Oak Hill Baptist Church

Do it well and for the glory of God

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Do it well and for the glory of God”

The other day I came across the story of Henry John Heinz. He was the founder of the H.J. Heinz company (most famous for Heinz catsup and steak sauce but today producing more than 1300 products).

Henry Heinz was a successful businessman but he was also a committed Christian. Not only was he active in his own church, but he was a leader in the Christian community and he was a very generous donor to all sorts of Christian causes. In fact, he used the riches he earned from his businesses to help finance Christian work around the country and around the world. That concept is known as “Business as Ministry”. His business was his platform for ministry. Success in business enabled him to do far more for the cause of Christ than he would have been able to do if he had not had that success in the business world.

The example of Henry Heinz is not unique in the history of Christianity. Through the ages many successful businessmen and businesswomen (large and small) have used their business success as a platform for ministry. But that concept doesn’t just apply to the business world. Instead, it applies to all of life. Sometimes Christians get the wrong idea that we’re not supposed to strive for success in worldly pursuits, that it’s somehow unspiritual to want to succeed in business, or in the corporate world, or in any other field. The desire to be successful is thought to be bad, or at least less than spiritual.

Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, the opposite is often true. The more success you have in your chosen field, the larger a platform for ministry you can have as a result. A Christian worker on an assembly line in a factory can have a positive impact on his or her fellow workers. But the Christian supervisor in that factory can potentially have an even larger impact on even more people, and the Christian plant manager can potentially have even more still.

The same truth applies to any other endeavor we engage in. It’s good to work hard for high achievement as long as your motives are right. Success in any area of life can be used as a platform for ministry. One of the marks of a man or woman of character and integrity is that they do what Paul wrote about in Colossians 3:23 – they do their best to excel in whatever they’re involved in, because doing so brings honor and glory to God. We’ll think more about this tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You can be both steel and velvet

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

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

Our thought for today: “You can be both steel and velvet”

I guess I’ve always been something of a hero worshipper. Since I was a child there have always been those who I have looked up to, admired, and wanted to be more like. It’s not that I actually “worshiped” them. It’s just that I saw character traits in them that made them special in my mind and created within me a desire to be more like that myself.

They were often notable figures from history like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan; or athletes like Eric Liddell, Tony Gywnn, and Payton Manning; or celebrity figures like John Wayne; or Christian leaders like Henry Blackaby, Eugene Peterson, Oren Teel, and Dick DeGrow. There have also been Biblical figures who I especially identify with and would like to more like including Joshua, Caleb, Jesus, Paul, and Barnabas.

One thing all of those men have in common is that they embodied the concept of being both steel and velvet. Steel represents the inner core of the man. That inner core is comprised of a strong character and solid integrity. It is formed by an unshakable commitment to moral and ethical behavior, and it consists of character traits like strength, courage, resilience, perseverance, loyalty, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and dependability. The inner man is rock-solid and unmovable.

But the outer man is clothed in velvet. The outer man is kind, considerate, and compassionate. He is quick to grant mercy and grace. He loves his Lord, his family, his friends, and his church, and he isn’t ashamed to show it. He has an inner core of steel but it is wrapped in an outer core of velvet. I think Joshua was like that (see Joshua 24:15 above). This concept was well-developed and fully explained in the classic men’s book “Man of Steel and Velvet” by Aubrey Andelin.

Yesterday we considered the importance of being kind to people. Too often in our day kindness is viewed as weakness. That’s especially true in the public brawls that pass for political and social discourse these days. But not for the man or woman of steel and velvet. Such a person has the confidence, courage, and wisdom to stand their ground, but without being mean-spirited, harsh, and unkind. I have great admiration for people like that and I aspire to be more like that myself. I hope you do as well.

God bless,

Pastor Jim

Be kind

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Be kind”

The other day I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting my turn to be seen and I noticed a mural on one of the walls. It was made up of lots of handwritten comments, observations, and suggestions about kindness. Each one was from some notable figure such as a celebrity or writer or political leader. I found it interesting and inspiring. One of the sayings that captured my attention was “Sometimes a miracle comes in the form of a good person with a kind heart.”

Amen! Yes. Answers to prayers and accompanying miracles (both large and small), come to us from God but through His people. You are often the answer to someone else’s prayer. You can be the conduit through which a blessing from God flows to someone else.

The truth is that everyone is struggling with something. Everyone has something going on in their life they wish was not there and which is causing them anxiety, despair, or maybe even grief. Every person you meet today will be struggling with something. Even if they’re keeping it private, it’s there. I believe it was C.S. Lewis who once wrote, “There is always one thing more going on in every person’s life of which you know nothing.” That’s very true. So, be kind.

In Colossians 3:12 (above) the Apostle Paul used the illustration of clothing to describe the godly virtues that should form the basis of the Christian’s conduct – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. Paul urges us to clothe ourselves with such things. In other words, just as someone looks at you and sees the shirt, pants, or dress you are wearing, so too they should see the compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience with which you treat others.

Men and women of character and integrity are not modern-day Pharisees compulsively keeping a long list of religious rules and regulations. Instead, they are known for being like Jesus in their demeanor and in their conduct. What does that look like in actual practice in everyday life? We’ve considered part of the answer today, it means being kind to people. We’ll explore this a little deeper tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Your reputation matters

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “A good name is better than fine perfume.” Ecclesiastes 7:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Your reputation matters”

A person’s reputation is what others have come to believe to be true about them. It is the belief or opinion that the person has particular habits, characteristics, and patterns of conduct that reveal who they are and what they are like.

Ideally, if the observers are fair in their estimation of us, then our reputation that is formed in their minds has developed over an extended period of time and is the sum total of the words they have heard us say and the conduct they have observed in us (as opposed to basing their conclusion about us on single events or unfortunate misspoken words. There is a larger picture of us that goes far beyond momentary lapses, and that larger picture should be what matters most). But with that said, first impressions matter too, and individual events can create powerful impressions that last.

Now, for the most part, we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become overly preoccupied worrying what people think of us. But it’s still true that how we’re seen and what people believe to be true about us does matter. As Christians we represent Jesus to other people. That’s one reason so many passages in the Bible call us to live as holy people who honor God – it’s because people should be able to see Jesus in us. That’s also why we should strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Reputation matters, and you represent Christ.

Men and women of character and integrity remember that their words and actions matter and that they are revealing. What other people believe to be true of us will be based largely on what they’ve heard us say and what they’ve seen us do. Since we Christians are representatives of Christ, we need to conduct ourselves in a way that truly does honor Him and which is consistent with the Biblical principles we profess to believe. An unbelieving world needs to see that to be true of us.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Understand the times and seize the moments

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “Pay careful attention, then, to how you live – not as unwise people but as wise – making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (CSB)

Out thought for today: “Understand the times and seize the moment”

This Saturday the men and boys at Oak Hill Baptist Church will be meeting for our monthly men’s breakfast. We will have a pancake breakfast in the Fellowship Hall at the church at 8:30, followed by a short devotional, and then some discussion and planning of events. We invite you to join us!

As sat at my desk yesterday considering what to speak about in the devotional time, I was considering the books about men’s issues that I have on my bookshelf here in my home office. There are forty-seven of them. I have more on the bookshelves in my office at the church. That’s a lot of books about men’s issues. One of the reasons there are so many books for Christian men, is because our society desperately needs godly men of strong character and impeccable integrity to step up and be men. In the midst of a culture that is confused about Biblical manhood, and which has been aggressive about shaming and essentially emasculating men, we need men to be men.

One of the books that had the greatest impact on me early in my life as a Christian is “The Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper”. I was fortunate to come to faith in Christ just as the Promise Keepers movement was kicking into high gear. That movement, and the book, instilled in me a desire to be a godly man, and it impressed upon me the vital role Christian men must play in our society.

One of the passages of Scripture often featured in Promise Keepers events was Ephesians 5:15-16 (above), and one of the lessons drawn from it is that we as men of God must understand the times we live in, and we must rise up and seize the moment for Christ. Our families, our churches, our communities, and our nation need the men of God to do that – it’s vitally important and desperately needed.

But that’s true for all of God’s people, not just for the men. All of God’s people – men, women, boys, and girls need to be people of strong character and impeccable integrity who understand the desperate times we live in, and who have the boldness and courage to rise up and seize the moment for Christ.

Let that be true of all of us. Be kind, but also be bold, seizing the moments and situations you find yourself in and using them to shine for Jesus.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Do you keep your promises?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “I will not violate my covenant or change what my lips have said.” Psalm 89:34 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Do you keep your promises?”

One of the marks of a godly man or woman of strong character and impeccable integrity is that they keep their promises. If they make a commitment, they fulfill it.

I’ve had the good fortune over the years to be associated with many godly men and women whose character and integrity were such that they could always be counted on to keep their promises and fulfill their commitments. Their examples have inspired me to want to be like that too.

I remember one man in a church I was the pastor of in California many years ago. Our church was located on the busiest corner in town and every Christmas we had a live nativity scene, complete with a full-sized manger, live actors, and real animals. However, the manger was so old that it was falling apart. So this man, who was a good carpenter, offered to build us a new one.

Unfortunately, just before the project was to begin, he became ill and was supposed to be on bedrest. But he just couldn’t let that stop him. He had committed to building us a new manger, Christmastime was fast approaching, and he was determined to fulfill that commitment. So, he got himself out of bed, came to the church, and although he couldn’t do very much of the actual work, he was there to supervise the rest of us and we did construct a very nice new manger.

Likewise, I have a current friend who is absolutely compulsive about keeping his promises. If he says he is going to be somewhere, he is there. If he promised to do something, he does it – regardless of circumstances. And on those rare occasions when something happens and he has to delay or cancel and therefore isn’t able to do what he promised – it kills him. He agonizes over it.

Men and women of character and integrity keep their promises and fulfill their commitments. Let’s all take a moment to thank the Lord for those like that who He has put into our lives, because they are a blessing.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Say what you mean and mean what you say

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’, and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’. Anything more than this is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Say what you mean and mean what you say”

It’s often said these days that relativism and expediency are the curses of our age. I believe that’s true. Relativism is a philosophy that holds that truth and morality exist only in relation to culture and society, and therefore are not absolute. Expediency is conduct based upon what is convenient and practical, despite possibly being improper, immoral, or even illegal.

Unfortunately, the concepts of relativism and expediency have become widespread and accepted in our society today. Rather than simply telling the truth and living by it, it is more and more common for people to define truth for themselves, or to dance around the edges of truth, and often to mislead, distort, and misrepresent. It’s done to achieve a desired outcome, and the person usually finds ways to justify doing so.

Jesus spoke to this in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:37. There He essentially instructed us to “Say what you mean, mean what you say, let the chips fall where they may.” The Apostle James repeated this instruction in James 5:12.

I truly believe that most Christians are godly men and women of good character and strong integrity. And I believe most Christians tell the full truth the overwhelming majority of the time. But at times we all (I include myself in this) are tempted to either lie outright, or to distort and misrepresent things. This can be especially true if we’re dealing with a difficult situation that we feel strongly about and for which we’re trying to make our case appear stronger than it really is. In such situations it can be tempting to lie, shade or stretch the truth a bit, or distort and mispresent things.

We have to guard against giving in to the temptation to be untruthful or willfully misleading. A godly man or women of character and integrity tries to be scrupulously truthful and honest at all times.

Let’s strive to be fully truthful in all things. Let’s just say what we mean and mean what we say.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Don’t abuse it

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “Lying lips are detestable to the Lord, but faithful people are his delight.” Proverbs 12:22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t abuse it”

This morning we will return to our discussion from yesterday regarding the theory of the righteous lie. Are there some situations when telling a lie is not only okay, but is actually the good and righteous thing to do? Or, is lying always wrong? Is the ninth commandment conditional, are there carve-outs and exceptions for it?

It’s a moral and ethical question that has been the subject of debate among Bible scholars much smarter than me for thousands of years. So, I’m not going to claim to have the definitive answer, but I will share my opinion with you.

When I look to Scripture, I see that there are some rare instances where a Biblical figure told an obvious lie, but it was clearly the right thing to do. That leads me to conclude that it is possible that you or I could find ourselves in a similar situation, and perhaps telling a lie would be the correct response for us too. However, I also see in Scripture that such situations were very rare and very extreme. They were life and death situations. The righteous lie wasn’t told as a matter of simple convenience for the individual, or for the sake of a non-critical issue or agenda.

I think that right there is the key to the righteous lie issue – is it a life-or-death situation? If you are an Egyptian midwife saving the lives of Hebrew babies; or if you are a prostitute named Rahab and you’re saving Jewish spies; or if you’re a German Christian protecting Jews from the Nazis; okay, go ahead and tell the lie. But if the situation doesn’t rise to that level of seriousness and urgency, then lying about it is almost certainly a sin, and claiming your lie to be a “righteous” lie would be an abuse of the righteous lie principle.

By way of example, back during the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, when nobody was really sure what we were dealing with or what the best measures were for protecting ourselves and others, many establishments such as stores, businesses, hospitals, and government offices had mask mandates. If you wanted to come into their facility, they required you to wear a face mask – unless you had a legitimate health issue (with a doctor’s order) that prevented you from wearing a mask.

A tactic was quickly developed by those opposed to masks to claim they had such a health issue, when in fact they did not. They were lying, but they believed they were justified in telling the lie. Even Christians did this, believing it to be a righteous lie. In my opinion, that was an abuse of the righteous lie principle. It was not a life-and-death issue for that person. If you didn’t want to wear a mask, fine – state your position, don’t wear the mask, and deal as best you can with the consequences of your choice. But don’t lie about it.

Is there such a thing as a “righteous” lie? I think so. There are examples of it in the Bible. But in the Bible, it was rare and for extreme situations. The overwhelming weight of Scripture compels us to tell the truth, and to do so, whether telling the truth is convenient or not. We’ll think more about this tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Is it a righteous lie or just a lie?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.” Exodus 1:19 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Is it a righteous lie or just a lie?”

Lying is a sin. The ninth commandment is perfectly clear about that. But is there such a thing as a righteous lie? In other words, are there times when lying is not just okay but even required and approved by God? Perhaps.

The theory of the righteous lie is based primarily on two passages, both from the Old Testament. In Exodus 1:19 the Egyptian midwives had been ordered by the Pharoah to kill all the Hebrew male babies at birth. But the midwives knew it would be wrong to do that and so they let the babies live. Then, when questioned by Pharoah as to why they didn’t obey his command they lied to him about it, and the Scripture then tells us that God rewarded them for saving the Hebrew babies.

The other example is found in Joshua 2:4-7 when the prostitute Rahab conspired to save the Jewish spies and then lied to the authorities about their whereabouts. There are a few other passages in both the Old and New Testaments which are sometimes pointed to as justifications for this idea of a righteous lie, but these two will suffice for our discussion this morning.

Proponents of the righteous lie theory argue that sometimes lies are necessary and are therefore approved by God (sort of a carve-out or special dispensation from the ninth commandment). They could be right. If you were a Christian in Germany in the late 1930s and you were hiding Jews in your basement, and the Nazis were at your door demanding to know if you were hiding Jews, morally you would be compelled to say “no”. Giving the Jews up to the Nazis would be a death sentence for them and it would be the wrong thing to do. Therefore, not only is it okay to lie about it, you are morally compelled to tell that lie.

Opponents of the righteous lie theory argue that even though your lie may have produced a good outcome, that still doesn’t make the lie itself a good thing or something approved by God. That’s the position taken by the conservative Christian website “Answers in Genesis” (owners of The Ark and the Creation Museum). They contend that if we read the righteous lie passages carefully, we will find that even though the intent and the actions of the midwives and of Rahab were good, and even though the outcome was positive, the passage still doesn’t say that the lie itself was approved by God. For Him to have done so would have made the ninth commandment conditional.

So, the question before us here today, as we consider our theme of being men and women with godly character and integrity is, “Is it ever okay to lie?” “Is there such a thing as a “righteous” lie that is condoned and approved by God?”

It’s not an easy question to answer but I will offer you some thoughts about it tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Stay out of the ditch

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity”

Our Bible verse for today: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word.” Psalm 119:9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Stay out of the ditch”

Guardrails are protective in nature. They prevent someone or something from getting off track and possibly falling off the edge. Dangerous sections of road typically have guardrails on the shoulders to keep cars from drifting off the edge and tumbling down an embankment.

But guardrails aren’t limited to physical metal structures on roads and highways. Guardrails can also be moral, ethical, legal, and religious. Rules, regulations, laws, and guidelines are all examples of mental guardrails which guide our conduct and keep us from straying from established and approved norms.

The Bible provides us with God’s guardrails for staying on track in life. In the Bible God gives us with what we call “a Biblical worldview” which helps us to know what’s true and what isn’t, and what conduct is acceptable and which isn’t. A Biblical worldview (also known as a Christian worldview) is based on God’s unchanging Word. The Bible is true for all people in all places at all times, and therefore it does not change. It is not influenced by or modified based on cultural trends or changing societal norms. This is what Solomon was referring to in Proverbs 119:9 (above).

Therefore, as God’s people, we take everything we are seeing, hearing, and being told from politicians, writers, educators, celebrities, and other cultural influencers, and we lay it alongside the Bible to determine how what they’re saying compares to what God has said. And then we evaluate the truthfulness or the rightness of anything based upon how it compares to the unchanging Word of God. The Bible is our standard for living, and it is our standard for evaluating everything and everyone. These are the guardrails within which we live our lives.

Men and women who have developed godly character and integrity have done so by learning to stay within the guardrails of thought and deed as given to us by God in the Bible. Biblical commands, instructions, and principles are our guardrails for living the Christian life. Stay within them and you will be fine. Stray from them and you will be in danger of falling off the edge and tumbling into one of life’s many ditches.

God bless,
Pastor Jim