Barry Church of Christ

08/23/2026

What’s in Your Room? John 14:1-4
https://youtu.be/S507AB79dWM

Devotional: 8-23-26

Jesus says he is preparing a place for us. What do you think is in ...

08/22/2026

Overthinking

Here is a line I often tell my children, “I used to think I was a deep thinker. Then, I thought about it some more, … and I decided, ‘No, I’m not!’” My hunch is that we can all find ourselves in a rut where we get anxious and overthink and get one’s self waffling back and forth. A passage that has been helpful for me is Psalm 131:1-3 (NIV) “My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”

About 25 years ago at church camp, the scheduled speaker that night had an emergency come up. He called and cancelled. I quickly threw a lesson together. Seems like that night it was as well received as any lesson I gave that week. Later, I was discussing that with Joe and Wanda from Barry church. I can remember her telling me … maybe that means you think about things too much. A similar experience happened at the church in Bismarck. The details elude me, but I was called upon to speak on short notice. Afterwards, Norma told me something similar to what Wanda had said previously. Now, I am not advocating for not thinking. What I am encouraging is to refrain from overthinking and talking yourself out of doing the good you know you need to do, and worrying yourself sick.

Oh believe me, I still have issues to work on. My cell phone did not charge last night. As I began typing this, I double checked to make sure my phone was charging properly. Why did I waste my time doing that? I don’t know. I’m still learning not to overthink. One thing is for certain, the more you overthink; the more you worry. It takes an intelligent person to worry, and by the worries I’ve heard shared over the years, I know some highly intelligent people! So rather than trying to be in control of everything, leave it up to God. You can’t be in control of everything anyway. The only thing you can control is how you act and react. Learn the lesson of Psalm 131. Trust God. Don’t try to make yourself God. Be a trusting child. That is the role we are called to play. Go out and do it! And by all means, don’t overthink it!

Jimmy Hodges

08/16/2026

How? John 13:34,35
https://youtu.be/XgtZjG7V1ew

Devotional: 8-16-26

How do people know that you are one of Christ’s disciples? Jesus gi...

08/14/2026

The Human Heart

The human heart is amazing. It has the responsibility of pumping blood throughout the entire body. If it decides to quit working, that is the end of the story. Thankfully, this organ usually works wonderfully for many, many years. Through the years, I have known of several who’ve had open-heart surgery. It is amazing what our doctors can do to repair the human heart!

The Bible also speaks of another aspect of the heart, the spiritual side. When David is near death, he shares this wisdom to Solomon, “And Solomon, my son, get to know the God of your ancestors. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and with a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NLT). David’s advice is good for us all. Get to know God! Worship him with all your heart! Only the Lord sees and understands the heart!

Solomon has the temple built. Then, there is a grand ceremony to dedicate the temple. Solomon leads a public prayer. In that prayer, he speaks of the human heart, “Give your people whatever they deserve, for you alone know the human heart.” (2 Chronicles 6:30b NLT).

You and I may think you know a lot about the heart. But ultimately, God is the only one who truly knows the heart. Sure, we can occasionally tell when things are off by the way people act. But what about all those times that slipped by us unnoticed because that other person is so good at masking one’s emotions? Or what about all those times, we think we know the problem, but we are wrong? “The human heart is most deceitful and dangerously wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I know! I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9,10 NLT)

“We are called to be farmers, not brain surgeons or heart surgeons” That quote was a summary of 1 Corinthians 3:6-9. The message was received loud and clear. As Christians, we have a responsibility to sow the seed of the good news. However, we are not called to be heart surgeons. We need to let God do his job on the heart and the brain. He can do it better than you or I! So let’s keep busy farming. There is plenty for us to do.

Jimmy Hodges

08/09/2026

Trouble? John 12:27-30
https://youtu.be/DM_cLGZ1JKY

Devotional: 8-9-26

What do you do when trouble comes? Do you run or avoid it? Conside...

08/06/2026

Supplements

I’m sure a question that has been on everybody’s mind is this, “What does Jimmy eat to be in the shape he is?” Well, I eat from all the major food groups; meats, fruits, vegetables, dairy, bread, and junk food. If I don’t get all my nutrients from generous portions of various kinds of food, I take a multi-vitamin to make sure all my bases are covered.

Those thoughts about vitamins and supplements came to mind when reading the following passage, “In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous portion of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8 NLT).

You have faith, and I’m not trying to say that faith is deficient or anything like that; but the power of God’s word is telling us here to supplement our faith. Just like a multi-vitamin may help our body; we need to supplement our spiritual body with spiritual nutrients. Here are some vitamins for our faith. One is moral excellence. Live such a good life, that even if people accuse you of doing wrong most people will know that is a lie. Second, grow in your knowledge by personal devotions and also in public bible studies with other believers. As you grow, you will have more self-control. An outgrowth of self-control is patient endurance. The more we exhibit all these traits the more we look like God. Also, we will be more fruitful and productive in his kingdom.

Maybe people will ask us, “What do you do spiritually to be in the shape you are?” And we could reference them to the passage above in 2 Peter 1:5-8. We are supplementing our faith with these great traits. They make us look more like God and help us to be more productive. And you won’t find these spiritual supplements on the shelves at Wal-mart for $19.99 a bottle! They can only be had by walking with Jesus.

Jimmy Hodges

08/02/2026

Martha’s Confession: John 11:21-27
https://youtu.be/vtvJPZStZCc

Devotional: 8-2-26

Martha confessed here belief in Jesus. Do you believe? How has this...

08/01/2026

Majors & Minors

What was your major in college? What was your minor? I majored in the Bible, and had a minor in Preaching. There were over 40 credit hours in my major, and at least 15 hours in my minor. The specifics may have been different for you, but the idea is the same. Keep all this in mind as we read the text. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law; justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat, and swallowing a camel.” (Matthew 23:23-24 ESV).

Jesus tells the Pharisees. You are majoring in minors, and minoring in the majors. They were making sure 10% of spices were given to the Lord. But they were neglecting the most important areas. I have often heard this preached, “They were majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors!” I get the point. As I think about the comparison tithing spices wouldn’t count as a minor to me. It would be more like a required general education class – Introduction to Psychology for instance. I had to take a course like that to meet graduation requirements, but it was not under my major or minor.

Jesus wasn’t saying, “Don’t give 10% of your spices.” In fact, they were supposed to do that. But they were making that such a big deal, they were forgetting to practice justice, and mercy, and faithfulness. How can we do this today? Here are just a few examples. We can get so worked up about the songs we sing in worship, or the songs we don’t sing; that we forget to treat others fairly, or we fail to speak up and stand up for others when we see an injustice occur. We can have a strong opinion on what the church building should look like, but that can become problematic when we are cold and unconcerned for those in need. We can also get pre-occupied with the lives of other people and then at the same time be unforgiving towards certain people in our own lives. When we do this, we are majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors. Or worse yet, we are spending all our time and effort on a gen ed class, and forgetting where our focus should be.

Jimmy Hodges

07/26/2026

Why? John 9:1-5
https://youtu.be/TuY3V2p6qfE

Devotional: 7-26-26

We are people who like to know why. Sometimes, we don’t know the wh...

07/23/2026

Living in the Now

As a child, we are familiar with longing for the next age. When I was 15, I couldn’t wait to be 16 and drive. When I was 17, I couldn’t wait till 18. Then, I could vote and go off to college. As a parent, it’s a similar view. If we can just get to that next stage, when she sleeps through the night, or he is out of diapers. Now, the stages are getting a child trained through high school, getting another child through college, and continuing to be a source of encouragement for one whose schooling is completed! If I am not careful, I can still look forward to the next stage view. As a Christian, I need to learn to live in the now.

This is a complaint against Christians. We tend to look back or look ahead and miss what is right before our eyes. Honestly, the same complaint could be leveled at all people. As Christians, we look back to the cross. We look forward to heaven. Those are great blessings and should not be taken for granted. Keep in mind, there are many blessings right before our very eyes.

Here are some passages that come to mind. “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34 NIV). When I worry, I am borrowing tomorrow’s troubles today. “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24 NIV). Be thankful for your food. Enjoy it. Hopefully, you find satisfaction in your work. I have always felt for people who did not find pleasure in their profession. A person has to work, but it is really a chore when you don’t gain satisfaction from a job well done.

Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the door,” “I am the gate,” “I am the bread of life,” and “I am the good shepherd,” just to name a few. Notice, he does not state it, “I was,” or “I will be.” He always uses the present tense. In our hymns we sing, “Bow before the Great I Am.” “The Great I Was,” or “The Great I Will Be” doesn’t have the same ring to it. As Christians, we should reflect on the past of Christ on the cross. We should look forward to eternity in heaven. God has also blessed us to enjoy the present. As the old saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Whether it’s gathering for worship, an evening with friends, a family get together, working on a project, reading a good book, taking a hike in the park, fishing at the lake or watching a ball game; time flies and you are taking in the now. Be thankful to God for it!

Jimmy Hodges