Oak Hill Baptist Church

Take it, you earned it

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall not do any work …” Exodus 20:9-10 (New Jerusalem Publication Society Translation)

Our thought for today: “Take it, you earned it”

In recent years a friend has been gifting me copies of “The Rational Bible Commentary Series” of the Old Testament, being written by Dr. Dennis Prager. As each new book in the series is published, my friend buys a copy for me. Prager is a noted Hebrew scholar and an expert in the Old Testament. Also, his commentaries are insightful, practical, and very user-friendly. These are not obscure theological tomes written for other Bible scholars. They’re written for you and me.

When writing about observing the Sabbath day, Prager offered a way of thinking about it that I had never considered before. By working six days, you earned the right to celebrate the Sabbath. Celebrating the Sabbath is your reward for your hard work the rest of the week. Prager writes:

“In his book “The Sabbath,” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes that we do not rest on the Sabbath so we can work during the week; rather, we work during the week so we can rest and refresh our souls on the Sabbath: Man is not a beast of burden, and the Sabbath is not for the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of his work.”

In other words, you don’t rest so you can work, you work so you can rest. The Sabbath day is your reward. Prager goes on:

“Only free people – not slaves, as the Israelites were in Egypt and as so many other human beings were (and are) all over the world – can take a day off from work every week. By refraining from work on Shabbat, a person affirms his status as a free human being. Therefore, from the Torah’s perspective, a person who works seven days a week is a slave, even if he does so voluntarily.”

I encourage you not be a slave to your work, or to your chores, or even to your recreational activities. Do that on Saturday. For most Christians our Sabbath is Sunday and it’s a time to rest, worship, and renew. It’s a gift from God as a reward for your hard work and diligence the rest of the week. Take it, you earned it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

He makes everything beautiful in its time.

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is a gift from God.” Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “He has made everything beautiful in its time”

In his book by the same name as this devotional series, “How to inhabit time”, author James K.A. Smith offers an insightful commentary on Solomon’s thoughts in Ecclesiastes 3:11-13:

“In this word picture, time is a frame for things to flower. It’s not merely a question of everything finding its slot in the calendar, but creation brought to fruition in time, unfurling and unfolding all its possibilities to attain the beauty always latent there.”

“Time is a frame for things to flower … creation brought to fruition in time, unfurling and unfolding all its possibilities to attain the beauty always latent there.” I love that. When Solomon and Smith say that each moment is pregnant with the potential for beauty, they mean that each moment is a frame within which the purposes of God can unfold and flourish. Thinking of our moments in that way should create within us a sense of hope regarding the possibilities

In recent days we’ve been considering the Biblical imperative of living productive lives filled with meaningful activities. Productive lives and meaningful activities aren’t limited to things like performing brain surgeries, or going off on exotic international mission trips, or even serving meals at the local homeless shelter. Instead, this is simply about embracing each moment for the gift from God that it is, and then making smart decisions about how to best use that moment.

Maybe the answer in any given moment will even be to do nothing. That’s okay. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to take a nap. We do need to rest and relax. But as author Phillip Brooks cautioned us in yesterday’s devotional, it’s easy to waste our time on the husks and trappings of life, and miss life itself. We’re not expected to be busy and productive all the time, but neither should we waste large segments of time with trivial pursuits and in meaningless activity.

Everything is beautiful in its time, and each moment is precious and valuable when used as God intends.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Let’s not be too easily satisfied

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” Romans 12:11-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t be too easily satisfied.”

I think most of us are too easily satisfied. Or more precisely, we allow ourselves to be too easily satisfied with mediocrity. We’re content with less than the best because it’s easier that way. Striving to do our best and to be our best can be hard work. But it’s also small. I mean, it leads to living small rather than living large. It results in sighs and shrugs as we plop down on the couch and binge on Netflix, rather than going out and doing something meaningful.

I came across a convicting and inspiring quote the other day in a little devotional book I use called, “Disciplines for the Inner Life”. The statement is from writer Phillips Brooks. It’s a little lengthy, but worth the extra minute or two it will take to read it:

“The great danger facing all of us – let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously – is not we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all – not these things. The danger is that we may fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God – and be content to have it so – that is the danger. That someday we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with the husks and trappings of life – and have really missed life itself.”

Too many of us are busy with “the husks and trappings of life” and missing life itself because we’re wasting our time on things that ultimately matter little, while making excuses for not doing the things that matter a lot. Or, we’re busy doing nothing at all.

We end up with a life lived small – small in terms of the kinds of things we do (or don’t do), and small in terms of spiritual growth. It’s a stunted life that was content and satisfied with mediocrity rather than enthusiastically striving for the best that life has to offer – the best that God wants for us.

In Romans 12:11-12 Paul urges us not to be lacking in diligence and zeal. Are you? Are you lacking in those two critical qualities? Diligence and zeal are essential elements in a life lived well, a life that makes the most of the gift of time God grants to us each day.

Let’s not be too easily satisfied with a life that is less than it could be. Don’t be satisfied with too little.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Go get it

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.” Joshua 1:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Go get it”

In yesterday’s devotional we considered the truth that God expects us to take personal responsibility for ourselves and for our loved ones. We are to work hard and be productive in life. In the Bible idleness, lack of initiative, and an unproductive life are always portrayed as sinful and contrary to the will of God.

In Joshua 1:3 we read that God instructed the Israelites to go forward and take possession of their Promised Land. In that verse He told them that He had already granted to them every place the sole of their foot would tread. But don’t miss the fact that before they could have what God wanted to give them, they had to be standing on it. Their feet had to take them to the ground God said they could have. In other words, it was up to them to go get it. God wasn’t going to give them something for which they showed no personal initiative to obtain or achieve.

This was going to require some effort and some faith on their parts. First, as verse 3 indicates, they had to go get it. They had to show initiative and take action. Then, in verses 7-8 we learn that their conduct would have to be according to Biblical principles, “Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.”

And then finally, as they were taking personal responsibility for their own success by showing initiative and taking action, and as they were living in a manner that honored God, they would have to be strong and have courage because nothing worth having or achieving is ever easy: “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.”

Today you will be faced with many opportunities – and God does want to bless you, but you have a role to play in obtaining the blessings of God. You have to take responsibility for your own life, you have to show initiative, and you have to go get it. I encourage you to do so.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Make the most of your life

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” For we hear there are some among you who are idle. They are not busy but busybodies. Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and provide for themselves.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Make the most of your life”

I love reading biographies about successful people. I find them inspiring and motivating. Recently some friends gave me the autobiography of Dr. Ming Wang. The title is “From Darkness to Sight”. Dr. Wang was raised in communist China during the dark days of the Cultural Revolution. He hated the oppression, the poverty, the lack of opportunity, and the utter hopelessness of it all. Finally, as a teenager, he escaped and made his way to America with only $50 in his pocket, a Chinese-English dictionary, and with a big American dream in his heart.

But success in America didn’t come easily. It required hard work, discipline, perseverance, and a determination to never, ever give-up. Long story short, in America Ming became a Christian, earned a PhD in laser physics from MIT, and an MD from Harvard Medical School. He became a world-renowned eye surgeon and a friend of high-ranking elected officials. He published eight books, he has written hundreds of articles, and he has recorded music with Dolly Parton.

Over and over again in his autobiography Dr. Wang comments on the amazing amount of freedom and opportunity available for everyone in the U.S.A. This is a sentiment I’ve heard expressed more times than I can count from those who have immigrated to America from other places around the world. America truly is the land of opportunity!

But contrast that attitude with the one evidenced by so many of our natural born citizens today. Ours is increasingly becoming an entitlement society. Rather than being excited by the vast array of opportunity all around us and being willing to work hard to achieve our dreams, our citizens are adopting an attitude of entitlement and expecting things to be handed to them for little or no effort on their parts. In short, the communistic/socialistic/Marxist nightmare that Dr. Wang risked his life to escape from, is looking more and more attractive to young Americans today. And immigrants like Dr. Wang stand amazed and confused, wondering why our people are unable to see the absurdity in their perspective. Why can they not see the opportunities all around them, and why are they not willing to do the hard work to achieve success?

In 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 the Apostle Paul articulated the Biblical perspective regarding the work ethic we are to have and the productive lives we are to live. It’s a perspective that God repeats numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments. We are to take advantage of our opportunities, work hard, take care of ourselves and our loved ones, and honor God by doing so.

So, happy Monday! It’s the beginning of another glorious week filled with great opportunities. I encourage you to get out there and make the most of your life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Savor the moments

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave the Israelites before his death.” Deuteronomy 33:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Savor the moments”

I love the scene in Deuteronomy chapter thirty-three. Moses is about to die but before he goes, he speaks words of blessing upon the people. The entire chapter is one long declaration of blessing.

This is significant because much of what we read in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy about the previous forty years of Moses’ life revolves around the challenges and difficulties he had to deal with as he led the people out of captivity, and then for forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Sometimes there were big victories and magnificent encounters with God, but many other times there were embarrassing failures and great frustrations.

But actually, what we read in the Bible is just a summary of the highlights, the main events that transpired over those years. For Moses, most of those forty years with God’s people would have been spent just living life in normal day-to-day activities – and much of it was surely good. There would have been births and birthdays, engagements and marriages, music and games, meals around the campfires, storytelling, jokes and pranks. Life. Just life. And in the end, when it was all said and done, Moses thought about those years, looked out upon his people, and he blessed them.

That sounds a lot like church life to me – especially church life lived-out over many years in a good church. There are ups and downs, good times and bad. But overall, it’s mostly good. We should savor and enjoy that time together.

This Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist we will have Sunday school, a worship service, three baptisms, a baptism party after the service, a gender reveal party in the afternoon, and an evening Bible study. You know, the stuff of normal church life. I’m looking forward to it and intend to savor every moment of it. I hope that will be true for you in your church as well.

I want to leave you this morning with a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s one of my favorite scenes from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In the middle of a dangerous journey, Frodo and his traveling companions are enjoying a time of rest and renewal in the home of a friend:

“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.”

I encourage you that as you gather with your church family tomorrow for sabbath-worship and for sabbath-rest, take pleasure in it all. Soak it in. Savor the moments.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Somebody, call the God Squad!

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Somebody, call the God Squad!”

I heard a slang term the other day that I hadn’t heard before, “The God Squad”. It was used in a Christian rap song to describe a young man stumbling and falling to his knees under the weight of the burden he was bearing. In a hard-driving staccato rap voice the singer called out, “Somebody call the God Squad, we’ve got a man down!”

The “God Squad” is you and me. It’s us. We’re the ones who need to be ready to respond when “we’ve got a man down” That thought caused me to remember all the times the God Squad has responded to situations for me and my family. Like the time Linda had a massive stroke and she needed brain surgery to save her life. The God Squad was immediately all over that situation with prayer, phone calls, cards, gifts of money, meals, and even offers to do yard work.

Or the time I was leading a mission team into a remote section of the Amazon Jungle and Linda had a medical emergency here at home. The paramedics had to bust a door open even to get into the house to get to her. Again, the God Squad was instantly on the scene. They were at the house, and in the emergency room, and they repaired the door, and they watched out for Linda until I got home.

Or the time I received a phone call notifying me that our daughter Tracy was discovered to have terminal cancer and was quickly dying. I immediately flew to California, took her out of intensive care, put her on a plane and flew her home to Tennessee, where she died in our home just a week later. The God Squad was in that situation with us too. There were prayers, home visits, meals, gifts of money, and offers of all sorts of help.

Or, on a smaller but no less significant scale, there was the time last year when I was riding my Harley and the engine suddenly quit and would not restart. I was stranded on the side of the road. So, I called a good brother in Christ who immediately dropped everything, hitched up a trailer to his truck, and drove clear across the county to find me, load me up, and bring me and my busted motorcycle home.

As brothers and sisters in Christ we need to be there for each other, and sometimes, how we inhabit time, or how we live in the moment, means that we have to respond in the moment. It means that in that moment everything else stops and we go to the aid of a brother or sister in need.

Is that you? Are you a dependable member of the God Squad? When the call goes out, “Somebody call the God Squad, we’ve got a man down!”, will you be one of the first responders? I hope you will be because the fact is, we need to be able to depend on each other. Sometimes it’s you and sometimes it’s me who is “the man down”. We all need to know we can depend on our brothers and sisters in our times of need.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Two ears, one mouth

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.” Job 2:13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Two ears, one mouth”

This morning I want to take us back to the prayer I quoted yesterday from the old nun. In it she asked the Lord to give her the patience to simply listen to others without feeling as if she needed to say something about everything, and without believing it was up to her to straighten everyone else out.

It has rightly been said that the good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must intend for us to listen twice as much as we talk. I believe that’s true, but I also believe it’s a challenge for many of us. Some of us are inclined to talk much more than we listen. And even when we do listen, we’re often only half-listening because as the other person is talking, half of our brain is listening to them and the other half is thinking about what we want to say next. Then, as soon as the other person pauses for a breath, we jump in with our thoughts and comments. Worse, if the conversation had up to this point been about them, our temptation is often to hijack it and make it about us now. We’re all sometimes guilty of this.

The Biblical story of Job and his three friends is a legendary example of a suffering man having to endure the presence of three people who talked too much, about things they actually knew little about, and attempting to do so with a sense of authority that was misplaced. Consequently, they said a lot of dumb things that weren’t helpful.

But it didn’t start that way. In fact, they started out very well. In Job 2:13 (above), we find that when they first arrived, they simply sat in silence and supported their friend with their presence. This is what we call “the ministry of presence”. It’s not always necessary to say something. You can bless and support the person simply by being with them and empathically entering into their suffering with them. Job’s friends were doing well – until they started talking.

Sometimes one of the most helpful and considerate things we can do for someone is to simply listen to them – really, deeply, sincerely, listen. When you do so, you’re giving them the gift of your time and attention. A suffering or struggling person often just needed someone to listen. Talking can be therapeutic.

God did give us two ears and only one mouth. Most of us would be better off if we listened more and talked less.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

The wisdom of old age

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: For learning wisdom and discipline; for understanding insightful sayings; for receiving prudent instruction in righteousness, justice and integrity …” Proverbs 1:2-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The wisdom of old age”

One of the marks of a life lived well is that in old age a person has developed a lifetime of wisdom. Also, as the years have passed, a wise person has learned to settle down, relax a little, and hopefully more fully enjoy the gift of time God gives to us each day of our lives.

The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were written by Solomon, probably in his old age, and they reflect a lifetime of hard-earned wisdom. When it comes to our theme of how to inhabit time and to do it well, there’s a lot we can learn from older folks.

The other day I came across a very old prayer written by a Mother Superior (the senior nun in a convent). This appeared in her journal. It’s a reflection on the aging process and on the kind of old woman she hoped she was in the process of becoming. I love her insight into human nature and the aging process, and I especially enjoy the sly sense of self-deprecating humor she expresses:

“Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing old, and will some day be old. Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to try to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details – give me wings to get to the point.

I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others’ pains. Help me to endure them with patience. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains – they are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with – but a sour old woman is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom (said with tongue firmly in cheek), it seems a pity not to use it all – but thou knowest, Lord, that I want to have a few friends left at the end.”

And all God’s people said … “Amen!”

God bless,
Pastor Jim

A show about nothing

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time”

Our Bible verse for today: “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.” Colossians 3:23 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “A show about nothing”

Paul’s word of encouragement found in Colossians 3:23 is a good one, and it is encouraging. It’s often applied to the work environment (we should give our best, and we should do so as a means of honoring and pleasing the Lord). But we should also bring that attitude to all the rest of life as well. We should be striving to excel in all areas of life and we should live that way as a means of honoring God.

Recently I’ve been reading, “Overcoming Apathy: Gospel Hope for Those Who Struggle to Care” by Uche Anizor. I’m reading it because apathy is a widespread problem in our nation, and also in our churches – and that apathetic approach to church life is killing the Church in the USA. The problem is simply that people are overwhelmed with life, overstimulated by all the noise and distractions, and overcommitted in many ways. Consequently, we become numb and we withdraw.

In one chapter, Anizor compares the lives of many Americans to the old television show Seinfeld. There was no plot to Seinfeld, and the characters had no real purpose in their lives. Much of the show took place in a bar and it largely consisted of the characters drinking, talking, and trading snarky barbs and cynical observations. It was, essentially, a show about nothing. Sadly, that illustration describes the lives of many Americans, and even some American Christians.

But none of us wants our lives to be “a show about nothing”. Our lives should have meaning and purpose. We want to do more than just survive – we want to thrive. And that’s why it’s so important that we learn how to properly inhabit the time God has given to us, and to do so according to Biblical principles.

Personally, I’ve learned much by researching and writing this series about how to better inhabit time, and evidently you as readers have found it helpful as well because you have provided me with a lot of positive feedback. (Thank you. Feedback is always appreciated and helpful).

There’s much more we can learn from the Bible about this topic, and it is a vitally important subject, so I’ve decided to continue the theme into February. What a shame it would be if any of our lives ended up having been “a show about nothing”. Let’s make sure it isn’t.

God bless,
Pastor Jim