Oak Hill Baptist Church

Take the long view

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets … it returns to the place where it rises.” Ecclesiastes 1:3-4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Take the long view”

The other day I read about a young man who dismissed the advice of his grandfather with the statement, “Grandpa, you’re too old to understand my problems.” To that the grandfather replied, “Son, you have never been as old as I am; but I have been as young as you are.”

Age gives us a different and hopefully better perspective on things. As I’ve aged, I have discovered that my perspective has changed about a lot of things. For one thing, I find myself getting less anxious about events unfolding in the world. I noted in a previous devotional how it is that every generation since the time of Jesus has believed they were living in the last days, and they have all been wrong. That causes me to remember all the times just in my lifetime when high profile Christian leaders were loudly proclaiming the end of time because of this event or that war or the blood moon, or whatever. They were all wrong. So, I find myself less than impressed with today’s claims of the imminent demise of all mankind.

Likewise, just in my sixty-nine years of life there have been thirteen U.S. Presidents – seven Republicans and six Democrats. In each case the other side acted like the election results were a disaster for their party and for the country. Yet, we lived through it and in time the political pendulum swung in the other direction, and here we are seventy years later. The same has been true for wars and other conflicts, economic ups and downs, social changes, and so much more. We go up, we go down, the pendulum swings in one direction and then in the other, and life goes on.

And life will continue to go on. Until it doesn’t. Until God calls us home to heaven or until He decides enough is enough and it’s time for Jesus to come back. In the meantime, we are to keep our heads; we are to view things horizontally (the long view over the course of years), and vertically (from 30,000 feet – from God’s perspective); and we are to live life. As I noted in yesterday’s devotional, we know what to do. God has told us. We are to lean into life, be on-mission with Jesus in our world, share the Good News of the Gospel, and serve people in His name.

King Solomon took the long view of things. That’s what the entire book of Ecclesiastes is about. Life ebbs and flows but always, it moves forward. And Solomon’s conclusion? “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I encourage you to take the long view of things and trust God for the outcome.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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We know what to do

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “All the Lord has spoken we will faithfully do.” Exodus 24:7 (New Jewish Publication Society)

Our thought for today: “We know what to do”

In Exodus chapter twenty-four Moses had been conducting an extended teaching session for the people, explaining in detail the commands of the Lord and how the people were to conduct themselves. In Exodus 24:7 the people enthusiastically responded, “All the Lord has spoken we will faithfully do.” That attitude was crucial because at that point their world was still very unsettled and their future seemed uncertain.

In his commentary of Exodus, Dr. Dennis Prager explains that the actual Hebrew translation of that verse reads, “We will do and we will understand.” In other words, the people would gain understanding of God, His ways, and His plans, by doing what He commanded. They would do first and they would understand second. Doing leads to understanding. We obey first, we understand second. God told you what to do, so just go do it.

This is a lesson many Christians need to learn. God doesn’t necessarily give us understanding upfront. Instead, He gives us instructions, and He expects us to faithfully obey Him whether we understand or not. This is one of the lessons we’re learning in our Sunday evening Bible study at Oak Hill Baptist Church, “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God.” We experience God by obeying God.

As we live in this very chaotic and confusing world of ours, we need to remember the primary task God has given us. We are to be on-mission with Jesus carrying out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. We are to go into the world, share the Good News of the Gospel, make Disciples, and demonstrate love for others in the name of Christ. We won’t have all the answers to all the questions. World events will confuse us. The future may look uncertain. That’s okay. We have our assignment and so we know what to do.

Doing leads to understanding. Just be faithful to the primary task God has given you and in time you will either gain a better perspective and understanding of things; or perhaps circumstances and events will come to seem a little less important; or maybe issues and situations will resolve themselves, fade into history, and be replaced by something new. Either way, God has given us our instructions. We know what to do.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Are these the last days?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary.” Revelation 2:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Are these the last days?”

War is raging in the Middle East again. Israel has been attacked and they are at war against Hamas. The conflict is large, it is serious, and it appears to be spreading. As Christians we need to be praying for Israel, and as Americans we must insist our government provide Israel with all the help they need in order to defeat this enemy and win this war.

Some Christians are also concluding that this war is a clear sign that we are nearing the End Times and the Second Coming of Christ. Are we? Does this war signal the beginning of the end?

To address that question let me take us to the book of Revelation. God had the Apostle John write it more than 1900 years ago (best estimate is A.D. 95). It was written originally to seven churches in Asia Minor with the intent that it would then be shared with all other churches throughout the Roman Empire. In their introduction to the book of Revelation the editors of the Experiencing God Study Bible note that those original readers were living in a world of terrible oppression, under the hand of a tyrannical government (Rome), and many of them believed they were living in the last days and that the Second Coming of Christ was about to happen.

Obviously, they were not living in the last days. That was 2000 years ago and we’re all still here. The truth is that every generation of Christians since the time of Jesus have thought there were events occurring in their world that proved they were living in the End Times. And every one of those generations have been wrong. Someday, some generation will be correct but until then history will continue to unfold – and that will be true despite how desperate circumstances appear at any given time in history.

The current war is serious. However, since its declaration of independence in May 1948 Israel has fought and won eight declared wars, as well as two other major Palestinian uprisings and numerous other armed conflicts. They won them all, and they will win this one too.

Could we be living in the End Times? We could be. That is always potentially true. But historically and statistically we probably are not. How then, should we as Christians approach the times in which we do live? We find a clue in the words the Lord had John write to the church in Ephesus. In 2:3 (above) He commended them for their past faithfulness in the face of difficult circumstances. Then in verses 4-5 He said, “But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.”

We have a job to do. Our focus needs to be less on whether these may or may not be the last days and more on simply being on-mission with Jesus in the world as it is. The Great Commission (to share the Good News and to make disciples), and the Great Commandment (to love others), is still our gameplan. Nothing has changed. Love others in the name of Jesus; tell them the Good News of the Gospel; and leave it to God to determine dates and times.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Just fill in the blank

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “I Am Who I Am” Exodus 3:14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Just fill in the blank”

This morning I want to share with you our lesson from the Bible study, “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” that our study group had for today. It was all about coming to know God through personal experience and it was based on Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush in Genesis 3:1-22.

In that encounter God instructed Moses to go to the Israelites in Egypt and tell them that God had sent Moses to lead them out of captivity to freedom. But Moses was afraid and doubtful. Not doubtful of God, but doubtful of his own abilities and afraid that the people wouldn’t believe the message he was bringing to them. In verse 13 Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, “What is his name?’ what should I tell them?” To that God answered Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” As Henry Blackaby explained in our lesson, “He meant ‘I am the eternal One. I will be what I will be.” God was essentially saying to Moses, “I am everything you will need in any situation you will face. Just fill in the blank for whatever your need is in any situation.”

Moses was unsure of himself and he needed to know that God was able to help him and that God would be there for him. God reassured him that He could and He would. The same is true for you and me. God is always here; He is always able; and He is always willing. He is everything you will ever need in any situation you will ever face. “I AM WHO I AM. I am everything you need. Just fill in the blank for your particular situation.”

In the lesson today, Henry Blackaby notes, “You come to know God through experience as He reveals Himself to you and you respond to what He says.” That was true for Moses, he came to know God as a result of the encounter at the burning bush – but even more so by then walking forward in obedience and doing the thing God had instructed Him to do. It was only when Moses obeyed that he actually got to experience the presence, power, protection, and provision of God. It required faith and obedience. Then, in retrospect, Moses was able to look back and see just how real and just how present God was.

The same is true for us. We come to know God by experiencing Him when we are faithful and we obey Him. Then we can look back and realize just how present and powerful and active He was in our situation. That then should increase our faith for today and for the future, and we end up knowing God better.

God is the great “I AM.” He is everything you will ever need in every situation you will ever face. Just fill in the blank.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

The end of anxiety and despair

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying?” Matthew 6:27 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The End of Anxiety and Despair”

I love the Sermon on the Mount. It is by far Jesus’ most famous sermon. Also, being able to say that a lesson comes from “The Sermon on the Mount” seems to add extra weight to it. (It actually doesn’t add extra weight to it, not really. All of Scripture is the inspired Word of God, but adding the kicker “He said it in The Sermon on the Mount” makes me as a preacher and writer sound even more authoritative. So, let me just tell you that, “He said it in the Sermon on the Mount!”)

And what did Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount in this instance? He said that anxiety does nothing to help my situation. It doesn’t add a minute to my life; it doesn’t solve my problems; and it doesn’t make me feel better. So sayeth Jesus! The Apostle Paul said it too: “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7.

Experiencing anxiety and despair is part of the human condition. Those are normal human emotions. But they are unhelpful human emotions, and the more we learn to master them the happier and healthier we will be. Also, the better our overall quality of life will be. This is why Jesus said what He said in Matthew 6:27, and why Paul wrote what he wrote in Philippians 4:6-7. This is where deep discipleship comes in. As we grow in spiritual maturity anxiety and despair should become less and less of a problem for us. That’s one of the goals of our spiritual growth.

Anxiety and despair are such a big problem for so many Christians that I wrote a new book about it. The title is “The End of Anxiety and Despair.” It’s a collection of fifty short and encouraging devotional messages designed to help us dispel anxiety and despair from our lives. It is due to arrive from the publisher today. If you would like to have a copy of it, just send me a note at pastorjimmohbc@gmail.com. I would be happy to send you one.

Anxiety and despair are not part of God’s plan for your life. Jesus wants you to have victory over them. The depth of the spiritual maturity we experience as a result of deep discipleship helps to achieve that. Anxiety and despair will probably never be fully absent from our lives, but its effects can be greatly minimized.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

We need the divine perspective

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Mark 8:33 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “We need the divine perspective”

So, Peter was in trouble with Jesus again. Jesus had just explained to the disciples that the Son of Man was going to be rejected by the Jewish leaders, He would suffer, he would die upon a cross, and then He was going to rise again from the dead. But rejection, suffering, and death were not part of Peter’s understanding of what should happen to the Messiah and so, Peter rebuked Jesus.

Yes, you read that right, Peter rebuked Jesus. Then, Jesus rebuked Peter. Peter’s problem was that he was viewing things from a worldly perspective rather than from the divine perspective. He was not seeing God’s plan God’s way. It probably didn’t even occur to him that there was a difference. He was sure that the way he was seeing and understanding things was the right way.

Peter’s problem is also our problem. We view things from our own perspective rather than from God’s, and then we quickly conclude that our perspective is the right one, the only one. We think, “This must be the way God sees it too, right?”

Peter was brash, impetuous, way too sure of himself, and too quick to jump to conclusions. We are too. But the practice of deep discipleship gives us pause. It teaches us to slow down, think, pray, and to seek facts. It teaches us to place ourselves in a position before God whereby the Holy Spirit can speak to us, open our minds, and give us deeper understanding. And we are to stay there, in that position before God, until we are reasonably sure that we do see things from His perspective and not just from our own.

And lo and behold very often that sort of calm, reasoned, patient seeking of Godly wisdom and perspective will often lead us to surprising conclusions. Peter learned that the role of the Messiah was indeed to be rejected and to suffer and to die so that He could then be resurrected. After all, there can be no resurrection without a death.

As God reminds us through the prophet Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9.

We need the divine perspective on our situations, but that doesn’t come from our own reasoning and in our own understanding. We must spend the time before God so the Holy Spirit can form our perspective for us.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Wisdom waits to be gathered

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!” Proverbs 16:16 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Wisdom waits to be gathered”

According to Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived) getting wisdom is better than getting gold. He’s speaking, of course, about Godly wisdom. He’s referring to being wise in the ways of God. Being wise in the ways of the world may get you some gold and other possessions, but being wise in the ways of God will bring you understanding of things from God’s perspective. It will develop in you a settled mind and a peaceful heart. This is what we were thinking about in yesterday’s devotional when we considered what it means to live as a non-anxious person in an anxious world.

Godly wisdom is understanding God and His ways, and then applying that understanding in ways that makes a real difference in your own life and in the lives of others. How do we get Godly wisdom? It comes to us from God, of course. He develops it in us. In James 1:5 we read, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God – who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly – and it will be given to him.” The fact is that God wants you to have this kind of wisdom. Ask Him for it, seek it, and He will develop it in you.

Referring once again to the book “The Traveler’s Gift,” on one of his stops through history the young man David Ponder gets to spend some time with Solomon. Through that encounter David comes to understand the importance of applying himself to seeking and developing Godly wisdom in his life. My personal paraphrase of David’s resolution that grew out of that encounter reads like this, “Wisdom waits to be gathered. I will seek her out. My reading, listening, and choice of association will serve to make me wise. Wisdom is a gift to the diligent.”

“Wisdom is a gift to the diligent … Wisdom waits to be gathered … Ask God – who gives generously …” If you want Godly wisdom all you need to do is ask God for it and then go after it. Pray, study your Bible, faithfully attend worship services, take notes during the sermon, participate in group Bible studies, read good Christian books, associate with Christians who are wise in the ways of God, and keep doing those things. Practice those disciplines day-in and day-out and in time wisdom will become yours. God wants you to have it.

Wisdom waits to be gathered. Go get it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Living as a non-anxious person in an anxious world

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” John 14:27 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Living as a non-anxious person”

I was reading an article the other day in the latest edition of “Christianity Today” magazine, and I came across a great line that I liked so much, I wrote it down and resolved to use it myself one day soon. If fact, not only do I want to write about it, but I want this to be true of me. The author of the article was making the case that Jesus enables us to live as “non-anxious people in an anxious world.”

What an accurate description of the world we live in today! It is anxious. People are anxious. They are worried and stressed out about politics, the economy, social unrest, cultural divisions, international threats, their jobs, their families, their weight, the score of the last Titans football game, and a thousand other things. People go through life anxious and stressed.

But then there are those people who have learned to not be anxious and stressed. I’m talking about those special people who seem to be able to deal with the ebb and flow of life in a calm, unflustered manner. They do take things seriously, but not too seriously. They are engaged, but not obsessed. They recognize problems, without allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by the problems. Such a person also has a steady and calming influence on others in the middle of sometimes chaotic and even threatening circumstances.

Jesus was like that. Jesus was alert, aware, empathic, and engaged. But at the same time, He was calm, reasoned, unflustered, and completely in control. He was a non-anxious presence surrounded by very anxious people.

I want that to be me. I want that to be you. I want that to be all of us. Our world today needs Christians who are able to approach these chaotic and uncertain times with calm confidence and with the absolute certainty that God is sovereign over the events going on around us, and that He is at work in the middle of all this accomplishing His Kingdom-building purposes. Then we need to realize that you and I are His instruments for accomplishing that. God does most of His work in this world through His people. That means that the work He is doing in the middle of all the chaos is being accomplished through His people on-mission with Him in this world.

How do we become non-anxious people living in the middle of a very anxious world? Deep discipleship. Jesus was that way and He wants to transform us to be that way too. Tomorrow we will think about one of the primary ways in which the Holy Spirit brings about this transformation in the lives of those who are engaged in deep discipleship.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Take personal responsibility

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “For each person will have to carry his own load.” Galatians 6:5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Take personal responsibility”

In my opinion, one of the glaring weaknesses in America today is a lack of personal responsibility. This weakness manifests itself in a multitude of ways, from apathy and indifference, to shirking our duties, to relying on others to do what we should be doing for ourselves, to a widespread sense of entitlement, and much more.

But perhaps the most common example of evading personal responsibility is in the area of excuse-making and blaming others. Christians do this too. Far too many Christians excuse their own shortcomings and failures and seek instead to shift the blame for their actions to other people and to circumstances. They claim that it is the other person’s fault that they lost their temper; or it was the other person’s actions that forced them to make the choice they made; or the other person this, and the other person that; these circumstances; that reason; et cetera, et cetera, “But it’s not my fault.”

I have mentioned before that one of my favorite inspirational books is “The Traveler’s Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success” by Andy Andrews. It’s all about assuming full personal responsibility for our own lives. The main character is a young man named David Ponder who is taken by God, in a dream, on a trip through time. At each stop in history, he encounters a historical figure who teaches him an important life-lesson.

At one stop David encounters President Harry Truman. What Truman teaches David is that “The buck stops here. I am personally responsible for my own life.” The ultimate shape of anyone’s life is largely determined by the choices they make. Therefore, the responsibility for your circumstances is yours. You are where you are in life largely because of the choices you have made.

David’s discussion with Harry Truman helped him realize that if he was going to succeed in life, he had to take full responsibility for his actions. The same is true for all of us. We have to own our past; accept responsibility for the present; and make good choices that will move us into the future.

Please don’t blame others. It’s your life; it’s your responsibility. We are each responsible for ourselves and for our choices. And the best, most helpful decision any of us can make, is to stay close to Jesus in deep discipleship. No other action we take will have a more profound positive impact on us and on those around us. As we have already learned in this series, your own life will be better and you will also be a blessing to everyone around you when you are walking closely with Jesus.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

No halfhearted measures from halfhearted Christians

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”

Our Bible verse for today: “When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame animal, is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” Malachi 1:8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “No halfhearted measures from halfhearted Christians”

In their introduction to the Old Testament book of Malachi, the editors of the Experiencing God Study Bible wrote, “Malachi, the priest and prophet, summoned the people from religious indifference and carelessness to a new respect, honor, and love for God expressed in obedience, a commitment to live by God’s standards, and an understanding that God still loved them.”

Malachi 1:8, which we read above, is an excellent illustration of how the average person in that day was practicing their faith – it was a careless and halfhearted effort at best. They were just going through the religious motions. They were going to the temple, lighting the candles, burning the incense, saying some prayers, and giving some tithes and offerings, but it was all with a bored sigh and a yawn. Malachi’s task was to wake them up, draw them out of their indifference, and bring them back to God in a committed and serious relationship.

I think large numbers of the Christian community in our nation today could also be described as careless, indifferent, and halfhearted in the practice of their faith. They go through the religious motions of faith, but not in a serious way. It certainly could not be described as “deep discipleship.”

However, I believe we live in morally perilous days and therefore it is essential for Christians to be securely tethered to sound doctrine and Biblical principles. Otherwise, they will be swept up in the cultural tide and carried along to wherever the culture takes them – believing and accepting whatever the culture tells them to believe and accept.

That being the case, I have decided to continue our study of deep discipleship through the month of October. More than anything, the Church needs strong Christians who know what they believe and why they believe it, and who are bold and courageous in their stand for Biblical values – Christians who are secure and confident in a deep and passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Even if others around us are not like that, you and I need to be.

I look forward to continuing this journey with you as we go deep with Jesus. God doesn’t want halfhearted measures from halfhearted Christians. He’s looking for serious discipleship from serious disciples.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville