Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water. It sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “A fresh encounter with God will result in deep spiritual roots.”

 

I love it when God paints word pictures for us like the one in Jeremiah 17:7-8. Here He compares our spiritual health to that of a living tree that has deep roots. Because the roots run deep, they have constant access to underground springs of cool and refreshing water. That being the case, even if there’s a drought on the surface, this tree continues to remain healthy and producing fruit while others with shallow roots are wilting and dying.

 

This is intended by God to be a picture of our spiritual lives. Our roots need to go deep so they are continually being nourished by the deep living water that is Jesus Christ. When that’s the case we will be strong and healthy, flourishing and producing spiritual fruit, even if on the surface life has become like a barren desert with the blistering heat of difficulty and the hot dry winds of adversity.

 

But roots don’t grow deep automatically or quickly. This takes time and in the case of spiritual roots, it takes work on our part. There are things that we need to do in order for our spiritual roots to run deep. Prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, acts of service, as well as the other spiritual disciplines of the Christian life are all essential to spiritual growth and deep roots.

 

Also, participation in the life of a good church family is crucial. I’m convinced that Biblically you cannot and will not be a spiritually healthy Christian if you are out of church. The Bible simply makes no allowance for it. Exactly the opposite is true. The Bible explicitly tells us not to skip church (Hebrews 10:24-25). Part of a healthy spiritual life includes full participation in church with other Christians.

 

It’s also true that the Bible makes no allowance for “pew potatoes”. These are people who do attend worship services, but mostly they just sit there. They arrive a minute before the service begins, they just sit there and watch, and they leave the minute the service is over. Then you won’t see them again until the following week.

 

Regularly attending worship services is certainly important, but a worship service is not a show to be watched, and it is also not just a religious duty that is performed once a week. Instead, attending and participating in the worship services is but one element in our participation in the full life of a church family, and active participation in the life of a good church is but one part in developing deep spiritual roots.

 

I encourage you to gather with your church family this Sunday and participate fully in the life of the church. If you don’t have a church home then I invite you to visit us at Oak Hill Baptist. Sunday school begins at 9:00; the worship service is at 10:00; and at 6:00 we will continue our Bible study “Fresh Encounter”. I hope to see you there!

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” Jeremiah 12:5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Without God, life will wear you out.”

 

I love the word picture God created for us in Jeremiah 12:5. God was using the prophet Jeremiah to try to talk some sense into the nation of Israel. As a nation they had all drifted far away from God. They were focused on the cares and pleasures of life, and their hearts were given over to the idols of the surrounding pagan people.

 

What the Jews were finding to be increasingly true was that no matter how much they devoted themselves to the cares and concerns of life such as earning money, building houses, and pursing pleasure, it was never enough. In fact constantly pursing the things of the world was exhausting and it was wearing them out.

 

In Jeremiah 12:5 God compared their silly worldly pursuits to racing with runners – mere humans. His point was that if even the average everyday cares of life are wearing you out, how in the world will you be able to handle things that really matter – like good spiritual health and your eternal destiny?

 

When phrased in that way we see how ridiculous their focus was. In their own power, and without God’s blessing, even regular life and taking care of common everyday things was wearing them out. That being the case there was no chance that in their own power they could accomplish truly important things like being spiritually healthy, or being in right relationship with God, or ensuring their eternal salvation.

 

What they needed was a fresh encounter with God. They needed to return to Him and make Him the central focus of their lives. He then would help them to be successful in ways that truly mattered.

 

A New Testament version of this truth is found in Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus said “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest …”

 

This lesson applies at least as much to us today as it did to them back then. Many Christians have drifted away from God and have a lukewarm relationship with Him at best. They’re involved in unbiblical behaviors and are therefore living outside of His blessings. As a result they are finding that even common everyday life is difficult and exhausting and not going well. So if they’re not even able to handle normal life well in their own power, how could they achieve true peace and joy, as well as good spiritual health without God’s blessing? The obvious answer is that they can’t.

 

The truth is that without God, life will wear you out. Come back to Him today. You cannot and will not really thrive without Him.

 

God Bless,

Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands …”

1 Thessalonians 4:10-11 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “There’s a lot to be said for living a simple and quiet life.”

 

I have a poem hanging on the wall of my office called “The Double Life” by Don Blanding. It’s about man who is torn between his love for exploring and adventure, and his strong desire to simply stay at home safe and warm, quiet and peaceful. The poem reads in part,

 

“How very simple life would be if there were only two of me.

A restless me to drift and roam, a quiet me to stay at home;

A searching one to find his fill, of varied skies and newfound thrill;

While sane and homely things are done, by the domestic other one.”

 

I always smile when I read that because it describes me so well. Next week I will turn 63. I’ve been in the full-time workforce since I was 17 – most of it in work that included traveling to far off lands and exotic locations. As a Naval Officer I circled the globe. As a mission team leader I have led more than 25 mission teams to places like the Amazon Jungle – and I’ve loved it all.

 

The only problem is that I’ve had to leave home to do it. You see, I love being at home too. The poem goes on, “With candlelight and well-loved books, and treasured loot in dusty nooks; with puttering and garden things, and dreaming while a cricket sings; and all the while the restless one, insists on more exciting fun …”

 

And so for forty-five years I’ve struggled with finding a balance between living life to the fullest, and slowing down enough to actually savor and enjoy that life.

 

What does all of this have to do with our theme this month of having a fresh encounter with God? Just that it’s hard to hear God’s “still small voice” in the middle of constant movement and activity and noise. Leading a busy life filled with lots of good and meaningful activities like a career, family, hobbies, and friends is fine up to a point. But we have to also make sure there is plenty of uninterrupted quiet time when we can simply sit in the presence of God and just savor being with him.

 

In 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11 the Apostle Paul encourages us to consider the virtues of a simpler, slower, quiet life. As I’ve gotten older I find myself increasingly drawn away from the adventure and travel and the high pressure world of a demanding career, and more towards a quiet and simple life. Oh, I still enjoy a long motorcycle ride on a pretty summer day, and I’m looking forward to going back to Haiti in September on another mission trip, but these days more quiet time with God and new fresh encounters with Him sound pretty inviting too.

 

How about you, is your life filled to overflowing with constant activity? Are you allowing enough time to just relax and savor life? If you go to my website at www.JimMersereauBooks.com you can download a free article entitled “Room for the Singing of Angels”. You might find it helpful as you try to find the right balance in your own life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” Jeremiah 3:22 (NKJV)

 

Our thought for today: “The drift away from God is almost always subtle.”

 

I’m not sure that anyone would ever want to boil a frog in a pot of hot water but if you did, you would not simply drop a live frog into boiling water. If you did do that then the frog would immediately leap back out of the pot.

 

The way to boil a frog (if you were so inclined), would be to gently place the frog in a pot of slightly warm water. The pleasing sensation of the comfortably warm water will cause the frog to relax and stay right there. Then you very slowly increase the heat until the water is boiling. The change in temperature will be so subtle that the frog won’t even notice it as its occurring. He will just keep adjusting to the subtle and acceptable changes until finally the change has become so severe (without him realizing it) that he boils to death.

 

That illustration of subtle incremental changes is also a picture of how Christians end up drifting away from the Lord. It happens very slowly, incrementally, over a long period of time. Because the changes are slight we usually don’t realize they’re happening, and because they are continuous we don’t realize how far away from God they’re taking us. That’s a condition many Christians are in today and they don’t even realize it. They are far from the Lord but because they’re sitting in a pew every Sunday they think they’re doing fine.

 

Usually when we think of a Christian in a “backslidden” condition we think of someone who used to be faithful but is now out carousing in the bars and cursing like a sailor. And while that is one description of being backslidden, the term actually refers to someone who has lost ground spiritually and has therefore “backslidden” to an earlier state.

 

For many Christians this means that they are actually less spiritually mature than they used to be. They have lost ground in their relationship with the Lord and it happened so slowly, so incrementally, that they don’t even realize it has happened. It has become the new normal for them, and all the while they’re sitting there thinking everything is fine.

 

In Jeremiah 3:22 God was speaking to the entire nation of Israel. They were all in a spiritually backslidden condition but they thought they were doing just fine. So in an effort to open their eyes to their true spiritual condition, God sent the prophet Jeremiah to speak words of conviction and truth to them. God’s solution to their problem was, “Return to Me!” That was it, just acknowledge that you have slipped and take the actions necessary to correct it. They needed a fresh encounter with the Lord.

 

Where are you at in your relationship with God? Is it possible that overtime you have backslidden – lost ground from where you used to be – and you don’t even realize it? Spend some time with the Lord today and invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you about where you really are with God. Then be prepared to do something about it if needed.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Isn’t the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:6-7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God wants obedience not religious ritual and good intentions.”

 

Repeatedly in Scripture God makes it clear that He is unimpressed with mindless religious rituals and that our good intentions are meaningless if they’re not followed up with action. He wants our faith to make a real difference in the real world and in the lives of real people.

 

The Israelites were great at religious ritual. They knew the rules, they had the policies and procedures of Temple worship down pat, and they could recite scripture frontwards and backwards. Any yet, God was unimpressed. More than that, He rebuked them. The practice of their faith had become little more than a religious game that they had become good at, but it made little practical difference in their own lives or in the lives of others whom they came in contact with.

 

As the people of God we are to be a constant source of help and blessing in our communities. We are to be a force for good, change agents who make a positive difference in the name of Jesus Christ. As individuals and as a body of believers the church must be intentionally on-mission with Jesus outside the walls of our buildings.

 

In Isaiah 58:8 God goes on to tell us what will happen when we do actually go out to bless people: “Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.”

 

Yes, the Lord’s glory will shine through us and He will use our obedience to bless others. But also, He will use our obedience to bless us. Remember the fresh encounter we’ve been learning about all month? Obedience in action is often the catalyst for a fresh encounter with God. Here’s the rest of that passage from Isaiah:

 

58:9-10: “At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer, when you cry out, He will say ‘Here I am.’ If you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.”

 

And in 58:11: “The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry.”

 

Did you catch that? Put feet to your faith, live it out in a practical way in the real world, being a blessing to real people in need, and spiritually you will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry.”

 

There’s the fresh encounter. It comes through faith in action. Go wants obedience, not religious rituals and good intentions.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The people worshipped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works He had done for Israel.” Judges 2:7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “You cannot live on yesterday’s walk with God.”

 

In the Bible study “Fresh Encounter” Henry and Richard Blackaby note that there is an observable pattern that exists in the lives of God’s people, and which repeats itself with respect to how they walk with God. For a while they are faithful in their walk and they honor Him with their conduct. Then they get spiritually lazy and begin to drift from Him. Then they become progressively more and more involved in unbiblical behavior. God then disciplines then and that then causes the people to repent and to once again walk closely with God.

 

We see that pattern most clearly in the lives of the people of Israel as recorded in the book of Judges. In Judges 2:7 we read of how in the days of Joshua the people were faithful. Then in 2:11 we read that the entire nation began to drift away from God, “The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.” Then in 2:15, “So they suffered greatly.” And then in 3:9, “The Israelites cried out to the Lord.”

 

What we read about in the lives of those early Jews is a pattern of conduct that is all too common in God’s people throughout the ages. Most of us do at one time have a vital and dynamic relationship with God. But over time the passion often cools and we end up on cruise control, just going through the motions but thinking we are still being faithful. That’s the equivalent of trying to live on yesterday’s walk with God. Because it was good yesterday, we fool ourselves into believing it is still good today.

 

For many Christians that’s the beginning of a downward spiral which leads them away from God, out of church, and often into conduct that is unbiblical.

 

However many other Christians simply stay in a lukewarm condition. They never descend into the depths of serious sin, but neither are they on fire for the Lord anymore. They’re just sort of “being” Christian and “doing” church. That condition is much more common. Our churches are filled with people who are lukewarm and on cruise control.

 

Are you living today on yesterday’s walk with God? Have you been a Christian so long that the practice of your faith has become routine and your passion for God has become lukewarm? Do you even realize that has happened? When Christians drift away from God it’s almost always a subtle thing that happens slowly, almost imperceptibly, over a long period of time but which in the end, leads them to be far from God and they don’t even realize it.

 

I encourage you to spend some extra time today just sitting quietly before God and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you about where you are really at in your relationship with the Lord. Then be willing to make changes as needed to get back on track if necessary.

 

God bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but He has been resurrected!” Luke 24:5-6 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “The resurrection changes everything!”

 

That’s the title of the sermon at Oak Hill Baptist Church this Easter Sunday morning, “The Resurrection Changes Everything!” And it does! When Jesus defeated death and arose from the grave He ushered in a new era in human history. His resurrection from the dead, and then His ascension back into heaven, changed everything. Never before has it been possible for human beings to have such a close and intimate relationship with God. And never before has it been possible to have the hope, peace, and eternal security that faith in Jesus provides.

 

I’m not going to give away the points of the sermon here this morning but I will tell you that the resurrection changes everything in six important ways. I’ll explain tomorrow.

 

If you’re in the Crossville area then I invite you to join us. At 9:00 there will be an Easter Breakfast Brunch along with activities for the children, including an Easter egg hunt. At 10:00 we will enjoy the Easter Celebration Service, beginning with the baptism of a new believer; then lots of special Easter music; interpretive dance; a sermon revealing the six ways in which the resurrection changes everything; and we will conclude with a special event that will be revealed tomorrow.

 

If you’re not in the Crossville area then I encourage you to listen to the service online at www.oakhillbaptist.net. It will be recorded and will be available for you online just hours after the service concludes.

 

Our theme for this month has been “A Fresh Encounter”. We’ve been thoughtfully and prayerfully considering personal spiritual renewal and church-wide revival. That then has the potential to lead to spiritual awakening among non-Christians in our communities. Tomorrow, Easter Sunday morning at Oak Hill Baptist Church, could be your opportunity for a “Fresh Encounter” with God. I look forward to seeing you then.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “This Easter could be the day God begins a mighty movement of His Holy Spirit across our land.”

 

Easter is a time of renewal and awakening. Although every gathering of God’s people can and should be a celebration of Jesus, Easter Sunday is the day each year when we specifically celebrate the great truth that Jesus defeated death, arose from the grave, and that through Him we can have eternal life too.

 

Easter is also the day each year when churches typically experience their highest attendance. Wayward Christians who don’t go to church throughout the year do come on Easter Sunday. Non-Christians too will frequently go to church on Easter. Therefore there is a greater opportunity for a mighty movement of God on this day than perhaps on any other. On no other day throughout the year are there as many people gathered in churches across the land, singing resurrection songs, hearing resurrection truths preached, and seeing Jesus exalted in the lives of His people.

 

So as the people of God who are committed to being on-mission with Jesus to help expand God’s kingdom on earth, this is a day of great opportunity. If we do our part to prepare and to pray and to invite, we will be offering up to God a great opportunity to do a mighty work in our church if He so desires.

 

But we do have to do our part. First, we have to pray. We have to pray that God will move in our individual hearts and then in the hearts of others. Then we have to prepare. The events should be well planned; the buildings should be cleaned; the songs rehearsed; the sermon well-written. And then we must invite. If you invite them they will come. Oh, not all of them, but many of them. In survey after survey people say that they would attend a church service if someone they know invited them – especially on a special day like Easter.

 

Do you plan to attend church on Easter Sunday? I want to invite you to worship with us at Oak Hill Baptist. At 9:00 we will be serving a brunch in the Fellowship Hall. Come and eat with us and enjoy the good company. There will also be special events for the children, including an Easter egg hunt. At 10:00 there will be an Easter Celebration Service. We will begin with the baptism of a new believer. There will be lots of special Easter music, and some interpretive dance along with the music, and an Easter sermon.

 

Will you invite others? A personal invitation from you to a friend, family member, neighbor or co-worker is the best way to invite someone. You can also use this devotional message as a form of written invitation. You can re-send it to those in your email address group, and/or repost it on your Facebook page.

 

This Easter could be the day that God begins a mighty work in our land. But if that is to happen, it will begin in each of our individual hearts. That then could spread to those around us, and then to our church, and then to our community, and then to the state of Tennessee, and then to the USA, but it begins with you and with me.
I hope to see you at Oak Hill Baptist Church this Sunday.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “You will find Him when you seek Him.”

 

One of the greatest truths in all of Scripture is that God wants to be heard and understood by His people. God created people to have a love relationship with Him. That’s your sole reason for existing. God had no other reason to create human beings other than to have a love relationship with us.

 

That being the case, God is always ready and eager to interact with us. It’s the reason He created us to begin with. However it’s also true that God will not force us into a relationship with Himself. He certainly could force us if He wanted to. I mean after all, He is God. He is all-powerful and He could compel and force our compliance if He wanted to.

 

But if He did do that then the relationship would be rather meaningless. We wouldn’t be in a relationship with Him because we wanted to be, out of love, but because we were forced into it. Therefore God creates the opportunity for us to have a close and loving relationship with Him – or not. He even goes so far as to entice us and draw us to Himself, but He will not force us.

 

But to those who will respond, they will find that God is there and that God is ready to have the relationship with us that He created us for. Jeremiah 29:12-13 is just one of many passages in the Bible where God makes it clear that if we will respond to His invitation, we will find Him waiting for us.

 

Sadly, there are many people who never respond to God’s invitation. Many never even reach the starting point of placing their faith in Jesus so that they can have a relationship with the Father. But beyond that, there are many professing Christians who are casual and even ambivalent about their relationship with God. They put little effort into nurturing it and therefore they have little real fellowship with Him.

 

Not only is that tragic for them, but it grieves the Father’s heart. Remember, you were created for this. Having a deep love relationship with the Father is your primary purpose for living. Don’t be content with anything less. He wants to be found by you. And if you seek Him, you will find Him. He has promised.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the Lord’s instruction. Happy are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart; Turn my heart to your decrees and not to material gain.” Psalm 119:1-2; 36 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t allow your heart to be captured by idols.”

 

The primary reason Christians drift away from God is that we allow our heart to be captured by idols. I’m not talking about idols such as the golden calf of Exodus chapter thirty-two, or the statue of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter three. No, our idols are much more subtle than that. In our day we bow down to the idols of wealth and leisure, of power and stature, of good looks and peer acceptance, to mention just a few.

 

There are many things we can allow into our lives that become so important to us that they actually draw us away from God. Having a good job and a successful career that is advancing in influence and income is a good thing – unless that career becomes a consuming passion in your life and begins to get in the way of other things that should be more important, like your relationship with God and spending time with your family.

 

Saving and investing money is fine – it’s smart and a matter of being a good steward. But it can also become more than a simple matter of good stewardship. It can become an unhealthy obsession. When that happens, your wealth has become your god.

 

Rest, relaxation, and leisure are important parts of a healthy and balanced life. Spending time in the great outdoors playing golf, hiking, fishing, riding a bike, are good things. Unless you’re doing them on Sunday morning instead of going to church as God’s Word instructs. Then the good thing has become a bad thing because it is taking you away from the best thing that God instructed you to do (Hebrews 10:24-25).

 

In Psalm 119 the writer reminds us of the joy that is ours when we keep our priorities straight. When our heart is truly seeking God and our desire is to simply be obedient to His commands, then we will know true joy. The idols of the world, all those things that distract us and draw us away from God, cannot begin to compare to the simple joy of knowing God and being obedient to Him.

 

A fresh encounter with God which leads to spiritual renewal and revival will result in a re-ordering of our priorities. It will restore us and bring us back to the place where God is number one and everything else is lower on the list.

 

I encourage you today to give some thought to what things in your life may have become a sort of idol for you. What is it that has become just a little too important to you and may now be getting in the way of your relationship with God?

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim