Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” Joshua 1:8 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “True greatness is determined by God, not by the world.”

 

Here in the USA we are now well into the silly season of politics. We will have a Presidential election in 2016 and so the gloves are off and the mud is flying. Politicians are flooding the airwaves with preposterous claims about themselves and slanderous charges against their opponents. And it’s only going to get worse.

 

It has been said that in order to run for President a person has to have a thick hide and a big ego. There is one candidate running this time who certainly meets those criteria. He’s a loud and flamboyant character who seems to be impervious to criticism, and his ego, well, it’s large. In his own estimation he is a truly great man and he will be happy to describe his greatness for you.

 

But fame and fortune are not the true measures of greatness, at least not as far as God is concerned. In the economy of God greatness is measured differently. Joshua, for instance, was a great man. But he was a great man not because he was a great military leader (which he was); and he was also not great because he was politically powerful (he was that too). Joshua was great because he was a godly man who sought to honor the Lord in all that he did.

 

Right at the beginning of his ministry Joshua was instructed by God, in Joshua 1:8, to pay careful attention to the Word of God as given to him by Moses. Joshua was to study it carefully, mediate on it day and night, and allow it to permeate his mind and sink deeply into his heart. Only then would he prosper and succeed in the ways that mattered to God.

 

All this month, as we begin this New Year, we’re going to devotionally consider what true greatness looks like in the eyes of God. We will consider Biblical principles which teach about true greatness, and we will look to the examples of those who have modeled true greatness for us – people on the pages of the Bible but also those throughout history, and even some modern day people.

 

In the world greatness is measured in terms of money, power, fame, and influence. But God sees it differently. I look forward to learning about true greatness with you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Who you associate with matters.”

 

As we end our devotional study on the theme of “Friends and Associates” I want to conclude where we began, with the understanding that who you associate with matters very much. This is a point that God makes repeatedly all throughout the Bible many times and in many ways.

 

Joshua became the man he was largely because of his close association with Moses. King David was retrieved from the depths of grievous sin as a result of his friendship with the prophet Nathan. The three Hebrew boys in Daniel chapter three strengthened each other as they faced the fiery furnace. In the book of Acts we find the early Christians thriving in the face of terrible persecution only because they had each other to rely on and depend upon. The Apostle Paul needed his friend Barnabas, while Timothy and Silas grew into the men God wanted them to be as a result of their association with Paul. And on it goes.

 

Of course the opposite is true too. I encourage you to do a study of your own sometime to see how many examples in the Bible you can find of situations when a poor choice of friends, associates, and counselors ended in disaster. You might want to look in Exodus chapter sixteen to read about the time that 250 men foolishly sided with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram instead of with Moses and Aaron. It cost them their lives. Or you could go to Acts chapter twenty-seven and read about the centurion and ship captain who relied on their own counsel instead of that from the Apostle Paul. The ship sank.

 

I love the way Eugene Peterson renders Proverbs 13:20 in his paraphrase of the Bible, “The Message”, “Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.”

 

As we turn the corner into 2016 I challenge all of us to consider carefully who our friends and associates have been, and will be. You become like those you associate with. So choose your friends carefully.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” Matthew 11:5 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t shun those in need.”

 

As we draw to the end of our month of considering the important issue of who our friends are and who we choose to associate with, I’m remembering a conversation I had with a fellow Pastor more than twenty years ago. The church he was the pastor of consisted mostly of middle-class white families. Those families were financially secure and most had both a mother and a father in the home.

 

However the church also had a van ministry which targeted a low-income housing project on the other side of town. Those people were almost exclusively poor Mexicans, many from single parent homes, and there were a few low-income African-Americans in the neighborhood too. The church van would go to that neighborhood and bring many of the children, and a few of the adults, to church.

 

During our conversation I commended the pastor on his church’s efforts to reach-out to that needy and neglected segment of our town’s population. But I’ll never forget his response. He shrugged off my compliment and replied, “Well, you really can’t build a church with people like that. They don’t have any money.”

 

I nearly swallowed my tongue when he said that. Of course I understand the need for a church to be able to pay its bills but under no circumstances should that be a determining factor regarding who we minister to and who we don’t. I came to realize that his church was involved in that van ministry not because they had a particular love and concern for those people, but because they felt it was their Christian duty to be doing something like that. After all, other churches did things like that and therefore they probably should too. (That ministry didn’t last long by the way. That church soon abandoned it.)

 

If we look to Jesus as our example, we discover that He spent the vast majority of His time, and focused most of His ministry efforts, on people exactly like those low-income Mexicans in that housing project. But more than just running a bus ministry to bring them to church, Jesus went out into the neighborhoods and into their homes to actually be with them. He walked among them, talked with them, ate meals with them, and told them the Good News of the Gospel. Why did He do that? Was it because it was His Christian duty to do so? No. He did it because He genuinely loved them and cared for them.

 

Jesus chose to associate with those who needed Him the most, and we must do the same. Richard Foster, in his book “Freedom of Simplicity”, accurately noted that individual Christians and even entire churches often become involved in ministry to the poor for all the wrong reasons. We do often approach it as a matter of Christian duty or, we do it because it’s the trendy cause of the moment and so we want to be a part of it too. Foster writes:

 

“The Christian must advocate the cause of those who are truly poor and forgotten. So often it seems as if Christians have a particular knack for joining causes that are nearly over and championing issues that have thousands of champions … We must go beyond newspapers accounts to find the truly dispossessed.”

 

Jesus “chose” to associate with and to spend lots of time with the down and out – those in greatest need. He was with them because He genuinely wanted to be with them.  As we consider who we will associate with, perhaps we would be well-served to consider who it was that our Lord associated with the most, and then go and do likewise.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Take care of each other.”

 

If you’ve ever been part of a church family where the members of the church genuinely love each other, and go over and above in their efforts to take care of each other, then you know what a special experience that is. It’s a little piece of heaven on earth. Ideally that is how church life should be.

 

I am personally blessed beyond words to have the privilege to be the Pastor of a church that is exactly like that. Not only are the members my brothers and sisters, but they’re my friends. The love and support they show to me and my family, and to each other, is very special indeed. These folks embrace and practice what Paul wrote about in Philippians 2:3-4.

 

But to fully appreciate what Paul was getting at in those verses, we have to back-up a bit and read the two verses preceding them. Philippians 2:1-2 reads, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”

 

What Paul was saying there was essentially, “What Jesus has done for you, you now do for others.” “The encouragement, comfort, love, tenderness, compassion, and fellowship you experience in your relationship with Jesus, should also describe your relationship with fellow Christians. And when it does, when you have a group of people who are intentional about treating each other the way Jesus treats them, you end up with what Paul wrote about in verses 3 and 4 – everyone putting the interests and well being of others over themselves.

 

Christian fellowship, practiced the way it was intended to be, is special. It begins with Jesus caring for us in all the ways that Paul described, and it then continues when we treat others the way that Jesus treats us.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Return to Me – this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts – and I will return to you.” Zechariah 1:3 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God wants you to be close to Him.”

 

I’m sure you’ve probably heard the question, “If God seems far away, guess who moved?” It’s a challenging question that communicates the great truth that God wants us to be close to Him and if it seems to us as if we’re not, it’s our own fault. Always it is us who have walked away from Him, not Him from us.

 

As a Pastor I tend to have lots of conversations with people who are struggling with life issues and who are far away from God. The issues they’re struggling with often include things like broken relationships, unemployment, addictions, and even criminal activity. Many of those conversations take place in a jailhouse visitation area.

 

During the course of the conversation I will always talk to them about their relationship with the Lord. More often than not they profess to be a Christian – usually as a result of a childhood conversion. But then they also admit that they’re not active in church, seldom read a Bible, and don’t pray very often either. And usually at some point the person will say something along the lines of, “If God really loved me and cared about me then why isn’t He blessing my life? Why is He allowing all these bad things to happen to me?”

 

The answer to that question is that in the Bible God has given us boundaries within which He expects us to live. The boundaries are actually very wide but they are boundaries and we do have to stay within them. As long as we do live within the boundaries of Biblical conduct, we are living in the realm in which God can and will bless us. But if we choose to wander outside of Biblical boundaries, and stay there, we are in effect choosing to live without God’s blessings. God cannot and will not bless unbiblical conduct.

 

In Zechariah 1:3 God was speaking to the nation of Israel through the prophet. They too had wandered far from Him and were experiencing all the unpleasant consequences of their poor choices. But even then, God had not given-up on them. Even then, He still extended His hand and issued an invitation, “Return to Me and I will return to you.”

 

That promise is for you too. If God seems far away it’s not because He has walked away from you, it’s because you have walked away from Him. Return to Him and He will return to you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn.” Luke 2:7 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Merry Christmas”

 

Every time I read Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus I never fail to wonder at how much Jesus humbled Himself. He is of course, the Lord of Glory and the King of Heaven. He voluntarily left the splendor of heaven to come to earth to rescue us from our sins. But He did it in such a humble way!

