Oak Hill Baptist Church

What if it’s you?

Set yourself free

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Set yourself free”

The truth that Jesus is urging us to know in John 8:32 is multifaceted. As He said about Himself in John 14:6, He “is” the truth. If we know Him, we will find freedom. First and foremost, we are set free from an eternity in hell. But second, in the context of this passage in John chapter eight, the truth Jesus was referring to was all that He had been teaching about knowing God and living victoriously in this life. If we know these truths – really know them as in accepting, embracing, and living these truths – we will be set free.

A genuinely saved follower of Christ will know and embrace Jesus and all that He taught, and we will then have been set free from an eternity in hell, but also from a lifetime in bondage to Satan now. This is the truth Jesus calls us to truly know, and which will set us free.

What a sad thing it is to watch someone struggling with life and living in bondage to Satan. They have a hole in their heart that they’re desperately trying to fill with things from the world such as possessions, approval, accomplishments, relationships, sex, drugs, or alcohol, but which can only be filled by God.

Jesus is right there ready and waiting to set them free from all that. They only need to accept Him and His teaching, live according to Biblical principles instead of worldly standards, and begin to grow in spiritual maturity. What’s holding them back? The answer is that they’re holding themselves back. Jesus is ready to set them free but they’re not willing to be set free. In essence, they’re not willing to set themselves free. How very sad.

Even sadder is a Christian who has professed faith in Christ but is still not living in the freedom Christ has granted them. They have been set free by Jesus but they aren’t living like it because they haven’t set themselves free. They have faith in Christ, but they’re still allowing Satan to hold them in bondage to the things of the world. And they are allowing that to be the case. It is voluntary. The fact is that as a Christian Satan has no power to hold you in bondage. The only power he has over you is what you allow him to have. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13.

This is a common spiritual problem and it bears further discussion, so we’ll come back to it tomorrow. For today I want to ask you, have you been set free by Jesus? Then live like it by setting yourself free as well. Truly surrender all your issues to Jesus and then live like someone who has been set free.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Are you perfect yet?

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Are you perfect yet?

I’m old enough to remember when the microwave oven first started to become widely available to the average household. It was an amazing thing to see food cooked in minutes when it used to take an hour or more in a conventional oven. I’m also old enough to remember the comedian Joan Rivers and her sketch about microwave ovens and impatient people. In the skit Joan stood in front of a microwave as it was cooking something. She was obviously impatient, tapping her foot and drumming her fingers on the counter. Finally, in great frustration and agitation she peers through the little window on the front of that microwave and yells, “HURRY UP!”

We Christians get like that when it comes to our own spiritual maturity. We get frustrated with ourselves and believe we should be further along in our growth than we are. I mentioned in a previous devotional that we often tend to be our own worst critics and our own worst enemies. In yesterday’s devotional I noted that sometimes the loudest and most critical voice in our head is our own voice. It’s us. Never mind the demons whispering the lies of Satan. Sometimes we do more damage to ourselves than they could ever do to us. That then causes us to have a poor self-image. Our perceived shortcomings cause us stress, anxiety and despair.

In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul was describing the process of his own spiritual growth. His entire life consisted of a slow, steady, progressive process of transformation from the man he once was, into the man God intended for him to be. It was a lifelong process that would only be completed when he finally arrived in heaven.

The theological term for that is “sanctification”. It’s the process of being transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ. But it is a process and it is lifelong. Therefore, we need to give ourselves a break. You aren’t going to become perfect overnight. You can’t stand in front of the spiritual microwave and yell, “HURRY UP!”

It is true there are things you can do that can cause the process to move along faster than it otherwise would have. That’s a function of how serious you are as a disciple of Christ and how much time you dedicate to placing yourself in a position before God whereby the Holy Spirit can mold and shape you, transforming you from the person you were, into the person God wants you to be. You can influence the speed with which that happens, but it is still a lifelong process.

Are you perfect yet? No, no you aren’t. Neither am I, and we won’t be this side of heaven. So, give yourself a break. Stop being so critical of yourself. Do your part as a good disciple of Jesus and then relax and let the Holy Spirit do his part – in His way and in His time.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

No nattering nabobs of negativism, please

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: “No nattering nabobs of negativism, please”

The term “Nabob” has been around for hundreds of years. It goes back at least to the early 1600s in England. It was derisively used to describe businessmen and adventurers who went off to colonial India, made fortunes, and then came home to England to live leisurely lives of wealth and affluence, but they were snooty about it. They were way too impressed with themselves and they were arrogant. Therefore, they were called “nabobs” and they were lampooned and laughed at.

In more modern times, the term was used by presidential speech-writer William Safire in a 1970 speech for Vice-President Spiro Agnew. Agnew applied it to news reporters who he felt were unfairly dogging the Nixon administration. He called them “nattering nabobs of negativism”.

We all have to contend with our own nattering nabobs of negativism. They come in two varieties – physical and spiritual – people and demons. On the demonic side, they’re the voices in your head that whisper and shout the lies of Satan. (Also, often, the voices are of our own making. It’s not Satan, it’s us. We’re being tormented by our own voice. Either way, it’s a nattering nabob of negativism and it is harmful).

The other variety of nattering negativism comes from other people. They’re the nitpickers and fault-finders. They’re present in politics, the news media, the workplace, and in neighborhoods. Our world is filled with them. In the Christian world they’re the ones who seem to think fault-finding is a spiritual gift and that they’ve been appointed by God to go into all the world and find fault in the lives of others. They too are nattering nabobs of negativism and they can be annoying, or even harmful.

What to do with them? Well, refuse to put up with them – in your head and in your life. Shut them up and shut them out. For the voices in your head, Paul gives us the answer in Philippians 4:8 – intentionally flood your mind with lots of good positive influences. And for the actual people, David addressed that in yesterday’s devotional in Psalm 122:1 – choose to be with people who are uplifting and positive rather than negative and fault-finding.

Nattering nabobs of negativism are a common source of anxiety and despair in our lives. If you have one in your life, perhaps at work, or even worse, in your church, try to help them see the problems and damage they are causing with their nitpicking, fault-finding, and negativism. If they won’t stop, then distance yourself from them if you can. You don’t need that in your life.

I urge you not to be a nattering nabob of negativism, and I also encourage you not to put up with them either. Life is hard enough without harping negative people making it even harder.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

It’s the worst thing you can do

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “It’s the worst thing you can do”

Being alone when you’re struggling with anxiety and despair is the worst thing you can do. When you’re alone the voices in your head have unrestrained access to your thoughts. And if your voices are like my voices, they’re loud, obnoxious, demanding, and wrong.

So, how do you shut them off? You know as well as I do that they will not easily sit down and shut up just because you tell them to. No, something else or someone else has to shut them up and sit them down. You have to fill your mind with other, more positive voices. Prayer, Bible reading, Christian music, a good Christian book, are all wonderful resources and can be very helpful at such times.

But often we need something more. We need to replace the negative with some positive, and we need some help to do it. Immersing yourself in an uplifting, encouraging, spiritually nurturing crowd of people will expose you to lots of good positive influences, and it will crowd out the chattering demons of negativity that have been filling your head and stealing your joy.

In Psalm 122:1 King David paints a picture of a band of brothers and sisters filled with eager and joyful anticipation as they make their way to the gathering of God’s people. They’re looking forward to being immersed in and surrounded by lots of brothers and sisters worshiping God, encouraging each other, and enjoying one another’s company. That’s what it’s like to be with God’s people, and we all need a lot more of it.

Life is hard. Sometimes it’s harder than at other times. And at such times, we need to fill our lives and our heads with as much good stuff as we can. Being alone is the worst thing you can do. You’re giving the demons of negativity unrestricted access to your mind.

Here’s the invitation I extend to you today, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Today (Saturday October 22^nd) the people of Oak Hill Baptist will be gathered at 3:00 for what we’re calling a Fall Bash. It will be like a Fall Harvest Festival. It will be a time of fellowship and fun. There will be hamburgers and hotdogs, sides and desserts, corn hole, basketball, a cake walk, a candy give-away, and lots more. It will be lively and it will be fun. We would love to have you join us.

Being alone is often the worst thing we can do.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Too much of one, not enough of the other

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

Our thought for today: “Too much of one and not enough of the other”

The church is a gift from God. The fellowship of believers was God’s idea. He created the concept of local churches so that you and I would have a small group of brothers and sisters in Christ to lift us up, to encourage us, and to help us stay focused on God.

One of the most important aspects of church life are the times the church gathers for worship, study, and fellowship. That typically happens on Sundays and Wednesdays, and there’s a good reason the writer of the letter to the Hebrews cautions us not to miss those times (Hebrews 10:24-25). We derive many benefits and blessings from being with our brothers and sisters, but one thing in particular that those times accomplish is they help us to reorient our focus to God.

The fact is that life is busy and it’s filled with responsibilities, pressures, expectations and distractions. Coming together with the church for worship, study, and fellowship helps us to refocus. Isaiah reminds us in 26:3 that when our mind is on God, we get to experience the peace of God. So, it stands to reason that the more focused we stay on God the more of the peace of God we will experience. Anxiety and despair come from too much focus on worldly concerns and not enough focus on God. We have too much of one and not enough of “The Other”.

Gathering with the church shifts our attention back to God, where it belongs. Then, if we take our reoriented focus with us back out into life, we discover that life becomes less pressured. Not only that but when we are less pressured, less anxious, less despairing, we will actually accomplish more and we will do it better because we aren’t wasting our emotional energy on useless anxiety.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you …” Peace is the gift that God bestows upon those who keep their minds focused on Him. The gatherings of your church family are designed to help you accomplish exactly that. We all need that time of refocusing and refreshing, and we need it as often as we can get it. I encourage you to gather with the church this Sunday. You need it. We all give too much attention to the world and not enough attention to God. Church gatherings help to restore a better balance.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

You are one of God’s favorites

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued to extend faithful love to you.” Jeremiah 31:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are one of God’s favorites”

I love the easy and relaxed atmosphere we have at Oak Hill Baptist Church. We’re a small, multi-generational family church on the edge of town. Go much further past us and you’re into farm land, rural settings, and a wildlife reserve. We’re more country than not. We’re also very comfortable with each other, and that often leads to a lot of joking, kidding, and lighthearted banter.

I remember one such occasion when a few friends were playfully teasing each other and one of the ladies looked at the others and with a little grin and a twinkle in her eye she said, “You’d better be careful. I’m one of God’s favorites.” Then she chuckled and so did everyone else.

But it’s true. She is one of God’s favorites – and she knows it. Not only does God love her (as we discussed yesterday), but He also likes her. And that’s true of you, me, and every other person who belongs to Him as well. Listen to the heart of the Father in Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Those words were spoken first and specifically about the nation of Israel, but I believe they express the Father’s heart towards all of His children. In fact, in my Bible the superscript above the passage reads, “God’s relationship with His people”. “His people” were the Jews back then but it also includes you and I today. God loves you with an everlasting love.

The Apostle John captured this truth in 1 John 3:1 where he reminds us, “See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children – and we are!” The Apostle Paul stressed the Father/child intimacy of this relationship when he wrote in Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba,” Father!” “Abba” means “Daddy”. It’s a term of endearment and comfortable intimacy between a father and a child. This understanding is so important to God that He had Paul remind us of it again in Galatians 4:6, “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba,” Father!

My friend, you need to know that you are one of God’s favorites. You make Him smile. You warm His heart, and that should make you feel pretty good about yourself. You are very special to God. You’re one of His favorites. I hope you find rest and peace in that great truth today.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Will you let Jesus be Jesus in your life?

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Will you let Jesus be Jesus in your life?”

One of the primary drivers of anxiety and despair is poor self-image. The truth is that we are our own worst critics and our own worst enemies. Nobody tears you down like you tear down yourself down. The most critical voice in your head is your own.

It would be helpful if we would learn to see ourselves as Jesus sees us. Oh, wait. On second thought, maybe that isn’t so helpful. At least, it’s not helpful if we see ourselves as we believe Jesus sees us. Many of us believe that Jesus is secretly unhappy with us, that He’s angry with us for our thoughts, words, and actions and therefore He’s disappointed in us as a person. But is that the picture given to us in the New Testament? Is that how Jesus really thinks of us?

In Matthew 9:36 we’re given yet another glimpse into the heart of Jesus, and what we find there is compassion. Yes, compassion. He saw how lost and confused and distressed the people were and it broke His heart. Jesus loved people, even flawed, confused, and distressed people like you and me. He has compassion on us. There are no examples in the Gospels of Jesus expressing disgust, distain, or dislike for anyone (except perhaps for the Pharisees who were misleading and mistreating the people and doing it in the name of God).

Let me ask you, do you believe Jesus likes you? I’m not asking if you believe He loves you, we know He does, He died for you. But do you think He likes you? Read Matthew 9:36 again. Then read Matthew 11:28-30 and hear His invitation to come to Him, just as you are, and to experience love, acceptance, rest, and renewal. Go ahead, read it, I’ll wait.

I hope you did take the time to read those passages. They illustrate the compassionate tenderness of the heart of Jesus. More than loving you, He likes you. He wants your company. He wants to heal your hurts and bring peace to your troubled heart. And that’s not just what Jesus is like, but it’s who Jesus is. Compassion and tenderness, love and kindness, mercy and acceptance, it’s all part of who Jesus is, and it’s what He wants us to experience in our relationship with Him.

Will you let Jesus be Jesus in your life? If you will accept the fact that He loves you and He likes you, and then simply relax and rest in the reality of that truth, it will go a long way towards improving how you see yourself. That then will relieve a lot of anxiety and despair in your life. I encourage you to let Jesus be Jesus in your life.

We’ll come back to this tomorrow. I want to tell you a story about someone who is one of God’s favorites – and she knows it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Take it as it comes

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “Come now, you who say, ‘Tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring – what your life will be! For you are like a vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” James 4:13-14 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Take it as it comes”

For most of my adult life I was a jogger. Not a runner, a jogger. My legs are too short to go very fast, but I could go a long distance. And so, I jogged. A lot. Five times a week for years. Then age kicked in, my knees started getting sore, and jogging turned into walking. So, these days I walk. A lot. Pretty much every day.

And … it turns out this is better. When I jogged, I wasn’t going fast, which was okay because I wasn’t in a race, I was just jogging for the exercise and for the joy of jogging. Now I walk for the same reasons. It’s good exercise and I enjoy it. But I’ve discovered that I actually enjoy walking more than I enjoyed jogging because since I’m going slower, I appreciate my surroundings more. I take the time to really look at what’s around me and to appreciate the trail through the woods, the path around the lake, the well-manicured lawns in the neighborhood.

You see, I’m not walking to get anywhere. If I need to get somewhere I own a truck, a car, a motorcycle, a mountain bike, a skateboard, and roller skates. (Okay, the skateboard was left behind by one of my sons from his teenage years and I don’t actually use the roller skates anymore, but you get my point. I don’t have to walk to get anywhere, and getting anywhere isn’t the reason for the walking. Enjoying the walk is the reason for the walking).

The same should be true of life. As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, many of us spend way too much time rushing through life from one place to another, from one thing to another. It’s like the line from the old country song, “I rush and rush until life’s no fun”.

James 4:13-14 echoes Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 (cited yesterday). Slow-down and relax. Enjoy life. The future will get here when it gets here. The present is here now, so embrace it and enjoy it. In fact, as James points out, tomorrow may never come. Today may be the last one for you. So, embrace today. Appreciate it. Enjoy it.

A key to learning to live without anxiety and despair is to worry a little less about the future and focus a little more on embracing and enjoying the present. Just slow-down, relax, and take it as it comes.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Slow-down and relax

Good morning everyone,

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

Our Bible verse for today: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance …” Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Slow-down and relax”

I love the tone and feel of the opening verses of Ecclesiastes chapter three. It’s so chill. There’s a time for this and a time for that, an appropriate time for every activity under heaven. No need to rush, no need to stress, just take things as they come, deal with them in their time and place, and move on.

But most of us don’t live that way. Most of us are rushing headlong into the future, eager and anxious to get to the next thing so we can deal with it, and then move on to the next thing, and the next one after that, and the next one after that. But the truth is, you don’t have to run into the future as if you’re trying to catch it. The future doesn’t run away from us it runs towards us. It will be here before you know it, right on time, all by itself. It’s coming to you. Wait for it, it’s about to arrive.

Jesus was never in a hurry. He was always busy but there are no accounts in the Gospels of Him rushing. He was relaxed and in control. He always took His time with what He was doing, accepting people and situations as they came to Him. He gave His full attention to the people and events of the moment, and then moved on to the next moment. Jesus was never in a hurry.

With respect to learning to live a life with less anxiety and despair, this is pretty important. We often allow the press of life to get us stressed and anxious. We sometimes work ourselves into a state of anxiety as we anticipate what we think is waiting for us just around the corner in the future. We become so consumed with thoughts about what’s coming next that we aren’t fully focused on what is here now.

The answer? Slow-down and relax. The future is going to get here when it gets here. The present is here now. So, live in the moment, take the seasons of life as they come, and remember that there’s an appropriate time for everything that God wants you to do. If it’s of God, there will be time for it. If it isn’t of God, then you shouldn’t be doing it anyway. We’ll think more about this tomorrow but for now, take a breath, slow-down, and relax.

God bless,
Pastor Jim