Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” Judges 21:25 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Great people live according to Biblical standards.”

 

The final words of the book of Judges accurately sum up that entire dark period of Israel’s history, “everyone did as he saw fit.” There was no king in those days and there were no strong godly leaders. Living Biblically was not the culturally accepted way of life, and so everyone simply made-up their own rules and lived in whatever way they wanted.

 

The people had abandoned God and as a result their moral values were derived from their own opinions and desires rather than from God’s absolute standard of truth and righteousness. But when people abandon God and His standards, truth and morality become relative and evil prevails.

 

As we conclude our month of considering True Greatness as defined by God, we should by now realize that the single most important dominate characteristics of a great man or woman of God is that they know the Bible, and they live by it. Regardless of the standards of greatness promoted by the world, and regardless of their own preferences and desires, great men and women of God study God’s word, know it well, and then resolve to live by it.

 

God has promised that He has a good and perfect plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11); He has also promised that He will speak to and guide those who call out to Him with a sincere heart (Jeremiah 29:12-13); He will lead us down paths of righteousness for His own sake (Psalm 23:3); He will be with us always as we live this life that brings Him honor and glory (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5); and He will bring to a successful completion that which He is in the process of working out in our lives (Philippians 1:6).

 

Living as godly men and women really isn’t that hard; God Himself helps us to do it.

 

I want to leave you this month with a passage of Scripture that I hope will give you great comfort and assurance as you continue to try to live a life that is pleasing to God. It is 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.”

 

Trust God with your whole heart. Do not depend on your own understanding but instead, acknowledge Him in all your ways (study His Word, pray, do what you know to be right); and then you can count on Him to make your paths straight. Great men and women of God know this to be true, and they live accordingly.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God give the glory to God for the success they have.”

 

I was once in a meeting with a group of Pastors, including the Pastor of one of the largest churches in America. This Pastor was telling the rest of us of how, since his church was so big, he received lots of requests from many high profile individuals asking for the opportunity to speak at his church.

 

He told us the story about one nationally known speaker and author who called. The man called to offer his services to the Pastor of this big church, explaining that he would be a great blessing to the people of the church. He then went on to explain that of course he would need a first class plane ticket for himself, and a coach class ticket for his assistant; he would require a suite in a five star hotel; a driver to transport him; the refrigerator in his room would need to be stocked with a detailed list of the drinks, snacks, and other amenities; and then there was the issue of the $10,000 speaking fee.

 

Obviously this guy was way too impressed with himself and was behaving more like a rock star than as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And needless to say, he did not receive an invitation to speak in that church.

 

In Deuteronomy 8:18 Moses exhorted the people to remember that it was the Lord God who gave them their ability to create wealth. In other words, whether you are a farmer, a carpenter, a shopkeeper, a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker, it is God who endowed you with the skills you have and it is God who should get the glory for whatever good is accomplished in your life.

 

Yes, even if you happen to be a big-shot author and speaker, your skills and abilities come from God and therefore you need to get over yourself and give the glory to God.

 

Moses, by the way, was the greatest leader the nation of Israel ever had and one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known, but he was also an extremely humble man who did not think too highly of himself. Numbers 12:3 tells us, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”

 

As you read the story of Moses you quickly discover that he realized that any great thing accomplished through him was actually a result of what God had done, not because of any skill or ability he possessed.

 

One of the great dangers of any accomplishment on our part is that we can start to deceive ourselves into believing that we ourselves have brought it about. Great men and women of God don’t allow themselves to think that way. Like Moses, they are very aware of their own weaknesses and limitations, and they give the glory to God for any good thing that is accomplished in their lives.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Barak said to her, ‘If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.’ ‘Very well,’ Deborah said, ‘I will go with you.” Judges 4:8-9 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Thank God for great women!”

 

The period of the Judges was one the saddest times in the history of the nation of Israel. Their leader Joshua was dead and the people had lost their way. The phrase “And every man did what was right in his own eyes” appears numerous times throughout the book.

 

God did raise-up Judges to rule over Israel during this time but as soon as a Judge died, the people lapsed back into anarchy with everyone doing whatever they wanted to do. Then, after an extended period of lawlessness, God would bring another Judge onto the scene to try to bring the people under control.

 

Deborah was one of those Judges. She was the only female to serve in that capacity and by all measures she was one of the most effective of all the Judges. Deborah led Israel during a time when they were threatened by an army of Canaanites led by the commander Sisera. This was the mightiest fighting force in existence in that day. They had over 900 iron chariots and other heavy armaments which would crush Israel’s army.

 

In response Deborah summoned Barak, the commander of the Israelite army. She told him that he was to lead the army of Israel to confront and defeat the Canaanites. Deborah assured Barak that God would give them the victory, but even with that assurance, Barak was afraid. He told Deborah that he would only go if she went as well to provide leadership and inspiration. Deborah agreed, and she went, and the Canaanite army was defeated.

 

Have you ever known great women of God like Deborah, women who were confident in the Lord and who were consequently fearless in the face of great challenges? I have, and I thank God for them.

 

In the churches I’ve been the Pastor of I’ve always had the good fortune to have had one or more “Deborah’s” in the congregation. They were women of strong character and deep faith; women who knew God well and who had great confidence in His watch-care, His protection, and His provision. And on more occasions than I can count, God has used such women to encourage me and to keep me moving in the right direction. I think of women like Louise Teel, Jane Fish, Mary Rose Kemmer, Mary E. Henry, and my wife Linda, as well as others who I won’t embarrass by mentioning by name because they’re alive and well and members of Oak Hill Baptist Church today.

 

We should all thank God for the great women God has placed in our families and in our churches. They’re more important than they probably realize. I’ve heard it said and I know it to be true that, “The man may be the head, but the woman is the neck that turns the head!”

 

And all God’s people said, “Amen!”

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So here I am today, eighty-fives years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.”  Joshua 14:10-11 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Great people are enthusiastic.”

 

I have always loved the example set for us by Caleb. This was a man who approached all of life with enthusiasm and vigor, with passion and purpose, with courage and confidence.

 

Caleb was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to spy out the Promised Land and along with Joshua, he was the only one who was not intimidated by the challenges it presented. While the other ten were afraid and counseled the people to turn around and not attempt to take possession of the land, Caleb, along with Joshua, urged them to just go forward with courage and confidence, obeying the Lord and trusting Him. Unfortunately the people didn’t listen to Caleb and Joshua and they paid a big price for it.

 

Forty-five years past for Caleb, forty of them where spent wandering in the desert and five years of finally conquering the Promise Land. Now Caleb stood before Joshua, eighty-five years old and still full of vim and vigor. He was looking forward to the future and was eager to take possession of his portion of the land, ready to get busy building an inheritance for his family – at eighty-five!

 

I don’t know about you but I want to be a Caleb! I want to spend my years in the passionate pursuit of the promises of God, facing challenges with courage and confidence, trusting that God has a good and perfect plan and that if I just keep moving forward in faith and obedience, it will come to pass.

 

The secret to Caleb’s greatness is revealed to us in this same passage of Joshua 14. Three times (in verses 8, 9, and 14), we’re told that Caleb followed the Lord “wholeheartedly”. In other words, with nothing held back. He was enthusiastic, gutsy, passionate, and determined, and he followed God with His whole heart.

 

People like Caleb live lives that are unusually productive and rather than whining or complaining, they just do what needs to be done. I want to be more like Caleb and I hope you do too. I hope to someday be eighty-five, still full of fire and passion, and still accomplishing the plans God has established for me.

 

As the editors of “The Leadership Bible” noted, “Caleb was a great leader because he had a great passion. He had a great passion because he had a great purpose. He had a great purpose because he had a great God. And he knew his great God well.”

 

May that be true of us as well.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Then Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel, saying, “I am now 120 years old; I can no longer act as your leader. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross this Jordan  … Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.” Deuteronomy 31:1-3 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Pass it on”

 

Yesterday we considered a passage that was also from Deuteronomy where Moses spoke of the importance of sharing the faith. The primary emphasis in that passage was the responsibility of one generation to pass the faith on to the next generation.

 

This morning I want us to continue that line of thinking, but in a slightly different vein. In Deuteronomy 31:1-3 Moses was speaking to the nation of Israel regarding his impending death and the fact that Joshua had been selected by God to succeed him. That being the case, Moses invested much time and energy into preparing Joshua so he would be ready when the time came. We’re seeing a Biblical pattern here.

 

One of the marks of a great leader is that they have the foresight and the confidence to have in place a well-trained and fully-prepared replacement. It’s all too common to see a leader ultimately fail to finish well because they never bothered to prepare the organization for the day in which they would no longer be there. In those cases the organization and the people always suffer.

 

Preparing the next generation, and then passing the baton to them at a reasonable and realistic time, is a Biblical pattern we see modeled for us all throughout Scripture. In terms of the leadership of groups, churches, or nations, we see that Moses did it with Joshua, Elijah did it with Elisha, Jesus did it with His disciples, and Paul did it with Timothy and Silas.

 

In yesterday’s passage from Deuteronomy chapter six, Moses wrote about the importance of parents passing the faith on to their children and preparing their children to provide the next generation of leadership. Abraham did it with Isaac, David did it with Solomon, and Naomi did it with Ruth, just to cite a few examples. There are many more.

 

Are you actively and intentionally preparing the next generation of leadership in your family, or as the teacher of your Sunday school class, or as the leader of the organization? If you were to die today is there someone on the scene who has been taught, trained, and prepared to step into your place?

 

Great men and women of God recognize their God-given responsibility to prepare the next generation for positions of leadership.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “These commandments I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God share their faith.”

 

A common characteristic found among virtually all great men and women of God is not just that they have a strong faith of their own, but also that they then share their faith with others. They communicate their faith in both word and deed, and they help others to develop a strong faith of their own.

 

But we cannot give what we do not possess. You cannot live, model, and teach a strong faith if you haven’t first taken the time to develop a strong faith. Great men and women of God have invested the time and discipline, day-after-day, for years on end, to nurture and develop a strong faith.

 

Then they model that faith for others by their actions. Those around them – their family, friends, neighbors and co-workers, can see the impact that strong faith has had on this great man or woman of God by the way they live.

 

Then, a great man or woman of God talks about their faith. They talk about it while sitting at home with their children and grandchildren; and while doing things with friends; and while conducting business out in town; and at work, etc. They share testimonies about what God has done in their own life; they speak about the wonders and the glories of God as seen in creation; they listen quietly and compassionately to the problems and trials of others; and then they share Biblical principles to help that other person deal with their life issues Biblically.

 

A person who has a deep, abiding, and passionate faith which is mature and well-developed, will model that faith, they speak about their faith, and they will find ways to share that faith with others, because that’s what great men and women of God do.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His disciples, He said to them, ‘I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed – all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God give sacrificially to His work.”

 

Her name was Jane. When I knew her she was in her late seventies. Jane had been a pastor’s wife. At other times in her life she had been a Youth leader, a Christian camp counselor, a manager of a Christian bookstore, and for years she wrote Sunday school curriculum for the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board. She also delivered mail for the U.S. Postal Service out in the California desert. Talk about tough work!

 

But when I knew her she was long-since retired and she lived alone in a little trailer in a little town out in the desert. Jane was a member of our church and she served in many ways. Sunday School Director, substitute teacher, kitchen committee, church prayer team leader, and of course, if the doors of the church were open, Jane was there.

 

One year on Pastor Appreciation Day I saw Jane approaching me with a little smile on her face and a gift bag in her hand. It was a gift for me – a book she knew I had been wanting and hadn’t gotten around to buying for myself yet. Jane bought it for me.

 

It was one of the most meaningful gifts anyone has ever given me because I knew it cost Jane a lot to be able to give it. As I said, she was single, she lived on a small fixed income in a very small very old trailer in a little town, and she just barely made ends meet each month. Jane had no extra money. Ever. So for her to spend the $20 to buy that book for me meant that she did without something for herself, probably food.

 

That was fifteen years ago and the entire exchange took less than two minutes but I can see it as clearly today as I did back then in the moment it was happening. And, I’m sure I will never forget it.

 

The point Jesus was making in Mark 12:41-44 was that it’s not the size of our gift that matters to God it’s the sacrifice we’re willing to make in order to give it. If we give a gift out of our excess, and therefore it cost’s us little to give it, that’s nowhere near as meaningful as if we give in a manner that requires us to make a personal sacrifice in order to give it.

 

Truly great men and women of God are generous to the point of sacrificial giving. I encourage each of us to prayerfully consider how much we give to help support the work of God, and how much does it really cost us?

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “… whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many” Mark 10:43-45 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God are servants at heart.”

 

There probably is no greater measure of spiritual stature and greatness in the eyes of God than a person’s willingness to serve others. The greatest men and women of God think of others before themselves, and put aside their own concerns in order to serve others.

 

Conversely, when a person is self-absorbed, always thinking of themselves, always talking about their own problems, and who seldom does much of anything for others, that person is of small spiritual stature and certainly is not great.

 

Great men and women of God are servants at heart. They think of others first. They look for ways to serve. This is the example Jesus set with His own life and it is the standard He established for His followers as well.

 

Interestingly, when we do put others first, and when we do focus on being a blessing to them rather than being self-absorbed with our own issues, our lives suddenly become more meaningful, fuller, happier, and we discover we’re not nearly so worried about ourselves and our own issues anymore. In Matthew 10:39 Jesus told us that, “Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.”

 

This is one of the reasons that at Oak Hill Baptist Church we place such a heavy emphasis on service and missions. It’s because when a person focuses on helping others, their own spiritual life becomes much richer and they discover that they themselves are happier, fuller, and more content. This is the truth Jesus was teaching in Matthew 10:39. When you give your live away in service to others, that’s when you truly find it.

 

Do you doubt that? Try it. Test Jesus. For just a while stop focusing so much on yourself and on your own issues and turn your thoughts instead to helping others. Then just watch to see what happens in your own life. You will discover that serving others makes you more like Jesus and the more like Jesus you become, the happier and more content you will be. And that will be true regardless of your circumstances.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ – and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 33:3-5 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “You can be a flawed person and still be a great person.”

 

Yesterday we considered the example of the Apostle Peter. As was noted, he was a deeply flawed individual who failed repeatedly. And yet, he was a great man of God. An Apostle of Jesus Christ! A leader in the early Christian church!

 

Today I want us to consider King David, another deeply flawed individual who is also remembered as one of the great men of the Bible. If you know his story then you know that over the course of his life David was guilty of adultery, murder, lying, deceitfulness, and he was such a poor parent that he directly contributed to the delinquency of some of his children.

 

But David is remembered as one of the great men in the Bible and is put forward as an example of faith and devotion for the rest of us to follow. How could that be?

 

The answer is found in Psalm 35:3-5. David sinned but he repented. He failed but he recovered from his failures by bringing them before the Lord. He confessed them, he learned from them, he corrected his behavior, and he moved on with new determination to bring honor and glory to God by the way in which he lived from that point forward.

 

Being a great man or woman of God doesn’t require perfection. Even the most faithful and committed person blows it from time to time, sometimes in big ways. But great men and women of God have a moral center in their lives, which comes from having Jesus at the center of their lives. That spiritual center of gravity keeps drawing them back to Him. At those times when they sin and fail, they recognize the sin and failure for what it is. Then they confess it, they correct it, they make restitution if needed, and then they move on with life renewed and determined to be a godly person.

 

Great people of God aren’t perfect, just forgiven. Great men and women of God are anchored, they are centered in Jesus and that then provides the moral compass needed to stay on course – or to get back on course once they have strayed.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.” Matthew 16:18 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God are not defeated by failure.”

 

There is some debate among Bible scholars regarding exactly what Jesus meant in Matthew 16:18 when He said, “and on this rock I will build My church.” Some believe that here Jesus identified Peter as the leader upon which He would launch the new Christian faith. Others believe that Jesus was actually referring to the example of faith Peter had just demonstrated in verse 17. If that was case then it was upon faith like Peter’s that the new church would be built.

 

Either way, there’s no arguing the fact that Peter went on to become an important leader in the new faith and a towering figure in Biblical history. That’s pretty remarkable considering how miserably and how often Peter failed.

 

One of the reasons Peter is such a beloved Biblical figure is because he is so much like us. Peter was always messing up. He was constantly saying things he shouldn’t have said, doing things impulsively, and failing when he should have been succeeding. Yup, pretty much like me.

 

Read Peter’s story through the Gospels and the book of Acts and you will find him speaking when he should have been silent (MT 16:23); being silent when he should have been speaking (JN 18:17); sleeping when he should have been praying (LK 22:46); lying (LK 22:57); being a hypocrite (Gal 2:12); just to cite a few examples.

 

But what’s truly fascinating about Peter’s life is the character development that occurred as a result of his mistakes and failures. Even though he failed miserably on numerous occasions, and even though he was publically rebuked and corrected numerous times by both Jesus and Paul, Peter never let his failures defeat him. He always hung in there, he always worked through it, he corrected his behavior, and he kept going.

 

There’s an important lesson in Peter’s example for us. From time to time we will all fail, sometimes in spectacular and embarrassing ways. But failure can become the smelting furnace in which God refines us, removing the impurities and flaws from our heart and soul, and forging steel into our character.

 

That’s what happened to Peter and that’s the primary reason he went on to become the man he ultimately was. He never gave up. He had a humble enough spirit to acknowledge his failures and to accept correction. Then he changed his ways and moved on with life as a better, stronger, and more spiritually mature man.

 

But here’s another important point – Peter did not deny his failures. He didn’t attempt to excuse or rationalize or blame others. He accepted responsibility for what he had done, he was remorseful about it, and he was willing to be corrected.

 

Great men and women of God aren’t defeated by their failures. Instead they learn from them and use them as a catalyst to become better and stronger. I encourage you to accept your failures and disappointments in life as an opportunity to learn and grow. If you do that, then your failures become stepping stones that lead you to success.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim