Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Corinthians 3:2 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Faithfulness is what matters to God.”

 

As I write this I’m thinking of a man I know who has very little in terms of worldly accomplishments and possessions, but he is an extraordinarily faithful man of God. He can always be counted on to be at church whenever the doors are opened, and he is always ready and willing to help as needed. This man perseveres in faithfulness and although he seems to have little by the standards of the world, the day will come when he will be richly rewarded in heaven by God.

 

And then I’m thinking of another man who does have a lot by worldly standards. He is a successful and accomplished professional who earns a large salary and has many nice things. But he too is a faithful man of God who can consistently be counted on to be present whenever he can be, and he offers his services in ministry as needed. Additionally, he uses large sums of his wealth to bless others and to help further the kingdom-building work of God on earth. I believe this man too will one day hear the Lord say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

 

What the Lord values most is faithfulness. Your skills, abilities, wealth and possessions are of much less importance to Him than is your faithfulness. What He wants is your heart fully surrendered to Him, and then your best effort offered up to Him.

 

Many years ago one of my favorite authors, Eugene Peterson, coined a phrase to describe the Christian life lived well, he called it “A long obedience in the same direction”. He meant that so much of what matters in the Christian life is simply a matter of showing-up before God and doing the things you are supposed to do, over and over again, day after day. That includes prayer and Bible reading of course, but also things like attendance at worship services and participation in ministry activities.

 

But it also pertains to life in general. A big part of faithfulness is simply a matter of being where you’re supposed to be and doing what you’re supposed to do – and doing it all in a spirit and in a manner that honors the Lord.

 

When it comes to perseverance perhaps the most important matter you can persevere in, is faithfulness.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Attend church regularly and faithfully”

 

The story is told of two old men, friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. They were actually members of the same church but one of them had stopped attending long ago.

 

One day when they met on the street, the one man asked the other where he had been and why he hadn’t been to church for so long. The other answered, “I don’t know. I guess I just lost interest. I mean, going to church was ok but nothing special. Heck, by Tuesday I couldn’t even remember what the sermon had been on Sunday. In fact, over all the years I was in church I don’t think I remember a single sermon I ever heard.”

 

The other man thought about that for a moment and replied, “You know, I’ve been married to my wife for over 50 years. Over all those years she has prepared many hundreds of meals for me and I’ll bet you I can’t remember ten of them. But each one of those meals provided me with the nourishment I needed at that time and if I had not had those meals, my physical health would have suffered and I would have shriveled up and died from malnourishment. Likewise, I’ve heard a lot of sermons over those years too and I don’t remember most of them. But every one of them provided my spirit the nourishment it needed at the time. And if I had not had that spiritual nourishment, I would have become spiritually malnourished.”

 

In the Fourth Commandment God instructed us to “Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.” That commandment is for our benefit. The fact is that life is hard. It’s filled with trials and struggles, pain and heartaches. One of the reasons we come together as a church family is for the spiritual renewal we experience. It’s a time to put aside the cares and woes of life as we focus our attention instead on study and worship and fellowship. Through that, the Lord ministers to our souls.

 

In Nehemiah 8:10 we read of the Jews coming together for group worship. Ezra the priest instructed them to leave their grief and sadness outside and focus instead on receiving a fresh dose of “the joy of the Lord”.

 

We all need that. We need to renew our joy. Regular attendance at worship services is a source of spiritual nourishment and it strengthens us so we can more effectively deal with life. I encourage you to gather with your church family this Sunday. If you don’t have a church family, then I invite your to join us at Oak Hill Baptist. Sunday school begins at 9:00 and the worship service is at 10:00.

 

Attend church regularly and faithfully. You’ll be a stronger and more joyful person if you do.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “God is always on time.”

 

Life unfolds over time and in seasons. One season is necessarily different from the previous one and almost always involves change. There is a time and a season for everything. But often we’re impatient, especially if things are changing, and especially if we want the change to be over quickly.

 

The key of course, is to relax and allow life to progress at it’s own pace. But that’s easier said than done because … well, because we tend to be impatient, at least I am.

 

I remember back in the 1970s when microwave ovens were beginning to become common appliances in many households. We were all amazed at how quickly it could cook our food for us, but others were concerned about the quickening pace of life that the microwave oven represented. This was at the same time that the comedian Joan Rivers was rising to fame. I remember she had a comedy routine that poked fun at our growing sense of impatience and at the accelerating pace of life. In the skit she was standing in front of a microwave oven, drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter and then suddenly, in an explosion of impatience and anger she shouts at the microwave, “Hurry up!!!” Yup, that’s me sometimes.

 

There is a season and a proper length of time for everything – including cooking our food. One of my personal complaints is that although I am often in a hurry, the Lord never is. Sometimes I want to shout at Him, “Hurry up!!!”

 

In Psalm 90:4 Moses wrote, “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” Well, that explains it then because sometimes it seems like the Lord is taking a thousand years to answer my prayers!

 

The Apostle Peter repeated that thought more than a thousand years later when he wrote in 2 Peter 3:8, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

 

I’ll leave you this morning with one final thought from Peter on this subject of time and patience and perseverance. In 2 Peter 3:9, right after his observation about how the Lord keeps time, Peter wrote this, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness.”

 

Yes, there is a season for everything, and God is never late. He is always right on-time. So persevere. And when you think you’re done persevering, persevere some more. God will show-up; He will be on-time; and He will show-up in His time. And when He does you will discover it to have been the right time.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Trust that God is sovereign over your circumstances.”

 

When we speak of the sovereignty of God we mean that God is the King and Supreme Ruler of the entire universe. Not only did He create all there is, but He rules over all there is.

 

Beyond that, He has power over all there is. Nothing occurs at any time or in any place, anywhere in the universe, that is beyond the power of God to control if He so chooses. In Ephesians 1:11 Paul writes, “(He) works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will …”  In other words God either directly causes it (His direct will), or He chooses to allow it (His permissive will), for His own purposes and according to His divine will.

 

God rules and reigns over the universe. He is sovereign.

 

Throughout history, and across the denominational spectrum, there are and have been differences in understanding regarding exactly how God’s sovereignty operates in our individual lives. The general consensus among conservative theologians (and this is my personal belief as well) is that God chooses to exercise His sovereignty over our lives in conjunction with human responsibility. In other words, God works in partnership with us. He does His part and we have to do our part; and if we are in synch with Him, then it is His will that prevails in our lives.

 

What does all of that have to do with our theme of “perseverance”? Simply this: The best place for any of us to ever be is right in the center of God’s will. So do your best to understand and obey His will, and then stick to it regardless of the circumstances.

 

Remember, God is sovereign. He can orchestrate events in your life as necessary to achieve His purposes. If for your part you genuinely desire to simply know God’s will and to be obedient to it, and then you actually take the steps necessary to be obedient to His will as you understand it, you can relax and trust Him to act in your best interest according to His will. This is what Paul meant when he wrote in Romans 1:17 “The righteous will live by faith.”

 

In his own life Paul relinquished all of his own desires and all of his own plans in exchange for being obedient to the will of God as best as he could. Paul trusted that God would honor that effort on his part, and since He is sovereign, since He rules and reigns over the affairs of men and nations, He can be trusted to “work out everything in agreement with the decision of His will.”

 

The bottom line here for us is to trust God and live by faith. He is sovereign. Do your best to understand His will and to be obedient to it, and then trust Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “We are pressured 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 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Get up, dust yourself off, and get moving again.”

 

The life story of William Carey is inspiring for many reasons. He is commonly thought of as the father of modern missions. Born and raised in England in the early 1800s, he had a dream to take the Gospel to India and to translate the Bible into as many of the Indian languages and dialects as he could in his lifetime. That is what he did but it certainly wasn’t easy and he experienced numerous setbacks.

 

One major setback occurred in March of 1832. Carey had established a large print shop in the city of Serampore in northern India. For many years he and his team had labored day and night to translate the Bible into Indian languages so they could then print and distribute Bibles to the people in their native tongues.

 

However on the evening of March 11, 1832, while Carey was away on a trip preaching and teaching in another part of India, late at night one of his assistants smelled smoke. By the time he got to the print shop the structure was engulfed in flames. Everything was lost. All of the translation work; printer typesets for fourteen different languages; fifty-five thousand printed sheets; and much more. Years of work reduced to ashes.

 

When Carey received word of the disaster he grieved for a very short time but then he wrote this: “The loss is heavy but as traveling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease and certainty than the first time, so I trust the work will lose nothing of real value. We are not discouraged; indeed the work is already begun again in every language. We are cast down but not in despair.”

 

When word of the disaster and of Carey’s response to it reached England, it caused a sensation. All the major newspapers carried the story. It was the talk of London. Huge sums of money were raised to support Carey’s work; skilled volunteers who were experts in the Biblical languages traveled to India to assist Carey. Within twenty years Carey’s translation and printing ministry produced many thousands of Bibles and New Testaments – not in just fourteen languages but in forty-four languages.

 

We all experience setbacks in life, some of them significant and severe. But like William Carey demonstrated, there’s nothing to gain from wallowing in grief and regret. Oh, grief and regret have their place, for a short time, but then it’s time to get-up, dust yourself off, and get moving again.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Make the best decision you can and move-on.”

 

One of the greatest challenges we have when trying to persevere through difficult times is figuring out the right thing to do. If the situation is complex and difficult it’s often hard to know for sure the best way to handle it. And then, if once those decisions have been made and the difficulties continue for some extended period of time, it’s easy to second guess ourselves and wonder if we made the right choice.

 

In James 1:5 James urges us to take those situations to God and ask Him for wisdom to handle it well. I appreciate the insight Pastor John MacArthur offers on this verse in the study notes of the MacArthur Study Bible:

 

“James’ Jewish audience recognized this as the understanding and practical skill that was necessary to live life to God’s glory. It was not wisdom of philosophical speculation, but the wisdom contained in the pure and peaceable absolutes of God’s will revealed in His Word and lived out. Only such divine wisdom enables believers to be joyous and submissive in the trials of life. God intends that trials will drive believers to greater dependency on Him, by showing them their own inadequacy. As with all His riches, God has wisdom in abundance available for those who seek it.”

 

When faced with tough decisions about difficult and complex problems, take it to the Lord, lay it at His feet, pray for wisdom, and then make the best decision you can with the information available to you.

 

Then trust Him. Once your decision is made, move forward and don’t look back. Trust that He gave you the wisdom you needed. Now get up, get going, and walk-it-out.

 

Solomon spoke to this as well when he wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

 

Looking backwards and second guessing your decisions can be one of the most demoralizing and damaging things you can do as you are striving to persevere through a time of difficulty. So pray hard, make the best decision you can with the information available, keep moving forward, and trust the Lord.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” James 5:16 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “Once you have done all you can do, pray.”

 

Do you believe that James 5:16 is true? Do you believe that your prayers have great power and produce wonderful results? The Bible says they do. When persevering through a difficult situation prayer is not only the best thing you can do, many times it’s the only thing you can do.

 

In her book, “Restoring Relationships with your Adult Children” author Karen O’Conner tells of a time when her young adult son was caught-up in drug addiction and a life of petty crimes. He had gone through years of rebellion and things just kept getting worse and worse. Finally it had reached the point that he was estranged from the family and they seldom heard from him.

 

Over the years Karen and her husband had tried everything they could think of to help their son. They had loved him and encouraged him, they took him to church, they took him to counseling, and they placed him in rehab. Nothing seemed to help. His behavior just got worse and worse until finally they seldom heard from him and they usually had no idea if he was ok or not.

 

One night at a prayer meeting with other parents, who were all dealing with similar issues, Karen told her story. As she sobbed another woman came over, put her arm around Karen’s shoulder and said, “Your work in the flesh is over. All he needs now is your prayers.”

 

In other words in the flesh, within the limitations of their human capabilities, Karen and her husband had done all they could do. They had done their job as parents the best they could. What remained now was for the Lord to work on that young man, and for their son to be responsive to the Lord. Karen and her husband needed to leave the situation with God and just bathe their son in prayer.

 

Karen said that that realization came upon her like a warm breeze. Suddenly a burden was lifted and she felt a sense of peace and freedom. She had done all that she could do. Now it was time to just pray and trust God.

 

There’s an important Biblical truth here regarding the spiritual discipline of perseverance. “Do all that you can do, and then pray.” Whether your situation involves a rebellious child, a struggling marriage, sickness, finances, or whatever, do what you can do, and then pray.

 

Each of us does have a personal responsibility to be part of the solution for whatever problem or situation we are faced with. Yes, there are actions we need to take and things we are responsible for doing. But it’s also true that there is a limit to how much we can do. Often there are other factors involved that are beyond our control. Many times it involves the fact that other people have to do their part too and if they don’t, we usually cannot force them to.

 

So, now that you have done all that you can do, pray. Your efforts have been duly noted in heaven, and your prayers are being heard. Don’t doubt the truth that your prayers are powerful and effective and that they do make a difference.

 

If you have done all that you can do, and now you are praying about it too, you truly have done all that you can do.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “… I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “We can have joy and contentment as we persevere.”

 

The danger in focusing on a subject like “perseverance” everyday for an entire month is that we can quickly come to the point of feeling as if we are just trudging through life, stooped shoulders, leaning into it, determined and relentless, but also joyless.

 

If that’s the way we’re approaching this then we’re missing something vital to the Christian faith, and that would be joy. It is possible, indeed it is vital, that we experience some amount of peace and contentment and joy, even while dealing with trials and pains and heartaches.

 

Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians as an old man, sitting in a Roman jail, and probably awaiting execution. Not nice circumstances. And yet he had contentment and peace. Philippians is such a joyful and upbeat letter that it is actually known as “The Epistle of Joy.”

 

It was all a matter of perspective for Paul. Regardless of his circumstances, he had his eyes on Jesus and his mind on heaven. He viewed the world, and his personal circumstance in the world, through a Biblical worldview. Here’s how he described it in Romans 8:35-39:

 

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Nothing can separate us from Him. Not even the most difficult of times. That’s what Paul was experiencing as he sat in that jail cell.

 

The key to hanging onto a sense of peace and contentment and even joy while persevering through tough times is revealed by Paul in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” The harder life is the more you need Jesus. Don’t pull away from Him. This is the time to draw even closer.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Depend on Jesus to help you.”

 

Matthew 11:28-30 is one of the most inviting promises in the New Testament and it is one of my personal life verses. I find myself coming back to this one frequently.

 

There is an explanation of this illustration Jesus used here that I have offered before in my books and in these devotionals messages, so some of you are already familiar with it. But it’s an explanation that I think is very helpful in understanding the important point Jesus was trying to make here. Therefore I believe it’s worth revisiting again this morning.

 

The people Jesus was speaking to in this scene lived in a farming culture. Therefore they were used to seeing pairs of oxen yoked together as they plowed a field or pulled a cart. In every team of oxen there is always a lead ox and a follower ox. The lead ox is bigger, stronger, and more experienced. The follower ox is usually younger, smaller, and less experienced. The job of the lead ox is to carry most of the load and to provide the direction needed. The job of the follower ox is to walk alongside the lead ox, help to carry the load, and follow the guidance of the lead ox.

 

In this illustration Jesus was saying to us, “Let Me be your lead ox.” “Yoke yourself to Me and we will walk through life together. I will carry most of the load and I will provide the direction. You just stay next to Me and we will do this together.”

 

The lesson here is that life is always easier with Jesus than without Him. Whether that life is lived in a shack in a remote region of Africa, or in a mansion in Beverly Hills, life is always easier and better with Jesus than without Him.

 

In life we all have times of great joy and rich blessings, but we all also have times of trials and struggles. We need Jesus in the good times and in the bad, but especially in the bad.

 

As you continue to deal with whatever your circumstances are, I encourage you to stay close to Jesus. Take His yoke upon you. Walk side-by-side with Him through all the days of your life. And make sure you are letting Him carry most of the load for you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “He did what was right in the Lord’s sight … Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.”  2 Chronicles 27:2; 6

 

Our thought for today: “The more steadfast you are, the stronger you get.”

 

“Steadfast” is a word that means steady, unchanging, constant. Synonyms include words like dedicated, devoted, faithful, unwavering, unfaltering, and unshakeable. That described Jotham’s walk with the Lord and it resulted in him becoming increasingly powerful. But not just powerful in the sense of physical strength and military power, Jotham was a powerful man of God.

 

As a twenty-five year old young man, Jotham became the King of Judah and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He was a good and godly king during an era in the history of the Jews when there were mostly bad and evil kings. This was also a time when there was much religious apostasy in the land. Over many generations the Jews had prostituted themselves to the false gods of the cultures around them. Spiritually the people were weak, confused, and lost.

 

In the middle of such a mess, Jotham “did what was right in the Lord’s sight.” He “walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.” And as a result, Jotham was an upright man of integrity and a good king who led the people well.

 

We all know people like that – men and women who are steadfast in their walk with the Lord despite overwhelming hardship, adversity, and even opposition. As a result of their steadfastness, they become exceedingly strong in their faith and character, and they have a profound influence on their family, friends, neighbors, and church.

 

When a man or woman is steadfast in their faith it means that they pray frequently, study the Bible diligently, attend church faithfully, and serve others through various kinds of ministry activities. When a Christian perseveres in that kind of faithfulness, over an extended period of time, they have been “steadfast” and they grow strong in their faith.

 

I encourage you to be steadfast in the practice of your faith. Persevere in your walk with God. If you do, over time you will become a powerful man or woman of God.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim