Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:18 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Most of us need more rest.”

One of the best things most of us could do to improve our health is to get more rest. We’re just too busy, and we don’t get enough sleep. Researchers tell us that while the average adult body needs 7-8 hours of quality sleep per night just to function well, the vast majority of Americans get only 5-6 hours, and much of that is not deep sleep.

Insufficient sleep saps our energy, makes it difficult to concentrate, and is stressful on the body. We also tend to overeat and make poor food choices when we’re overtired. Additionally, we often try to compensate for the lack of energy by consuming too much caffeine. All of that is very unhealthy for us.

But God wants us to rest. Psalm 127:2 in the NLT reads “God gives rest to His loved ones.” That’s right – God gives rest as a gift to those He loves. In 1 Kings 19:5, when the prophet Elijah was super-stressed and not thinking clearly, God put him in timeout and made him take a nap. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus invited the weary and burdened to come to Him for … rest.

Do you need a better night’s sleep? Lay off the caffeine (especially in the evening); consume no sugar after dinner; do not watch late-night TV shows or movies that tend to get your heart rate up (like adventure thrillers); and do not attempt to deal with problems or stressful situations prior to bedtime. Instead, try listening to soothing music in the hour before bedtime; read your Bible; and pray asking God to give you good rest.

Most of us need more rest, and God wants us to have good rest. But we need to be smart about this too. There are steps we can take to help prepare body for the rest God wants us to have.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

I have felt led by the Lord to continue our theme of healthy living for two more weeks. At Oak Hill Baptist our study of the Daniel Plan, and the corresponding Sunday morning sermons, is six weeks long. Therefore they will conclude after the second week in February. Since these devotionals are intended to compliment that study, we will continue them for two more weeks as well.

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “We do not need to fear set-backs”.

Do you fear failure? Most people do. Even a small temporary set-back can often be enough to make us discouraged and even to give-up on our goals. The fear of potential failure is one of the primary reasons many people never even attempt to achieve great things or big changes.

Many years ago John Maxwell wrote a great little book entitled, “Failing Forward – Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success.” John’s premise is that success in anything comes from simply not giving up. When we experience a set-back we should just evaluate what happened and why, learn from it, and then get moving forward again. When we do that, the set-backs simply become stepping stones which lead us to the achievement of our goals.

John wrote, “The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.” Kyle Rote Jr. put it this way, “There is no doubt in my mind that there are many ways to be a winner, but there is really only one way to be a loser and that is to fail and not look beyond the failure.”

In Romans 8:1-2 Paul was writing primarily about the fact that all of our sins and all of our failures are forgiven by God because of our faith in His Son Jesus. That’s true. But it’s also true that God views all of our failures and all of our set-backs as teachable moments which can lead us to the ultimate achievement of the goal He set for us.

The fact is that nothing is over until you give up. We do not need to fear our set-backs. Learn from it; get up; dust yourself off; and get moving again.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.” Psalm 119:165 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “Strong faith is good for your health.”

Many years ago Henry Blackaby and Dr. Henry Brandt co-authored a book written specifically for pastors entitled, “The Power of the Call”. The book was intended to encourage pastors to stay focused on their call from God and to stand strong in the face of all the pressures and challenges which are part of the pastoral ministry. It’s a very helpful book and it’s one I re-read very 4-5 years.

In one chapter, in an attempt to impress upon his pastor-readers the importance of what they do, Dr. Brandt wrote, “You are the custodian of the most important information in the world. How does that statement grab you? You are a specialist in what God has to say to people through the Bible. Your divine calling far supercedes all other professions.”

Dr. Brandt then goes on to explain that as good and as helpful as medical treatment can be, it is still only physical and it is still only temporary. Someday that person will get sick again and someday they will die. That being the case, spiritual care is much more important than physical care.

The reason I’m sharing that with you is not to pump up and promote pastors, but to illustrate the importance of what happens in our churches every week. The teaching, worshiping, and ministering that takes place within our church facilities is much more important than the medical care that takes place in our medical facilities.

In the context of our theme of “healthy living”, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to go to church. Physical health is important, but spiritual health is more important.

The condition of your physical health is mostly determined by the things you do or do not do everyday. But still, in order to be truly healthy you can’t skip your regular doctor’s appointments either. Likewise, your spiritual health is largely determined by your private practices of prayer, Bible reading, etc. But the regular gatherings of the church are also a crucial part of it. Spiritually you will not be healthy and strong if you’re not part of a good church.

Strong faith is good for your health. Being part of a good church helps to keep your faith strong. If you don’t already have a good church family you’re a part of, I invite you to visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear …” 1 John 4:18 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God’s love makes all the difference.”

I love the thought Rick Warren shares in “The Daniel Plan Journal”:

“Many people are afraid to get close to others, even their friends, because they are concerned that if others see who they really are, they will be rejected … God’s answer to fear is love. God enables us to love the fear out of one another.”

People tend to fear getting close to others because they’re afraid that if they allow others to get too close, they will be seen for who they truly are and will consequently be rejected. How sad. How sad that someone would believe they could only be loveable and likeable if they pretend to be someone different from who they truly are; and how sad that we sometimes make others feel that way.

The answer to the problem is God’s love. God’s love is perfect. God’s accepts people as they are. When God’s love rules, there’s no longer any reason to fear what others might think or say about you, because others will be thinking and saying about you what God Himself thinks and says. Rick goes on:

“We drive fear from our community by loving one another so supportively that each person feels safe inside the group. This safety allows us to bring our humanity into the group, including all our joy and pain, our ups and downs, our victories and defeats. That is what deep and committed friendships offer.”

In order to help one another to be the men and women God wants us to be, we have to create an environment where everyone knows it’s safe to simply be real. That means there can be no criticism, no gossip, and no judging – just genuine love and concern, and a real desire to help one another.

Perfect love (God’s love) drives out fear. God enables us to love the fear out of one another.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “Staying focused on God-given goals gives us peace.”

Life is busy and stressful. It just is. Often we feel distracted and pulled in a dozen different directions at once. Times like that can cause us to make unhealthy choices. Simply as a matter of convenience or as a quick temporary fix, we grab an unhealthy food choice, or we whip out that credit card we vowed not to use, or we give-in to the demands and expectations of someone else and end up devoting our time and energy to something we would rather not.

When we’re busy and stressed we often lose focus and clarity in our thinking. That then causes us to make poor choices. Focusing on our God-given goals can help to fix that problem. When we are clear about our priorities (because they came to us from God), we’re less likely to lose sight of what really matters – even when we’re being pressed and pulled by the pressures and demands of life.

God-given goals provide us with stability and balance and strength, especially when we need it most. That then, gives us peace. Because we are relying on God and not on ourselves; because we remain focused on the things that He said are important rather than what the world and other people would have us focus on; we have peace.

Life will always be filled with demands and challenges. That’s just the way life is. But staying focused on God and on the priorities He has established for us is a sure way to stay calm, peaceful and focused even during the most stressful of times.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise … because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Make wise food choices.”

I’ve told you once before about a science fiction movie I saw when I was a kid which continues to haunt me to this day. The name of the movie was “Soylent Green”. It was about a futuristic society where overpopulation and low food supplies were a worldwide problem. Therefore people were only allowed to live until the age of 60. On your 60^th birthday you were required to report to a “Transition Center”. In the Center you would be made very comfortable, you would be treated like a King or Queen, there would be pleasant sensory experiences, and you would be comfortably euthanized. Your life would be ended.

Another aspect of this society was that there were no longer any natural food sources. They had all been depleted many years earlier and therefore everyone survived on a substance provided by the government known as “Soylent Green”. Nobody knew what Soylent Green was or where it came from, only that it kept everyone alive. Long story short, it turned out that Soylent Green was made from the bodies of the people who were euthanized. (Now you know why that movie continues to haunt me!)

The story behind Soylent Green always causes me to wonder what’s in our food supply today. It’s not uncommon to read news reports about processed foods which were discovered to have been contaminated with things that were never meant to be consumed by human beings. But beyond that, much of the processed food available today is little more than a science experiment born in a test tube. Have you ever stopped to read the labels on some of this stuff? Out of 20 ingredients 19 of them have names you can’t even pronounce.

A primary focus of The Daniel Plan is to move us back in the direction of eating real food made by God rather than fake food made by man. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, fresh meats. The rule of thumb is “If it grows on a plant, eat it. If it’s made in a plant, leave it on the shelf.”

Paul’s lesson in Ephesians 5:15-16 that we should be wise can have a wide range of applications. In context, he was writing about spiritual wisdom. But it’s also true that we have to be wise about the food choices we make and what kinds of things we are putting into this body of ours, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I encourage you give more thought to your food choices.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go up to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Going to church is good for you.”

 

Yes it’s true – going to church is good for you. Of course it’s good for your soul, corporate worship nurtures you spiritually. But going to church is also good for your mental, emotional, and physical well-being too.

 

Numerous studies have shown that those who have an active faith that is deep and passionate tend to be happier, they have fewer emotional and mental health issues, they tend to make better lifestyle choices, and on the average they live longer than those who don’t have that kind of faith.

 

In his research on healthy lifestyles, Dr. Walter Meade discovered a direct connection between loneliness and poor health. “Lack of a supportive community and close intimate relationships often leads to a pattern of poor lifestyle choices, negative thought patterns, and depression. However when you connect with a supportive group of like-minded people, you are better able to cope with struggles of all sorts and that then leads to a much healthier life overall.”

 

In the NLT Philippians 1:30 reads, “We are in this fight together.” Galatians 6:2 tells us, “Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

 

The fact is that we are better together than we are alone, and going to church is good for you. If you don’t have a church home then we invite you to visit us at Oak Hill Baptist. Sunday school is at 9:00 and the worship service begins at 10:00.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God will help you accomplish the plans He has for you.”

 

So, what goals has God led you to set for yourself that will lead you to be healthier and more balanced in all the important areas of life? Perhaps you have committed to be more diligent and faithful in certain spiritual disciplines. Maybe you are working on losing some weight and making exercise part of your daily routine. Your personal goals could have something to do with improving your financial habits or getting more sleep or, perhaps a career change.

 

Do you sometimes find yourself worrying that you might not be able to walk it out and actually accomplish your goals? If so, you’re not alone. We all have moments of doubt, especially if we’re relying on our own willpower to carry us through. But if your goals are God-given, then God has a vested interested in helping you to succeed, and you can be sure that He is personally involved in getting you to where He wants you to be.

 

Deuteronomy 31:8 is just one of the many Biblical promises which assure us of God’s watch-care and assistance. Joshua 1:9 is another: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” And then of course, there is Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.”

 

God promises to be with you every step of the way as you do your part to bring about the changes He has ordained for your life. Don’t be afraid and don’t be discouraged. Just call on Him and trust Him. You do your part, and He will take care of the rest.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim