Devotional for Wednesday October 8th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We must stand firm on Biblical principles regardless of what society says or does.”

 

In Isaiah’s day the people of God in the nation of Israel had given-in to the pressures from the cultures around them. The Jewish faith was not popular with non-Jews. It called for standards of moral conduct which were at odds with how the surrounding cultures desired to live. Not only did the surrounding cultures object to and resist the God-given teachings of Judaism, but they even resented the very presence of the Jews, because just the mere presence of such God-obeying people was in itself convicting.

 

Sadly, rather than standing firm in the beliefs they knew to be true, many of God’s people surrendered to the pressures of the cultures around them. After all, if you want to get along then you have to go along, right? So, many of the Jews began to embrace the standards of the surrounding cultures. They engaged in the practices of the cultures, and even adopted the worship of their Gods. And in order to justify such actions, they equivocated, rationalized, and constructed clever and twisted reasoning’s to explain away their new beliefs and behaviors. Before long what used to be clearly understood as evil behavior was suddenly being called good, and Godly standards were reclassified as evil – even by the people of God.

 

I’m sure you’re having no problem seeing the contemporary application here. This is a perfect picture of our society today. The cultural pressures upon the people of God in our day are extreme. Time-honored Biblical standards of morality and conduct are now seen by many as antiquated and small-minded. Christians are ridiculed and sometimes persecuted for attempting to bring the Word of God to bear on the social issues of our day. And sadly, like those ancient Israelites, many Christians are giving-in rather than standing firm. Why? Because it’s always easier to go along so you can get along, rather than standing strong in the face of withering opposition from the cultural thought police.

 

The answer for God’s people today is the same as it has always bee: Know the BIble and stick to it. Do not give in to the cultural pressures. We must have the courage and conviction to obey and to promote God’s standards of morality, regardless of what the rest of society says or does.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Tuesday October 7th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For government is God’s servant for your good … Therefore you must submit.”  Romans 13:4-5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God requires us to both obey and to disobey civil authorities.”

 

I once knew a Christian man who cheated on his tax returns and attempted to justify it by claiming that the taxes were excessive and therefore he was engaging in an act of civil disobedience. When I pointed out to him that he was essentially stealing from the government and therefore violating the eighth commandment, he got angry with me and ended the conversation.

 

I am also aware of Christians in China who willfully disobey the government by worshiping in unauthorized churches. In China there are only certain churches approved by the government. The pastors are told what they can preach, there are certain Biblical doctrines which are forbidden, and the activities of the church are supervised by government officials. Those who worship in the unauthorized churches are breaking the law and are routinely arrested and imprisoned.

 

Both of the examples cited above are similar in that in both cases, the Christians involved are breaking the laws of the land they live in. They are also similar in that obeying God in each of those situations poses some difficulties for the individuals involved. But that’s where the similarities end. In the first case, the man might feel as if the tax burden is unfair and creates a financial hardship on him, but Biblically he’s required to pay those taxes anyway. If he doesn’t like the law then he is free to work within the framework of the established legislative process to try to get the law changed. But he is not free to disobey the law.

 

In the second case the Christians involved have to disobey the civil authorities because obeying that law would require them to disobey God. Their situation is exactly like that of the early disciples in Acts chapter five. In that case the religious authorities were demanding that the Apostles stop preaching teaching and practicing the Christian faith. Otherwise they would be arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and maybe worse. But the Apostles responded “We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29

 

That’s the standard for us. We must obey God rather than men. And we must do it whether doing so is easy or hard. As long as the laws of the land do not conflict with the laws of God, then we must obey them whether we like it or not and whether doing so is easy or difficult. But if the laws of the land do conflict with the laws of God, then we must disobey them, and we must do so whether standing with God is easy or hard and whether we like it or not.

 

Most of the time God requires us to obey civil authority, but at other times He requires us to disobey civil authority. The determining factor is always what the Bible says, not our personal feelings or desires.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Monday October 6th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

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

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Obey God and go to work!”

 

It’s Monday morning and a new workweek is beginning. Maybe you’re groaning and wishing you could just stay in bed. Maybe you’re wishing you were independently wealthy and didn’t need to work. Maybe you want to retire at the ripe old age of 33. Well, if you’re healthy enough to work and you have a job, then praise God and get moving.

 

The truth is that work is God’s idea and it is a good thing. From the earliest chapters of Genesis, when God put Adam in charge of the Garden of Eden, right up to the closing chapters of the book of Revelation where we discover that even in eternity we will do the work of ruling and reigning with Christ, the Bible portrays work as a good thing and therefore God commands us to work. For a deeper study of the Biblical command to have a job, and the benefits of work, see chapter thirteen of my book “Walking with Paul”, or read the article I wrote, “Who’s the Boss?” You can find them both on my website at http://www.JimMersereauBooks.com.

 

Unfortunately many people do not work when they could and should. I frequently encounter relatively healthy people who, while they do have some health problems, they have managed to game the system by getting themselves declared 100% disabled. Now they live at the tax payer’s expense as they collect disability, food stamps, and subsidized housing. As a society we have to reform this system and stop the abuses. It is un-biblical for a person who could be supporting themselves to instead be living off of others. If a person can work, they should.

 

I also sometimes meet young adults who have figured out how to game their parents. These are shiftless and unproductive young adults who are accomplishing nothing with their lives and who continue to live off of mom and dad. And the parents are over-indulgent to the point of chronic enabling. By being an enabler those parents are ensuring their child will never amount to anything in life. Biblically the young person is required by God to work and to support themselves. And Biblically the parents are required by God to either make that young person take care of themselves, or to cut the cord and let them suffer the consequences. That’s exactly what Paul meant in 1 Thessalonians 3:10. If the person gets hungry enough, they’ll get a job so they can buy some food. Paul wasn’t counseling us to be hard-hearted regarding true need, but he was cautioning us to not allow ourselves to be gamed by those who are just lazy.

 

Ok, back to the subject of getting out of bed and getting on with your workweek. Obey God. Go to work. Be the best employee in the company. And thank God that you have a job to go to.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim
 

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