Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “For learning what wisdom and discipline are; for understanding insightful sayings.” Proverbs 1:2 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God gave us the Bible so we can be wise in His ways.”

The purpose of Proverbs, and indeed of the entire Bible, is stated in a straightforward way right there in the second verse of the first chapter of Proverbs, “So we can learn wisdom.” God wants us to be more than just knowledgeable He wants us to be wise, but to be wise in ways that really matter.

Biblical wisdom is not some mystical thing that can only be attained by an enlightened few. This isn’t Buddhism. And we’re also not raising-up a small cadre of Hindu Yogi’s. The wisdom of the Bible is straightforward, practical, and easily understood by anyone who will take the time and put forth the effort to study it. We are to take it to heart and then live by it.

From that standpoint the wisdom of the Bible has a lot in common with what we might call “street smarts”. Biblical wisdom is a realistic understanding of how life actually works in the real world, and it’s an acknowledgement that God has told us in the Bible how to live life well. This is wisdom which helps us to survive and thrive in the rough and tumble environment of daily living in a tough neighborhood (this world).

Biblical wisdom is practical in that it deals heavily in day-to-day real life issues such as morality, ethics, justice, and maturity, just to name a few. The Biblically wise person recognizes and avoids evil, and they actively promote good as part of the mission of Christ on earth.

How do we acquire such wisdom? First and foremost by personal study of the Bible. Secondly, we acquire it by means of regular and active participation in the life of a good Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church. We need to place ourselves under the instruction of good and reliable Bible teachers; we need to pay attention to the sermons – taking notes, and applying the points to our lives; we need to be involved in small group Bible studies – participating in the discussions and learning from the insights of others; and we need to regularly seek out Biblical counsel from leaders and mentors.

It’s true that one of the reasons God gave us the Bible is so we can be wise in His ways, wise in the ways that really matter. Biblical wisdom is attainable by anyone who will seek it.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “Wisdom is supreme – so get wisdom.” Proverbs 4:7 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Biblical wisdom is the key to successful living.”

Some of the most useful wisdom comes out of the painful experience of observing what happens to us when we are not wise. That’s a truth I’ve learned in my own life. I can’t count the number of times I’ve done some bonehead thing and lived to regret it. The thing is, I almost always knew better than to do that bonehead thing to begin with. I had the knowledge I needed in order to make a better choice, I just didn’t have the common sense to act on what I knew.

Wisdom and knowledge are different. Knowledge is little more than the accumulation of information. Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions based upon what you know. If you have lots of knowledge it simply means that you know a lot facts about a lot of subjects, but your life could easily still be a train wreck. Wisdom means you have common sense and sound judgment and therefore consistently make choices that are right and true and of lasting value. Also, when you are wise you can be a source of good counsel for others as well. 

Throughout the month of May we’re going to explore the subject of Biblical wisdom. We will pay particular attention to the wisdom from Proverbs. Written by Solomon, the book of Proverbs is part of the wisdom literature of the Bible and is a rich source of Godly wisdom for us. The Proverbs are intended to equip the people of God so we can mature in wisdom and understanding as we grow closer to God. The wisdom of Proverbs helps us to learn proper discernment, it enhances our devotional life, and it spurs good discipleship. And although we will draw heavily on the wisdom given to us in the book of Proverbs, we will explore other passages and books of the Bible as well.

Godly wisdom is all about making good choices that are consistent with Biblical principles and which lead to us live lives that honor Him. Choices have consequences, and as the people of God we cannot make good godly decisions, based upon Biblical principles, apart from a solid education in Biblical wisdom. Biblical wisdom is the key to successful living.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

Our Bible verse for today: “Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.” Matthew 22:29 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “Knowing and applying the Word of God to our lives is the best way to guard against mistakes.”

The Pharisees were the Bible scholars of their day. They were the ones who were supposed to be the experts when it came to knowing, teaching, and applying the Word of God to everyday life. But Jesus informed them that their knowledge was actually pretty weak and therefore their application of Biblical truths was faulty.

The problem of the Pharisees back then was the same problem many Christians have today – they don’t really know the Word of God accurately and therefore they are not applying to their lives correctly. If you know the story of the Pharisees then you know that over time they progressively “massaged” the Old Testament Scriptures and worked them into a form that was a little more conducive to how they wanted to live. They twisted Scripture, misapplied it, created lots of exceptions to it in order accommodate their whims and desires, and then they created a lot of additional rules and regulations that went far beyond what God had actually said. Eventually they ended up with a highly legalistic, manmade religious system that was far from what God Himself had given them in the form of the Old Testament. And as a result, their righteousness was a sham.

While it’s true that we will never be perfect in this lifetime, and therefore we will always make mistakes, the best and most righteous life any of us will ever have is the one that is lived in accordance with Biblical principles. But in order for us to live that way we must first know the Bible and its principles so we can then apply them to our lives. And here’s the thing – we must know the scriptures accurately. We must allow the Bible to say what it actually says – not more and not less. The mistake the Pharisees made is that they ignored some scripture and Biblical principles altogether; twisted others to make them mean something other than what God intended; and then made up a bunch more to suit themselves. We must avoid that mistake.

Allowing the Bible to simply say what it says and then living by its principles – no more and no less – is the key to godly living. Knowing and applying the Word of God to our lives is the best way to avoid mistakes.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

Our Bible verse for today: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Since God has forgiven you, you should forgive yourself.”

1 John 1:9 is probably one of the greatest verses in the Bible. Every Christian needs to have this one committed to memory. If we confess our sins, God forgives us of our sins. There’s no more to it than that. God doesn’t hold a grudge. God doesn’t nurse bitterness and resentment against those who have sinned against Him but who have since asked for forgiveness. We confess, God forgives, and that’s the end of it.

So if God is so willing to forgive us, why are we so unwilling to forgive ourselves? This is a big problem for many of us. We allow a sense of guilt over past mistakes to linger in the back of our mind as it quietly and subtly poisons our thinking and colors our personality. There’s a sense of despair and regret that never entirely goes away.

But God doesn’t want us to live like that. He doesn’t want us to spend our lives shackled to past mistakes, never experiencing the joy of complete forgiveness and the freedom to move forward. Yes we should be sorry for our mistakes. And yes we should learn from them and resolve to avoid those mistakes in the future. And yes we do need to seek forgiveness – from God and from others, but then we need to let it go and move on.

The past is past and it cannot be changed. Living in the past, and allowing ourselves to be haunted by our past mistakes, is a sure recipe for doom and gloom, despair and depression. If you have confessed your sins then God has forgiven you for your sins. Now it’s time to let it go and get on with life. Since God has forgiven you, you need to forgive yourself.

God Bless,

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.” Proverbs 12:15 (NLT) “Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.” Proverbs 19:2 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “Impatience often leads to poor decisions.”

 

I have grouped Proverbs 12:15 and 19:2 together in this devotional because together they help to emphasize a mistake that many Christians make. I’ve known many Christians who had the bad habit of making hasty decisions, without consulting with others, and then baptizing their decisions as “being from God.” In other words they quickly decided for themselves what they wanted to do in a particular situation, and then rationalized in their own minds that the choice they made must have come from God. Although they would seldom phrase it this way it’s as if they’re thinking, “This is what I want to do, so it must be what God wants me to do too.” They seem to think that their personal desires and whims can be trusted as always being from God and always consistent with God’s will.

 

Impatience in decision-making often leads to serious mistakes being made. When we act in a hurry, without first checking our facts, without consulting others, without checking the Bible for guidance, and without waiting on God, we frequently end up with a mess on our hands. Worse still, when we make choices that are obviously selfish, willful, and inconsistent with Biblical standards, but then try to convince ourselves and others that “God is leading me in this direction”, we fool nobody (certainly not God), and we set ourselves up for serious mistakes.

 

Including God in our decision-making is sometimes quick and easy. If you’re thinking about choking your knucklehead co-worker, you know how God feels about that (Thou shall not murder). If you’re attracted to your neighbor’s wife … well again, it’s a no-brainer, you know what God has to say about that. But many times things are not so clear and so our decision-making cannot be quick and easy. Including God in our choices often requires time, thought, prayer, counsel with others, searching the Scripture, and then more time.

 

Impatience in decision-making often leads to serious mistakes so take the time to include God and others.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him.” Colossians 1:19

 

Our thought for today: “It is a mistake to misunderstand who Jesus is.”

 

This Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist we will begin a new sermon series on the Gospel of Luke. As we do with every book of the Bible that we study, we will begin in chapter one, verse one, and we will study every major theme in the book. So whatever the next major theme is, that will be the subject for this week’s sermon.

 

I like the Gospel of Luke for many reasons but one of them is that Luke was not a Jew – he was a Gentile, a Greek. Because he was a non-Jew he was able to observe, understand, and then explain the life, times, and ministry of Jesus from a non-Jewish perspective. That’s very helpful to me because I am not a first century Jew living in Biblical Palestine and therefore it’s sometimes difficult for me to accurately understand things from that perspective. Luke is very helpful by simply and clearly explaining great Biblical truths about Jesus in a way that this Gentile can easily understand.

 

A mistake that many of us make is that we allow ourselves to end up with a distorted and inaccurate understanding of who Jesus is and what He is like. Philip Nation, a member of the LifeWay Research Group and a writer for the “Mission of God” study Bible, explained it like this: “It is vital to remember that Jesus is not whom we often make Him out to be. Though He taught, He is more than a great teacher. Though He performed miracles, he was not just a magical figure. Though He lived perfectly, He was not just an ethics professor.”

 

In Colossians chapter one the Apostle Paul tells us that the Jesus we worship and follow is actually the visible image of the invisible God (verse 15); Paul explains that of the members of the Trinity, it was actually Jesus Himself who did the creating (verse 16); it is Jesus who holds all of creation together (verse 17); and all the fullness of God the Father actually dwells within Jesus (verse 19).

 

The Jesus described by Paul is a good bit different from the smiling shepherd holding the little lambs who we commonly present to our children in Sunday school. He’s also a good bit more, and a good bit different, than “Jesus my good buddy, my friend.” as we so often tend to think of Him. Well yes, He our friend, but He is also the Almighty Lord of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth, God Himself in a human body.

 

Luke is especially good at helping us Gentiles to better understand the real Jesus. A thorough study of his Gospel will help us to avoid the mistake of misunderstanding who Jesus really is.

 

My goal for this study, as a pastor and preacher, is for all of us to grow and mature as a result of digging deeply into the wonderful truths Luke teaches. The Apostle Paul expressed it well in his prayer for the Colossian Christians, “We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9-10 (HCSB)

 

That’s also my prayer for you. I invite you to join us for our study of the Gospel of Luke.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

 

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.” Lamentations 3:22-26 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “It is a mistake to give up hope.”

Life can sometimes land us in strange places. Many times we find ourselves wondering, “How did I get here, how did this happen?” Sometimes our regrettable situations are a result of our own mistakes and poor decisions. At other times we find ourselves the innocent victim of someone else’s unjust actions. And sometimes it’s just life. Sometimes our trials and struggles come upon us simply because this is a broken world filled with sickness and death and natural disasters and economic recessions.

The temptation during such times is to lose hope – especially if the difficulties drag on for an extended period of time. But losing hope is always a mistake; that’s especially true for the child of God. Death and destruction, divorce and despair, unemployment and hard times, are never the end of the story. God always has a plan and it is always good. Even in the midst of trials and sufferings God is at work to bring about some good thing for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

When Jeremiah wrote Lamentations the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed, the people had been taken off into captivity, the brutal army of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar was in total control, and the future looked bleak. But that was not the end of the story. The truth was that God’s mission, and God’s people, would rise again.

The same is true for us. Regardless of how bleak the current circumstances may look, regardless of how big the challenges are or how high the hurdles seem, the truth is that God isn’t done. His mission and His people will rise again. At the present time the “when” and “how” of it all may have to remain questions for tomorrow; your approach for the moment may be to simply be faithful, to trust in the Lord, and to just keep putting one foot in front of the other as you continue to walk through it. That’s ok because God will give us the grace we need for today. And then He’ll do it again tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that.

Eventually the entire story will have unfolded and we will be able to view it all from hindsight. And when we do, we will discover that Jeremiah was correct, “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end.”

It is always a mistake to give up hope.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

Our Bible verse for today: “I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago … These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us.” 1 Corinthians 10:1, 11 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “We can learn from the examples of others.”

We can and should learn from the examples set for us by others – both the good examples and the bad ones. More specifically, and maybe more importantly, we can learn from the mistakes of others. That’s what Paul was writing about in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. He was reminding his readers of how the ancient Jews disobeyed God, didn’t trust Him to deliver the Promised Land into their hands, and how they suffered greatly as a result. Paul was urging his readers to learn from that bad example and to avoid making a similar mistake.

One of the greatest learning tools God has provided to us are the examples set for us by other people. God brings into our lives godly and faithful men and women who will serve as good examples for us. We should observe their good conduct, consider the benefits and rewards of living that way, and then emulate their examples. If their good conduct produced good results for them, then similar conduct on our part will likely produce similar results for us.

Likewise, we can learn important lessons from the bad examples set by others. If we see someone jump off a tall building, and we observe that they ended up looking a lot like a squished bug on the sidewalk, we can conclude that a similar choice on our part probably wouldn’t turn out any better for us. Of course we can also apply the same logic to virtually any other example. If robbing a bank landed the other person in jail then chances are good it would put us behind bars too. If a lifetime of smoking resulted in the other person dying from lung cancer, there’s a good chance we are at similar risk for developing that disease too if we also smoke.

One of the keys to successful living is to surround yourself with people who are already living the kind of life you would like to have, and to avoid people who don’t. The old adage that over time we become like those we associate with is very true. So find people who are making good choices and getting good results from those choices, and copy their example. Then watch closely the lives of those who are not doing well, carefully consider the poor choices that have gotten them into the situations they are in, and avoid similar conduct in your own life.

We can learn important life lessons by considering the examples of others.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

Our Bible verse for today: “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” Psalm 139:7 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s a mistake to take the presence of God for granted.”

How often do you think about gravity? If you’re like most people then the answer is “Not very often.” And yet, gravity exists and if it didn’t, we would all float away into outer space. How about air? How often do you think about air? Again the answer is probably “Not often.” However if all of a sudden there wasn’t any air you’d sure think about it then, at least for the last sixty seconds of your life.

The reason we don’t often think about gravity or air is because they’re invisible to us and therefore we take them for granted. They are always present, and our very lives depend on that presence, but because we can’t actually see them they are usually far from our thoughts.

The presence of God can be like that too. He is always with us but because we can’t actually see Him He is often far from our thoughts – to the point that we take His presence for granted. That’s a mistake. While being numb to the presence of gravity or air is really of little consequence, being numb to the presence of God is tragic.

Nicholas Herman was a Carmelite monk who lived in France in the mid to late 1600’s. He’s better known to modern Christians as “Brother Lawrence”. In his famous book “The Practice of the Presence of God” he describes how it was that he learned to develop an ongoing awareness of God’s presence at all times. Although he spent his days in the monastery’s kitchen preparing meals and washing pots and pans, Lawrence wrote that God’s presence with him there in that kitchen was usually more spiritually profound than anything he ever experienced during his most devoted times of prayer in the chapel.

Brother Lawrence’s relationship with the Lord was so personal, so real, and so obvious for everyone to see, that it became legendary even in his own day. People from all over Europe flocked to that monastery to spend time with him and to receive counsel from him about how they too could develop that kind of deep and real awareness of God’s presence with them. For more than three hundred years since then, his book has been one of the best selling Christians books of all time.

That awareness of God’s presence is also what King David was writing about in Psalm 139. This Psalm is well worth some extra devotional meditation for anyone who wants to become more aware of the ongoing presence of God.

God’s presence is real and we can train ourselves to remain aware of His presence. Psalm 139 and Brother Lawrence’s book will both help us to do that. It’s a mistake to ever take His presence for granted.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord sent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed or even paid attention. He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds; But you would not obey Me.” Jeremiah 25:4-5; 7 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “It is a big mistake for people who know better to rebel against God.”

If you’ve read the book of Jeremiah then you know it’s basically fifty-two chapters of God saying to the Israelites, “I’m running out of patience with you! In a minute you’re going to get it!” But the Israelites didn’t listen and so, they got it. The next book of the Bible, Lamentations, tells that story. It’s essentially a record of the Jews in a Godly time out after having been spanked real good.

The thing is – they knew better. These people had been trained in righteousness. They had been raised in church and they knew God’s standards. Beyond that, they had been warned repeatedly. What we learn from their example is that it’s a big mistake for people who know better to rebel against God. He is very patient, and He will give us lots of chances to correct our behavior, but once He runs out of patience with us look out! The most powerful force in the universe is about to deliver some discipline you’re not going to soon forget.

We often talk about how the “nation” of Israel disobeyed God, and it’s true, the “nation” did disobey Him. But in order for the “nation” to have disobeyed Him it had to mean that “individuals” were disobeying Him. Therefore when we read that the nation was punished, what it really means is individuals were punished. Lots of the them. All of them.

It’s bad enough when an individual who knows better rebels against God and ends up suffering the consequences of their rebellion. But when you have lots of individuals rebelling, an entire nation of them, the magnitude of the Godly discipline becomes historic in scope and we end up with something like what we read about in Lamentations.

As I consider the history of the Jews, and I then observe the rapid downward slide we see occurring in our own society, I shudder to think about where our country is headed, of what lies ahead for us. It can’t be good. Is there a “Lamentations” in our own future? I think there could be.

But let’s not forget that as was the case with the nation of Israel, in order for the nation to be in rebellion the individuals who make up that nation have to be in rebellion. And although you and I as individuals may not be able to influence the entire course of the nation, we can be faithful and righteous in our own behavior. If enough of us do that, then the nation will no longer be in rebellion to God. People often say something like, “I’m only one individual. What can I do?” The answer is, “You can do your part.” And if enough of us do that, there will be an exponential ripple effect throughout society.

The history of the nation of Israel didn’t have to include the story that’s told in Lamentations. That only happened because enough individual Israelites allowed it to happen. But their story doesn’t have to be our story – and the solution begins with you and me. It’s a big mistake for people who know better to rebel against God. You and I know better. So let’s be the ones who obey Him instead.

God Bless,