Oak Hill Baptist Church

Feed your soul

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Feed your soul”

There can be no denying that we live in challenging times. That’s true for everyone, not just for Christians. We are a nation divided by deep political and social divisions; we have an economy that is struggling; crime is surging; the moral decline in our nation is significant and accelerating; and many people have lost faith in what should be our most trusted institutions.

While that’s all true for the population in general, for Christians the problem is magnified because we also have a God-given mandate to contend for and promote Biblical values in a society that is increasingly anti-Biblical and therefore anti-Christian. It’s a tough environment to live in and it can be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting.

As Christians we need spiritual healing and spiritual nurture, and then we need to help our unbelieving neighbors realize that spiritual healing is also what they need, and what our nation needs. Psalm 100:4-5 is one of many passages that describe what spiritual health looks and feels like – people who are able to give thanks, rejoice, praise, bless the Lord and others, take comfort in the truth that God is faithful and that His love endures forever, and doing so even when life is hard.

That is what we as Christians need to be experiencing in our own relationship with God, and it is what we need to show to the unbelieving world. That’s what will win people over – when they see us living with a sense of joy and celebration, with faithfulness and hope and trust in God – even in the midst of difficult circumstances all around us.

That sense of joy, thanksgiving, and faith is what we as Christians need to be known for, and cultivating that kind of spiritual health should be a major focus in our lives. For that reason, that will be the theme for our daily devotionals in September. We will spend the entire month thinking about how to feed our souls and cultivate a deep, rich, healthy relationship with God.

There’s an old song by the Christian music group “The News Boys” with a line that goes, “Show them what you got; make them wish that they were not; on the outside looking in.” Yes, that’s it precisely. Show them a faith that is so strong, so vital and dynamic, so fulfilling and attractive, that they want it too. You accomplish that by feeding your soul and keeping it healthy.

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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Feed your mind

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, what is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Feed your mind”

When it comes to effectively being the church on-mission with Jesus out in this crazy, mixed-up world that we live in, it’s essential that we be thinking clearly and well. How we think will ultimately determine how we speak and act, so our thinking has to be right. We cannot allow our thinking to be controlled by fear or doubt, or by anger, bitterness, or extreme thoughts.

In his great little book, “If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of The Boat” Pastor John Ortberg made the statement, “People are often astoundingly cavalier about the way they treat their minds.” He was writing about the truth that how we act is determined by how we think, and how we think is determined by what we feed our minds. But people are often very careless about taking care of the mind. We allow a lot of junk into it.

This is important because how you think creates your attitudes, shapes your emotions, and determines your behavior. Everything about you flows from your mind, and the condition of your mind is determined by what you put into it. Bad influences produce bad thoughts which produce bad behaviors. Positive influences produce positive thoughts which produce positive behaviors.

This brings us back to what we were discussing the other day regarding memorizing key verses of scripture that teach some aspect of being a spiritually mature Christian. Bring those scriptures to mind frequently so you can dwell on them, visualize them, and embed them deeply into your subconscious mind. Feed your mind on Biblical truth. Godly people are intentional about training and conditioning their minds to think in a way that will result in behaviors and outcomes that produce the kind of life God wants us to have. It all starts with how you think, and how you think is determined by what you put into your mind.

I encourage you to be careful and intentional about what you feed your mind. Choose influences that will help you to develop the perspectives and attitudes that will produce Biblical conduct.

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

Visualize it

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “Visualize it”

In order to effectively be the church out in the world, we need to visualize the kind of people God calls us to be in the Bible, and then see ourselves as those people. It’s a basic truth of human nature that over time we progressively become more and more like the image we hold of ourselves in our mind.

In his book, “Toughness Training for Life” Dr. James Loehr explains that this is a strategy commonly utilized by world class athletes to help them train for peak performance. It’s the training technique called “visualization”. It involves forming a picture in your mind of what it would look and feel like for you to be performing at your very best. Then you rehearse that scene over-and-over again, deeply embedding it into your subconscious mind. Then you train for that. You train yourself to perform at the level you have visualized. Visualization works just as well for average people like you and me. Here’s how to do it:

Select for yourself several Bible verses that are especially meaningful to you and which you would like to be true of you. For instance: Philippians 1:6 “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” Joshua 14:10-11 “Here I am today, eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.” Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear (or timidity), but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” Joshua 1:9 “Haven’t I commanded you; be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Select several of the verses that you find most helpful and inspiring; write them down and then memorize them, repeating them to yourself over-and-over again; visualize yourself living and acting in the way described in those verses; then, when you’re faced with a difficult situation, pause, remember your memory verses and ask yourself, “How would I act in this situation if I was at my best?” Then act that way.

Visualization is a helpful and effective strategy to achieve behavior modification and to progressively become the best, most godly person you can be. Visualize yourself acting the way you would if you were at your best, and then act that way.

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

Purpose and direction

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Purpose and direction”

In his book “Resilience: Hard-won wisdom for living a better life” former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens writes, “Resilience is distinct from mere survival, and more than mere endurance. Resilience is often endurance with direction. Where are you headed? Why are you going there?” What he means is that resilient people live with purpose. They live life large. They see it big and they approach it with eagerness and a strong sense of direction.

Joshua knew what his life was about. He knew where he was going and why he was going there. In Joshua 1:9 he was preparing to lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land. It was a big deal and there were lots of uncertainties associated with it. But God assured him that he could go forward into the future with courage and boldness because wherever he went, God would already be there waiting for him. God would go before him and prepare the way. He would be waiting for Joshua when he got there, and God would walk through the challenges with him, protecting him and providing for him. So, Joshua had no fear. He moved forward, did his part, and trusted God for the rest. He lived life large, with eagerness and gusto.

The same is true for us in these uncertain times that we live in. If we know who we are and what we are about, if we trust that God truly is sovereign and that He truly is good, then we can go forward into the future with confidence and courage. We do not need to fear what’s out there; we should not be defeatist about the future; and we should not have a bunker mentality that we need to shelter in place and shut out the world.

In your life you probably won’t have to lead an entire nation of wayward Jews to conquer a new land. I suspect your challenges will be something less than that. But the assurance of Joshua 1:9 applies to your life just as much as it did to Joshua’s. Whether your challenges are found on the job, or in the home, or in a ministry activity, God has gone before you into the future. He will be waiting for you when you arrive, and He will walk with you through whatever it is you have to deal with when you get there. And like Joshua, your goal is not just to get through it, not just to endure and survive, but to thrive.

Resilient people approach life with clear purpose and direction. They know what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, where they are going, and why they are going there. They live life large with optimism, hope, purpose, and direction. Let’s be those people.

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

It’s more than what you do, it’s who you are

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s more than what you do, it’s who you are”

When we resolve to simply be the church in the world, individually and collectively, it’s more than just a matter of doing certain things, it’s a matter of who we are. “Being the church” is just us being who we are and living how we live because of who we are.

We find a Biblical example of that in the person of Joshua. Joshua lived as a slave in Egypt. He experienced the escape and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. He was one of the spies sent to reconnoiter the Promised Land and he and Caleb were the only two who brought a good report and who encouraged the Israelites to trust the Lord and to go forward to occupy the land. Joshua then endured the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and during that time he served as Moses’ right-hand man.

At the death of Moses, Joshua was selected by God to be the new leader of the nation of Israel. He then spent the rest of his life leading them as they occupied and settled the Promised Land. He was a good, strong, confident man who faithfully served God and the people through long years of hardship and challenge, and he consistently grew stronger and better as a result of it.

Now in Joshua 24:15, as he is nearing the end of his life, we find Joshua challenging the nation of Israel to continue following the Lord after he is gone. If you read the rest of the passage, you will find that the people were inspired by Joshua’s example and they responded positively to his challenge.

Joshua is an example of a man of steel and velvet (as discussed in a previous devotional in this series.) He was a man of courage and conviction, but also kind, compassionate, and humble. Also, he didn’t just persevere through hard times – he didn’t just stick with it and keep going, instead, he lived and learned and grew and thrived. He faced his challenges with strong faith in the Lord and with a determination to live well and victoriously no matter what he encountered.

For Joshua, living like that was simply a way of being. It was just who he was as a man of God. The people saw that in him and were inspired by it, and we today continue to be inspired by his story when we read it in the Bible.

That kind of resilience is a virtue we develop when we resolve to face our challenges with faith and determination and to use them as an opportunity to grow stronger and better. Over time it simply becomes a way of being. The way you live then, will be more because of who you are rather than just what you 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

All hat, no cattle?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “All hat, no cattle?”

My friends from Texas understand the phrase, “All hat, no cattle.” Texas cowboys use it in reference to dudes from up north who move to Texas, buy an expensive pair of boots, jeans, a fancy cowboy shirt, and a big cowboy hat, and then strut around like they’re now a real cowboy. But in reality, the guy doesn’t live on a ranch, he owns no cattle, and he doesn’t know which end of the horse to pet. The locals scoff and say, “He’s all hat, no cattle.”

Sadly, many Christians are also all hat and no cattle. They talk a good game but don’t actually do much. Especially when it comes to effectively engaging with the unbelieving world for the cause of Christ. For instance, we love to talk about evangelism, and we agree that everyone needs Jesus, but it’s a small percentage of Christians who regularly share their faith with others.

Likewise, most of us talk about how important it is for Christians to be engaged in the important issues of the day but to a large extent, it’s just talk. Many people complain about problems in the schools, but they never go to a school board meeting to contribute comments about school policy. Or, how many attend city council meetings to give voice to public policy initiatives? Fewer still have a discussion with an advocate for the Gay and Lesbian Agenda, genuinely listening to the other person’s perspective and sharing theirs with them.

It’s an easy (and safe) thing for us to hunker down in our little Baptist forts (churches) and talk to each other about all the woes of the world and all that should be done about it. But it’s something else again to go out and actually do something constructive about it. And again, as we have been learning in previous devotionals, the key word in that last sentence is “constructive,” as in “helpful.” Anyone can carry a sign and shout angry slogans. It takes an informed and confident follower of Christ to engage in meaningful dialogue with those who have different perspectives. Anyone can be critical of government leaders, but it takes a patient and thoughtful person to work with elected officials to help craft policies and legislation to bring about needed changes.

In recent days we have considered what it would look like for bold and confident Christians to be strong and resilient while also being reasoned and magnanimous – the proverbial man or woman of “steel and velvet” discussed in a previous devotional. We need Christians like that.

If we are to be more than just Christian poseurs and not “all hat and no cattle;” if we really do believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer and that we as Christians have the Good News that the world needs to hear; then let’s resolve to actually be the church in our world today.

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

Be strong and resilient

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “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 (CSB)

Our thought fore today: “Be strong and resilient”

As we continue to consider what it means for the church to be the church in a society that is increasingly resistant to Christianity, the fact is that we will have to be strong and resilient. Not mean; not angry; not violent; but strong, tough, determined, and especially resilient.

The attribute of resilience is a close cousin to the attribute of perseverance. And yet, it’s more than that. To persevere in something means to persist without giving up. It means that you lean into it and push through the issue or situation and you keep at it until you’ve achieved the objective. It has a lot to do with striving and enduring, and it’s an admirable quality for a person to have. In fact, it’s Biblical.

Resilience, however, is more than merely sticking with something and not giving up. It is that, but it’s also more. Resilient people have the ability to thrive and grow as they persevere. A resilient person does lean into hardship and keeps pressing forward without giving up, but that person also learns and grows and becomes stronger, tougher, and better as a result of the experience. A resilient person has the ability to recover quickly from difficulty and setbacks.

Synonyms for resilience include words like flexibility, pliability, adaptability, and rebounding. Interestingly, when used to describe a person, “Rodale’s Synonym Finder” also includes descriptive terms like buoyant, irrepressible, jaunty, lighthearted, and cheerful. (This is sounding a lot like victory in Jesus). Our goal as Christians is not to just deal with tough times and difficult situations, but to thrive as we do so.

As Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6, God is in the process of developing us into the persons He wants us to be, and into the church He wants us to be. We aren’t supposed to simply endure situations, we’re to thrive as we handle them. We are to be strong and resilient people.

Now, combine that understanding with what we have learned in recent days about the attribute of being magnanimous, and I believe that kind of a Christian is one that can make a powerful impact in their world. People notice and are impressed by someone like that. Now imagine an entire church like that, an entire Christian community of people who are strong, determined, confident, magnanimous, and resilient. That’s a powerful force for good in the world and that is who we can be and should be in Christ. It is who Jesus enables us to be.

Yes, we live in a difficult world. But Jesus has overcome the world. And in Him, so can we. So, be confident, be strong, be resilient, be magnanimous.

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

This is what it looks like

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” Numbers 12:3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “This is what it looks like”

This morning I want us to revisit the concept of being magnanimous in manner and conduct, and we will consider a few examples of what that looks like in actual practice. As a reminder, the magnanimous person has a greatness of soul. They are honorable, kind, compassionate, generous, not easily offended, eager to forgive, confident, and noble in bearing. The magnanimous person is merciful, big-hearted, patient, dignified, charitable, fair, and just.

Moses was a magnanimous man. On the one hand, he was the greatest leader the nation of Israel ever had. He boldly confronted the Pharoah; he was the instrument God used to bring terrible plagues of punishment upon the Egyptian people; he courageously led the entire nation out of captivity and then for forty years of nomadic living in the wilderness. He was strong, decisive, uncompromising, and brave. But Numbers 12:3 says he was also the humblest man on earth. The Amplified Bible translates that verse this way: “Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.”

Likewise, Abraham Lincoln was known for his courage and boldness, but also for his kindness and humility. Ronald Reagan was famous and much-loved for the same reason. A key to Billy Graham’s greatness was his firm and uncompromising presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ – presented boldly and without apology, but he was also loved and admired for his kindness, warmth, and his great sense of humility. Corrie Ten Boom, Elizabeth Elliot, and Joni Eareckson Tada are just a few women who were also courageous in heart and magnanimous in nature.

All of that reminds me of the concept developed by author Aubry Andelin in his great little book “Man of Steel and Velvet.” A person made of steel and velvet has an inner core that is as strong and unyielding as steel. It consists of qualities like uncompromising integrity, honesty, courage, and conviction. But the inner core of steel is wrapped in an outer covering of velvet. The person is kind and compassionate, warm and friendly, quick to show love and to extend mercy and grace. It is steel wrapped in velvet.

This is what the magnanimous Christian looks like. Out there in the world on-mission with Jesus Christ; actively engaging the world in social issues, politics, community activities, and humanitarian efforts; contending for Biblical values; sharing the Good News of the Gospel; but doing it all with a magnanimous spirit that radiates a winsome resemblance to our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, now that we know what it looks like, let’s go out there and do it. Let’s be that magnanimous person as we engage our world and contend for Biblical truth.

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

Be magnanimous

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “Let your graciousness be known to everyone.” Philippians 4:5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be magnanimous”

I love the word magnanimous. It’s such a big word, such a rich word. And it describes such a greatness of soul. Magnanimity is the virtue of being great in mind and heart. Synonyms include forgiving, merciful, big-hearted, patient, long-suffering, self-sacrificing, noble-minded, dignified, charitable, unselfish, fair, and just. Interestingly, Rodale’s Synonym Finder also lists “Christian” as one of the synonyms for magnanimous. Presumably, the follower of Christ is expected to be magnanimous – all the features and virtues just described above.

The Bible is packed full of examples of magnanimous individuals behaving in magnanimous ways. Abraham was certainly magnanimous in his dealings with his nephew Lot in the early chapters of Genesis. Joseph demonstrated a magnanimous spirit in dealing with his brothers in Genesis 45. Jesus modeled magnanimity for us, and the Apostle Paul wrote about it in Philippians 4:5. I love the way the Amplified Bible captures the full flavor and meaning of Paul’s words: “Let your gentle spirit (your graciousness, unselfishness, mercy, tolerance, and patience) be known to all people. The Lord is near.”

We are going to spend most of the rest of this month thinking about how it is that if we are going to venture out into this sinful, angry, and combative world that we live in and contend for Biblical principles in the public sector, we will have to be strong and we will have to be resilient. Strength and resilience will be two indispensable qualities that we will have to have. But before we get to that, it’s imperative for us to remember what we learned in a previous devotional that it’s not just a matter of what we say, but how we say it. We can be bold, confident, and uncompromising without being loud, angry, and mean. We can be assertive and engaged while being magnanimous and gracious at the same time.

Tomorrow, I will offer you some examples of individuals who have trained themselves to be both bold and engaged but also magnanimous and gracious. It is possible to be both ways at the same time.

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

One foot in each world

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Be the church”

Our Bible verse for today: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.” Act 2:42-43

Our thought for today: “One foot in each world”

I have mentioned before the name of Eugene Peterson and how I consider him to be a mentor of mine. Eugene was a pastor and the author of many fine Christian books, but he was also a pastor to pastors – in his later years he devoted much of his time and attention to mentoring younger pastors. And although I only met him once, I have learned much from his writings and he has had a huge impact on my life and on my ministry.

One of Peterson’s best books (in my opinion) is “The Contemplative Pastor.” The book is essentially a “how to” manual for the pastor who truly wants to be a spiritual leader, as opposed to just the CEO of a religious organization, or the chief marketing officer in charge of peddling religious services to religious consumers, or a celebrity personality.

In one section Peterson was writing about how it is that when the church is gathered, we often waste much of our time on silly, meaningless things that make little real difference spiritually. Our conversations often center on things like sporting events, or politics, or shared hobbies, or upcoming social activities, or which restaurant we will all go to for lunch after church. He writes:

“With the vastness of the heavenly invasion and the urgency of the faith decision rolling into our consciousness like thunder and lightning, we cannot stand around on Sunday morning filling the time with pretentious small talk on how bad the world is and how wonderful this new stewardship campaign is going to be.”

Peterson further explains that if we’re doing it right, as Christians we live every moment of every day straddling the boundary between the physical realm and the spiritual realm. We have one foot in each world. We live in the physical realm, but we enter into the spiritual realm through prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, service, and experience. That should be the normal life experience of any serious Christian. One foot in both worlds. And that should be even truer when the church is gathered. The spiritual dynamic should be electric and powerful as we all bring our individual deep and rich spiritual experiences and share them with each other.

That will be the case if our minds and hearts are focused on the spiritual and not on the physical. It will be true if we are consciously and intentionally aware of and focused on both worlds at the same time.

All this month we are thinking about what it means to “be the church.” As Eugene Peterson taught, on Sunday let’s focus on what it means to “be the church gathered” – each of us and all of us with one foot in each world, experiencing both at the same time, and sharing that experience with each other.

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