Jimmy Hinton

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023

Fearless

Happy Summer Solstice Northern Hemisphere

This year’s theme is God first. We’ve been talking about God and you–developing a deeper relationship with God. John says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 ESV). God loved us enough to send his only son for us. Therefore, John concludes, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (vs. 11).

We have confidence that God remains in us because he gives us his Spirit. Furthermore, “whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (vs. 15). This gives us absolute confidence for the day of judgment and we know that we will spend eternity with God.

John concludes, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (vs. 18). If we’ve really been perfected in love, Christians should have no fear of death or judgment. This gives us peace of mind and courage to teach others, knowing that we are secure with God.

February 22, 2023

The Importance of Rest

Everyone who has ever read the Bible at all is familiar with the creation narrative. On day seven God rested from His work and called the day holy: “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:3 ESV). Hebrews echoes the holiness of resting with God: “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:9, 10).

Jesus, of course, invites people to enter into his protective rest: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). There is ample evidence that rest is not only beneficial for our walk with God, but it is actually commanded.

God designed us to rest from our work. When we do, there is a clear link to peace. Over and over again the scriptures tell us that we will find peace when we rest. Psalm 23 is a very clear example of this. A huge part of working on our relationship with God entails resting both with and in him.

February 9, 2023

Count Others More Significant than Yourselves

Our family has a hard and fast rule when we visit anywhere, whether it’s a restaurant, hotel, or are a guest somewhere. Our rule is to always leave a place better than you found it. This is a rule that we never break. As parents, it’s great to watch our kids pick up trash, tidy things up, and wipe things down. We taught them not to refuse to clean up other people’s messes. Even if the mess is not ours, we still clean up and leave the place better than we found it.

But a more important principle that we need to teach is to always leave a person better than what we found them. There may be some things in their life that is out of sorts. They may be struggling with something or are just having a terrible day. We may not be able to fix their problems, but are we leaving them in better shape than when we found them?

Romans 12:10 (ESV) says, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” In other words, leave people in better shape than you found them. Doing this takes a tremendous amount of self-control. We have to be intentional about it. We have to stay positive. When we build others up, we are built up too.

February 1, 2023

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

The book of Leviticus talks a lot about the holiness of God. God is holy (set apart), therefore we are holy. Holiness means that God’s people are distinguished from the world. Where the world perpetuates violence, injustices, and hatred, God’s people are to show compassion, justice, and love. God does not permit his people to take vengeance.

There are very specific commandments for how to treat one’s neighbor. “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18 ESV). This commandment is what Jesus referred to as “the second greatest commandment,” behind loving the Lord your God. In fact, these two commandments were so strong that Jesus said all of the law and the prophets hinge on these two commandments.

Over the next few weeks we will specifically talk about what it means to love ourselves. There are plenty of references in the Bible yet Christians don’t seem to take this charge to love ourselves as seriously as they should. Love is not perfect if we don’t love ourselves.

January 25, 2023

God and You: Bible Reading

This year’s theme is “God First,” and this quarter we are looking at scriptures that reinforce our own relationship with God. Hands down, the best way to get closer to God is to spend time with Him in the scriptures. Hebrews tells us that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV). Because it is the living word of God, “no creature is hidden from his sight” (vs. 13) and we must all give an account before God.

The word of God is not meant to expose, but to direct us toward the heart of God. It shows us where we are wrong and points us to what is right. It instructs us how to treat our fellow man and care for those in need. It shapes our heart and marks out the course of our life, both on earth and our eternal life. God’s word points us to Jesus. Without regular reading, we not only become Bible illiterate, we also lose our connection with God.

Psalm 119:10-11 says, “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Wow! Do we read our Bibles every day with that much passion and conviction?

January 19, 2023January 23, 2023

God and You: Endurance

blue and red superman print tank top shirt

The Bible uses the word “endurance” (sometimes translated as patience) 32 times in the New Testament. It’s a combination of the words “under” and “remain,” literally meaning to remain under challenges we face. One of the most famous occurrences of this word is in Romans when Paul says that “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3, 4 ESV).

Remaining under adversity produces character and that character produces hope. The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the races that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). Attaining, building, and running with endurance begins to build character that, in turn, produces hope.

Enduring hardships becomes challenging when we don’t completely rely on God. Enduring our afflictions aides in the comfort of our fellow brothers and sisters in their time of need: “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings we suffer” (2 Cor. 1:6). Putting God first means that we learn, as difficult as it is, to endure. Endurance comes at a great cost. But when we endure, we become invaluable to others who are suffering also.

January 12, 2023January 13, 2023

Take Care of Your Health

Our theme this year is God First. In the first quarter we’ll be talking about our own relationship with God. A huge part of loving God means that we should care for the bodies God gave us. Physical health is important for spiritual wellbeing. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, Paul urged him, “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23 ESV).

Clearly Paul wanted Timothy to get well. It’s interesting that an apostle who had the gift of healing didn’t pray for Timothy or lay his hands on him. Instead, he told Timothy to work on his own health and wellbeing. John was also concerned for the physical health that had a direct impact on the soul of his readers: “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul” (3 John 1:2).

There is a direct correlation between how we feel physically and how we feel mentally and spiritually. When we are sick, over eat, eat or drink bad foods, or lack exercise, we generally feel bad. Studies show that bad diets contribute to depression. Particularly, processed foods are the worst culprit. Healthy living contributes to a healthy mind and helps keep us fresh, sharp, and better focused on God.