Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God’s not done with you yet.”

 

As I write this it’s very early in the morning and I’m getting ready to leave the house to make a long trip to Nashville. I have a meeting this morning with a young man I have been mentoring. He is currently doing time in a maximum security prison.

 

My friend is a Christian and he really is a fine young man. But he was raised in a bad environment which got him off to a pretty rough start in life. Since then he has made some poor decisions, the consequences of which are pretty severe. He makes no excuses and he doesn’t blame others. He knows that he’s responsible for his choices and for the consequences of those choices. The task now is to put the pieces of his life back together again and to move on with life in a positive way. I believe he will do exactly that.

 

It would be easy for a person in circumstances like that to conclude that his life is ruined and there is nothing good waiting for him in the future. But that would be a wrong assumption. As long as he stays in right relationship with God he will be fine. God is working in this young man’s life and God has a good plan for his future. All this guy needs to do is walk it forward with God, and to trust God.

 

That’s true in your life too. Regardless of your past, and regardless of whatever it is you’re going through right now, the truth is that God’s not done with you yet. If you’re a Christian then God has a great plan for you and even if you make mistakes along the way, God will never give up on you. He will keep guiding and directing and providing, all in an effort to get you where He wants you to be and to accomplish in your life the things He wants accomplished. As Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6, He started a good work in you, and He will stick with you until He brings it to completion.

 

I have often said (especially at funerals), that you cannot determine the full measure of a person’s life until that life has been fully lived. It’s true. As long as you are still living, God’s not done with you. It’s not until your last breath is breathed, and you are at home with Him in heaven, that the full story of your life can be told.

 

So here’s the good news: “God’s not done with you yet!” He has a good plan for you and He is in the process of bringing it to completion. Your job is to just trust Him and obey Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Where were you when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” Job 38:4 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “He is God and you are not.”

 

In my personal Bible reading I have just finished the book of Job. I’ve always found his story inspiring and instructive for multiple reasons – not the least of which is that although Job was a good man, he was not a perfect man. Overall he did do a pretty admirable job of handling disaster, pain, and suffering well, but he also had his moments of doubt and whining.

 

Throughout the long course of Job’s trials he held firmly to his faith in God and he resolved to honor God as best he could regardless of the circumstances of his life at any particular moment. But he also went through periods of depression and dismay. There were times when Job was ready to throw-in the towel and just give-up and die. There were other times when he wondered why God had even allowed him to be born in the first place if He was going to allow him to suffer like this.

 

There were times when Job accused God of being unfair and of maybe even being a bit callous and heartless. And then there were the multiple times when Job angrily declared that he didn’t deserve what was happening to him, it wasn’t fair, and that he longed to challenge God face-to-face so God could explain Himself. (The longer this goes on the more it sounds like me.)

 

Then finally, beginning in chapter thirty-eight, God responded. “Who is this who obscures My counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me. Where were you when I established the earth?”

 

And things went downhill for Job from there. God proceeded to lay-out for Job very clearly that “I am God and you are not!” For four long chapters, 137 verses, God puts Job in his place.

 

To Job’s credit he got the point and he learned his lesson. In 42:2 he said, “Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”

 

Additionally, after a long period of pain and suffering and bewilderment, and then finally through renewed faith in God’s goodness, Job’s faith grew by leaps and bounds. He ended up coming to know God in a deeper and more intimate way than he ever had before all his suffering: “I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I take back my words and repent in dust and ashes.” 42:5-6

 

So then, at the end of the story we read, “So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first.” 42:12

 

Whatever it is you are dealing with in life right now you can trust that God is aware of it and that He is Sovereign over it. Nothing happens without His knowledge and permission, and He is a good God and a loving Father.

 

Even if you don’t understand why this is happening or why God is allowing it, it’s imperative to remember that He is God and you are not – and you can trust Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it into writing …” Ezra 1:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God is always at work behind the scenes.”

 

At the time of the opening chapters of the book of Ezra the nation of Israel had been in captivity for 70 years. However God had previously promised, through the words of the prophet Jeremiah and recorded in Jeremiah 29:10-14, that at the end of the 70 years He would deliver His people from their captivity and allow them to return home to Jerusalem. Now that was about to happen.

 

Interestingly, God used a pagan king to accomplish His purposes for His people. It was King Cyrus who felt led to begin the process of sending the Jews home and he was the one who put it into motion. As it turned out, during all those years of misery and deprivation while they were in captivity, God had been quietly working behind the scenes to orchestrate His next round of blessings for His people. And He used one of the most unlikely sources of all to accomplish it, a pagan king.

 

The fact is that God is always at work behind the scenes, working to accomplish His purposes for His people. And like a master chess player, he strategically moves pieces and orchestrates strategies, sometimes over very long periods of time and using unlikely people and situations, to ultimately bring about His purposes.

 

It’s true on a large scale in terms of nations and churches, but it’s true in individual lives too. It’s true in your life too. Don’t ever doubt that God is at work behind the scenes patiently moving the pieces and setting things up to accomplish His intended purposes for you. Even if current circumstances are difficult and confusing, (as was true for the Jews in the years preceding the book of Ezra), God is there nonetheless and He is at work on your behalf.

 

If you doubt that, or if you simply need to be reassured, there are multiple stories in the Bible you could refer to where you will see God at work in that way in the lives of other people. Joseph in the book of Genesis would be a good one to look at. The book of Job shows us another powerful example of that truth. As does the story of Esther, not to mention what we read about in Ezra and Nehemiah. Those stories are in the Bible as examples for us of how God works in the lives of His people.

 

Think of Him as the Cosmic Chess Player if you will, but don’t doubt that He is patiently at work behind the scenes in your current life situations working to bring about His desired purposes in and through and for you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh.’ Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.” Job 1:20-22 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “It’s in the worst times of suffering that we learn to trust God the most.”

 

For more than 3000 years Bible readers have been fascinated by the story of Job. A good and godly man who had great success and who honored God with his life, Job suffered a series of horrible and seemingly inexplicable tragedies in his life. It was like a cascading row of dominos falling, with one awful event leading right into the next.

 

In order to really understand the lesson of Job you have to have endured terrible loss and pain in your own life – or you have to have been close to someone who did and you walked through it with them.

 

But in reality, Job’s story is all of our stories because sooner or later life brings tragedy and great suffering to all of us. And the questions are always the same: “Why is this happening to me?”, “What am I supposed to do about it?”, “How long is this going to last?” and “What’s going to happen next?”

 

The story of Job reinforces the truth that we live in a broken and bleeding world that is filled with sin and suffering. Worse, we have an adversary (Satan) who actively seeks to bring pain and suffering into our lives to further his own evil purposes. The challenge for us is that we must trust God to help us face those situations and in the middle of it all we have to remember that God is supremely good and absolutely sovereign, and therefore He has a purpose for allowing these things into our lives.

 

As we follow Job’s story we discover that he suffered greatly. We also see that he did not pretend to like it or to be happy about it – and he also did not attempt to minimize the severity of what he was suffering. But through it all he remained focused on the proven goodness of God. The lesson is that in the good times and in the bad times God is still God. He is still good, He is Creator, Redeemer, Savior, Sovereign, and Lord; and we can trust Him.

 

If that’s our confession in the middle of suffering, then Satan’s best efforts in our lives have been rendered harmless and he is shown to be a defeated foe.

 

Yes life can be hard, and we will be faced with situations we don’t like and would rather not be going through. But in such times we are to stay focused on the great truth that God is there with us in the middle of the trial, He has a purpose and a plan for it, and when it’s all said and done it will be shown to be true that God is good and we can trust Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Say among the nations: “The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.” Psalm 96:10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Trust that God is in control.”

 

Do you ever find yourself getting discouraged about the things going on in the world today? Wars, famines, cataclysmic weather events, economic woes, corrupt government officials, biased news media, and the list goes on. And then there are all of our personal problems such as bills, job problems, cranky kids, troubled marriage, inconsiderate neighbors, those ten pounds you can’t seem to lose …

 

Well here’s the good news: “The Lord reigns”. Yes He does. God is in control. In street language they say “He is large and in-charge!” In theological language we say that God is “Sovereign”. This is the biblical teaching that God is king, supreme ruler, and lawgiver of the entire universe. His sovereignty is expressed in His active involvement in world affairs as well as in the affairs of our daily lives, to bring everything into conformity to His purposes.

 

What this means is that God is in ultimate control of all things. Real sovereignty does not belong to the idols of the world; nor does it depend on money or power; it does not belong to the rich and famous; not to multi-national companies or CEOs; not to kings or presidents. It is the Lord who rules and reigns. And because He does, we His people are not judged by the standards of the world, and it’s not the world that ultimately matters.

 

We belong to a loving, gracious, benevolent God who is able to control all things and who has our best interest always in mind. So trust in Him, not in your job or your spouse or your talents or in any other person or thing or set of circumstances. He alone is Supreme and you can trust in Him.

 

To really lock that truth into your mind and heart, I encourage you to attend worship services this Sunday so you can worship the One who rules and reigns. If you have a good church home, then go there. If you don’t have a church home, then visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist. Sunday school begins at 9:00 and worship is at 10:00. Then at 6:00 we will begin a new Sunday evening Bible study series entitled “Fresh Encounters”. It’s about personal and corporate spiritual renewal and it will go a long way towards helping each of us to focus on the One who rules and reigns, rather than on the problems and distractions of life.

 

I have a personal paraphrase of Psalm 96:10 which I try to apply to my own life. It reads like this: “The Lord reigns in my life. Therefore my world is firmly established and it cannot be shaken.”

 

If you fully surrender your life to God then your world will be firmly established and it will not be able to be shaken. The storms of life will come, as they always do, but your life will be established on the firm foundation of trust in God. He will help you to be strong and solid and unshakeable. You can trust Him for that.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” Esther 4:14 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God is up to something in your life.”

 

Most of you are probably familiar with the Biblical story of Esther. She was a young orphaned Jewish girl who, through an incredible series of unlikely and completely unpredictable twists and turns, ends up being the Queen of Persia.

 

On the face of it, there seemed to be no reason for Esther’s assent to such lofty heights. But, God was up to something. The Jews were about to be targeted for genocide by the evil official Haman and God would use Esther, in her position as Queen, to foil Haman’s plot and to save the Jewish people. But Esther had no idea that’s what was going on in her life. However her uncle Mordecai did have a suspicion that God was going to use Esther’s situation in a special way, and that’s why he famously said what he did in Esther 4:14, “Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for us a time as this.”

 

It’s probably unlikely that God is going to elevate you to the position of Queen of Persia and then use you to save your people. But He is up to something in your life never-the-less. There’s a reason He has chosen to allow you to experience the things you are experiencing, and to be where you are in life.

 

It is possible, as was the case with Esther, that God has actually orchestrated events to place you exactly where He needs you to be so He can use you for a specific purpose. He caused it all to happen so He can then use it for His purposes.

 

Or, it’s equally possible that He has simply allowed events to unfold as they have and since you are now where you are, He will use you and your situation for some glorious purpose. Either way, God is sovereign over the events of your life and if you, like Esther, simply cooperate with Him, there’s no telling what God will do.

 

God used Esther to save a nation of people. He used Abraham Lincoln in the same way. Both were unlikely choices and both were brought to their situations by God for a specific reason. But your situation will probably be less dramatic. Maybe you’re going through a terrible time of testing and struggling right now and unbeknown to you, someone is watching and being impressed by the admirable way in which you are handling it. And maybe God plans to use your example now to help them later when they’re going through something similar.

 

Or, maybe your simple and faithful acts of service now will have an impact on someone years from now. I’m familiar with the story of a husband and wife who lived a simple, modest, and godly life – unremarkable and yet inspiring to their young son. Although their own lives never amounted to anything beyond the ordinary, their godly example of faithfulness inspired and motivated their son, and he ended up becoming the President of a Bible College and a popular author.

 

Who knows why God has you in the situation you are currently in, or how He plans to use it? Only God Himself knows. Your job in the middle of it is to simply be faithful and to trust Him to use it all for His good purposes. God is up to something in your life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Trust Him to get you through this.”

 

An uninformed person reading 2 Corinthians 12:10 would probably conclude that Paul was crazy. He took pleasure in suffering? But if a Christian, enlightened with understanding by the Holy Spirit, were to carefully read the entire passage in context, they would discover an amazing truth revealed by the Apostle.

 

In the previous passage, in 2 Corinthians 11:22-33, Paul gave us a long list of the struggles, trials, persecutions, sicknesses, injuries, disasters, and pressing needs he had faced. It’s incredible that one man endured so much over such an extended period of years and lived to tell about it. But he did live to tell about it. Beyond that, Paul survived and thrived through it all. And while all of that was happening to him, he was living one of the most meaningful and productive Christian lives ever lived by anyone other than Jesus Christ Himself. How did he do it?

 

It’s important for us to understand that God didn’t cause the trials and tribulations Paul wrote about in that passage. In most cases it was other people who caused them. It was their sinful actions that resulted in Paul’s repeated suffering. In some of the other situations it was just life happening. Storms at sea, flooded rivers, sleepless nights, are all just part of life.

 

But what Paul discovered was that God was with him and God got Him through all of those tough times. As a result Paul’s faith was strengthened – and that is what he meant by the phrase “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” The more Paul needed God, the more God was there for Him, and the stronger Paul’s faith in God became.

 

Sometimes we wonder why God allows us to suffer sickness, or unfair treatment at the hands of others, or unemployment, or any of a wide range of other issues. After all, God is sovereign and powerful so surely He could intervene on our behalf and prevent such things from happening to us if He wanted to.

 

And yet, He usually doesn’t intervene. It’s true that He could, and sometimes He does, but more often than not He allows life to unfold as it will, and then He walks us through whatever we’re dealing with. And like Paul, in the process our faith becomes stronger. When you are weak and at your point of greatest need, that’s when God shows up in the biggest ways. That then leads to an increase in your faith in Him and as a result, your weaknesses results in greater strength.

 

I don’t know what you’re going through in your life right now but I do know you’re dealing with something you wish wasn’t there. We all are. Everyone has something going on that they wish wasn’t happening, and about which they can’t do much.

 

Well, be encouraged! Your situation is precisely when God will show up and do His best work in your life. When you are weak you can turn to Him and He will make you strong.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3 (NIV)

 

I’m on a little vacation at the moment. It’s true that I’ve also performed a wedding, written daily devotional messages every day, answered email, followed the lives of my church members on Facebook, and toyed with ideas for the next sermon, but I’ve also allowed time for rest and relaxation, and I’m at least thinking about and trying to engage in some genuine leisure.

 

Towards that end I’ve been reading a book by the German philosopher Josef Pieper entitled “Leisure: The basis of culture”. It’s a deep dive into the philosophy of leisure and I’ve found it to be very helpful. For one thing, Pieper’s understanding of true leisure is revealing and convicting.

 

The true leisure that Pieper writes about isn’t a goofing off kind of leisure, like spending three hours lying on the couch watching television and eating Cheetos. Instead this is the leisure of Psalm 23:2-3: “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters; He restores my soul.” It’s the leisure of Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”

 

This is leisure that’s nurturing, soothing, and restorative. And it’s the kind of leisure most of us get far too little of. For most of us, when we do finally relax, it’s usually more of the television and Cheetos variety of leisure – junk food for the mind and body.

 

Why are we so reluctant to spend time in true leisure? (Like Pieper, I mean quality time that will really do something good for your mind, soul and body.)

 

Maybe in some cases it’s because the person is spiritually lazy and vegetating in front of the TV is easier than spending time with God. But also, as was noted yesterday, I think many of us (including me) have a kind of Messiah complex. We secretly think that we have to save everyone; we have to solve all the problems; and that if we let-up for even a moment, the world will stop turning, or people’s lives will fall apart, or at the very least those who depend on us will think less of us for taking time-out for ourselves.

 

But the reality of the situation is that if we don’t take time for ourselves, time to engage in real leisure, the kind that nurtures our spirit and restores our soul, we will become progressively less and less effective at the things that keep us so busy (and which we believe to be so important). And with enough neglect of our own needs, we’ll eventually get to the point that our efforts at being there for everyone else will become counter-productive and we will end up doing more harm than good.

 

We all need that time the Psalmist writes about of lying down in the metaphorical green pastures and sitting beside the quiet waters (whatever that would actually look like in your life). Deep time with God – in prayer, in scripture, and in times of extended peace and quiet, is what real leisure is all about.

 

I encourage you to set aside that time for yourself soon. It’s ok – while you’re taking that time out for yourself you can trust God to take care of all those other things for you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work.” Exodus 20:9-10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Give yourself a break.”

 

As you read this it is Monday morning and many of you are getting ready to go to work. Some of you love your job and are eager to get there. Some of you hate your job and are gritting your teeth at the thought of another day of your life being spent doing it. And some of you are being completely utilitarian about it in that you are going simply because you have to. “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” The implication being that if you didn’t owe, you wouldn’t go.

 

But Biblically work is a good thing. We’re supposed to work hard so we can earn a living and thereby provide for ourselves and for those who depend on us. The problem for many of us is not that we don’t work enough, but that we work too much. Some of us are workaholics whose lives are defined by our careers. Others have allowed themselves to become so deeply in debt that they have to earn a lot of money just to keep their head above water. Therefore they work as many hours as they can in order to earn as much as they can. Either way, the bottom line is that work consumes too much of our lives.

 

I tend to be the workaholic type. I love what I do and I’m committed to it with a passion that borders on compulsion. And therefore I overwork. I don’t give myself enough of a break. I’m betting that many of you are like that too.

 

In the Fourth Commandment God built a weekly break into the normal rhythm of life. The Sabbath is designed for rest and worship – and it’s because we need it. But actually this commandment is intended to convey more than just a black and white legalistic rule about not working one day a week. There’s a larger lesson here – especially for workaholics like me. Often we’re tempted to think that the world will stop turning if we don’t keep working. Or the lives of other people will fall apart if we don’t vigilantly stay involved and try to help them solve their problems.

 

Well the reality is that life will carry on just fine if you stop for a while to give yourself a break. And other people will discover that they can solve their own problems and therefore it’s not necessary for you to constantly hover and intervene. It really boils down to a matter of trusting God.

 

The fact is that He’s God and you’re not. He’s going to be up all night watching over things anyway and therefore you don’t have to be. And should you take an extra day off, or even dare to go on a vacation, I’m betting God can cover that for you too.

 

Tomorrow we will continue this discussion about giving ourselves a break. We will consider the importance of leisure time – but not leisure as it is commonly understood. I’m talking about real leisure that genuinely makes a helpful difference.

 

There are some pretty significant benefits for us when we trust God to cover us while we take the breaks we need. Tomorrow we’ll explore this truth a little deeper.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trust”

 

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: “Trust Him to work through you.”

 

Sometimes Christians are hesitant to attempt meaningful things for God because they don’t believe they have the ability or talent to do much for God. Well, maybe you don’t have many skills, talents, or abilities but it’s actually irrelevant. What you can or cannot accomplish for God has very little to do with what you are personally capable of doing, and it has everything to do with what God is capable of doing in you, with you, and through you.

 

In John 15:5 Jesus used the example of a grape vine and the branches that grow off of it to make this very point. The grape vine produces and bears its fruit through the branches which grow off of it. As long as the branch stays firmly attached to the vine, the life of the vine flows in the branch and the fruit of the vine is produced through the branch. But if the branch becomes separated from the vine then the fruit of the vine is no longer produced through the branch.

 

The Christian life works exactly the same way. Jesus is the spiritual vine. He lives His life and produces His fruit through the lives of His followers. As long as the follower of Christ remains firmly attached to Him (in a good and healthy relationship with Him), the life of Christ will flow through and work in the Christian. That then will result in the fruit of Christ being produced in and through the life of the Christian.

 

The ability of the branch to bear the fruit of the vine depends entirely on the branch remaining in right relationship with the vine. It’s the vine that produces the fruit. The branch just stays attached.

 

I encourage you to stop worrying about what you are or are not capable of achieving for Jesus. Focus instead on simply remaining in a good and healthy relationship with Him. Then trust Him to do with your life whatever it is that He wants to do with it. If you remain in a good and healthy relationship with Him, He will produce in your life the fruit that He wants you to bear. You can trust Him for it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim