Oak Hill Baptist Church

In the end it will be the people that mattered

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 2 Timothy 4:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “In the end it will be the people that matter”

One of the books I’m reading right now is “An Unhurried Life” by Alan Fadling. Yesterday I came to a passage where Alan wrote about how it is that at the end of life, during deathbed conversations, people seldom talk about accomplishments, possessions, trophies, or things like that. Almost always our final thoughts and words are about the people we loved and who mattered most to us. That caused me to think about my father.

For the last year of my father’s life, he and my mother lived with me and my family in our home in California. He died in his bed in my home with my mother, my wife, and myself sitting by his bedside as he breathed his last breath. The evening before he died, knowing he was about to die, he shared some final thoughts. He thanked me for bringing him and my mom into our home and caring for him as he died, and he asked me to continue caring for my mom (she lived another ten years). He also talked about his love for my mother, and for his six children, sixteen grandchildren, and (at that time) one great-grandchild.

As he lay there dying what mattered most to him was his family. That’s what he cared about and that’s what he wanted to talk about. In the end, it was the people that mattered. In the end, it’s always the people that matter. It won’t be the professional achievements, the houses, cars, money, or trophies. It will be the people. And if you are fortunate enough to have deathbed conversations before you die, I’ll bet that’s what you will talk about too.

But in order to have those fond memories and those warm feelings of love then, we have to be cultivating and enjoying those relationships now. In the end, will your thoughts be warm memories of good times together, or regrets over missed opportunities? I encourage you to spend time with people now, while you can, because in the end you will realize that more than anything else, it was the people in life who mattered the most.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

It’s the best day of the week

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!” Psalm 133:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s the best day of the week”

On Fridays my thoughts always turn to Sunday. Sunday is the best day of the week because it’s the day when our church family is all together, gathered in one place, rejoicing, praising, and enjoying each other’s company. It’s a time of loving, laughing, hugging, and lifting up and encouraging one another. It’s also a time of spiritual nurture and renewal – and it’s a refuge and respite from the storms of life.

Sunday fellowship reminds me of my favorite scene from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I know I have shared this with you before but it’s a scene I love and one which I think of frequently. In fact, I have it written down on a notecard and I use it as a bookmark. Frodo and his friends were in the middle of a difficult and dangerous journey. But at one point they came to the fortress of an elf king, a good friend who offered refuge and rest, and this is what they experienced:

“The future, for good or for ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.”

For me, Sunday is like that. It’s the best day of the week. Now, not all pastors can make that claim. For many, Sunday is the hardest day of the week. It’s the day they have to contend with fussy, critical, complaining members. It’s the day they have to settle disputes, smooth ruffled feathers, and coddle grumpy old men. But that’s not how church is supposed to be. Sunday is not a time to be fussy, critical, and complaining. There shouldn’t be disputes and ruffled feathers and grumpy old men. Instead, there should be peace and joy and harmony. Like the psalmist said, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!”

Today is Friday, but Sunday is coming, and I’m looking forward to it! I hope you are too – it’s the best day of the week!

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Let’s get our tactics right

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. But do this with gentleness and respect …” 1 Peter 3:15-16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Let’s get our tactics right”

Recently I was given a copy of the book “Choose Life: Answering Key Claims of Abortion Defenders with Compassion.” It was given to me as a gift from the father of the author. Dr. John Goodrich is a professor of the Bible at Moody Bible Institute. His uncle is a friend of mine and a member of our church. His father has visited our church on several occasions.

The book is a compilation of twenty essays written by medical, legal, and academic professionals from across the spectrum of the pro-life movement. The essays provide Christians with well-researched facts which can then be offered in a bold, but also calm and reasoned manner in discussions with those who promote the pro-choice side of the debate. Goodrich writes, “Christians must embody not only the boldness but the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must engage, but do so peaceably (Rom. 12:18). We must speak the truth, but do so in love (Eph. 4:15). We must bear with the assaults of our critics, but do so with “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, and patience” (Col. 3:12).”

To highlight the effectiveness of this approach, one essay notes that in the early years after the Roe v Wade decision made abortion legal nationwide, Christian pro-life demonstrators were often angry and sometimes violent. It was not uncommon to see crowds of demonstrators outside abortion clinics chanting, yelling, and intimidating women as they approached the clinic seeking an abortion. Some abortion clinics were firebombed. Several abortion providers were assassinated. For the most part, all those tactics did was scare people and make pro-lifers appear to be extreme and dangerous fanatics. And during those years the abortion rates in the USA skyrocketed. The tactic was largely ineffective in stopping abortions.

But then the pro-life movement changed tactics. Instead of angry and violent protests, the emphasis shifted to pregnancy care centers where pregnant women were treated with kindness, love, and respect. They were offered counseling, ultrasounds, information about adoption, resources for pregnancy care, financial aid, and much more. The feel and tone were totally different – and much more effective! Soon the abortion rate in the USA began to fall (and has continued to fall ever since). The more the pro-life movement practiced kindness instead of angry confrontation, the more people were willing to listen to us, and the more effective our efforts became.

There’s an important lesson in that. Almost always, kindness, compassion, and grace are what’s called for. That’s the way of Jesus. Although all of us have our moments when we may momentarily lose our temper, angry confrontation as a strategy is rarely if ever the right answer. As James reminds us, “My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” James 1:19-20

Let’s get our tactics right. Let’s be bold but also respectful, compassionate, and kind.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are near-by or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Like a spiritual oak tree

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “And they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Like a spiritual oak tree”

This morning I want to take us back to our discussion from yesterday regarding “Wherever you go, find the Christians”. We need to surround ourselves with other Christians because it’s only within the environment of good Christian community that we can truly grow strong in the Spirit. In order to illustrate that, let me take us to Isaiah 61:3 as it is rendered for us in the Amplified Bible. The Amplified Bible is a translation that uses all the English words needed in order to capture the full meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek:

“So they will be called the (oak) trees of righteousness (strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God), the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

The prophet was describing what it would be like when people were living in right relationship with God and with others. He said they would be like mighty oak trees, strong and magnificent. They will be noted for integrity, justice, and right standing with God. He was writing about people who were once broken and in need of grace, but who become whole and strong and deep over time – like strong spiritual oak trees.

In his book, “An Unhurried Life” author Alan Fadling explains Isaiah’s metaphor in this way: “Oaks take a long time to grow. A newly planted acorn can take two and three decades to provide significant shade, and these slow-growing oaks can live more than two hundred years. One reason for their longevity is the taproot they send deep into the earth that makes them very drought-resistant. Oaks are indeed solid, stable, reliable, majestic trees – but it takes them a while to get there.”

We need to take this same long view of our Christian growth. Spiritually, we can and should become like the solid, stable, reliable, majestic oak – with a taproot that runs deep and which keeps our soul nourished and strong. We get that way by settling into a consistent practice of the Christian faith that includes all the basic daily spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible study, as well as regular fellowship with other Christians. Full ongoing involvement for years and years in the life of a good church is critical for our spiritual growth.

We all can and should be in the process of becoming spiritual oak trees. But it will only happen if you are well-planted in a good church, settling in and staying put, as your roots go deeper and deeper. Let’s all strive to be spiritual oaks.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are close-by or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossiville)

Wherever you go, find the Christians

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “After one day a south wind sprang up, and the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found brothers and sisters and were invited to stay a week with them.” Acts 28:13-14 (CSB)

Our thought for this month: “Wherever you go, find the Christians”

For many years now I have had a ministry in the jails and prisons here in this part of Tennessee. I visit with men who are incarcerated and usually facing an extended time behind bars. Most of them have spent years addicted to drugs, and their crimes are related to life in the drug world. Without question, they are all despondent over the prospect of now spending years of their lives locked up (and rightly so – life in prison is not pleasant).

My primary objective during those visits is to help the man see that he needs Jesus. Life with Jesus is always better than life without Jesus, and that’s true whether that life is lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills or a shack in Africa; as a free man in Crossville, TN or as an incarcerated man in a state prison. So, the objective is always to bring him to faith in Christ. Then the goal shifts to helping the man grow in his relationship with the Lord. I try to get him to understand that since he is going to spend those years behind bars anyway, he might as well use them in a way that will make him a better man and prepare him to live a good life once he is released. Becoming a strong Christian is the thing he can do that will help him beyond all else.

Along those lines, I always encourage the man to seek out other Christians in the jail or prison and to spend all his time with them. I tell him, “Surround yourself with other Christians. Eat with them, workout with them, watch television with them. Go to every worship service, prayer meeting, and Bible study. There is strength in numbers and your fellow believers will help you to remain strong and faithful.”

The Apostle Paul knew this and practiced it. As he travelled around, the first thing he did in any place he arrived at was to find the Christians. Then, once he was surrounded by brothers and sisters who would help and encourage him, he was ready to turn his attention to whatever else the Lord had for him to do in that place.

There’s a lesson in this for us. You may not be a traveling evangelist like Paul, and hopefully you aren’t incarcerated in a jail or prison, but you need Christian fellowship just the same (and for the same reason). There is strength in numbers. Christians help Christians to be strong and to stay faithful. So, wherever you go, find the Christians.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are close-by or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Don’t check your brains at the door

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “The people there were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t check your brains at the door”

Many years ago, when I lived in San Diego, my favorite Christian bookstore was called “Berean Christian Bookstore.” It was named after the Christians in Berea who Luke referred to in Acts 17:11. The Apostle Paul discovered them to be a community of Christians who were thoughtful and studious. They took the time to carefully consider what they were being taught, and then they did their own work to make sure the teaching was true and accurate.

I’m not sure that bookstore even exists anymore. It was back in the days when Christians still bought and read books, and therefore Christian bookstores thrived. Sadly, in our day, more and more Christians have adopted the habits of our culture in that so many people don’t read books. They spend so much time playing video games, watching television, and engaging in social media, that their reading and study skills have withered away.

This is sad but also dangerous. It’s difficult to be well-informed when your primary sources of information come in the form of tweets and Facebook posts. Worse still, when Christians don’t read their Bibles and good Christian books, their knowledge of the faith will be superficial and they will easily be led astray. That explains why there is so much superficial “easy believeism” in the Christian community today. It is “cotton-candy Christianity” – light and fluffy and sweet to the taste, but it has no substance and no nutritional value. It also explains why so many Christians today willingly embrace values and practices being promoted by the culture, even though those values and practices are brazenly unbiblical.

In 1992 author Josh MacDowell published a very helpful book for teenagers with the title: “Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door: Know what you believe and why you believe it”. The book addresses forty popular myths, misunderstandings, and misconceptions about God, Jesus, the Bible, faith, morality, and similar issues.” The idea behind the book is that as Christians we must be thoughtful students of the faith. We must take the time to know what we believe and why we believe it, and we need to check to be sure that what we are being taught is true, accurate, and Biblical.

Don’t simply surrender your intellect to those who will feed you a cotton-candy version of the faith. Do your homework. Check it out for yourself. Please, don’t check your brains at the door.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Church done right

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” Acts 2:42 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Church done right”

Without question, the local church is the most important and personal expression of Christian community. That is the place where we encounter the largest number of our brothers and sisters on a regular basis, and it’s where we will be open before the Lord with them in worship, study, fellowship, and service. Membership and full participation in a local church is a crucial element for maintaining a healthy and vibrant practice of your faith.

I love the picture of the early church that God provides for us through Luke in Acts 2:42-47. Let’s read the rest of the passage beginning in verse 44, “Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

I love it – brothers and sisters in Christ joyfully worshiping, learning, praying, and lifting each other up. As they fellowship with one another and discuss life, they discover who is struggling and enduring trials, and they find ways to help each other. That’s what a good church is supposed to be like, and it’s the kind of church that people will want to be in.

What kind of church is yours? Some churches have a closed and unfriendly feel, as if outsiders aren’t really all that welcome. Other churches are filled with strife and bickering – there’s tension in the air and everyone can feel it. In some churches there’s a false sense of comradery that is forced and doesn’t feel genuine. That happens when people view it as their Christian duty to smile and to be nice but it isn’t sincere, and you can tell.

A church like the one described in Acts 2:42-47 is a gift of the Holy Spirit at work among the members, and it results when people truly and sincerely love the Lord and each other. It is a church life that is desired by the people, intentionally cultivated, and then protected. It is church done right, but it can be lost if it isn’t cherished and protected by all.

What kind of church is yours? Is it church done right?

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are near-by or, if you are geographically distant or a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

We are partners in the work

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “I give thanks to my God for my remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3-5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We are partners in the work”

The Apostle Paul was a man with a mission. He spent decades traveling around his part of the world preaching the gospel, winning people to faith in Christ, starting new churches, discipling Christians, supervising groups of churches, and raising up new pastors and leaders. He also organized humanitarian relief efforts so Christians in one place could help Christians in another place who were in need.

To accomplish all of that, Paul needed the assistance and partnership of other Christians. Everywhere Paul went, other Christians stepped-up and came alongside to help him in the work. Often, the assistance or resources they were giving Paul wasn’t for the benefit of their own church or community. Sometimes it was for other places where Paul was also working, some of them far away, such as the offering he took among the churches to help the struggling Christians in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-26; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4)

This Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church we will be hosting a missionary pastor from Romania. For many years Aniel Naste has had a ministry to bring the Good News of the Gospel and humanitarian relief supplies to poor people living in remote farming villages in eastern Romania and western Moldova. However, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Aniel’s ministry efforts have been focused on the war refugees living in refuge camps on both sides of the Ukrainian border. Aniel purchases van loads of supplies, recruits Christian volunteers from Romania, the USA, Canada, and European countries, and goes into the camps to bring physical and spiritual healing.

To accomplish this, he needs the partnership of other Christians in other places. People like you and me need to care enough to be willing to help – and maybe even to go. Jesus has called all of us to be global Christians. The Great Commission, as given in Acts 1:8 says, “… and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Maybe your circumstances are such that you can’t go to Ukraine, or to any other place that feels like “the ends of the earth” – not even on a short-term mission trip. But you can give so others can go. Maybe you could give a donation so Aniel and his teams can continue going into the camps. We can be global Christians by being willing to partner with other Christians working in other places for the cause of Christ. This is an important element of Christian community.

I encourage you to join us this Sunday, March 12^th, at Oak Hill Baptist Church in Crossville so you can hear Aniel’s report, listen to the stories, see the pictures, and perhaps help. The work belongs to all of us. We are partners in the kingdom-building work of Christ on earth.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are close-by or, if you are geographically distant or a shut-in, then join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Don’t be a “Log-eye”

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam of wood in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye.” Luke 6:41-42 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t be a “Log-eye””

Many years ago, when I was a pastor in Southern California, I knew a guy who was essentially the “Weird Al Yankovic” of Christian music. If you are familiar with the entertainment of Weird Al, then you know that he’s a musical comedian whose specialty is parody songs. That’s what my friend Larry Bubb did too. He used Christians themes to write and perform parody songs that were funny and which taught a Biblical lesson. And like Weird Al, Larry’s songs were written to the tune of a popular secular song of the time that everyone would immediately recognize. Larry recorded multiple albums and he was very popular with church youth groups. He was often featured at youth events.

One of his songs was based on Jesus’ parable in Luke 6:41-42 about the self-righteous religious person who was an expert at finding fault in other people, but who was blind to his own faults and failures. The man featured in Larry’s song was known as “Log-eye”. He had a big log in his own eye, but he was always focused on the speck he was sure he could see in someone else’s eye. The problem was that the log in his own eye was so pronounced and so big, that it prevented him from getting close enough to anyone to see if there really was a speck in the other person’s eye or not. It was clear that if old “Log-eye” would get the log out of his own eye first, he might be able to get close enough to other people to see that the speck he was so concerned about in their eye wasn’t really such a big deal after all.

A ”Log-eye” person in a church can cause a lot of problems. As they complain and criticize and point out the faults and failures of other people, they create conflict and arguments and fights. Sometimes it can go so far as to cause people to leave the church, or in some extreme cases, to split a church.

The truth is that most things simply are not important enough to even warrant comment, much less conflict. The right answer most of the time is to just shrug it off and keep your mouth shut. Most things simply don’t matter that much. Beyond that, I think your ability to shrug things off and to keep your mouth shut is a measure of your spiritual maturity. Mature Christians should be thick-skinned, gracious, and very patient with others.

Let me ask you this morning, are you a “Log-eye” character? Do you focus more on the faults and failures of other people than you do on your own? Are you too quick to find fault and to criticize? Please, don’t be that person. Don’t be a “Log-eye”. You will be happier and so will everyone else, if you just shrug it off and let it go.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Please join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are near-by or, if you are geographically distant or a shut-in, then join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

No strutting roosters, please

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “No strutting roosters, please”

In order to fully appreciate the point being made in this morning’s devotional, I encourage you to take a moment to open your Bible and read Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector, found in Luke 18:9-14. It will only take you a few moments.

In the parable two men go up to the temple to pray. One is a puffed-up self-righteous Pharisee who clearly thinks too highly of himself. He prays with a sense of smug arrogance as he stands before God and pats himself on the back for his own perceived piousness. The other man, the tax collector, saw himself for what he was and he was grieved by the realization of it. You can read Jesus’ response in verse 14 (above).

The lesson is clear – the Lord has little patience for strutting roosters. The lesson is also clear that the puffed-up self-righteous person is actually the greater sinner – and that’s true despite their self-perceived holiness.

One of the big problems in the Christian community today, including in our conservative evangelical circles, is we have too many modern-day Pharisees who are entirely too impressed with themselves. This often results in a holier-than-thou mentality and it creates a bunch of strutting religious roosters. I suspect that few things are more likely to repulse the unbelieving world than a bunch of religious posers. The world is turned off by that. Heck, I’m turned off by that too (although, I’m sure that on occasions I’m also guilty of it.)

Good Christian community depends on simple, humble, honest transparency. It begins with the realization that in our flesh, none of us are righteous or holy before God. It’s only the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that saves us from judgment and gives us any standing at all before a holy and righteous God.

As a community and as individuals, we need to adjust our attitudes and see ourselves as we really are. There simply is no justification for any of us to be a puffed-up strutting religious rooster. You are a sinner saved by grace. Period. And so am I. So, let’s not be too impressed with ourselves.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Please join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are close-by. Or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)