit.

 

Helping others is one of the best ways to improve the overall quality of your own life. It makes you feel good. This Sunday night at Oak Hill Baptist Church we will hold our evening service at the Bread of Life Rescue Mission on 4^th street in Crossville. We will conduct the service at 5:00 and we will prepare and serve the evening meal at 6:00. We would love to have you join us in this act of service to those who are down and out and struggling to get back on their feet. Your participation will be a blessing to both them and to yourself.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity.” Proverbs 21:5 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “Work is part of God’s plan for your prosperity.”

 

Every once in a while somebody on Facebook will post a picture of a large pile of money along with a caption that reads something like, “Type “Amen” and in 48 hours God will send money your way.” Or, “Share this with all your Facebook friends and in 30 days this money will be yours.” Those things are silly and childish. That’s the equivalent of wishing upon a star, or tossing salt over your shoulder, or looking for a four leaf clover.

 

Another Facebook post that I do like is similar but with a slightly different message. It too shows a large pile of money but then the caption reads “Get a job and in two weeks money will appear in your bank account.”

 

God intends for us to work and to support ourselves. Work is God’s idea. He created work. In the Garden of Eden, back when creation was still perfect, God required Adam to work in the Garden and to take care of it. Then throughout the Bible work is portrayed by God as a good thing. We as the people of God are urged to work hard, be good stewards of what we earn, and use our earnings to take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and those in need.

 

As we have been exploring this idea of what it means to live a prosperous life we have learned that true prosperity involves more than just money and possessions. In fact, of all the elements that go into making up a life that is prosperous in the Biblical sense, money and possessions are not at the top of the list. But that doesn’t mean such things aren’t important, they are – they just aren’t the most important. But still, having money is better than not having it and the way that God intends for us to get it is to work for it.

 

Proverbs 21:5 is just one of the many passages in the Bible that teaches this lesson. In this case reference is made first to good planning. That would include things like getting an education, learning a trade, being a good steward of your money, investing wisely, etc. Hard work is self-defining. There is an entire body of Biblical literature which teaches us to work, to work hard and well, and to then be good stewards of what we have earned.

 

It’s true that not everyone is able to work. Some are retired and others are disabled. Sometimes people cannot work for a season of life, and others will never be able to work again. Fortunately we live in a society that has a safety net in place designed to make sure that those who need help receive it. That’s as it should be. This too is Biblical. But if you can work, then you should.

 

When it comes to living a life that is prosperous, having a job and earning a good living is a key element in such a life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods. Pay attention and come to Me; listen, so that you will live.” Isaiah 55:1-3 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “The best things in life are not things.”

 

This passage in Isaiah 55:1-3 is intended by God to be a metaphor. He uses the example of one thing to make a point about another. In this case He uses the elements of physical sustenance such as water for the thirsty, food for the hungry, and buying power for the poor, to make a point about spiritual fulfillment.

 

There is actually a double meaning in this passage, with the second being more important than the first. In the most direct sense, God is reminding us that He is the source of our physical provision. Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34 that our Heavenly Father knows our needs and He will provide for us. Our focus needs to be on seeking His kingdom and His righteousness and then, “all these things will be added to you.”

 

But the larger meaning here is a spiritual one. God’s best blessings are not physical, they are spiritual. The best things in life are not things, and therefore they cannot be measured by bank accounts or the accumulation of possessions. A faithful person is blessed by God with a life filled with the Fruit of the Spirit as described by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.”

 

A person who is living in the fullness of Christ will experience those nine spiritual virtues in ever-increasing degrees. Their life will be characterized by love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faith and gentleness and self-control. When that’s the kind of person you are, you will be living a prosperous life regardless of other circumstances that may exist around you. That’s why those Haitian Christians I referred to in a previous message had such joy and peace in the midst of so much poverty and instability.

 

I encourage you to give careful and prayerful thought to your priorities in life. You should be working hard, doing a good job, and earning enough money to support yourself and your family. But there are other aspects of life that are more important, and which will do more to improve your overall quality of life than will money and possessions. Ask God to help you see if perhaps some adjustments need to be made in your life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” 1 Timothy 6:5-8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “A content life is a prosperous life”

 

Ironically, our pursuit of a prosperous life often results in our losing the very thing we were seeking. That happens when our understanding of prosperity is skewed in favor of money and things.

 

When a person understands a prosperous life to be determined by the amount of financial assets and material possessions they have, their life is then often dominated by an obsessive pursuit of those things. That can easily lead to the person becoming a workaholic and neglecting important areas of life like health and key relationships. If that goes on long enough, the individual may end up with a large investment portfolio, but they could also end up with a failed marriage, broken or non-existent relationships with children, and failing health that prevents them from enjoying their great wealth.

 

In cases like that the person might be prosperous in the financial sense, but they are poor in other areas of life that matter more. This is more of a problem in our society than most people realize or are willing to admit. We are a consumer-oriented culture on steroids. We are awash in advertisements, all of which are designed to convince us that whatever we currently have is not enough and if we want to be truly happy we need to purchase this new product or service. We have largely lost the ability to be content.

 

It’s true that we live in the most affluent nation that has ever existed, and our standard of living is very high compared to the rest of the world. But approximately half of all marriages end in divorce, drug addiction and alcoholism have become a nationwide crisis, we have a higher percentage of our population on anti-depressant medications than any other nation in the world, suicide rates are higher than ever, and our debt load (both individual and the national debt) is crushing. Is that a picture of people living prosperous lives? I don’t think so – certainly not in the Biblical sense.

 

In 1 Timothy 6:5-8 the Apostle Paul urges us to learn to be content with what we have. We must stop spending so much of our time and energy trying to accumulate money and things, so we can focus more time and energy on other areas of life. It’s often true that “less is more” and that the quality of your life improves by refocusing on the things that really matter.

 

Contentment is one of the great spiritual disciplines. Few things will improve the quality of a person’s life more than to simply learn to be content. The great Christian writer of the late 1800’s C.K. Chesterton once observed, “There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”

 

Spend some extra time in prayer today and ask God to help you be content with what you already have.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in every way and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. For I was very glad when some brothers came and testified to your faithfulness to the truth – how you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 2 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “A prosperous life is a blessed life.”

 

Yesterday we began to consider what a truly prosperous life would look like. I suggested to you that there is much more to it than just having money and things. Now please don’t get me wrong, money is needed, and having more money is usually better than having less. Also, there is nothing necessarily wrong with having nice things. Beyond that, the Bible repeatedly urges us to be industrious, to work hard, to pay our own way through life, and to be good stewards of what God has given us. Some of the greatest figures in the Bible were financially very well off.

 

But as the Apostle John helps us to see in 3 John 2, true prosperity involves more than money and things. He writes that his prayer for the reader is that you may prosper in every way. That includes financially, but he then specifically also mentions good health and a soul that is prosperous too.

 

Good health is a key element to living well. Few things are as limiting in life as are health problems. Granted that some health problems are unavoidable; this world is filled with disease and sickness and at some point all of us will get sick and hurt. But much of the poor health people suffer from is self-imposed. Obesity, lack of exercise, and addictive substances are just a few of the issues that combine to destroy a person’s health but which could be avoided. To some degree every individual has control over those things. Regardless of your age and regardless of your current health, everyone can do the things necessary to remain as healthy as possible for as long as possible under the prevailing circumstances. And the healthier you are, the better your quality of life will be.

 

John also makes reference here to a soul that is prospering. Our Bible verse for yesterday was Psalm 1:1-3. In verse three of Psalm one, we read about a person with a prosperous soul: “He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

 

How did the person get that way? Verse one tells us that the person intentionally avoids sin and instead “… his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.” This person has a soul that is prospering. Some of those Haitian Christians I mentioned yesterday, the ones who were living in deep poverty but who radiated with joy anyway, they have prosperous souls. However that family I mentioned – the wealthy ones whose family life is a train wreck – they’re all professing Christians who are active in church, but they are soul-sick. In no way could there spiritual health be described as “a tree planted besides streams of water bearing good fruit in season.”

 

John’s point in those two short verses is that a truly prosperous life is healthy and thriving in all respects. He prayed that for them, and I pray it for you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Prosperity”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord. That person is like a tree planted by steams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “Seek genuine prosperity.”

 

If you’re like most people, when you think of a person who is “prosperous” you’re thinking in terms of money. Prosperous people are wealthy people. They have lots of money and lots of nice things. While that is one definition of being prosperous, it is actually a narrow and limited application of the word, and it is also a less important meaning of it.

 

The American Heritage Dictionary defines prosperity simply as being successful. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of the Bible offers a little more help by explaining that in the Bible the concept of being prosperous pertains to all aspects of life, not just financial. Spock from Star Trek encouraged us with the Vulcan proverb “Live long and prosper” – picturing a life that is long and full. The phrase “Live well and prosper” is actually an ancient Jewish blessing, a form of prayer that speaks of a godly life that is lived in righteousness and which is therefore blessed by God in multiple ways. Clearly there is more to this than just having money.

 

To that point, yesterday I returned from a mission trip to Haiti – the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The depth of poverty there is mind boggling. There are few people in that nation who would be considered “prosperous” by any financial measure. And yet the Haitian Christians who I spent the week with, while living in deep poverty, they radiated with joy and they seemed to be genuinely happy. It was a pleasure to be among them.

 

At the same time I know a wealthy family in our town who while having lots of money, a big house, fancy cars, and much more, their family life seems to be endlessly filled with conflict and anger and sadness. They might be prosperous in the financial sense but I wouldn’t want their life. If that’s what it means to be prosperous then I’ll pass, thank you very much.

 

This month I want us to build on our theme from last month. As was noted then, although we live in a country that has the highest standard of living of any nation in the world, most Americans live with “The fear of not having enough”. I believe that when we come to terms with the full meaning of what prosperity means, in the Biblical sense, we will have learned to seek and to be satisfied with the kind of prosperity that really does lead to a happy life.

 

Having money is a good thing, but it is not the best thing.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim