Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the Lord’s message may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Pray for our mission team in Haiti.”

As I write this I am less than twenty-four hours from leaving the USA to lead a mission team to Haiti. At 2:30 tomorrow morning eighteen of us (9 from Tennessee and 9 from Indiana) will leave our homes and begin the trip. We will be there September 19-27.

Our ministry site will be in the Carrefour region northwest of the city of Port-au-Prince. We will be working in partnership with a Haitian Christian ministry called Grace International. Our team will be working on construction projects to help complete a new building on the Grace International campus for young adult women who grew up in one of the orphanages, but who cannot stay there any longer because they are now too old. This transition home we will be working on will serve as a safe haven for the young women to live in until they are married. Our team will also be conducting daily Vacation Bible Schools for children in the orphanages and in the surrounding communities, and we will be helping to provide a hot lunch for over 2000 children every day.

There is currently a great spiritual awakening and revival taking place in Haiti. The Holy Spirit is doing a tremendous work there. The churches are full, Christian schools are being established all across the island, and even the secular television and radio stations broadcast Christian programming. We’re excited about being a part of it.

But at the same time the situation in Haiti is desperate. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (the poverty is overwhelming). There is also still a lot of rubble and destruction from the great earthquake which occurred more than five years ago. And there is a lot of crime. Armed gangs of thugs continue to be a problem. (Our team will be staying in a walled missionary compound and we will have armed guards 24/7).

Haiti also has a long history of political instability, especially around election time. While our team is there, the country will be preparing for the next Presidential election which is scheduled for early October. Although the last two election cycles have been fairly peaceful, the potential does exist for demonstrations and unrest.

However our team members are not fearful in the least, nor should we be. Our Haitian partners at Grace International are very experienced at hosting mission teams from the USA, and they have the logistics well developed in order to ensure the safety of the team. But more importantly, we are going in the power and the protection of the Holy Spirit. This is a humanitarian mission in the name of Jesus Christ and we have faith that He will protect us.

I tell you all of this so you can pray for us. This will be the last devotional message in this series until Monday September 28^th. Therefore I want to ask you to hold onto this one and use it in your daily quiet time to pray for us every day while we’re in Haiti.

I’ll be sending reports and pictures all throughout the course of the mission and will post them on the Oak Hill Baptist Church Facebook page, the CERT International Facebook page, and on my personal page as well.  I look forward to telling you all about the wonderful things God is surely going to accomplish through the work of our team.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God brings good things out of bad things.”

Returning to the story of Joseph as recorded in the book of Genesis, one of the things that stands out to us is that Joseph endured so much that could only be described as “bad”. His brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him into captivity. He was a slave first of Ishmaelite traders and then in Potiphar’s house. He spent years in prison. For thirteen long years his life was characterized by unfair and brutal treatment, a complete loss of freedom, and an uncertain future.

I don’t believe that God actually caused those circumstances. I simply cannot fathom God inciting the brothers and the traders and Potiphar’s wife to engage in those evil and sinful activities that resulted in Joseph’s pain and hardships. But God was there, and He was at work, and He did use those bad things to bring about good things.

In his book, “You’ll get through this” Max Lucado wrote, “The devil had Joseph right where he wanted him. So did God.”

Yes, I think Satan was the cause of those bad things that happened in Joseph’s life, but it was God who used them for His purposes and for His glory, and for Joseph’s ultimate good.

This is the great truth the Apostle Paul was teaching in Romans 8:28. Not all things are good. Some are bad – very bad. But God is there and He is at work in the middle of those bad situations and in His own way, and in His own timing, He will bring good things out of bad things for the benefit of those who belong to Him.

Joseph couldn’t see the future, but God could. Joseph didn’t know what was ahead of him and therefore he didn’t what to prepare himself for or how to do it. But God knew. And so God used those thirteen years to prepare Joseph for the work he was to do for the rest of his life. And that turned out to be very, very good.

This is true in your life too. You can’t see your future. But God can. You don’t know how to best use your current tough times to prepare yourself for a better future. But God does. So turn it all over to Him. Claim the promise of Romans 8:28. Cling to it. Ask God to use it to give you hope and strength, insight and wisdom, and ask Him to help you faithfully persevere.

God brings good things out of bad things. He did it for Joseph, and you can believe He is in the process of doing it for you too.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son – except the Father only.” Matthew 24:36 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Do not fear the end times.”

Of all the tough times individual people and the entire human race have endured throughout history, none will be tougher than the years, months, and days leading up to the end of time. As the human race gets closer and closer to the end, evil will become much more pronounced and the world will descend into chaos.

Many Christians today believe we are extremely close to the end of time. There are numerous modern-day prophets making all sorts of predictions and issuing warnings for Christians to prepare themselves for a coming apocalypse. Some are saying the stock market will crash and there will be economic chaos. Others predict there will be a nuclear exchange in the Middle East which will spark a world war. Still others are worried (of all things) about Federal Armed Forces invading Texas – and the list goes on.

So what’s a Christian to do? Should we stockpile food, water, and ammunition and head for a bunker in the hills? Some seem to think so. But a better approach would be to consider the teaching of Scripture, along with 2000 years of Christian history.

A study of Christian history reveals that every generation of Christians, since the time of the Apostles in the book of Acts, believed they were living in the end times. And, there always seemed to be world events which supported that belief. But as it turned out, they were all wrong. They weren’t living in the end times.

There have always self-proclaimed prophets who professed to have received divine enlightenment which gave them special revelation regarding end times issues. Some of them purported to have identified the Antichrist as being a prominent individual who lived in their day. Others pointed to significant events occurring in the world at that time as evidence that the end of time was upon them. Some even claimed to have been able to calculate the exact day and hour for the return of Christ. And of course, they were all wrong.

The lesson of history is that the prophets of doom and gloom who are making so much noise in our day are almost certainly wrong too. Now granted, someday they will be right. Eventually the end of times will be upon us and the prophets of that day will turn out to have been correct. It is even possible that we are living in that time right now – but historically speaking, statistically, probably not.

So how then should we live? Surely we can’t discount the possibility that these days could be the end times. But at the same time, we have no Biblical model for Christians to adopt a survivalist mentality, hording food, water, guns, and money, and building bunkers in their backyards.

With the Great Commission Jesus told us that we are to be on-mission with Him in the world (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). The example of the early church is that we are to fearlessly wade into the mess that is the world and boldly proclaim Christ (Acts 5:29). And of course, the Apostle Paul modeled evangelism and church planting in the face of great opposition, persecution, and abject evil (Acts 26:19-20).

I believe there is an intentional tension and balance established for us in the New Testament which provides a reasonable approach to this issue for all Christians, regardless of the age of history we live in. We are to live as if Jesus could come back today, but we are to plan as if He won’t come back for another 100 years.

We are to live as if He could come back today. In other words, we are to live with an urgency that today is the day of salvation. We need to share the Good News of the Gospel and lead others to faith in Christ today, with an urgency that understands that today could be the last day.

But we are to plan as if He isn’t coming back for another 100 years. We are to start new churches, fund Bible colleges, send out missionaries, and do all the other things necessary to ensure that the work of the Kingdom continues. Because if we don’t – if we act as if the Lord is about to come back any day now and therefore the churches and colleges and mission projects no longer really matter, then if we’re wrong there will be churches that never got planted, young people who never got a Bible education, mission projects that never got started, etc.

The bottom line is that we are to simply “be” the church – whatever the conditions in the world happen to be. We are to boldly and fearlessly wade into the mess that is the world and simply be on-mission with Jesus, helping to build His kingdom.

Do not fear the end of time. This probably isn’t it anyway but even if it is, don’t fear it and don’t become preoccupied with it. Just be the church and trust the Lord.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:4 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God can be glorified by how we handle sickness.”

Serious illness is one of the most difficult things any of us will ever have to deal with. There are few things in life that affect us as deeply as how we feel. It’s hard to be active when you don’t feel well. Being bright and bubbly takes extra effort when you’re exhausted and hurting. Our natural inclination is to focus our attention on our aches and pains, talk about them a lot, and expect everyone around us to be interested in hearing about how we feel.

I know this to be true on a personal level. I’ve been blessed with good health. I come from pretty hearty stock to begin with, but then I’ve also made it a point to take good care of myself. Therefore I seldom get sick. And that being the case, when I do get sick I’m not good at it. I’m a little bit of a baby about it.

My wife on the other hand handles sickness extremely well. Over the years she has had more surgeries than I can keep track of. She lives everyday with aches and pains and physical limitations. But for the most part she just shrugs it off and gets on with life. She does it with determination and a good sense of humor (she uses a black walker on wheels that is decorated with Harley Davidson stickers and flames).

I’ve always admired people who handle sickness well – especially Christians who use their illness to bring glory to God. Yesterday I performed a funeral for an 84 year old man who had struggled with multiple health problems for many years. But he did so with grace and good humor. He used his sicknesses to be a bright spot in the day of the healthcare workers who attended to him. He would laugh and joke with them, tease them and compliment them. And he would tell them about Jesus.

God can be glorified in how we handle sickness. We can be intentional about surrendering the issue to Him and then inviting Him to use it for a greater good.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through the tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.” Jeremiah 18:6 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God is using your tough times to mold you and shape you.”

I know a man who spent years in prison. They were awful years – hard and lonely. Once he was released he went through more difficult years of transition as he tried to overcome his record as a convicted felon and establish a new life for himself. But he did do it and now God uses him to help other convicted felons get back on their feet.

I know another man who succumbed to alcoholism and lost everything – his job, his wife, his children, his home, all of his possessions, and his health. His fall was devastating, but he recovered and now God uses him to help other men recover from addiction as well.

You’ve heard of similar stories: a woman who was a victim of domestic violence and rape, now she works as a counselor at a women’s crisis center. The veteran who lost his legs in Iraq but now he helps other injured veterans make the adjustment and get on with their lives. The young couple who made terrible financial decisions, went through personal bankruptcy, but learned their lessons and now they teach a class at church on Biblical principles for good financial management.

God usually doesn’t cause our tough times – usually they come as a result of our own actions or because of the actions of someone else. But God does use our tough times to mold us and shape us into the men and women He wants us to be. God wastes nothing. Every tear, every struggle, every hurt and pain, God can and will use it to teach us, mold us, shape us, and prepare us for something good in the future.

I don’t know what difficult issue you’re dealing with at the moment but I do know that God wants to use it in your life for some good purpose. I encourage you to consider what God might be teaching you through this, and how you could potentially use your tough time to be a blessing to others in the future. Like a potter shaping a lump of clay into a useful vessel, God will use your tough times to mold you and shape you into the man or woman He wants you to be.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:4 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “The church should be an oasis of comfort for those who are struggling.”

In the days after September 11, 2001 the area around the World Trade Center in New York City looked like a bombed out war zone. The devastation was mind boggling. The rubble, concrete, twisted steel and broken glass we piled many stories high. There were shattered windows on buildings for blocks around ground zero. Thick dust and soot covered everything.

Rescue workers toiled for hours on end removing the rubble and looking for bodies. It was hot, dirty, grueling work that was both physically and emotionally exhausting. It was the toughest thing any of them had ever had to do and because the job was so immense, it was going to take months and months to complete it. All they had to look forward to every day was more of the same.

In the midst of all that devastation the workers from the Salvation Army set-up aid stations. They were air conditioned tents offering cold drinks and food, eye wash stations and clean rest rooms, and they were staffed by kind compassionate volunteers. There was also a corps of Salvation Army Chaplains who offered counseling and prayer, and they were kept constantly busy.

Observing this scene, author Philip Yancey described these aid stations as “An oasis of compassion in a wilderness of rubble.” I think that’s an apt description and I think it should also describe the church.

People all around us are struggling with big problems and small ones. Broken marriages, rebellious children, unemployment, mental illness, and chronic health problems are just some of the things people face every day. Life is often hard and the church should be the place people can come to for respite, care, compassion, and kindness. The church should be an oasis in the midst of the turmoil of life. I think that pretty accurately describes Oak Hill Baptist.

This Sunday (September 13, 2015) is “Friends Day” at our church. It’s a special day when we’re asking all our members to bring friends, family members, neighbors, and co-workers to Oak Hill Baptist. Especially bring those who are currently going through tough times because at Oak Hill, they will find that oasis of kindness and compassion.

Join us this Sunday. From 8:30 – 9:00 we will have an early morning fellowship with coffee and donuts. Sunday school is 9:00-10:50. The worship service begins at 10:00 and we will have a potluck lunch together after that. We look forward to seeing you there.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.” Genesis 39:12 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t surrender your integrity in an attempt to make the tough times easier.”

Joseph had a problem. He was young and good looking, and his master’s wife was bored and frustrated. One day she decided she’d like to get to know him better (a lot better) and so she tried to seduce him, but Joseph refused. This attempt at seduction went on for days and days until finally one day the woman literally grabbed his robe and yanked it off of him, leaving Joseph standing there in his birthday suit. There was certainly a short moment of stunned silence as each of them stood there considering the situation (a pregnant pause if you will), then to his credit Joseph sprinted out the door – naked.

Please understand that this wasn’t just a moral dilemma for Joseph. This was more than just resisting the temptation to have sex with another man’s wife. He was a slave. She was the master’s wife. He was legally obligated to do whatever she commanded him to do and if he didn’t, she had the power to literally destroy him.

The easiest thing for Joseph to do would have been to give-in, enjoy the moment, and hope that Potipher never found out. But to do that Joseph would have had to surrender his integrity. He would have had to sin against God. But he wouldn’t do it. He would rather take his chances with a spurned woman than with a dishonored God. So Joseph decided to honor God, keep his integrity, and deal with the consequences as best he could.

And how did that work for him? Not so well. He ended up spending years in prison, falsely convicted of a sexual assault he never committed. He should have just given-in and had the affair right? Wrong. Because Joseph honored God, God honored Joseph. It was during the prison years that God prepared Joseph for the honor and glory that was to come in his life. Soon he would be delivered from the prison and given the second most powerful position in the entire kingdom of Egypt (I’ve often wondered how Joseph dealt with Potipher’s wife once he assumed his position of authority).

The lesson we should learn from Joseph’s story is that it’s never ok to surrender your integrity in an attempt to find a short-cut out of a difficult situation. You can be sure that Satan will present you with plenty of opportunities to take those unethical, immoral, or illegal short-cuts which promise to get you out of the wilderness faster. But if you lie, cheat, or steal not only will you compromise your integrity, but you will sin against God, and there will be no way He can bless that.

So hang in there. Do the right thing. God will get you through this and when it’s all over, your integrity will be intact and your reputation will be untarnished.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:27 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God is with you whether you think He is or not”

In Acts 17:27 Paul ended his statement to the Athenians with an interesting and important general truth about God – He is everywhere, all the time. There is never a time when He is not right there.

God is always with you, even when you’re not aware of His presence and even when it seems as if He has deserted you. He hasn’t. He is there.

This truth is important for us to remember because many times, especially in tough times, it can seem as if God is not with us. I’m sure it seemed that way to Joseph. In recent days we’ve been considering his story as recorded in the book of Genesis. You’ll remember that his hateful brothers sold him to a group of Ishmaelite traders to be taken to Egypt to be sold as a slave. As he was dragged along by the Ishmaelites, mile after mile, hands tied in front of him, maybe a long rope connecting him to the camel in front of him, not knowing where he was going or what the future held – I’m sure he wondered where God was at.

You’ve probably never been dragged through the desert behind a camel, headed to an uncertain future of slavery in a foreign land; maybe it just feels that way. Maybe you feel trapped in the middle of a mess with no way out, and the future looks dark and threatening. Welcome to Egypt.

But remember the truth we learn from Joseph’s story. In Genesis 39:2 we’re told that “the Lord was with Joseph.” Yes, the Lord was with Joseph even in the worst of times. Well likewise, in Hebrews 13:5 you’re told that He is with you too, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

As Max Lucado explains, “God is with you whether you’re happy or sad.” I would add to that, “He is with you whether you think He is or not.”

That promise was true for Joseph and it is true for you too. No matter how bad things might look at the moment, God is with you. He is watching over you. He will guide you through this long trek in the wilderness of trials and tribulations, and He will deliver you from it. Trust Him.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. The lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man.” Genesis 39:1-2 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “We can have success in the midst of adversity”

As we follow Joseph’s story we find that sometime after the Ishmaelite traders arrived in Egypt they sold their slave Joseph to an Egyptian official by the name of Potiphar. Potiphar then took Joseph into his home to work as a household slave.

Usually when we remember this part of Joseph’s story we recall that he excelled as a servant to the point that Potiphar put him in charge of the entire household. What we forget is that it didn’t start out that way. Slaves in Egypt were not treated well. Joseph would surely have been mistreated by the Ismaelite traders, little better than an animal. Upon arriving in Potiphar’s household he would probably have been beaten right away, just to make sure he understood his place, and then given poor living conditions and the lowest, most demeaning work to do.

It was within that environment of pain and suffering, hardship and toil that the young man excelled. And he did it for an extended period of time. As he worked day-by-day, doing a good job, showing respect, maintaining a good attitude, those around him slowly began to realize that there was something special about him. Soon he was promoted from cleaning the chamber pots to sweeping the floors and taking out the trash. Some time later he was allowed care for the Master’s clothes and to serve at the dinner table.

Over time, as Joseph handled his tough situation with dignity, strength of character, and consistent cheerfulness, his conditions steadily improved. As this was all happening, over a long, drawn out period of years, Joseph had no idea what the future held for him – but he did know Who held the future. He knew that God was good and the He was Sovereign over the events of his life, and so Joseph focused on excelling in the moment and trusting the future to God.

Therein lies the lesson for us. Our circumstances might not be what we want them to be – in fact they may be awful. But we can still resolve to excel in the present moment, and then in the next one, and in the one after that, and to just keep doing our best, with a good attitude, strength of character, and with dignity, and then trust the future to God.

God got Joseph through his tough times and he will get you through yours as well.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”

Our Bible verse for today: “When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the pit.” Genesis 37:23-24 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “There’s a lot we can learn from Joseph’s story”

Did God put the story of Joseph in the Bible just because it’s an entertaining read? No. There’s much more to it than that. Joseph, of course, is a key figure in the history of the nation of Israel and his story is of immense value for that reason alone. But even more than that, the life of Joseph is remembered and studied because of what his example teaches us about getting through tough times.

Joseph was the favored son of Jacob. He was a daddy’s boy and he was spoiled. His eleven older brothers hated him – so much so that at one point they beat him up, threw him into a pit, and then sold him into slavery in Egypt, telling their father that the boy had actually been killed by wild animals.

Over the next thirteen years Joseph suffered one calamity and injustice after another. Every time he started to get on his feet, some new disaster would happen to him. He spent time as the slave of Ishmaelite traders. Then he was sold to an Egyptian official named Potiphar to work as a household servant. Then he was falsely accused of sexual assault by Potiphar’s wife and imprisoned. Then he was left to rot in a stinking Egyptian prison for years on end.

However, there’s no indication in Scripture that Joseph ever gave up or allowed bitterness to master him. In every situation he looked for opportunities to excel and he strove to honor God in the way he conducted himself. Time and time again as the story developed over thirteen long years, we read of a faithful God interceding as necessary, redeeming the pain and suffering, and then using it all to accomplish His purposes in Joseph’s life. Joseph ended up becoming the Prime Minister of Egypt and the entire nation of Israel (including his hateful brothers), were saved from a great famine.

Max Lucado writes, “God will use your mess for good. We see a perfect mess; God sees a perfect chance to train, test, and teach the future prime minister. We see a prison; God see a kiln. We see famine; God sees the relocation of his chosen lineage. We see Satan’s tricks and ploys. God sees Satan tripped and foiled.”

In the days to come we will spend some time exploring Joseph’s story to see what we can learn about surviving and thriving as we deal with our own tough times.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim