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

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “The longer the trial lasts, the more you need the Lord.”

 

What makes many problems so difficult to deal with is that they are seldom quickly or easily resolved. At least that seems to be the case in my life, and it’s probably true in yours as well. As a difficult problem or trial drags on and on, I tend to do the very things Isaiah tells me not to do, I give-in to fear and discouragement and I start wondering if this is ever going to end.

 

If fear and discouragement are allowed to take root, I then tend to convince myself that the problem is not going to end – ever! Instead it’s going to continue for days and weeks and months and years and probably on into eternity with my luck! And then I get fearful. I begin to imagine how bad it’s all going to get as it continues to drag on and on.

 

And then comes a deep-seated sense of dismay. I start feeling (and acting) as if the weight of the world is on my shoulders. (My dog just died, the kids have the flu, the car is on the fritz, my neighbors are mean, and you have no idea how hard it is to be me ….)

 

The truth however, is that nothing lasts forever. Beyond that, it’s probably not really as bad as I think it is. Plus, Jesus is still on the throne; I am still saved; I can get another dog; the kids will get better; the car will get fixed; and it’s really not any harder being me than it is to be you, or to be anyone else.

 

The fact is that we all have problems, and God has the answers. Isaiah 41:10 is just one of the Biblical answers to our multitude of life issues.

 

God says, “Do not fear.” Why should we not fear? “Because I am with you.” That’s right, the God of the universe is with you in this. He is fully aware of your problems and He is all-powerful to help you.

 

Therefore, “Don’t be dismayed.” He is God and He is with you, and that’s a pretty good reason to hope and trust.

 

“I will strengthen you and I will uphold you.” That’s the answer right there. Go to God for strength and upholding. The tougher your situation, the more strengthening and upholding you need, and therefore the more you need to be going to God.

 

The key to persevering, regardless of who you are and what your current situation is, is to bring it to God. And then stay there with God so He can strengthen you, uphold you, give you courage instead of fear, and hope instead of dismay.

 

The harder the trial and the longer it lasts, the more you need the Lord.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.” Genesis 2:15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We are to persevere in our work.”

 

Two days ago our devotional message was on the subject of retirement. In that message I joined with Pastor John Piper in urging you not to retire. By that I did not mean to imply that you can never leave your career. I myself am a “retired” Naval Officer. I also did not mean to imply that we must always be engaged in an activity that results in a paycheck. If you have reached the point in life where you no longer need to earn wages, good for you!

 

However, barring poor health and physical incapacitation, we do need to remain as productive in meaningful activities as our circumstances allow. Not only is that important for our physical and emotional well-being, but it’s Biblical. Nowhere in the Bible does God make provision for His people to be idle and unproductive – at any age.

 

In Genesis 2:15 we find that even in the pre-sin world, even when creation was still perfect and Adam lived in paradise, God gave him work to do. Adam was to “work” the Garden. He was to tend it and care for it, watching over it and taking whatever action was needed. Adam had a job and along with everything else in God’s creation, it was good.

 

Work is important. Whether you are doing it for a paycheck, as a service to your church or community, or simply for the pure pleasure of accomplishing something worthwhile, work is good. As David Platt writes, “As we produce goods and provide services through all sorts of jobs, we are contributing to our culture in a way that serves people and honors God.”

 

Our world is so diverse that innumerable products and services are needed for the basic good of society. Food needs to be grown, processed, packaged, shipped, sold, and prepared. That requires farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, warehouse workers, salespeople, and cooks. All of those professions are needed and important. And that’s just one example. We need teachers and nurses, bus drivers and construction workers, counselors and secretaries. All work is good if it benefits other people and makes society a little better for everyone.

 

And so, we must persevere in our work. Whether we’re earning a paycheck or doing volunteer work, all of us are expected to, and even required by God, to be productive in meaningful ways.

 

If you would like to read an expanded teaching about the value and importance of work, see chapter thirteen of my book “Walking with Paul”. If you don’t have a copy you can get one at www.JimMersereauBooks.com, or visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist Church and I will be happy to give you a copy.

 

The Bible is clear that God expects us to utilize our time in constructive ways that benefit others and helps to make the world a better place.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to him – how can God’s love reside in him? 1 John 3:7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We have been blessed so we can be a blessing.”

 

As I write this I am knee-deep in planning two mission trips, one for our church to the coal-mining region of northeastern Kentucky and the other for CERT International to the Andes Mountains in Peru. In Kentucky we work with a very small church which has a heart for ministering to some of the most impoverished people in that region of Appalachia. In Peru we work with a Peruvian missionary pastor who has made it his life’s work to minister to the Quechuan Indians who live in remote villages in the mountains north of Cusco.

 

What’s interesting to me is that we sometimes receive almost identical criticism from American Christians for our work in each of those places. It goes like this, “Why do you go so far away to help people over there (Kentucky and Peru), when we have needy people right here?” The implication is that we should just stay home (in Cumberland County, TN, and in the USA) and do all of our charitable work here, and let those people in other places take care of themselves.

 

Yes, Cumberland County, TN does have its share of poor people, but not like in Hazard County, KY – the need is much greater there. As a church we do minister to our own community first, but we don’t stop here. Also, here in our county there are a large number of big churches, and food banks, and relief agencies, and rescue missions, all focusing large amounts of resources to help the poor in our community. Hazard County, KY has almost none of those resources. The people in our partner church are every bit as poor as the people in their community who they’re trying to help. When we bring a big load of supplies up to them, it makes a world of difference – a much bigger difference than it would make here in our own county.

 

And with respect to our standard of living here in the USA compared to that of remote villages in Peru, let me quote author David Platt in his new book “Counter Culture”, “By any measure, we are the richest people ever to walk on planet Earth … We need to open our eyes to the reality that when most of the people in the world hear the word “rich”, they picture us. Indeed, average, ordinary, middle-class, working Americans are an extremely wealthy aristocracy in a world surrounded by billions of extremely poor neighbors.”

 

And even though we are the wealthiest people on the planet to begin with, we then direct more than 80% of our charity inward on our own society. We, the richest society in the world, send less than 20% of our charity to places like the Andes Mountains in Peru. Instead we spend almost all of our charitable dollars on ourselves.

 

My point in all of this is that as followers of Jesus Christ we have to identify the neediest of the needy, and then persevere in helping them as we can. By ourselves we can’t meet all the needs of all the people. But we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of some. And that’s enough.

 

The people of God have been tasked by God to engage in physical ministry to take care of the poor and destitute. It’s not easy; it does require sacrifice; and we will need to persevere.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:20-21 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Live until you die”.

 

I’ll admit to being a Jimmy Buffet fan. I like his music. He writes about life on the open sea and at the beach, and about the adventures of traveling. Those are all things that I love. In one of his songs there is a line that goes, “I’d rather die while I’m living than live while I’m dead.”

 

Yes, live until you die. Really live. Too many people don’t. Far too many people, as they get older, retreat from life. They spend more and more time in the Lazy-Boy in front of the television, or endless hours, day-after-day, on the golf course, on in a fishing boat. What a waste!

 

I recently read a great article about retirement from Pastor John Piper. It was titled, “Hillary, Bernie, Donald, and Me”. The thing that Pastor John found admirable about Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump was not their politics, but the fact that each wants to spend their 70s performing the most difficult job in the world – that of President of the United States.

 

Pastor John isn’t running for President, but at the age of 70 he is determined not to retire to a life of long naps and afternoon golf. He intends to continue preaching, teaching, writing, and serving. The structure of his activities may change a bit, but not the significance. He’s not going to waste his remaining years of life on trivial pursuits. Me neither. And I hope you also won’t do that.

 

In that article John notes that at 70 Benjamin Franklin helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. At 70 the great Bible teacher Oswald Sanders wrote his first book. He then wrote one book a year until he was 89. At 76 Ronald Reagan stood at the Berlin wall and challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear it down. At 77 Astronaut John Glenn traveled in space. At 81 Winston Churchill was still serving as the Prime Minister of Great Britain. At 89 Albert Schweitzer was still running a hospital in Africa and at 99, Strom Thurmond was still serving in the U.S. Senate.

 

Ralph Winter, who actively served in the cause of world evangelism until he died at 84, once wrote, “Most men don’t die of old age, they die of retirement.”

 

Yes sir, be careful of that retirement stuff, it’ll kill ya. Recently I heard John Piper’s point expressed in a slightly different and very practical way. The man said “Don’t retire, instead rewire.” In other words it’s ok to shift gears, but don’t waste your years.

 

Regardless of your age, there’s a very good chance that your best years are still ahead of you. Even if you’re 40, that means you have just arrived at half-time in the game of life. You probably still have the entire second half in front of you!  I’m a firm believer in the truth that the final measure of a person’s life cannot be determined until that life has been fully lived.

 

Every day you’re still alive is another opportunity to do something meaningful with your life. I encourage you not to blow it or waste it. Persevere in life. Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, for as long as you can.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim