Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Then Jesus told him, ‘Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.” Matthew 4:10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Spend your time doing things that matter.”

 

So much of life is taken up with things that don’t really matter. Americans today spend huge portions of their lives staring at the television, or playing computer games, or on social media sites. If you added up all the hours spent like that, I believe many people would find it startling and disturbing to discover how much of life is often spent on such mindless activities.

 

I read a challenging statement the other day in the Daily Walk Study Bible. It said: “We must ask ourselves how much of eternity is in what we are doing.”

 

Ouch. “How much of eternity is there in the things I do?” In other words, “Do the activities I spend my time on make an eternal difference for me or for others?” And conversely, “How much of my time is spent on things that really don’t matter at all?”

 

In the grand scheme of things, life is short. The Bible says that in terms of eternity life is like a puff of smoke that is here one moment and gone the next. Job tells us that life passes quicker than the beam on a weaver’s shuttle, a quick pass and it’s over. But eternity, well that’s forever. So the wise person will consider how he or she can spend their time now, on things that will matter forever.

 

What are some of those things? Consider this: There are really only two things that last forever, your relationship with God, and people. People last forever. Every person has an eternal soul that will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. So people last forever.

 

And your relationship with God is eternal too. Be it a good relationship or a bad one, it will continue, in that good or bad condition, for eternity. So since it’s only people and our relationship with God that last for eternity, that should be the dominate focus of our time now. We should be focused primarily on nurturing our relationship with God, and serving others in His name so they can have a good relationship with Him too.

 

So back to the opening question: “How much of eternity is in what you are doing?” Are you spending your time in ways that will make a difference forever, or are you frittering it away in meaningless, mindless, and even wasteful ways?

 

I encourage you to spend you time in ways that really matter.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” Proverbs 13:4 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “Just do it.”

 

The primary difference between those who achieve meaningful things in life and those who don’t is that under-achievers and non-achievers talk about what they’re going to do, while the achievers just go out and do it.

 

Living a life filled with meaningful accomplishments isn’t rocket science and it’s not reserved for those special few who seem to have been born with great abilities. Achievement in life is primarily a matter of getting off the couch and actually doing the thing you’ve been talking about.

 

Non-achievers talk about getting additional education so they can get a better job; the achiever works all day to pay his or her living expenses, and then goes to college at night to get that degree. Some people talk about losing weight and getting in shape; others just go to the gym and start eating right.

 

It’s true in the Christian life too. Many people plan to help at the church workday, but something always seems to get in the way. Others just show-up and do the work. Lots of people talk about one day going on a mission trip to an exotic place; but then there are those special few who just sign-up, raise the money, take vacation time, and go.

 

One of my favorite quotes on this subject was spoken by one of my favorite Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt. He said,

 

“It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but he who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 

I want to encourage you to do things. Don’t just talk about them, do them. Pray, ask the Lord for insight and wisdom and direction, and then go live life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.” Psalm 37:4-6 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Listen to your heart.”

 

The other night I came across a great story about a life of service that was directly connected to the loves and passions of the individual involved. His name was Wilfred Grenfell. He was born and raised in England in the late 1800s but ended up spending his life as a missionary doctor in Newfoundland.

 

As a teenager Wilfred had a great love of sports (especially fishing) and dreamed of spending his life involved in the sporting world. But then at the age of eighteen he discovered another interest that would develop into a lifelong passion as well, medicine. It happened when a local doctor showed Wilfred a human brain preserved in a jar of chemicals. Wilfred was intrigued and immediately decided to go to medical school so he could learn more about the human body.

 

Then one night Wilfred noticed a large tent erected on the edge of town and crowds of people going into it. He thought it was probably a circus and so he decided to go see for himself. The event turned out to be an evangelistic rally being held by the famous evangelist D.L. Moody and that night Wilfred gave his heart, and his life, to Jesus Christ.

 

After medical school the three passions of Wilfred’s life – sports, medicine, and God, led him to volunteer with an organization then known as “Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen”. It involved travelling on a small hospital ship to circulate among the fishing boats along the Newfoundland coastline and minister to the thousands of fishermen who made their living there.

 

Wilfred loved the work and it evolved into a lifelong calling for him. Over the course of his life he ended up establishing hospitals, clinics, orphanages, schools, and numerous churches among the fishing communities of Newfoundland – and all because he prayerfully and obediently listened to his heart and followed his God-given passions.

 

The story of Wilfred Grenfell helps to remind us that God creates each of us as unique individuals and endows us not only with spiritual gifts, but also with skills, abilities, interests, and passions. All of that combines to make us who we are in Christ. Don’t discount any of it. The things you love to do are part of how God has made you. So as you’re considering how you should be serving the Lord and others, be sure to listen to your heart!

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person. A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Everyone needs to be in service.”

 

At Oak Hill Baptist Church we have an annual tradition which goes a long way towards helping every member to utilize their God-given gifts and abilities in acts of service. First, as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, every follower of Jesus is given at least one spiritual gift which they can and should utilize in acts of service to the Lord and to others. At Oak Hill Baptist we have a “Spiritual Gifts Inventory” tool that helps our members identify their spiritual gifts. God has also developed in us skills and abilities (such as carpentry, or bookkeeping, or mechanical skills), which can be used in acts of service.

 

Second, we ask our members to identify at least one spiritual gift, skill, or ability they have which they can and will use in a ministry activity in the church, and then commit to it for one year.

 

Then each summer at the end of the church year (the new church year begins in September), we give our members two months to think and pray about how they would like to serve in the coming church year. By asking them to only make a commitment for a year we’re giving them the opportunity to either renew their current ministry commitment or to change ministry activities and try something new. There are literally dozens and dozens of ways in which a person can serve in a church and while it’s helpful and appropriate to stick with one thing for a long time, it’s also fun and sometimes refreshing to change things up from time to time.

 

By approaching it this way we accomplish several things. For one thing, everybody knows that they have been equipped by God to serve in some way. Second, we end up with almost every person in the church actively involved in at least one ministry. And third, the church is alive with people who are serving well and loving it.

 

My main point in today’s devotional is that every follower of Jesus has been equipped by the Holy Spirit to serve in at least one way and therefore we all should be. We all need to be in service to Jesus and to others.

 

Also, our service to the Lord and to others is to extend for a lifetime. Since you’re still alive, the Lord has a purpose for you. Over the years your ministry activities might change, but everyone should always be involved in some form of serving. As a follower of Jesus ours is to be a life of service.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service”

 

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

 

Our thought for today: “The key to being used is to be useful.”

 

I have a friend who is a very wise man (although he would never think of himself in that way). His wisdom is the homespun kind that comes from life experiences and lots of common sense.

 

Yesterday we were working on a service project together and talking about what it means to live a life of service. At one point he turned to me and said, “You know Jim, I’ve discovered that the key to being used by God is to simply be useful.” What he meant by that was that many people feel they don’t have special skills or abilities and therefore they’re not qualified to do much of anything that really matters. My friend’s point was that we can all be useful to God in some manner if we are only willing to be used by Him.

 

His comment reminded me of another friend who was with me on a mission trip a few years ago to remote regions of the Andes Mountains in Peru.  Our mission trips almost always revolve around conducting free medical and dental clinics, but this guy was not a healthcare professional and therefore did not have those particular skills.

 

However, he joined the team with a true servant’s heart and he was willing to do absolutely anything that would be helpful. Sometimes that meant carrying supplies; sometimes he was escorting patients from triage to the doctor to the pharmacy; at other times he held a flashlight for a dentist; at lunchtime he was the one making sandwiches and passing out bottled water. Since the healthcare professionals were always very busy treating patients and therefore didn’t have much time for taking pictures, this guy offered to take pictures with their cameras for them. At one point he probably had six or eight cameras dangling from his wrist as he cycled through the clinic taking multiple pictures for team members who couldn’t take them for themselves.

 

When it comes to living a life of service to the Lord and to others the key to being used is to simply make yourself useful. As a Pastor I’m deeply grateful for those helpful souls in the church who are willing to do whatever is needed. I may be the one in the high-profile position who gets the pats on the back and the encouraging comments like “Good sermon, Pastor”, but they’re the ones who the Lord uses to keep the church functioning smoothly and well.

 

The key to being used is to simply make yourself useful. I encourage you to do that today.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.” Galatians 6:9-10

 

Our thought for today: “A life of service often requires perseverance over the long haul.”

 

Back in the mid-1990’s I attended The Billy Graham School of Evangelism. It was a week-long conference for Pastors which was held in a beautiful hotel on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in the little town of Monterey, California, just south of San Francisco. I was there on a scholarship from the Billy Graham Association and it was a wonderful week of learning and inspiration and rest.

 

I’ll never forget one of the leaders of a workshop I attended. He was a Pastor by the name of Harold who at the time was in his 70s, had three different types of cancer, and was being told he probably had less than a year to live.

 

I don’t remember the exact title of the workshop Harold taught, but the purpose of it was to encourage pastors of small churches to hang in there and to be faithful to their call to their small church. The reason Harold had been asked by the Billy Graham Association to teach that workshop was because he had been the pastor of the same little church (I believe it was in Iowa), for over forty-five years.

 

Harold was a hoot and we had lots of laughs and lots of fun in his workshop. The main thing I got out of it, which has stayed with me for all these years, was a great sense of encouragement as Harold helped us to appreciate the value of small-church ministry and why it is that small churches deserve to have pastors who will stick with them for the long haul.

 

The lesson Harold taught to us small church pastors, and the one the Apostle Paul teaches in Galatians 6:9-10, applies to all of us whether we’re Pastors of small churches, teachers of small Sunday school classes, or for that matter, just regular old Joe or Joan Christian faithfully living out our average life on a daily basis. In the eyes of God there is great value in small things done well and done faithfully over a lifetime.

 

Most things that matter in life take time to be completed. Seldom are meaningful accomplishments achieved quickly or easily. That means that we have to be willing to settle-in, hunker down, and stick with it for the long haul. It really is true that nothing is over until you quit. As long as you stick with a thing, and as long as you are doing it as if you were doing it for Jesus Himself (see yesterday’s devotional message), in due time you will reap the results the Lord intends for you to have.

 

So hang in there. Work well, work hard, and work long. Don’t give-in and don’t give-up. If you’ll stick with it you will reap at the proper time.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service.”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “A life of service begins with the most basic tasks.”

 

I’m not much of a shopper. In fact, I think of shopping as a necessary evil and I do as little of it as I can get away with. But I do like the Food City grocery store in our neighborhood. It’s an attractive store, well-stocked with lots of quality products at a good price.

 

I was there the other day just to get a few things and when I got to the cash register the cashier looked up at me with a big friendly smile and said “Hello”. Then she asked me if I found everything OK. Then she asked how I was doing. Then she chatted pleasantly while she rang-up and bagged my order. Then as I was leaving she smiled again and said, “God bless you. I hope you have a nice day.”

 

As much as I dislike shopping, this was a pleasant experience that lifted my spirits and made my day a little better, and all because that cashier was a friendly person who went the extra mile to do her job well (and the intentional “God bless you” leaves me thinking she was a Christian).

 

When we think of living a life of service for Jesus we can easily fall prey to the false notion that such a life only includes things like serving meals at the homeless shelter, or teaching the children’s Sunday school class, or bringing a meal to a sick person. But while those activities certainly are acts of service in the name of Jesus, that’s not the whole picture.

 

Paul teaches in Colossians 3:23-24 that a life of service involves the entire life, all aspects of it, and it begins at the most basic level. When Paul writes, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as doing it for the Lord …” he’s talking about absolutely anything. If you’re making breakfast for your family, do it as an act of service to Jesus. If you’re performing a task at work, do it for Jesus. If you’re helping a friend to move furniture, do it as if you were moving that couch for Jesus Himself.

 

A committed Christian should strive to be the best spouse, the best parent, the best neighbor, the best friend, and the best employee we can be. We should be friendly, helpful, and joyful as we go about our daily routine because the things we do, we are doing for the Lord Jesus Himself.

 

When we approach even the most basic tasks in life with the heart of a joyful servant who is eager to please the Lord in the way we do things, it will change our perspective about other people and about life itself. Ours will be a life of service, and we’ll be happy about it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A life of service”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in you produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me … My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.” John 15:5; 7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “The life of a Christian is to be a life of service and blessings to others.”

 

John 15:5 is one of my personal life verses. The truth Jesus expressed there has guided my thinking and has provided the direction and motivation for my life for more than twenty-five years.

 

Jesus spoke those words on the night before He was crucified. It was His last night with His disciples. They were at the Last Supper and Jesus was giving them their final instructions before He would leave them. In this verse He used the analogy of a grapevine and the branches that grow off of it. The life of the vine flows in and through the branches and it produces its fruit through the branches. It’s the fruit of the vine not the fruit of the branch. As long as the branch stays firmly connected to the vine, the life of the vine will flow through it and the fruit of the vine will be produced out of it. But if the connection to the vine becomes broken, the life of the vine no longer flows through it and the fruit is no longer produced.

 

Likewise, the life of Jesus flows in and through His disciples. As a result, the fruit of Jesus is produced through the lives of His disciples. As long as the disciple stays firmly connected to Jesus, His life and power will flow in and out of the disciple and His fruit will be produced through the life of the disciple.

 

What will that look like in the life of the follower of Jesus? Well, that’s the story of much of the New Testament. One of the purposes of the New Testament is to teach the followers of Jesus how to bear the fruit of Jesus out in the world. It’s to be a life of service and blessings. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are to speak His words, give His hugs, smile His smiles, share His comfort, and bestow His blessings. We are to be the conduits (the branches) through which the world gets to experience the abundant blessings of our Savior and Lord.

 

All this month we’ll consider what that looks like in a practical way in the day-to-day life of the disciple of Jesus. By doing so we’re going to discover that there is no greater sense of purpose and accomplishment, no greater degree of fulfillment in life, than to be used by God to bestow His blessing upon other people. If you’re willing, you will get to bring the blessings of God into the lives of other people.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Doubts”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not leave your or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Despite anything else you’re faced with or are dealing with, God is with you.”

 

The words we read in Deuteronomy 31:6 were spoken by Moses to the young man Joshua as Moses was about to hand-off the reigns of leadership to Joshua. How would you like to have been in Joshua’s situation, assigned by God to fill the shoes of someone like Moses? Worse still, the future must have looked impossible to him. He was now supposed to lead more than a million grumbling, fickle, and hard-headed people into an unknown land filled with enemies. And how do you feed a million people anyway?

 

Joshua was faced with a huge problem that was completely beyond his own abilities to deal with. Either God was going to show-up in a big way or Joshua was going to be in big trouble.

 

Joshua needed to be reassured – and so do we. Our problems probably aren’t of the magnitude of what Joshua was facing but still, they are problems, and they are ours, and they do cause us to have doubts – doubts about ourselves, doubts about others, and maybe doubts about God.

 

The words of promise and reassurance Joshua received from Moses were not the last he was to receive. He needed to be reassured repeatedly, and when we read his life story we find that he was.

 

Likewise, you and I need to receive repeated words of reassurance from God – and we do. Read your Bible. Deuteronomy 31:6 was spoken to Joshua but it applies to us as well. As does Joshua 1:9, and Proverbs 3:5-6, and Jeremiah 29:11-13; and Jeremiah 33:3, and Matthew 11:28-30, and Matthew 28:20, and Philippians 1:6, and Hebrews 13:5-6, and so many more.

 

In this life you will face troubles, Jesus told us that. And you will have doubts – doubts about yourself, doubts about other people, doubts about the future, and maybe even sometimes doubts about God. But one thing you need never doubt is that God is with you. He goes before you, He has a great plan for your life, and He will never abandon you.

 

As we conclude our month of devotional messages about doubt, I encourage you to spend some extra time this morning slowly reading and meditating upon the verses I cited above. It would be good to commit them to memory as well because despite anything else you are dealing with or are faced with, God is with you, and that is an important truth to remember.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Doubts”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!” Psalm 147:2

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t doubt it – you have something that God wants.”

 

What do you get for the person who has everything? What can you give to the God of the universe, the Creator of all there is, the all-powerful God who needs nothing? Is there anything God needs or wants that He is not capable of providing for Himself?

 

Well yes, as a matter of fact there is. There is one thing God desires that He is incapable of providing for Himself. Obviously it’s not money or power or possessions, He has all He wants or needs of those things and if He wanted more, He would simply create them.

 

It’s your praise. God wants your praise. He wants your heart overflowing with love and gratitude, worshiping Him for His goodness and grace, thanking Him for His manifold blessings upon your life. God wants your heart fully and voluntarily devoted to Him.

 

And that’s something that only you can give to Him. Nobody can do it for you and God Himself can’t force you to give it. Oh, He could compel you to comply with rules and regulations and worship rituals, and He could punish you if you didn’t comply, but that would be meaningless. He still wouldn’t have your heart.

 

The one thing you have and which God wants, and the thing that He cannot provide for Himself, is your heart fully devoted to Him in worship and praise.

 

Now of course, you can give God your worship and praise anytime and anywhere. You can do it on a mountaintop with beautiful vistas, and you can do it in a cold dark prison cell. But the time and place that most of us can most effectively engage in deep and meaningful praise and worship is during our times of group worship on Sunday mornings. Few things engage our hearts more effectively than a powerful song service and a good sermon.

 

Today is Friday, but Sunday is coming. I encourage you to plan to attend worship services this Sunday. If you have a home church, you should go to it. If you don’t, then we would love to have you visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist in Crossville. Sunday school begins at 9:00 and the worship service at 10:00.

 

Don’t doubt it – you do have something God wants. He wants you heart. He wants your whole heart and nothing but your heart, fully devoted to Him in worship and praise.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim