| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Ezra 7:10 (CSB) Our thought for today: “There is always a remnant, and there is always hope” I have a note I have kept in my Bible for years. I came across this statement in the editorial notes of a study Bible a long time ago. It inspired me in that moment and has continued to do so ever since. It reads, “Ezra applied himself to studying the Word of God and he had a great burden to teach God’s Word to the small packets of discouraged Hebrews who had returned to Judah.” Ezra was a priest and a preacher. He was a leader of the people and he was a teacher of the Word of God. But he had a tough task. The exiles who had returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon were small in number, they were discouraged, and they were therefore struggling greatly. Here’s the way the introduction to the book Ezra reads in the Experiencing God Study Bible: “Israel looked for identity and hope as they struggled with worship without meaning, daily living without focus, and a nation without identity … Ezra called God’s people to find meaning and hope in renewed worship, dedication to obey God’s commandments, and separation from pagan influences.” Perhaps you can see the contemporary application for Christians living in our nation today? Many Christians feel small and isolated. Many are confused and struggling. “Worship without meaning … daily living without focus … a nation without identity …” But there is hope. The truth is that God always has a faithful remnant and there is always hope – it was true for the Israelites in Ezra’s day and it is true for us in our nation today. In churches all across this land God has blessed His people with many modern-day Ezra’s who are committed to faithfully teaching God’s Word to God’s people. And all across this land there are multiple millions of Christians gathered in local churches every week worshiping, learning, growing, and renewing their commitments to living faithfully for the Lord in the midst of a lost and hostile culture. The key for each of us is to be there. Show up. Support your church, your pastor, and your teachers by being there, listening, learning, growing. All is not lost. God has a faithful remnant in America too and there is still hope. I encourage you to be in church tomorrow. 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
Do you want what they have?
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost! Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods. Pay attention and come to me; listen, so that you will live.” Isaiah 55:1-3 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Do you want what they have?” Do you know Christians who seem to have a deeper and more intimate relationship with God than you do? I’m referring to Christians who radiate peace and confidence and strong faith. Men and women who are calm, content, joyful, and who serve the Lord well. Maybe you have read about such people. I have on my bookshelf a set of thirty-two biographies of famous missionaries. I’ve read them all and have found that people like that have a deep and vital relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and it is observable. I’m grateful for examples like that. They inspire and motivate me. How does someone develop that kind of relationship with the Lord? I believe Isaiah 55:1-3 gives us a clue. Through Isaiah the Lord used images such as water, milk, food, and money to create a spiritual metaphor. Food and drink are things our body needs, and we need money to purchase them. Well, just as our body needs to be properly nourished so does our soul. But when it comes to obtaining that spiritual nourishment, we don’t have to purchase it. God gives it to us freely. All we have to do is come to Him and receive it. In this passage there are four key words: come, listen, buy, and eat. Remember, this is a spiritual metaphor. Come to the Lord; listen to Him; buy (the currency exchanged is love and trust, not money), and eat (consume). This is how we receive the spiritual nourishment we need moment-by-moment and day-by-day. And if we do this routinely, as a matter of discipline and habit, we are engaged in lifelong learning and spiritual growth. Those Christians mentioned earlier – the ones who seem to have a depth to their relationship with God that is beyond what is common – this is how they became that way. They come to the Lord and spend lots of time with Him; they listen to Him in all the different ways we learned about last month in our segment on “Hearing God;” they bring Him their love and trust, thereby being receptive to receiving what He has for them; and then they eat, they consume and internalize what God has given them. If we want that kind of relationship with God – if we want to be like those Christians who have learned to live at a deeper spiritual level, we will have to commit ourselves to that kind of discipleship. If we want what they have, we will have to do what they do. The reason God gives us examples like that is to motivate and inspire us to live in like manner. 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
You can choose how you live
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “All share a common destiny – the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.” Ecclesiastes 9:2-3 (NIV) Our thought for today: “You can choose how you live” Ecclesiastes 9:2-3 is such a negative and depressing passage, isn’t it? Everybody dies. Death is evil and we’re all going to experience it – so says the wisest man who ever lived (Solomon). Negative. Depressing. Hopeless. Or is it? If you read the entire book of Ecclesiastes, and you consider this verse in the context of the message of the entire book, then you realize that this verse, and all the others like it, are used by the writer as a strawman. He is setting the strawman up just so he can, in the end, knock him down. Here’s the conclusion of the matter as written in chapter 12:13-14: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” What’s the lesson of Ecclesiastes? For much of it the message seems to be “You’re going to die anyway, so what’s the point?” Unless Jesus comes back first, some day you are going to die. And in most of our cases we cannot control when or how we are going to die. It will happen in God’s way and in God’s time but be assured, some day you are going to die. However, until then, you are going to live. And although you may not be able to choose when or how you die, you can choose how you live. And that brings us back to the examples I have cited in recent devotionals about older Christians who have been lifelong learners and who have aged well by staying curious and adventurous and active. The woman who wrote a book for children at the age of eighty-eight; my friend who got remarried at ninety and then at ninety-three took his new bride to go parasailing in Hawaii; my friend in his sixties who is so full of life that his enthusiasm for life and the joy he gets from it radiates from his face; my wise friend, pastor, and mentor Oren Teel; and so many others. Their examples are inspiring. The truth is that although you may not be able to choose how you die, you can choose how you live. I encourage you to live well. 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
Let your light shine
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:4-5 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Let your light shine” This morning we will continue our thinking about how it is that a commitment to lifelong learning brings out the best in us as we age. Learning about God and His ways is the most important aspect of lifelong learning, but the concept of lifelong learning extends to all of life. We should be curious, inquisitive, interested, and adventurous regarding all of life. What an amazing creation our Lord has given us to experience and enjoy! Last week I was at a meeting of local pastors and a pastor friend of mine and I were talking about a mutual friend who is ninety-three. He got remarried just a few years ago and last year he and his new bride took a trip to Hawaii and went parasailing. Yes, you read that right, parasailing in Hawaii at ninety-three. Our friend is spry, full of life, and milking every moment of life for all it is worth. He is also a lifelong learner who has been fully engaged in his church his entire life, and he has always been committed to learning and growing – even still at ninety-three. I have another friend who is in his sixties and who has already lived a full and adventurous life. But he too is a lifelong learner who remains inquisitive, interested, adventurous, and active. So much so that his love of life is infectious and his face literally radiates with enthusiasm and joy. John 1:4-5 is about Jesus. He is life and light. But by extension the verse is also about us as Christians. If Jesus is life and light, and if His Spirit lives in us, then we should radiate with His life and light. It should show forth in our lives. So that then begs the question, “What was Jesus like?” and “In what ways did His life and light shine forth in the world?” Was Jesus reserved and withdrawn? Was he a couch-potato hibernating in His house binge-watching Netflix? Did He retire from His profession and from the practice of His faith and from life in general, and fritter away His days sleeping late, puttering in the garden, and playing golf? No. Jesus was on-mission in the world, fully alive, fully engaged, embracing life, and enjoying it. And that’s how we should be too. The life and light of Jesus are alive and well in each of us. But does it show? Are we living like it? Are people inspired and encouraged by how you live your life? I encourage all of us to let our lights shine. Explore, investigate, experience, learn, serve. If the life and light of Jesus is alive and well in us then let’s live like 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
Show some respect and learn
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” Job 12:12 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Show some respect and learn” Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.” So said Moses in Leviticus 19:32. It is also what Job meant in Job 12:12 and it is advice we would all do well to heed today. If a Christian has been a lifelong learner, and if he or she has therefore aged well, that person is wise in the ways of God and we should listen to them. They will be like that sweet eighty-eight-year-old sister mentioned in yesterday’s devotional who at the age of eighty-eight published a book for children about becoming lifelong learners. She herself, even at an advanced age, was still active, curious, inquisitive, and learning. We can and should learn from people like her. Increasingly in our day the wisdom of the aged is not respected. That’s especially true among younger people who are way too sure of themselves – to the point of being dogmatic and rigid. I remember the time when I had recently retired from the Navy and was learning how to be a pastor. I was serving as the associate pastor at our church and I was very much still the hard-charging Naval Officer turned minister who was going to change the world for Jesus. I was so sure of myself and so strong in my opinions! However, my Pastor, Oren Teel, was more than twenty years older than me, much wiser, and much more relaxed about things. I can’t count the number of times I was in his office trying to help him see why the color of the new carpet needed to be green instead of brown, or why we needed to sing more praise songs and fewer hymns, or any number of other important issues that he just didn’t seem to be getting. He would just smile and urge me not to make such a big deal out of things that didn’t really matter very much. (Oren was rock-solid in his doctrine but much more relaxed about secondary issues.) It was so frustrating to me! Little did I realize that I was arguing with a future version of myself and that as he was then, I was one day going to be. The lesson Oren was modeling for me and teaching me was that we should always, at all stages of life, be a little less dogmatic about secondary issues, less insistent about things that are more a matter of opinion and preference rather than a matter of faith, and realize that over time our perspective on such things may very well change as we continue to learn and grow. Therefore, we need to treat each other with grace and humility as we make this journey through life together, being less insistent about having things our own way and being much more gracious with each other. That was an important life lesson that I needed to learn, and I learned it from a wiser older man who was a lifelong learner and who had aged well. I think I’m a better man today for being more like he was then instead of how I was then. In our Bible passages today Moses and Job were both essentially saying, “Show some respect and learn.” 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
Lifelong learning makes us strong
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is in the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water. It sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Lifelong learning makes us strong” I recently read a story about a wonderful Christian lady who at the age of eighty-eight published a book for Children. The book was about her own lifelong quest for learning and it encouraged the children to always be curious and inquisitive and to never stop learning. She even told them that at eighty-eight she was still learning every day. In Jeremiah 17:7-8 (above) the prophet paints a picture of a man or woman of God who is faithful to practice the basic disciplines of the faith, day-in and day-out, and who therefore is like that tree planted by a river. It is a mighty tree with roots that run deep and spread out far, making the tree strong, sturdy, and durable. Then, when the wind blows and the storms rage, the tree stands strong. When a drought comes and there is no refreshment or nourishment on the surface, the deep roots draw on deep sources of water and therefore the tree remains green and healthy when everything else on the surface is wilting, turning brown, and dying. That kind of deep spiritual growth does not happen quickly. Those deep roots, that kind of spiritual depth, develops slowly over years, and it happens as the man or woman of God quietly and faithfully applies him or herself to the practice of the faith day-in and day-out. This is what author Eugene Peterson once referred to as “a long obedience in the same direction.” Every day you pray, read your Bible, listen to Christian music, read Christian books, and associate with other Christians – and your roots grow a little deeper. When the church family meets for worship, study, prayer, fellowship, or acts of service, you are there, participating – and your roots grow deeper. Lifelong learning facilitates lifelong growing – and your roots grow deeper. How do we get and stay spiritually strong? With a commitment to lifelong learning. That dear lady was eighty-eight and still enthusiastic, still curious, still inquisitive and learning – and also still teaching others. I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired. I would like to know her, and I would like to be like her. How about you? 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
We need strong men in tough times
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship – the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15 (CSB) Our thought for today: “We need strong men in tough times” Happy Father’s Day! This is a shout-out to all my brothers who are out there being strong and courageous men of God in a culture that is resistant and even hostile to Biblical values. I am writing to those who are fathers, yes, but this is also to those who serve as father-figures and to those who are simply doing the hard work to boldly take a stand for righteousness in the middle of crazy a culture that is spinning out of control. These are tough times and we need strong men of God who will stand their ground without compromise (see yesterday’s devotional.) Joshua was one of those strong, courageous, and bold men of God in his own day. He is a picture of Biblical manhood and he serves as a model for all men of God down through the ages. Joshua was the proverbial “Man of steel and velvet” described so well by author Audrey Andelin in his classic book about Biblical manhood by that same title. Such a man has a core of steel – it is a core formed by Biblical ethics. It is made of honesty, integrity, courage, and uncompromising virtue, and from which he will not deviate. But that core of steel is wrapped in an outer covering of velvet. He is kind, compassionate, merciful, generous, and friendly. He is a man who easily shows love and who is unashamed to speak of his faith, practice his faith, and live his faith, even when doing so is not easy and might even be opposed by the culture. Joshua is a model of Biblical manhood and that being the case, he will be our example this Father’s Day at Oak Hill Baptist Church. I will be preaching from Joshua 24:14-15 and we will use that passage to help us explore the characteristics of Biblical manhood and the impact such a man can have in our homes, in our churches, and in our society. I invite you to join us, in-person if you can, or online otherwise. These are tough times and we need strong men of God to stand for Biblical truth. A commitment to lifelong learning and to developing and maintaining a solid Biblical worldview are the keys to being a strong man in tough 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
Are you strong enough to stand your ground?
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Are you strong enough to stand your ground?” Are you strong enough to stand your ground? Don’t be too quick to answer that. Standing your ground in the face of intense pressure from the culture is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes it’s even costly. You might be “cancelled;” might be ridiculed; you might be ostracized; you might be trolled, shouted down, beat up, fired, or maybe even arrested. So, are you strong enough to stand your ground when it comes to maintaining and advocating for a Biblical worldview when the culture all around us is becoming increasingly antibiblical. Not just unbiblical, but antibiblical. Sexual ethics is the most obvious case-in-point. God’s model of human sexuality and His standards for acceptable sexual conduct are clearly articulated in the Bible. Those standards have been understood, accepted, and practiced by cultures around the world for thousands of years. The meaning of those standards, as written in the original Biblical languages, have been agreed upon by the best Hebrew and Greek scholars across cultures and generations for thousands of years. But despite that, not only has the non-Christian culture become increasingly antibiblical in terms of sexual ethics and practices, but many Christians have as well. There are many Christians today who, despite what the Bible clearly teaches on this subject, have become sadly progressive in their views on homosexuality, same-sex marriage, gender fluidity, gay clergy, and more. How can that be? How can those Christians read what God clearly has to say on the issue of sexuality and still somehow justify their unbiblical positions? The answer is that they are giving in to the cultural pressure. They are not standing their ground Biblically and so they simply go along in order to get along. A few years ago, I wrote and published a book on this subject. The title is “Getting Along without Going Along: Biblical Sexual Ethics in An Age of Controversy and Conflict.” The object was to equip Christians to live effectively in our very confused, mixed-up, and hostile culture while standing our ground regarding Biblical sexual ethics. It is my contribution to the lifelong learning process that helps to enable Christians to be strong and to take a Biblical stand on the issue of sexual ethics. If you don’t have a copy of that book but would like one, let me know and I will be happy to send you one. Are you strong enough to stand your ground? Often it isn’t easy to do so, but lifelong learning of Biblical truth helps to make us strong. 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
Develop and maintain a Biblical worldview
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Develop and maintain a Biblical worldview” This morning we will continue thinking about our subject from yesterday about being lifelong learners by being diligent students of the Bible. As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, the truths in the Bible are timeless and they apply to all people, in all places, at all times. The Bible is the eternal, timeless, Word of God and it doesn’t change according to the whims of the culture. The Bible provides us with God’s standards, and they are the standards by which everything else is compared, and by which every competing truth claim is evaluated. A “worldview” is the sum total of our attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and values. It determines how we see, understand, and evaluate the world around us. It is then expressed in terms of ethics, politics, religion, and personal decision-making. When you encounter a situation and conclude “That is just wrong” it is your worldview that led you to that conclusion. Worldviews are commonly based upon religious beliefs, cultural norms, or a combination of both. As Christians our worldview should be based on the Bible. Everything we see and hear in the world around us should be compared to, evaluated, and understood based upon how it compares to God’s standards as expressed in the Bible. Every truth claim the culture promotes should be laid alongside the Bible and then agreed with or opposed by us based upon whether or not it conforms to the standard of truth given to us by God. I think you can see the problem for us. The culture is out of synch with the Bible – dramatically so. And so, the question for us is whether we will take our stand on the eternal truths of God’s Word, or if we will give in to the cultural pressures and just go along so we can get along. The Apostle Paul gives us the answer to that dilemma in Romans 12:2: Do not conform. Do not go along. Look to the Bible, discern God’s will, and stand for the truth. It is the lifelong learning acquired as diligent students of the Bible that helps us to develop and maintain that Biblical worldview. I don’t mean to suggest that just because a Biblical worldview is right that it is also easy. It’s not easy. You know that. It has never been easy. In the 2000 years of Christian history the people of God have always found themselves out of synch with the worldview of the cultures around them. Tomorrow we will continue this discussion by applying the Biblical worldview to some of the most contentious hot-button issues of our day. We will see how a commitment to lifelong learning of Biblical truths provides us with the courage and boldness we need to take our stand in the face of intense cultural pressures. 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
Is the Bible your business too?
| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lifelong learning” Our Bible verse for today: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edge sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) Our thought for today: “The Bible is my business” I once heard an old preacher say, “The Bible is my business.” What he meant was that since preaching and teaching the Word of God was his profession, everything he said and did, everything he preached and taught, had to be based in and grow out of the Bible. That being the case, he had to know the Bible extremely well and he never stopped studying it. The Bible was his business. That should be true for all of us. The Bible should be our business. You don’t have to be a professional minister to be a lifelong student of the Word of God. And the amazing thing about the Bible is that none of us will ever learn all it has to teach us. No matter how much you have learned, there is always something more, something new waiting to be discovered. This is why we must be lifelong learners. We will never know it all. God always has more for us. As Hebrews 4:12 says, the word of God is alive and active. Every time we read it the Holy Spirit brings the word alive in new and fresh ways – it speaks to us in personal ways, penetrating to the soul. This is what author Jim Peterson meant when he wrote, “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 in living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.” You may not be in professional ministry; you may not have the privilege of spending entire days exploring the Bible, writing about it, teaching it, and preaching it; but that doesn’t matter. The Bible should be your business too. It is the primary way in which God speaks to us and therefore we should all have the habit of exploring its depths every day. God will always have something new to show you, something more to say to you. Also, because the word of God is alive, and because it applies to all people, in all places, at all times, that means the Bible has something to say about the issues of the day (regardless of the age of history you live in). The Bible is our guide for living; therefore, we need to be looking to the Bible for contemporary guidance every day. This is what it means to have a Biblical worldview and we will think more about that tomorrow. 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) |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you requested to be included in the Daily Devotional email reader group. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |