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:

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Avoid unholy alliances”

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 gives us an important Biblical principle that is an essential part of living a virtuous Christian life, but which needs to be understood and applied in context. Historically some Christians have attempted to apply this passage in an extreme way by withdrawing from society and attempting to avoid all contact with unbelievers. This is how in previous ages they ended up with hermits living in caves in the desert and believing that doing so was somehow making them more holy.

But that’s not what Paul meant. In 1 Corinthians 5:10 he even explained that believers are not to withdraw from all contact with unbelievers. Likewise in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus gave us His famous analogy of believers being “salt and light” – in the world, among unbelievers.

What Paul did mean in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 is that we are not to form intimate close relationships with unbelievers. Most commonly this is applied to marriage. Christians are not to enter into marriage with non-Christians. The reason is that your faith is the very core of who you are as a person. If two people are not in synch spiritually then they are out of synch at the very core of who they are as individuals. And also, rather than the Christian having a positive influence on the non-Christian and leading that person to faith in Christ, it usually ends up being the other way around – the non-Christian spouse leads the Christian spouse away from the Lord.

This passage also applies to things like business partnerships, and any other kind of close relationship which would cause you to depend on the character and virtuousness of the other person. Do not form those kinds of alliances with unbelievers.

In another passage, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul cautioned us, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” In other words, be careful who you associate with because in time we tend to become like those we associate with. If you are entering into alliances with people of disreputable character, over time they will have a bad influence on you and the alliance will become an unholy one.

An important aspect of being a virtuous person is being very selective about who you associate with, especially when it comes to forming partnerships and close alliances. Don’t enter into unholy alliances.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Joy is a virtue”

The Jews in Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day were among those who had lived in exile in Babylon, but they had been allowed by the king to return to Jerusalem and to begin rebuilding the city. It was a huge task because the temple, the city, and the walls around the city were in ruins.

After many years of hard labor a new temple was built, but it didn’t begin to match the temple of Solomon which had been destroyed. Then the city was cleaned up a bit and partially rebuilt, but it still was not repopulated. And then finally the walls around the city were rebuilt. However the Jews had been opposed every step of the way and at this point they were still surrounded by enemies who sought their destruction.

It was hard living. But Nehemiah gathered the people together and led them in a great worship celebration to dedicate the newly restored walls and to praise God for all he had done. As part of the celebration the Book of The Law of God was read and as it was, the people were reminded all over again about the great sins the nation had committed that led to the terrible destruction and devastation that they were now working so hard to recover from. And so they wept in remorse and regret.

But Nehemiah commanded them not to weep or grieve. Instead they were to find their joy in the Lord. He reminded them that the joy of the Lord is a source of strength for them.

The Apostle Paul wrote something similar to the Christians in Rome. They were enduring hard times and persecution too so he wrote in Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

There’s a lesson in this for us. Joy is a virtue and it comes to us from God when we look to Him rather than at circumstances. One of the reasons Nehemiah had the people gathered together like that was so that they could worship, celebrate, lift-up and encourage one another. Their common sense of joy would be infectious and would spread among them.

That’s also why we gather in our local churches for worship. When we’re together like that we can share the joy of the Lord. Life is often hard. We need the sense of refuge and renewal that comes from gathering with God’s people in worshipful celebration.

I encourage you to attend church this weekend. If you don’t have a home church, then please visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist. Sunday school is at 9:00, worship is at 10:00, and the evening service begins at 6:00.

Joy is a virtue that is experienced and shared by God’s people. We would be happy to share the joy of the Lord with you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

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

Our Bible verse for today: “But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result – the survival of many people. Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.’ And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” Genesis 50:19-21 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Forgiveness is important but difficult.”

Joseph’s act of forgiveness to his brothers was a pretty big deal – especially considering the magnitude of the wrong they committed against him. The ten older brothers hated Joseph so much that they beat him up, threw him down a well, and then sold him as a slave. Joseph then ended up spending thirteen long years first as a slave, and then as a prisoner in a dungeon, until God finally delivered him. Ultimately Joseph rose to be the second most powerful man in all of Egypt.

You can read the whole story in Genesis chapters 37-50 but long story short, many years later the brothers and their families ended up in Egypt under the authority of Joseph. Joseph could have retaliated against them, having them thrown into prison or even executed. Instead he chose to forgive them. Beyond that, he even blessed them richly. It was far more than they deserved or could have expected, but Joseph was a spiritually mature and kind man. Rather than holding a grudge and exacting revenge, he chose to forgive and to bless.

Forgiveness is a virtue that is important but often difficult. It’s important because the lack of forgiveness hurts everyone involved, none more so than the one who refuses to forgive. When you refuse to forgive an offense you yourself become a prisoner of your own lack of forgiveness. It causes resentment and bitterness to ferment in your heart. Unforgiving people tend to brood on the wrongs committed against them. The one who committed the offense has probably forgotten about it, or hardly ever thinks about it. But the person carrying the grudge thinks about it often. They tend to nurse that grudge, increasing the bitterness and resentment, and that then colors their personality in dark ways. They are the one who is hurt the most by their refusal to forgive. The lack of forgiveness also damages relationships. It keeps people separated rather than reconciled.

Joseph was bigger than that. Rather than clinging to and nursing a grudge he let it go. He forgave his brothers and he used the situation as an opportunity to bless those who did not deserve to be blessed. In the process he brought glory to God.

You can be like Joseph. You can choose to forgive and you can use the situation as an opportunity to bless those who don’t deserve to be blessed. Forgiveness can be difficult but I encourage you to forgive anyway. It’s always the right thing to do and it’s always in your own best interest.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

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

Our Bible verse for today: “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Virtue must be taught.

Without question one of the greatest positive influences in my life was my mother. She was a kind, compassionate, and godly woman who modeled Biblical virtues in her own life and then taught them to her children. I was actually a rotten kid, and I usually didn’t behave like a child being raised by a godly mother, but the lessons she taught me and the example she set for me stuck with me, and it all bore fruit later in my life.

It’s a common story. Anyone who was raised by virtuous and godly parents has stories to tell about the lessons they were taught in the home, the good examples that were set for them, and how those learning experiences have stuck with them throughout life.

In his book, “The Moral Compass, former Secretary of Education William Bennett writes, “The transmission of virtues is one important reason for a home, and attention to the virtues is one of the important ties that bind a family together.”

This is what Moses was getting at in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, adults have a God-given responsibility to teach and model Biblical virtues to the children they have influence over. First and foremost that occurs in the home with parents and grandparents.

But not all children have homes in which Biblical virtues are taught and modeled. That’s where the church needs to step in. This is why churches send buses and vans to rough neighborhoods to bring children to church. It’s why Christian families pick-up nieces and nephews and friends of their own children and bring them to church. Many children are being raised in homes that do not provide a good, positive education in the Biblical virtues that will enable them to be successful in life. But if they are brought to church, there they will learn the lessons of virtue and they will be surrounded by godly adults who will set good examples for them.

Biblical virtues are to be taught and modeled in the home. That’s where children will learn them first and best. But the virtues must also be taught and modeled in the church. Therefore good ministries for children and teens are vital parts of a healthy church life. We should thank God for the adults who are committed to teaching and modeling Biblical virtues to our children and teens, in the home and in the church.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is: