Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Associate with people who will help you to be your best.”

As we approach the end of our study on Healthy Living I want to encourage you to maintain close relationships with people who will help you to be the best “you” you can be. Who you associate with matters very much. Over time we become like those we associate with. It’s like your mamma always told you, “Choose your friends carefully.”

When it comes to healthy living, you want to spend lots of time with others who are also committed to a healthy lifestyle. If you know you shouldn’t live on a diet of burgers, fries, and cokes, then don’t have meals with those who do. Instead, include family members and friends in the planning, preparing, and eating of healthy foods.

Likewise, if you know it’s not good for you to be a coach potato, wasting endless hours in front of a television or computer screen, always talking with others about the latest episode of this show or that one, then it’s not good to spend a lot of time with people who do that. Instead, associate with people who fill their spare time with walks and workouts and activities that get their bodies moving.

And of course, there is your faith life. Foundationally this is the most important element of all when it comes to having a life that is healthy and balanced in all the important ways. It’s absolutely essential for all of us to be actively and deeply involved in a good church family. When you spend a lot of time with people who love the Lord and are passionate about their spiritual growth then your faith life will be stronger and better too.

Who you associate with matters a lot. I encourage you to cultivate a close group of friends who will help you to become all that God wants you to be.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “For it was you who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13 (HCSB)

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

This theme of healthy living has all been about making an effort and being intentional about being the best “you” you can be. It has not been about being perfect, nor is it about becoming like someone else. Each of us is free to simply be the unique person God created us to be. But with that said, our desire should be to be the best that we can be.

Many people go through life with a poor self-image, wishing they were different than they are. They wish they were taller, or shorter; they wish they had the musical talents of Joe and Sally, or a mathematical mind like Joe’s. They’re unhappy with the shape of their chin or the color of their eyes; they think they’re too stupid, or too smart. And on and on it goes.

But as David wrote in Psalm 139, it was God who created you to be the unique individual you are. He knit you together in your mother’s womb. He wove the strands of your DNA together, giving you your nose, ears, chin, height, hair, and yes, even the pimples and warts. God made you to be you and God doesn’t make junk. He also doesn’t make mistakes.

So should you strive to improve upon your current condition? Yes, of course. If you’re overweight and it’s causing you to be unhealthy, then you should lose weight. If you don’t have an exercise routine, then you should take some steps to strengthen those muscles and improve the cardiovascular system. If your spiritual disciplines aren’t what they need to be, if your financial habits need to improve, if your closest relationships need extra attention and nurture, then you should make the effort and strive for improvement in those areas.

But accept and embrace the unique individual God created you to be. Be comfortable in your own skin.

Forty years ago author Og Mandino wrote a little book on this subject which has since become a classic in Christian literature. The title is “The Greatest Miracle in the World”, and I recommend it to you. It’s a small book, an easy and fast read, but it will change your perspective on who you are and why God created you, in the unique way He did.

Tomorrow, as we begin to draw this theme to a close, we will continue this discussion of why God created you to be you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6:6 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “In order for our lives to be in proper balance, we must learn to be content.”

One of the primary reasons life sometimes gets out of balance and unhealthy is that we are not content. Rather than simply being satisfied with what we have, we convince ourselves that we need more, bigger, better. We then work longer and harder so we can earn more so we can then buy more. We also fill our lives with endless activities because we believe doing so will increase the quality of our lives.

But all of that leaves us stressed, strained, and drained. The answer, as Paul taught in 1 Timothy 6:6, is to learn to be content. Maybe we don’t need more, bigger, and better after all. Maybe what we have already is good enough, maybe even more than enough.

In his book, “Cure for the Common Life”, Max Lucado tells the story of a farmer who was discontent with life on his farm. He complained about the animals that always needed attention; he was weary of tending the crops; he was tired of looking at the same old scenery. He decided he was going to get rid of the farm and move somewhere nicer. So he called a real estate agent and made plans to list the farm for sale.

In just a few days the agent called him back, wanting approval for the ad she was about to place for the farm. She read the ad to the farmer. It described a lovely farm in an ideal location – quiet and peaceful, contoured with rolling hills, carpeted with soft meadows, nourished by a fresh lake, and blessed with well-bred livestock. The farmer said, “Read that ad to me again.” After hearing it a second time, he said, “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to sell. I’ve been looking for a place like that all my life.”

The moral of the story of course was that the famer already had what he really wanted and needed, but he had allowed himself to take it for granted and to become discontented with what he had.

Many times we become consumed with thoughts of what we don’t have and we lose sight of what we do have. If we practice a little more contentment we will be less likely to cram our lives with a bunch of things and activities we don’t really need. And, we will be healthier and better balanced for it.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God has good things planned for you.”

In Psalm 27:13 King David had a sense of eager expectation that God had some good things in store for him. But David wasn’t talking about good things waiting for him in eternity – he was talking about in the here and now, in the land of the living. David clearly was expecting to be blessed by God now. And you can too.

If you have sought and embraced God-given goals, and if you are in the process of doing your part to fulfill those goals, then you can expect to be blessed by God. Remember, God has things that He wants to bring about in your life. This is His plan. And so as long as you are doing your part, He will orchestrate events as necessary to bring about the results that He desires.

Sometimes that’s hard for us to believe, especially if the thing God has us pursing is big and is going to take time. Often it can seem impossible. But the good news is, Jesus reminded us in Matthew 19:26, that with God, nothing is impossible.

The great missionary to China, Hudson Taylor, used to teach his students that when it comes to God’s plan unfolding in your life there are three stages we typically go through – impossible, possible, done. When we first consider this thing God has for us we can often conclude that it’s impossible. That’s because we’re viewing it from a human perspective. We’re thinking about what we are able to accomplish in our own power and with our own abilities.

But then we remember that with God nothing is impossible and therefore if He’s in it, it is in fact possible. From that point we’re not far from, “Done!”

Impossible, possible, done!

God has good things planned for you – now – in the land of the living. Seek His plan, embrace it, do your part, and then have faith that in His way, and in His time, it will come to pass.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “…we have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 15:25-26 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “We must be willing to take risks.”

The theme for this month is “Healthy Living”, but the verse for today talks about Paul and Barnabas putting their lives at risk. That doesn’t sound very healthy. In fact, considering all Paul went through in his life, (the persecutions, the beatings, the imprisonments) he doesn’t seem like such a good example of someone who lived a healthy life.

However as we’ve learned, an important part of living a healthy and balanced life is to have God-given goals that provide the direction for our lives. These are assignments from God which we’re enthusiastic about and which motivate us. These are the things that get us out of bed in the morning with a sense of eagerness and anticipation. Paul had that.

But those things always include some element of risk. Living the life that God has planned for you is a spiritual endeavor and as such, it will involve spiritual warfare. Satan does not want you to be the man or woman God wants you to be. Satan wants you to be defeated and miserable. And so you can bet he will do everything in his power to put stumbling blocks and obstacles in your way.

It’s true that God will empower you to persevere and to push through the obstacles, but that does not mean you won’t experience difficulties and even set-backs. You will. And that’s where the risk comes in. In order to walk the path that God has prepared for us we must be willing to accept the risks that come with it. We have to be realistic in acknowledging that there are going to be difficulties, set-backs, and even perhaps some failures. We must be willing to face those and push through them, in order to achieve the thing God has ordained for us.

In John 16:33 Jesus told us “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)

How do we push through the troubles Jesus told us would come? Paul helps us with that in Galatians 6:9, “So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” (NIV).

Nothing is over until you give up. You’re not defeated until you quit. If you’re pursuing a God-given goal you can count on satanic opposition, and therefore difficulties and challenges, but you can also count on God’s help to get you through. Accept the risk, face the challenges, push through, and don’t give up.

I want to recommend a book to you that you might find very helpful, it’s “Failing Forward” by Pastor John Maxwell. It’s all about how you can use your set-backs and even your failures as stepping stones to propel you forward toward accomplishing the plans God has for you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

Our thought for today: “A God-given vision is essential to living well.”

When people have no vision, when they have no purpose or direction in life, they perish. In other words, they wander through their days aimlessly, attempting little and achieving nothing of significance. That’s a Biblical truth which we can all see played out everyday in the lives of people all around us. So many people are purposeless and it’s a sad thing to behold.

One of the keys to success in life is believing that God really does have a purpose and a plan for your life. You must then ask Him to reveal it to you, and once He does, you must then choose to embrace it.

Now, God’s plans for us are seldom revealed in their entirety upfront. If God did that, if He clearly showed us the starting point, and all the milestones along the way, and the end result, we would have the whole thing mapped out for us from start to finish and therefore we wouldn’t need a whole lot of faith to carry it out. We would be less inclined to depend on God.

Therefore, God will give us a general direction to get us started, but then we have to continue relying on Him step-by-step and moment-by-moment. God wants us to invite Him into all the moments of our lives. He wants us to lean on Him and to depend on Him. Therefore He shows us enough of the vision to get us started, and then as we walk it out moment-by-moment and day-by-day, He will continue to guide and direct as necessary to keep us moving in the right direction.

One of the keys to living a healthy and balanced life is to seek God’s plan for your life, and then to pursue it. You must believe that He does have a plan and a purpose for you and you must then choose to embrace it. We will be talking much more about this at Oak Hill Baptist Church when we conduct our Bible Study “What on Earth Am I Here For?” (The Purpose Driven Life). That study will begin on Sunday evening March 15th at 6:00 and we invite you to join us for it.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, 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: “God is the “secret” to success.”

As we begin to draw near to the end of our focus on healthy living, we need to give deeper thought to what it will take for us to maintain the changes we’ve been incorporating into our lives. Many of you reading this were not able to be at Oak Hill Baptist Church on Sunday February 1st, to hear the sermon “The God Factor” which was all about God being the “secret” to our success. That being the case, over the next few days I will draw out and build upon some of the key points from that sermon. You can listen to the sermon by going to http://www.oakhillbaptist.net, clicking on the tab “listen”, and selecting the sermon for 2/1/15.

First, the “secret” to our success really isn’t a secret at all. God is the secret to our success and He has told us so, repeatedly, in the Bible. Isaiah 41:10 is just one of numerous passages which reassure us that God has our back – He wants the best for us and we can rely on Him to help us to accomplish the plans He has for us. There are many others:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (HCSB)

“I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (HCSB)

“But remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth.” Deuteronomy 8:18 (HCSB). (This verse isn’t just referring to money; it pertains to prosperity in life in general).

The point in all of this is that the secret to successfully achieving God-given goals isn’t a secret at all. God will enable you to achieve the things He has planned for you. Keep your eyes focused on Him and continue to walk it out in faith. Tomorrow we will explore this truth a little further.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “To one he gave five talents; to another, two; and to another, one – to each according to his own ability.” Matthew 25:15 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God designs us and then equips us for the things He wants us to do.”

Yesterday we talked about finding your “sweet spot” in life – the thing for which God created you. Today we will continue that discussion.

In Matthew 25:15 Jesus taught that God equips people according to the unique abilities and talents He has given to them. He doesn’t have the same plan for every person and therefore He doesn’t equip all people in the same way. However, He will equip you for what He has called you to do.

How do you find the sweet spot for which God has designed you? One way is to consider what it is you love to do. What are the things which bring you the most joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment? What have you done consistently well? What have you loved to do? As Max Lucado writes, “Stand at the intersection of your affections and successes and find your uniqueness.”

Too many people spend their lives doing things they don’t enjoy and are not fulfilled by. Far too many people go to work everyday to a job they hate. They have missed their sweet spot. They’re not doing the things for which God designed them. At other times, a person is aware of what their sweet spot is, and they do know what they enjoy and what they’re good at, but they don’t pursue it. They make excuses and procrastinate and end up spending their lives on things and in ways that God never intended. That is not a fulfilled life and it will not be the best life.

By the way, this lesson pertains to everyone, regardless of your age or the season of life you are in. In fact as we age, as the kids grow up and move out, or as we enter into the retirement years, we are often given new opportunities to find and enjoy that “sweet spot” that we might have missed earlier in life.

Beginning on Sunday March 15th we at Oak Hill Baptist Church are going to begin a Sunday night Bible study written by Rick Warren entitled “What on earth am I here for?” This is the updated version of “The Purpose Driven Life”. This Bible study will help you to discover your sweet spot and will show you ways to begin pursuing it. I hope you’ll plan to join us.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”

Our Bible verse for today: “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born.” Jeremiah 1:5 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Discover and pursue God’s plan for your life.”

Not everyone has specific goals for their life and clear plans for how they will achieve those goals, but at the least everyone does have dreams and aspirations. Even if they’re only daydreams and unrealistic fantasies, everyone has some idea of what they would like their lives to be like.

But where do those thoughts come from? Many people allow others to set the course of their lives for them. Sometimes it’s parents or other family members who pressure a young person into a particular profession. Some people are concerned primarily with making money, so they chose a career that will pay the most. Many of us fill our lives with all sorts of activities we don’t particularly like or want to be involved in, but we were pressured to do so by others and so we give in, even though we’re not really happy about it.

But when we allow the course of our lives to be determined for us by others, we’re almost always going to end up unfulfilled and unhappy. That’s because God has a specific plan and purpose for your life. He wants to be the one who sets you on the path that He has chosen for you. We see that clearly in the life of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. From the very beginning, even before he was formed in the womb, God had a purpose and a plan for Jeremiah. He has one for you too.

In his book “Cure for the Common Life”, author Max Lucado writes about discovering your “sweet spot”. The sweet spot is the spot where all the forces come together in exactly the right place and at exactly the right time to achieve exactly the right result. For the golfer finding the sweet spot on the ball results in a very long drive; for the baseball player it means a homerun. For you the sweet spot is discovering the thing for which God created you, and then doing that. Max writes:

“But you don’t have to swing a bat or a club to know this. What engineers give sports equipment, God gave you, a zone, a region, a life precinct in which you were made to dwell. He tailored the curves of your life to fit an empty space in his jigsaw puzzle. And life makes sweet sense when you find your spot.”

When it comes to healthy living, you will be at your best when you have found your sweet spot in life for which God created you. We will talk more about this tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

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