Oak Hill Baptist Church

Reject that which drains you

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

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

Our thought for today: “Reject that which drains you”

I once read a statement which really resonated with me at the time, and which I’ve hung onto ever since. It said, “Reject that which drains you; embrace that which renews you.”

That sounds like good advice. I’m going to do it.

Anxiety and despair drain me. So, I reject it. Negative people drain me. So, I reject their negativity, and if it persists, I reject them by allowing them little or no room in my life. Endless political debates drain me. So, I choose not to engage in them. Negative thinking drains me. So, I try to stay positive.

What renews me? The Lord. He renews me. So, I engage in what Eugene Peterson once called, “A long obedience in the same direction.” That means intentionally filling my life with lots of prayer, Bible study, worship, Christian music, reading good Christian books, and enjoyable fellowship with other positive Christians. The Bible tells me I need to do those things, every day, just in order to stay spiritually healthy. And so, I make it a point to do them, every day, even if I don’t feel like it. It’s a long obedience in the same direction. It’s a discipline and a habit. I do it because the Lord tells me I need to.

By sharing that with you I’m not trying to portray myself as some sort of super-saint, because I most certainly am not. I’m simply sharing with you what has been taught to me, and which I’ve found to be helpful in my own life. There’s a lot of negative in our world, and it will drain you if you let it. But there’s also a lot of positive too, and it will renew you if you will embrace it.

Each of us can exercise control over our own environment and we can choose the influences we allow into our lives. What Paul described in Philippians 4:8 is a choice that is made by the individual about what we will allow into our mind and heart and what we will not. To a very large great extent we can control our personal environment.

I encourage you to reject that which drains you and embrace that which renews you. Doing so will go a long way towards bringing an end to anxiety and despair in your life.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Be strong in the Lord

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength …” Luke 21:36 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be strong in the Lord”

In recent days we’ve been considering the example of the camel. We’ve learned that the camel is an amazingly resilient animal that has deep reserves to draw upon which enable it to persevere in the worst of conditions for long periods of time. We’ve also learned that we need to be like the camel in that we need to have deep reserves we can draw on, and we need to keep those reserves adequately replenished.

But how do we do that? This is important. Simply stating that we should do something is helpful to a degree, but we need to know how to do it if it’s really going to make any difference in our lives.

The answer is that we must have a deeper strength to draw on than our own. Our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual reserves have to be regularly replenished by the Lord. In Luke 21:36 Jesus instructed us to pray for strength. The Greek word used there means “to be strong to another’s detriment; to prevail against; to be superior in strength; to overcome; to prevail.”

That’s the kind of strength Jesus tells us we need and should want and should ask for. It’s a combative strength that implies a battle must be fought and we will need help to win it. So, we are instructed to pray for such strength. In other words, we don’t have it and therefore it’s necessary that we ask for it, and then it will be given to us.

The fact is that life is combat. It’s spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18). We have a spiritual enemy (Satan), and he brings the battle to us every day. This is where much of our anxiety and despair comes from. Jesus instructs us to pray for combative strength and then to fight the enemy. This is you being proactive. This is you refusing to be defined by or defeated by anxiety and despair. This is you praying for strength and then fighting for yourself.

How does God impart that strength to us? Go back to our example from yesterday from Psalm 42. God’s blessings of renewal are like the mighty waters of a great waterfall just washing over us. But we have to place ourselves in the flow. We have to place ourselves in a position before God every day whereby He can renew us, replenish us, and impart His strength to us. We must have a deeper source of strength than just our own.

This is important and we’re not done considering it, so we’ll come back to this again tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Most camels do not simply, suddenly, drop dead

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” Psalm 42:7 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Most camels do not simply, suddenly, drop dead”

I love Psalm 42. It’s one of my favorites. If you read it in its entirety, you realize it was written by a man who was heavily burdened and facing many problems. In verses 1-2 we read that he was looking for God like a thirsty man in need of a drink of cool refreshing water. In other verses we discover that he was being tormented and mocked by his enemies. In verse 10 he says that he was in agony to the point that his bones hurt. And in verses 3, 5, and 11 he reveals that he was distraught and depressed.

But verses 7-8 are the lynchpin that the entire Psalm turns on. In those verses the writer affirms that God’s deep provision is more than enough to meet his needs. Out of his deep need, the writer appeals to God’s deep provisions. He likens God’s blessings to the mighty rush of water from a great waterfall that is just pouring over him. Despite his despair and depression, this guy knows where his hope and help are found. His needs might be deep, but God’s provisions are even deeper.

This morning I want to take us back to yesterday’s devotional and the story about the camel. In that story we learned that the camel is an amazingly durable animal that can go for a very long time without food or water and still carry its load. But then suddenly, with little or no warning, the camel will simply fall over dead. It happens because although the camel showed no outward signs of weakening, inwardly its reserves of water, food, strength and stamina were being depleted. And we learned that we Christians sometime allow the same thing to happen to us – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

But the fact is that most camels do not suffer that fate. Most camels do not simply, suddenly, fall over dead. And the reason they don’t is because their needs are not neglected. Most camels are properly cared for. In order for them to be able to carry their heavy loads and to complete their long and arduous journeys they are fed, watered, and rested as they should be, and that’s done even if they don’t appear to need it.

The truth about the camel is that when he is properly cared for, he then has great stores of reserves to draw upon which enable him to have tremendous stamina and resilience. And as long as those reserves continue to be replenished, the camel will be just fine.

The same is true for us. We must be careful that our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual reserves are not sucked dry. As we learn from our friend in Psalm 42, the Lord is a deep source of renewal for us and He will restore our vitality, but we need to frequently turn to Him for that renewal. Most camels do not simply, suddenly, drop dead – and neither should we (literally or figuratively), and that won’t happen if we don’t allow ourselves to become depleted.

We’ll continue to explore this important point tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Don’t be like the camel

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month; “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t be like the camel.”

I love the story John Eldredge tells about the camel in his book, “Resilient: Restoring Your Weary Soul in These Turbulent Times”. The camel is an amazing beast – strong, resilient, dependable, and with incredible stamina. The camel can carry heavy loads across a burning desert and go for weeks without water.

But the camel does have a weakness, a glaring one – an Achilles’ heel that literally kills it. The camel will keep going for hundreds of miles, giving no indication that it is getting tired or weak and then suddenly, it will fall over dead. Just like that. One minute it appears to be fine, the next it collapses and dies. The reason that happens is because the camel’s reserves of water, food, energy, and strength were all being progressively depleted without being renewed, but the camel is so strong and so resilient that it gave no indication of the dangerous depletion that was taking place until it was too late.

People can be like that. Especially dedicated Christians. We take Philippians 4:13, abuse it, stretch it to justify pushing ourselves too hard, and we suffer because of it. We dutifully trudge onward, carrying our loads, meeting our responsibilities, working harder and longer, and all the while our soul is being depleted without being renewed. Our spiritual, emotional, and physical reserves are getting dangerously low but we show no signs of it. Of course not. That would be weakness, and we certainly can’t admit to being weak, or needy, or even tired.

And so, we trudge on. Until we don’t. Until we fall over dead. Well, maybe not literally dead. Maybe we just suddenly bail out of our ministry activities; or we sink into a deep depression; or we quit our job, get a red Corvette and a blonde, and move to the coast. You know what I’m talking about.

We have the same Achilles’ heel that the camel does. We can force ourselves to keep going even while we’re getting dangerously close to falling apart. This is the cause of much of the anxiety and despair that people suffer from. We push ourselves too far for too long, and then we collapse.

The thing is, the camel could have been saved if it had just been properly cared for. If it had been given adequate water, food, and rest – even if it didn’t appear to need it – the camel would have been fine. The same is true for us. We have to take care of ourselves. Taking proper care of ourselves will go a long way towards preventing anxiety and depression to begin with, and it will help us to avoid just suddenly dropping dead (literally or figuratively), like the camel.

Don’t be the camel. Take care of yourself.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

We need wise counselors

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Seek wise counsel”

This morning I want to take us back to our discussion from a few days ago regarding the ways in which God speaks to us. One of the most important ways is through the counsel of wise Christians. Pastors, counselors, and mature Christian friends can be an invaluable source of guidance – especially when we’re depressed and perhaps not thinking clearly for ourselves.

The story is told of the famous Saint Francis of Assisi. (He was the founder of the Franciscan order of monks and he was famous for his humility and servanthood). At the beginning of his ministry years Francis was struggling with whether or not to devote himself to a secluded life of prayer and meditation, or to engage in preaching, evangelism, missions, and service.

Although Francis was a deeply devoted disciple of Christ and very mature in his spirituality, he also knew better than to rely just on his own judgment, and he was very aware of the many passages like Proverbs 12:15 (above) which teach us to seek wise counsel before making important decisions. So, he sent letters to two trusted friends and asked them to pray about it, and to offer him their thoughts on the matter. Both of them, independent of the other, responded that Francis should be an active Christian rather than a secluded one. He took their advice and thus was born the Franciscan order (which is still active around the world to this day, almost 1000 years later).

One of the biggest mistakes Christians make is to try to figure things our for ourselves, or to make important decisions based on our own judgment. Another mistake I’ve often seen is when a Christian does seek counsel, but they seek it from those who are likely to tell them what they want to hear. (We see this a lot when a husband and wife think too much alike and then rely only on the counsel of each other. That’s very close to relying just on your own judgment).

We need wise counselors who can be depended upon to pray about the issue for us and then will give us straight talk about it, even if the answer isn’t what we want to hear. This is especially true when we’re struggling with issues which are causing us anxiety and despair. In such situations we’re almost never thinking clearly and we need good counsel from others.

I encourage you to seek wise counsel when you have important decisions to make, or when you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, or despair.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Do you want to be found?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!” Luke 15:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Are you willing to be found by God?”

In Luke chapter 15 we find three parables from Jesus about lost things being found – the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.” All three are intended to teach an important lesson about how God feels when one of His own strays from Him and ends up “lost”. (It’s not that God doesn’t know where you are, it’s that you don’t know where God is. You have strayed from Him and are therefore lost).

In each parable the owner of what is lost is grieved and wants the lost thing back (the sheep, the coin, and the son). And in each case, there’s great rejoicing when the lost thing or person is back where they belong. This trio of parables are often misunderstood and thought to be about lost sinners who don’t know Jesus and who need to be saved. But that’s not right. In each case the lost thing belonged to the owner and was at one time in its proper place with the owner, but then strayed away and was for a time, lost. Folks, that’s you and me. This is about Christians who aren’t where they’re supposed to be in their relationship with God and who are therefore wandering, confused, and lost.

These parables show us the heart of God for those who are His but who have strayed. He wants you back. And when you are back with Him, His heart bursts with relief and joy. I encourage you to take a moment and read these three parables in Luke chapter 15 right now. See yourself as that lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. Hear the heart of God hurting for you, wanting so much to have you back with Him, safe and secure. Experience the joy of God as He embraces you and welcomes you back.

The problem sometimes is that the “lost” Christian isn’t willing to be found by God. Instead, they have intentionally moved away from Him. Anxiety, despair, troubles, and worries, should always move us closer to God, not further from Him. If you’re struggling with life right now and you have shut God and other Christians out, you are the precious lost thing that is grieving the heart of God. The way to move back to God is by more prayer, more Bible reading, more Christian music, more time with Christian friends, and more time in church.

Your peace and contentment, your sense of security and well-being, your hope and renewal, is all rooted in the overwhelming love God has for you. If you have moved away from Him, He wants you back. The question is, are you willing to be found by Him?

God bless,
Pastor Jim

God wants to be heard and understood

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God wants to be heard and understood”

In my opinion, one of the most helpful resources ever developed to teach Christians how to be aware of God’s presence, develop a deep and intimate relationship with Him, and learn to hear His voice, is Henry Blackaby’s “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”.

In that study we learn that although God can communicate with us in an infinite number of ways, the five ways He most commonly speaks to us in our day is from the Bible, in prayer, through circumstances, by the counsel of other Christians, and through the testimony of the church. And almost always, He will speak to us in more than just one of those ways. In other words, He will communicate with us and then He will confirm it.

Yesterday we learned that God wants to be heard by His people and He wants to be understood, but we have to be paying attention. We have to seek to hear from Him and we have to be attentive as we wait for Him to speak. The Bible is the primary way in which God speaks to us. He also speaks in prayer (but this is subtle and we have to be careful not to confuse our own feelings with the voice of God). God often uses our circumstances to show us His will, and He speaks through the counsel of pastors and mature Christian friends. God also uses the church as His megaphone. That can come to us through sermons, Bible studies, music, or even congregational votes of affirmation such as affirming our call into a ministry.

God speaks to us in all of those ways, but we do have to be seeking to hear from Him and we do have to be paying attention. Here’s a prayer that Dr. James Dobson (Focus on the Family) often prayed for himself: “Lord, I need to know what you want me to do, and I am listening. Please speak to me through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, friends, and the things that I read.”

One of the most helpful exercises we can engage in when we’re battling anxiety and depression is to write out our fears and concerns in the form of questions to God. Ask Him for understanding and answers. Then listen in all the ways we’ve considered today. God wants to be heard and understood, and He will answer, but are you listening? If you want to get better at hearing from God, I encourage you to get a copy of the study “Experiencing God”.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Are you listening?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Are you listening?”

One of the greatest truths in all of Scripture is that God wants to be heard by His people and He wants to be understood. That’s why He gave us the Bible. It’s also why He speaks to us through prayer, through the circumstances of life, and through other Christians. Throughout history He has also spoken through a burning bush, and out of the mouth of a donkey, and in the whirlwind of a storm, and in an infinite number of other ways. God wants to be heard and He wants to be understood.

As a case in point, as I’ve mentioned in a previous devotional in this series, every month God always gives me a theme to write about. Then throughout the month He brings to my attention passages of Scripture, examples from life, quotes from books, and numerous others sources and ideas which all apply to that theme. God has something to say about that topic and He has innumerable ways of getting His point across. Recently I became aware of John Eldredge’s new book, “Resilient: Restoring Your Weary Soul in These Turbulent Times”. I’m reading it now and with respect to our theme of learning to live without anxiety and despair, it is very rich and very helpful.

Jeremiah 33:3 is a great illustration of the truth that God wants to be heard by His people and He wants to be understood. There are hundreds of other such examples in both the Old and New Testaments (an entire body of Biblical literature that teaches this important truth).

Call to Him and then listen for the answer. But remember, God can and does speak to us in many ways and so we do have to pay attention. We have to remain aware and attentive. We must be seeking the answer and we should expect Him to answer. Going back to my example from the November 1^st devotional regarding how I go about researching and writing these lessons, this is why I keep the theme for the month playing in the back of my mind and it’s why I keep a notepad handy all the time – it’s so I will be aware and ready when God brings things to my attention that pertain to the answer I need. I encourage you to try that for the answers you are seeking.

It’s always true that God will speak to you (in His time and in His way). That’s especially true when you’re battling anxiety and despair, but you must be listening for the answer. My question for you this morning is, “Are you listening?”

We’ll think more about this tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

We need God-given purpose and plans

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse of today: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “We need God-given purpose and plans”

James Allen was a British philosopher and writer in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His most popular (and in my opinion most helpful) book was published in 1903 under the title “As A Man Thinketh”. It’s based on Proverbs 23:7, which maintains that the things we hold most dearly in our heart are what will shape us as a person.

With respect to our topic of dealing with anxiety and despair, I’m convinced that much of the anxiety and despair some people experience comes from the fact that deep in their heart they see little hope for today or for the future. I’m further convinced that one of the most effective ways of dealing with that is to have a God-given purpose and a plan to achieve that purpose.

With respect to that, Allen wrote, “They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pityings” But there’s a way to deal with that problem. Allen goes on, “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities. Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you but perceive an ideal and strive to reach it.”

What Allen is advocating for is having a purpose in life and a plan to carry it out. I believe that’s essential for every person, at every stage of life. Far too many of us are simply existing – just getting through our days, enduring our circumstances, and then doing it again the next day. That’s a recipe for despair and it’s not what God wants for us.

We need to have God-given dreams and purpose – along with a plan to keep us moving in the direction of our purpose. It doesn’t have to be some grand scheme to save the world. It can be as simple as a plan to get more education, or to learn a new skill, or to volunteer for a new ministry in your church. It could be to implement a new diet and exercise routine.

If you have aspirations for what you would like to achieve in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, and you are actively working a plan to do so, it will take your focus off of what you perceive to be the hopelessness of your current circumstances.

It’s true for Christians in all stages of life. To live well and to live with hope it’s essential to have a God-given purpose and a plan.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

God Bless the USA

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair”

Our Bible verse for today: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “God Bless the USA”

I love the song “God Bless the USA” by country singer Lee Greenwood. I met Lee once. It was in the mid-1980s. I was a Navy officer serving on the aircraft carrier the USS Kitty Hawk. One of my responsibilities was to stand watches as the Officer of the Deck (OOD). The OOD is the one who stands on the bridge of the ship and gives orders like “Helmsman, right standard rudder, steady on course 090”, and cool-sounding stuff like that.

One time our ship was at sea off the coast of southern California and Lee Greenwood flew out on a helicopter to perform a mini-concert for the crew. But first, he came to the bridge to meet the ship’s captain and to watch the bridge team operating the ship. I was the OOD at the time and Lee came over to ask some questions. I offered him the opportunity to issue orders to the helmsman to alter the course of the ship and like a grinning kid, he did. Then he went down on the hanger deck and sang “God Bless the USA”.

Today is election day in our nation. It’s an important day and one to be celebrated. The privilege to vote is a precious constitutional right and it’s an essential part of the greatness of our nation. If you haven’t already voted, please do so.

During this time when there’s so much anxiety and despair in our land, I remain convinced that America is still the greatest nation in the world and we still have much to be proud of and to feel good about. I want to leave you this morning with some words from one of our greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan:

“We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall in Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, “The American people have a special genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.” Reagan concluded, “We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.”

God isn’t done with America. We are still a great nation and we still have a great destiny, but it’s essential for Christians to be actively involved in society and in the political process. We have to vote and we have to elect good leaders. Do your part today and vote, and may God continue to bless the USA.

God bless,
Pastor Jim