Oak Hill Baptist Church

A purpose worthy enough to inspire you

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “… but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “A purpose worthy enough to inspire you”

What gets you out of bed in the morning? (Please, don’t tell me your bladder). What I mean is, do you have a sense of purpose that inspires you so much that you look forward to each day and approach it with eagerness and expectation? Does it make you want to get up and get going?

Jesus had that sense of purpose. In John 4:32 He told his disciples, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” He wasn’t referring to bread and meat. He was talking about His sense of purpose for being involved in His Father’s business in this world, and accomplishing meaningful things for the kingdom of God on earth. That sense of purpose and mission drove Him – it inspired Him and kept Him going through even the most difficult of times.

That’s what Jesus was calling for from us in Matthew 16:25 when He told those same disciples, “… but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” What He meant was that when we make His mission our mission, we find that our life has purpose and meaning far beyond what it would have otherwise. Being successful in your career, owning a nice home, raising a family, building your bank account, going bowling on Thursday nights, are all things that might be meaningful and helpful, even enjoyable, but they don’t add up to the life Jesus wants for you.

Those other aspects of life do matter, but being a faithful disciple of Christ and being on-mission with Him in this world matters more. He wants us to concentrate on blessing people in need, comfort the suffering, offer words of hope to the despondent, and share His love in word and deed. That doesn’t mean you can’t go bowling on Thursday night. But it does mean that while you’re bowling on Thursday night you could also be looking for opportunities to bless other people. It’s not hard to incorporate that sense of mission into all the rest of life. Smiling, being friendly, listening to someone who might be struggling with life issues, offering some help, inviting them to church on Sunday – you get the idea.

We all have to live life. Working, playing, eating, sleeping, changing diapers, mowing the lawn, talking to the neighbors, and washing the car are things we all have to do just by virtue of being human and living in this world. But all of it can be undergirded by and inspired by a higher and worthier purpose. Having a sense of purpose that is larger than yourself will make your life richer, fuller, and more meaningful, and it will inspire and motivate you.

This is an important aspect of how we value our time and how we use the gift of time that God gives us each day. It’s so important that we will continue this discussion tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Which world will you live in

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Which world will you live in?”

In recent days we’ve been considering the importance of making good choices and establishing good habits, because as has been noted, we first form our habits but then our habits form us. We become what we do. So, how we choose to use our time, day-by-day and moment-by-moment, ultimately determines what kind of person we become and how our life turns out.

In Galatians 5:19-23 the Apostle Paul creates a stark contrast between life in two very different worlds. First, in verses 19-21, he paints a picture of a dark world of bad choices and serious suffering: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things – as I warned you before – that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The world Paul describes is filled with adultery, broken marriages, sexually transmitted diseases, workaholism, anger, bitterness, conflict, selfishness, addiction, and damaged relationships. People living in that world are miserable and they are not experiencing the blessings of God.

Now contrast that with life in the other world (life in right relationship with God): “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” The fruit of the Spirit are the characteristics or personality traits of Jesus which the Holy Spirit progressively develops in the life of the faithful Christian. Over time, as you grow in spiritual maturity, all of those virtues become increasingly evident in your life. It’s who you become as a person. Those virtues come to define your life.

Read the list again. Those are the things everyone wants and is seeking in life. But many people are looking for love in all the wrong places; they’re seeking satisfaction in the wrong ways and from the wrong people. Or, more precisely, they’re looking for it in the wrong world. Satan can’t give you the things that only come from God. At best he can offer you only cheap imitations that are superficial and temporary.

Day-by-day and moment-by-moment we make choices about which world we are going to live in, and therefore what our life will be like. God wants to bless you. He wants you to experience the fruit of the Spirit in ever-increasing measure in your life. But the choice is up to you. Which world will you live in?

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Choices have consequences

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked; a man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Choices have consequences”

In recent days we’ve been considering the importance of habits and how it is that once we have formed our habits, our habits then form us. Over time we become what we do. Yesterday we considered how important it is to value godly character over any other achievement or possession in life, and how it’s up to us to do the things necessary to place ourselves in a position before God every day whereby the Holy Spirit can develop those qualities in us.

I’m currently rereading one of my favorite books about personal responsibility. I’ve told you about it before. It’s called, “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews. It is fiction, but the life lessons it teaches are Biblical and powerful. David Ponder is a man who is struggling greatly in life. In fact, he’s at his lowest point ever and is even considering suicide. But in a dream God takes him on a trip through time where he has encounters with significant historical figures who each team him an important life lesson.

At one stop he has a meeting with President Harry Truman. The essence of Truman’s advice to David is that he is personally responsible for his own life and that the life he has is to a large degree the sum total of the choices he has made. Truman tells him, “You are where you are because of your thinking. You thinking dictates your decisions. Decisions are choices … Year’s ago you began making the choices that led you to your present situation … Until a person takes responsibility for where he is, there is no basis for moving on. The bad news is that the past was in your hands, but the good news is that the future, my friend, is also in your hands.”

To a very large extent what happens to us is the result of the choices we have made. And even when we’re impacted by external events that are completely beyond our control, we still make choices about how we will respond to those events and how we will handle them.

It really is true, as Paul writes in Galatians 6:7 (above), that we reap what we sow. Our thinking leads to our decisions. Our decisions are choices. Choices determine actions. Actions become habits. And over time, our habits form us – we become what we do. That being the case, give careful thought to what you do – especially to what you do habitually, day-in and day-out. Choices have consequences.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

What do you want God to do for you?

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?”” 1 Kings 3:5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “What do you want God to do for you?

In 1 King 3:5 King David had recently died and his son Solomon had ascended to the throne. Solomon was a young man and at this point, like his father David, Solomon’s heart was still after God. Solomon had a strong desire to be a good and wise king and he wanted to honor the Lord with his life.

So, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered him a blank check, “What do you want me to give you, what do you want me to do for you, Solomon? Go ahead and ask.” Many people would have been tempted to ask for selfish things like riches or health or victory over their enemies. Instead, in verses 7-9 we read Solomon replying to God with this, “Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership. Your servant is among your people you have chosen, a people too many to be numbered or counted. So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?”

Of all the things Solomon could have asked God for, what he wanted most was good character. He wanted to grow into a wise man of God and he wanted to be able to be a blessing to God’s people. As we read in later verses, Solomon’s response pleased God and so He granted his request.

Now take a moment to consider the desires of your own heart. What is it that you most want God to give you or do for you? Do your deepest most passionate desires revolve around possessions, achievements, or character? As you consider that question, think back to yesterday’s devotional about the importance of habits and how it is that at first we form our habits, then our habits form us. What do your habits reveal about what is truly most important to you?

How we inhabit time – how we live – will depend to a large extent on what it is we want the most. I believe God is waiting for us to ask Him for the right things, something that He can and will eagerly grant.

Here’s one possible prayer: “What I want you to do for me, Lord, is to make me into a wise, just, disciplined, patient, joyful, kind, and compassionate man or woman of God.” Then develop the daily habits of prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and service that will place you in a position before God each day whereby the Holy Spirit can do that transforming work in you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Wax on, wax off …

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Wax on, wax off”

In his book “Overcoming Apathy”, Uche Anizor reminds us of a scene from the iconic movie “The Karate Kid”. Daniel, a somewhat scrawny misfit new kid, is being bullied without mercy by a group of boys at school, even being beat up by them. Mr. Miyagi is a quiet, mild-mannered, unassuming older man who just happens to be a karate master. He takes Daniel under his wing and begins to train him in the martial arts.

But much to Daniel’s surprise and disappointment, his early training consists of doing menial chores, seemingly for Mr. Miyagi’s personal benefit. For instance, Daniel is instructed to wax Mr. Miyagi’s car – and to do so with precise movements, applying the wax and removing it in exact repetitive motions described by Mr. Miyagi as “wax on, wax off”. After a while Daniel complains that he’s wasting his time on menial tasks when he’s supposed to be learning karate. It’s then that Mr. Miyagi shows Daniel how it is that the “wax on, wax off” motions are actually key self-defense moves and that in order to become proficient in karate, these movements have to become second-nature to him.

Anzior uses that story to help illustrate how important simple daily habits are in forming us into the people we are in the process of becoming. The fact is, we become what we do. Overtime, your habits form you. Therefore, give careful attention to the little things in your life. Especially the little things that have become habits. Are they good or bad? Are they progressively forming you into the kind of person you want to be, or are they taking you in the other direction?

It really is true that first we form a habit, then our habits form us. An action repeated becomes a habit; habits overtime form character; and character determines your destiny. So, pay attention to the little things, the daily habits. How you inhabit time moment by moment – especially when it comes to habits that have morphed into sustained patters of living, determines the person you will be.

That’s the point Paul was making in 1 Corinthians 9:24 (above). Here’s what he had to say in the rest of the passage: “So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

We become what we do. So, establish good habits instead of bad ones and then, “wax on, wax off; wax on, wax off; wax on, wax off ….”

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It was day one of Chapter One

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It was day one of Chapter One”

The other day a friend and church member passed away. Pete was ninety-one years old and had lived a long and good life. He was in law enforcement his entire career – a homicide detective. For the years that I knew him he was a church member, friend, and an encourager of his pastor.

Sadly, the last few years of his life were spent battling Alzheimer’s disease. And yet, right at the end, the Lord graciously granted Pete renewed clarity and peace. When I saw him the day before he died, he recognized me, smiled, conversed for a bit, and shook my hand as I was leaving. His final day was spent with his wife, children, and grandchildren by his side. At one point we gathered around his bed, read Scripture, talked about the promise of life after death, and prayed.

C.S. Lewis ends the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia series with a touching scene that speaks a great truth about our passage from this life into eternity. In the story, all the battles were over, evil was defeated, Aslan reigned over his kingdom, and the adventurous heroes were safe and sound in the eternal kingdom:

“And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the story. All their life in the world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

That’s what John was describing in Revelation 21:4 (above). This life is just the beginning of our eternal existence. It’s just the cover and title page. Real life, new life, the perfect life, doesn’t begin until we arrive in heaven. That is day one of Chapter One of a story that goes on forever.

Last Thursday, very early in the morning, when Pete’s body of flesh and bones finally ceased to function, his spirit was immediately released, crossed over, and entered into the real story – the “Great Story”. This life was just the beginning, just the cover and the title page. For Pete, Thursday was day one of Chapter One of a story that will go on for eternity.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

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