 

In his book, “The Jesus I Never Knew” author Philip Yancey describes a visit to the USA by Queen Elizabeth II. She came with four thousand pounds of luggage including two outfits for every occasion, a mourning outfit in case someone important died while she was here, forty pints of plasma in case of a medical emergency, and white leather toilet seat covers which were placed on the toilets of whatever suite of rooms she was staying in. She had flashing jewelry, trumpets and heralds to announce her arrival wherever she went, bodyguards, and much pomp and circumstance.

 

The entourage and security surrounding the Queen was such that nobody could even get close to her. If Jesus had come to us in such a fashion we wouldn’t have been able to get close to Him either.

 

But He didn’t come like that. He came humbly, as a baby, in impoverished circumstances. Doing so made it easy for us to be with Him. He not only came as one of us, but He came as a defenseless baby.

 

Then, as He grew, He passed through all the stages of human growth and development until finally, as an adult, He began His ministry among us as the Son of God and the Messiah, the Savior. But again, even then, He remained humble and approachable. People could be with Him, they could talk to Him, they could see, hear, and touch Him.

 

The primary reason Jesus came to earth was so that one day He could die upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. But He also came to make it possible for us to relate to God in a real and personal way. According to the prophet Isaiah one of the descriptive names for Jesus is Immanuel, “God is with us”. In John 10:30 Jesus said of Himself, “The Father and I are one.” And in John 14:9 He said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

 

Because Jesus came to us in the manner He did, we can now know God in ways that were never possible before. Tonight at Oak Hill Baptist Church at 5:00 we will celebrate a Christmas Eve Candlelight service. We’ll sing songs and light candles, but I will also speak a bit more about this subject of God being with us in such a personal and non-threatening way in the person of Jesus. I invite you to join us.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.” Isaiah 9:6-7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Align yourself with Jesus.”

 

To whom or to what have you aligned yourself? In life we all form loyalties and make commitments to people and organizations and to movements. Many of those bonds are strong and our sense of commitment to them is intense. That sense of connection could be to a sports team, a political party, an individual leader or celebrity, a philosophy or worldview, or to a deity. In life we all align ourselves to someone or to something.

 

However if history proves anything it is that no matter how popular and influential an individual is, no matter how strong a movement seems to be, no matter how persuasive the worldview or philosophy, and no matter how significant the events of the moment appear to us, on the large stage of history it’s all fleeting.

 

Larger-than-life figures appear on the stage for a short time, they strut, they boast, they make money and gain power, but then they’re gone. Political parties dominate for an election cycle or two, but then they’re in the minority again. Last year’s World Series champion is this year’s cellar-dweller.

 

The danger of all these flashy and noisy pretenders is that they distract people from the One Being and the one movement that is not temporary and which is in fact, at the very center of all human history.

 

All of history is in fact “His-story”. The birth of Christ even divided world history in two, B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, which means “The year of our Lord”).

 

Jesus is the most important figure in history.  His kingdom is the only governmental structure which will endure forever; the building of His kingdom is the only movement that has eternal value; and therefore it only makes sense for us to be committed and loyal to Him first, rather than to anyone else or to anything else.

 

We can of course have other people in our lives who are important to us and to whom we are committed. And we can support political parties and sports teams, but our loyalty first and foremost must be to Jesus and to His kingdom-building work. When it comes to your alignment, it must be to the kingdom of God. When it comes to loyalty, it must be to Jesus.

 

And with respect to friends and associates, who else should you choose to be around than those who are also properly aligned with, totally committed to, and completely loyal to the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace?

 

I encourage you to include in your celebration of Christmas this year a recommitment to Jesus, the One who was born for you, and the One who died for you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

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: “Jesus walks with us through life.”

 

Yesterday we considered the fact that Jesus invites us to be His friend. We also thought about what it means for a person to be a friend. It involves things like trust and dependability and empathy; there is a sense of closeness and a deep level of comfort; and it also involves understanding and being understood.

 

Proverbs 18:24 describes the most advanced form of friendship as one who sticks closer than a brother. It’s the Hebrew word that was used to describe Abraham’s friendship with God, and it certainly applies to the kind of friendship Jesus offers to His followers.

 

In practical terms, I think the best New Testament description of what that friendship looks like on daily basis is given to us by Jesus Himself in Matthew 11:28-30.

 

Jesus spoke those words to the Jews of His day, almost all of whom lived and worked in an agrarian (farming) society. They were used to seeing teams of oxen yoked together, working together, to accomplish hard work. They knew that in every team of oxen there was a lead ox which was bigger, stronger, and more experienced, and there was a follower ox. It was up to the lead ox to carry most of the load and to provide the guidance. The job of the follower ox was to walk alongside the lead ox, share the load, and learn.

 

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

 

The truth is that life is always better with Jesus than without Him. Whether that life is lived in a shack in Africa or in a mansion in Beverly Hills, life is always better with Jesus than without Him. And since Jesus is the all-powerful and mighty God of the universe, and since He is willing to walk through life with you carrying most of your burden and providing all of the guidance, He is the best friend you could ever have.

 

As you celebrate this Christmas season you will of course remember that the primary reason Jesus came as a baby in a manager was so He could one day die upon a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. But another reason He came is so He could be your friend, your best friend, and walk through life with you. It’s all a gift from God.

 

I encourage you to joyfully and gratefully accept the gift – all of it. Receive the gift of salvation from Jesus, and also receive the gift of friendship with Jesus. Then rely on Him to walk with you through life helping you to carry the load, and providing the guidance you need.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:13-14 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus is the best friend you will ever have.”

 

Today is Monday December 21^st. It’s the beginning of Christmas week and therefore we will spend the week thinking about Jesus. Of course we’ll consider His miraculous birth, His perfect life, and His eventual death on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins, but in keeping with our theme of “friends”, I also want to talk about the friendship of Jesus.

 

In John 15:13-15 Jesus made a startling claim to His disciples. They considered Him to be their Lord and Master but He states here that He thinks of them as His friends. What an extraordinary claim. This is the God of the universe in a human body. This is the Creator of heaven and earth, the Sovereign and Majestic Lord of all. Surely He is my God who deserves to be – indeed must be – worshiped, but my friend? Well, according to Jesus, yes, a friend.

 

What does that mean in practical terms to us as individuals? According to the dictionary a friend is a person who you know, like, and trust. It’s someone who supports and sympathizes with you; is favorably disposed to you; understands you and is easy to understand in return; and one who is warm, comforting, and easy to be with.

 

Jesus claims to be that for you and for me. Proverbs 18:24 describes Him as a “Friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

 

But wait. In terms of real life day-to-day living, there’s more. Without question the primary reason Jesus left the glory of heaven and came to earth was so that one day He could die upon a cross to redeem us from our sins. But as for being a friend, in terms of walking with us through life day-by-day as a good and true friend does, there’s more, there’s much more. But I’m going to save that for tomorrow.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”

 

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 him.” James 1:5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Godly wisdom leads to spiritual health.”

 

I’m sure you’ve heard the old cliché, “The Church isn’t a Country Club for saints it’s a hospital for sinners.” It’s an old and somewhat tired cliché to be sure and yet, profoundly true. The only real difference between the people inside the church and those outside the church is that those outside are sin-sick and not doing anything about it; those inside the church are also sin-sick, but are in the process of getting well.

 

One of the ways in which we help each other inside the church to get well, is by helping each other to acquire Godly wisdom. True wisdom is much more than just gaining knowledge, although it does include that. True wisdom, Godly wisdom, is wisdom that helps us to live well, according to Biblical standards. This is the skill of living in a way that is not sin-sick. Godly wisdom is the medicine we need in order to get spiritually well and it’s an important reason that we gather together in our church/hospitals.

 

James, the author of the New Testament book of James, was a Pastor in the early church. He was also the biological brother of Jesus. His letter is a spiritual prescription to help sin-sick Christians and churches to get well. With the directness and precision of a skilled physician, he focuses on the root cause of their problems and he gives his readers precise instructions on how to deal with those issues. Dealing with problems in a direct way, and resolving them according to Biblical standards, is the “wisdom” he was referring in the beginning sentences of his letter.

 

Churches are imperfect places filled with imperfect people – sin-sick people. Churches are a place where people are brought face-to-face with the worst aspects of themselves and then given the help they need to deal with those areas of their lives. This is often messy business. And that being the case, church life is seldom easy. When I’m physically sick I’m often not the best of company. That can be even truer when I’m spiritually sick.

 

This Sunday, as you gather with your church family, remember that everyone there is dealing with something. Everyone there has an issue, a problem, a secret sin, a struggle that you might not know anything about, and it impacts how they interact with others. So be kind and patient and gracious with others as they work through their life issues, acquiring the wisdom that will help them to get well. And the rest of that will do that for you too as you confront and deal with your own issues.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim