Devotional for Saturday and Sunday October 4-5

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Obeying God when obeying isn’t easy”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You ought to live holy and godly lives.” 2 Peter 3:11 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Obeying God when it is easy helps us to obey God when it isn’t easy.”

 

It is said of the great painter Leonardo da Vinci that he spent the first ten years of his career just practicing drawing ears, elbows, hands, and other body parts, before he ever attempted to draw a whole person. He believed he needed to perfect the small details before he would be ready to produce a true work of art.

 

Tony Gwynn was one of the greatest hitters to ever play professional baseball. His secret was that he spent hour upon hour every week in the batting cage hitting baseball after baseball. He spent untold hundreds of hours perfecting his swing so that when it came time to do it for real, in the game, he was well-prepared.

 

Likewise, the way we prepare ourselves to obey God in the big things and during the hard times, is to obey Him all the time, in the small things and when it is easy to do so. In other words, we practice obedience. We make obeying God part of the normal routine of our everyday lives. We study the Bible every day so not only do we know God’s commands (the parameters He has established for daily godly living), but we know them so well that they become second nature. When we live within the Biblical boundaries as a regular part of how we live every day, doing so simply becomes our normal way of life. Then when we’re faced with a crisis or an especially difficult set of circumstances, a Biblical response is almost automatic; to respond un-biblically would be completely out of character for us.

 

This is the value of discipline and regularity. This is why we establish godly patterns to govern our conduct all the time. Daily Bible study and prayer, faithful attendance when the church family is gathering, sacrificial acts of ministry and service, all of it combines to form our character, strengthen our faith, and make us strong so we are ready when the hard times come.

 

The comedian and actor Woody Allen is reported to have once quipped that “90% of success in life is simply showing up.” He’s right. Being successful at anything is largely a matter being where you’re supposed to be, doing what you’re supposed to do, and developing the habit of doing the small things well. If you want to be strong enough and prepared enough to obey God when obeying isn’t easy, you have to practice by obeying Him all the time, especially when it is easy.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim
 

Devotional for Friday October 3rd

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Obeying God when obeying isn’t easy”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.” Mark 1:17-18 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus calls us into an active faith.”

 

In the Jewish world of Jesus’ day the practice of the Jewish faith was very much a matter of ritual and routine. It was highly structured and mostly involved simply being in the right place at the right time, going through the right motions, and saying the right things. For many people it quickly became mindless and fairly meaningless. They were just going through the motions so they could put a checkmark in the religious box of their to-do list, and then get on with life.

 

Sound familiar? How many Christians in our day simply go through the religious motions of the Christian faith? They go to church when they’re supposed to, they sing the songs, sort of listen to the sermon, mentally put a check in the box, and then get on with life. But that most definitely was not the kind of thing Jesus called His followers to. In Mark 1:18 we find that those first disciples left their nets (their way of life) and followed Jesus into something active and new. They spent the rest of their lives on-mission with Jesus.

 

Follow the Gospel accounts and see how often Jesus commissioned a group of followers to “go out” into the world and “do things” in His name. That was the regular pattern. Jesus never called people to sit in a church facility and sing songs to Him. He called them to get off their duffs, go out into the world, and do stuff to further the Kingdom of God in this world. But doing stuff is harder than not doing stuff. Sitting in a pew and singing a few songs is a much easier way to practice the faith than is going out to the local homeless shelter and helping to serve the evening meal.

 

Here’s the hard truth: “A genuine and intimate relationship with Jesus leads to a life of ministry and service and mission.” If the practice of your faith consists primarily of warming a pew on Sunday mornings, then there’s not much to your faith. Jesus calls His followers into active faith. He raises them up, equips them, and sends them out into the world.

 

Read the Gospels and see for yourself. We are to be on-mission with Jesus. The practice of our faith is to be active. If you would like to experience church life with a group of believers who are actively on-mission with Jesus outside the walls of the church facility, we invite you to visit with us this Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim
 

Deovtional for Thursday October 2nd

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Obeying God when obeying isn’t easy”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We disobey God when we mistreat people.”

 

One of the areas in which many Christians disobey God the most is in how they treat other people. We are nice to those we like and to those who are nice to us, but how about to those we don’t like, or worse, to those who are not nice to us? Being nice to them is often not so easy and yet, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus specifically instructed us to show love for those very people and to pray for them.

 

Ugh! I hate that. When dealing with someone I dislike my natural tendency is to be snippy and snarky. And if someone has just been mean to me? Better watch out because you’re going to get it right back! That’s just basic human nature and you really can’t blame me, right? But wait, as Christians we’re not supposed to be governed by our “human” nature, we’re supposed to be led by the “Spirit” nature. I’m a new man in Christ, remember? The fruit of the Holy Spirit is supposed to be alive and thriving in me, right? The fact is that Jesus calls for a different kind of response from His followers.

 

The great devotional writer Oswald Chambers had an interesting insight into this: “We see the humor of our heavenly Father in the way He brings around us the type of people who are to us what we have been to Him; now He will watch to see how we behave to them. How did Jesus treat us? With infinite patience, with amplitude of forgiveness and generosity. Then He says that we are to treat them in the same way.”

 

Could Chambers be right? Could it be that the things I find so annoying in other people are the very things God finds annoying about me? And yet He deals with me with infinite patience, grace, and mercy. Ok, so I guess I’d better do the same for others. Why? Because …. “If you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.” Matthew 6:15 (HCSB)

 

Loving those who are hard to love and being nice to those who aren’t nice, isn’t easy, but it is what God expects of us.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim
  

Devotional for Wednesday October 1st

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Obeying God when obeying isn’t easy”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” John 14:23 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Obeying God isn’t always easy, but it is always right.”

 

I love those times when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all is right in my world. It feels so good, and it’s so easy to be good. I smile a lot, feed stray dogs, help little old ladies across the street, and joyfully drop that $5 bill in the Salvation Army Red Kettle. Boy, I’ll bet Jesus is proud of me!

 

But how about when times are not so good? When the sunny skies turn dark and threatening, when the singing birds turn into circling buzzards, when I find myself needing to take $5 out of the kettle instead of putting $5 in, how’s my attitude and conduct then? Does the little old lady have to get herself across the street? Does the dog get kicked instead of fed? Is God the Father needing to spank me rather than reward me?

 

As the people of God we are called to live Biblically – obedient to His commands, whether times are good or bad, whether doing so is easy or hard. In fact, the truth is that obedience to God is even more important, and more meaningful, when circumstances make that obedience harder than it would otherwise be.

 

This month we will explore the idea of obeying God even when obeying Him isn’t easy. We’ll consider it in terms of evangelism, ethics, relationships, attitude, and much more. We’ll learn from and be inspired by, the examples of those who have obeyed Him in some of the toughest circumstances imaginable, and we’ll see why it is that even though obeying God often is not easy, it is always right and it is always best.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim
 

Devotional for Tuesday September 30th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Each person should do as he has decided in his heart – not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Pay attention to feelings of resentment.”

 

At first glance 2 Corinthians 9:7 may seem like an odd verse of Scripture to conclude our study about boundaries. In that passage Paul was teaching about giving money to help support the cause of Christ. In that context he wrote verse 7 where he cautioned his readers to give with a cheerful heart and not out of a sense of compulsion and not with any resentment. The implication is that if you are not able to give with that kind of cheerful and willing heart you should just keep your money, God doesn’t want it.

 

Although that’s excellent guidance when it comes to the subject of giving money in a way that pleases God, there’s also a larger truth here which pertains to all of life in general, and to the subject of setting good boundaries in particular. If you’re feeling resentment about it, that’s a pretty good indication that something is wrong.

 

If a family member is requiring so much of your time and attention that you’re starting to resent it, that person is probably pushing the outer limits of healthy boundaries and it could be time for you to start saying “no” to them. If your job is requiring so much from you that you’re beginning to resent it and you’re starting to think that you might like to do something different for a living, there could be a boundary issue. If you’re ending most days exhausted and feeling as if there was little time to just stop and smell the roses, or to sit quietly reading a good book, and you find yourself wishing your life was slower, simpler, easier, you may need to adjust some boundaries.

 

When feelings of resentment about a particular area of life begin to crowd your thoughts, it could be a red flag warning you of the need to adjust some of your critical boundaries. If you find yourself thinking “This didn’t used to bother me very much but now I’m starting to get fed up with it.”, you know the boundary line has been breached and you need to make adjustments.

 

As we end our devotional study of boundaries I want to encourage you to give careful, prayerful thought to the boundaries you have set in your life. Are there any that need to be adjusted? Are there some that don’t currently exist but need to be put in place? Healthy boundaries are needed in every area of life. 

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Monday September 29th

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “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.” Isaiah 41:10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Fear is a self-imposed boundary.”

 

At least 94 times in the Old Testament and 28 times in the New Testament the people of God are told to “fear not” or to not give in to fear. If God repeats an instruction more than 120 times there must be something to it.

 

To describe fear the dictionary uses words like “anxiety”, “apprehension”, “disquiet”, and “agitation”. It is an impending sense of something bad that may happen. That sense of anxiety and apprehension can be crippling. Fear will often cause us to delay actions we need to take, or to put off decisions which need to be make, and it can render us ineffective or even helpless when we need to be strong. God doesn’t want the lives of His people to be governed by fear and so He repeatedly teaches against it. Over and over again He reassures us that we have no reason to fear.

 

Isaiah 41:10 speaks of the Sovereignty of God. To be “sovereign” means that He is supreme and has absolute authority over all people and over all things. That includes you and the circumstances of your life. This verse also reminds us that in addition to being sovereign – having supreme authority over your life – He is also “Omnipresent”, in that He is always with you, and He is “Omnipotent”, in that He is all-powerful.

 

So, because God has complete authority over your life, and because He is always with you, and because He has absolute power over every issue in your life, you do not need to fear. One other attribute of God which we need to consider this morning, and which applies to this subject of rejecting fear, is His total, unconditional, and perfect love for you. God is the very definition of perfect love and in 1 John 4:18 we read, “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.” (HCSB)

 

Fear is a self-imposed boundary. Fear limits and restricts us. It immobilizes us when we need to be active and it steals our joy. But God, in His perfect love for us, by means of His never-ending presence with us, and by His mighty power, gives us victory over fear. “Fear not, for I am with you.” says your God.

 

May you live free from fear today.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday September 27-28

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “God will expand the boundaries of our understanding”

 

I was already an adult when I came to faith in Christ. When it finally dawned on me what I had been missing all those years, I remember feeling as if I had wasted years of my life. I could have spent that time learning about God and growing as a Christian. I felt that I had a lot of ground to make up.

 

Shortly after that, I came across a statement in a book which captured my imagination – it gave me great hope and propelled me on a journey of seeking God. It came from the book “Lifestyle Discipleship” by Jim Peterson:

 

“One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the infinite opportunity for spiritual growth. But however much we have matured, there is always more beyond. It is in this that we find the adventure of living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.”

 

The Christian life, properly lived, can be an exciting journey of spiritual growth. Every day there can be new discoveries and greater understanding. And no matter how much we have learned or how much we have grown, there will always be something more waiting for us. God is a deep ocean. His wonders, richness, and beauty are infinitely more than we can comprehend or take in and no matter how much of Him we experience, there will always be more.

 

The promise of Jeremiah 33:3 is true for you too. If you call to Him, if you seek Him, He will answer you and show you great and wondrous things you did not know. One of the best ways to experience God in new and profound ways is in a good worship service. I encourage you to join us this Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church. This week we will be celebrating our 75th anniversary as a church. It will be a special service filled with music and testimonies, along with good teaching from our guest preacher Bill McCreary, and great fellowship. The service will begin at 10:30 and there will be a catered dinner afterwards. We look forward to seeing you there.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Friday September 26th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So he (Caleb) said, ‘Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now.” Genesis 27:36 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We must place strict boundaries on the manipulators in our lives.”

 

Jacob was one of the patriarchs of the Old Testament. It was from him that the twelve tribes of Israel came. But the primary thing Jacob is remembered for is that he was a manipulator of people. He was cunning and a bit devious and he was always quietly maneuvering behind the scenes to advance his own interests – usually to the detriment of those closest to him. As a result, Jacob brought upon himself and his loved ones years of suffering.

 

Do you have a Jacob in your life, someone who has a habit of being deceptive; someone who is always scheming; always seems to have a slightly unbelievable story; and who can’t really be trusted? Often such persons are close family members who we love and who we want to help, but who over time have lost our trust and burned all their bridges. With such people we have to have firm boundaries to protect ourselves from their manipulations. We have to be tough.

 

In their book “Boundaries” John Townsend and Henry Cloud label such people as “Controllers”, they are determined to gain control over the people around them in order to get what they want. Controllers come in two basic varieties, “Aggressive Controllers” and “Manipulative Controllers”. Aggressive controllers don’t even make a pretense of respecting your boundaries. They are often verbally and sometimes physically abusive. They try to get what they want from you by means of fear and intimidation. The boundaries needed with them are often physical and legal. We’re talking about locked doors, restraining orders, and perhaps jail time.

 

Manipulative controllers are much more subtle. They often have friendly and engaging personalities, and they usually try to give the impression that they care deeply about you and fully respect the boundaries you have established. But all the while they’re working their way around your boundaries, often coming in through the back door of your heart. In the end they walk away with the keys to your car, or a check for this month’s rent, or whatever else they were seeking. The boundaries needed to deal with the manipulative controller usually consist of a firm “no” and then sticking to it.

 

The Jacob of the Bible never really learned his lesson. There were times in his life when he was a little better than at other times, but right to the end he gives the impression of being self-absorbed, selfish, whiny, and putting himself before others. If you have a Jacob in your life you may find that the only thing you can do is establish firm boundaries to protect yourself them. Sometimes you will just have to be tough with them and then stick to it.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Thursday September 25th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:38 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus broke down the boundaries which separate people”

 

The first century Jewish world that Jesus entered into was highly structured with multiple boundaries designed to separate people. Men were superior, women less so, and children least of all. Jews esteemed themselves very highly, and everyone else was pond scum. The rich were exalted, the poor were despised, and the sick and disabled were obviously cursed.

 

These manmade boundaries were most prominent in the house of worship – the Temple complex. Non-Jews and half-breeds like the Samaritans could enter the outer court of the Gentiles, but a wall and guards prevented them from going any further. Jewish women and children could proceed into the next section, but that was it for them. Men could proceed into the inner courtyard, but only the priests could go any further than that into the most holy and sacred section. Menstruating women, the deformed, those with infectious diseases, and lunatics were all unclean and needed to stay outside altogether.

 

Into this unfair and unkind caste system Jesus came. He tore down all the divisions and the artificial manmade barriers designed to keep people segregated. Jesus touched the lepers, forgave the prostitutes, and He ate with the tax collectors. He taught that the only thing that divided people (into two distinct groups), was the forgiveness of sins. If you have repented and are forgiven, you are part of the family of God. If you have not repented, then you are on the outside looking in. That’s the only boundary that matters to God.

 

If you’re a Christian then you probably agree with what I just wrote – at least in theory – but how about in actual practice? If a person has placed their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins do you consider that person to be a brother or sister of yours, in full equality? Is the smelly homeless person, the struggling alcoholic, the Muslim or Hindu, welcome into your worship service? How about into your church family? How about into your home for dinner? Is the single mother with the child born out of wedlock welcome to become a fully member of your church family, in equal standing with everyone else? How about someone of a different race or one in a significantly lower income bracket?

 

Jesus came to destroy the manmade boundaries which separate people. The only distinction which really matters is whether you are a Christian or not. If you are, then you’re a brother or sister of mine and we have equal standing before the Lord. It is absolutely true that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. There are no barriers or boundaries separating people there.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim
 

Devotional for Wednesday September 24th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:23 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Just be the best “you”, you can be.”

 

Well, it turns out that I’m not Billy Graham. I know, I know, you’re disappointed, me too. For one thing, I don’t have his hair. I haven’t even owned a comb in over twenty years. More importantly, I don’t have his preaching ability, and I certainly can’t fill an entire stadium with people eager to hear about Jesus.

 

But here’s the good news: I don’t have to be Billy Graham. All I have to do is be the best Jim Mersereau I’m capable of being. God created Billy and Jim as unique individuals and He has a tailor-made plan for each of our lives. In His divine wisdom He gave each of us the gifts, skills, abilities, and talents He wanted each of us to have, and then He holds each of us accountable for how we use what we do have, not for what we don’t have.

 

That’s the lesson Jesus was teaching in Matthew 25:14-30. It’s what we know as “The Parable of the Talents”. In this story there were three men who were each entrusted by the master with something of his, which they were then to put to good use. The amount each was given was determined by the master and was in accordance with their abilities. Each was then held accountable by the master for how they used what they did have, not for what they didn’t have.

 

This is an important lesson because so many of us allow ourselves to feel inadequate – we think we don’t measure up to other people. We believe other people are smarter, more talented, better looking, more successful, etc, and we then come to the conclusion that we are inadequate by comparison. But the truth is that God didn’t create you to be someone else, He created you to be you. And He doesn’t compare your achievements to those of other people He compares your achievements to what He knows you are capable of, based upon what He has given you to work with.

 

Each of us needs to learn to live within the boundaries of who God created us to be. More importantly, we need to learn to be happy about who God created us to be. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive to grow and improve and to acquire new skills, but it does mean that all you are responsible for is to be the best “you”, you are capable of being. Jim Mersereau doesn’t have to try to be Billy Graham. And Billy Graham doesn’t have to try to be Jim Mersereau (which would certainly be the easier side of the equation!) Just be who God created you to be.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim