| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Lighten up a little” Our Bible verse for today: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Let’s all lighten up a little” I think of the month of February as the dog days of winter. On the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, it’s the coldest month of the year – often bitter-cold with snow and ice. It is dark and dreary and seems to drag on forever. As I write this (on a Saturday afternoon for distribution on Monday morning), it is eight degrees outside with a windchill of minus four. There is an inch of snow on the ground on top of a quarter inch of solid ice. Tomorrow we might have to cancel church for the second Sunday in a row because the roads will be too dangerous to travel on. Did I mention that I’m not fond of February? Baby, it’s cold outside! On top of that, right now, our world seems to be on fire. There are protests and riots in our city streets; we are into the mean season of an election year; and the government is on the verge of shutting down again because of a budget fight. Internationally there are multiple wars on multiple fronts, and it seems like nobody likes anybody anymore. The World Health Organization says that chances are good there will be another pandemic of some sort soon, and there is talk about putting tariffs on dark chocolate from Germany (tragic!) Fortunately, Jesus is still on the throne, I’m still saved, and if you have read the last chapter of the Bible, then you know that we win in the end. In fact, despite how bad things sometimes look, God is sovereign over it all. He is at work in the middle of it all bringing good things out of it (Romans 8:28), and we as the people of God have every reason to be optimistic and joyful. So, let’s all lighten up a bit. Let’s introduce some lightheartedness into all the dreariness. Let’s spend the dog days of winter laughing and smiling and sharing the joy of Jesus. Sometimes life gets heavy. Many of us are way too serious. We all know people who trudge through their days, wearing their circumstances like a heavy old coat, seldom smiling, much less laughing. But that’s not how we’re supposed to live. It’s not what God intends for us. Like Solomon tells us in Proverbs 17:22, joy is good medicine, but a heavy spirit dries up the bones. A heavy spirit makes us sour, grumpy, and difficult to be with. Laughter lightens things up. It makes us feel better, it makes us nicer to be around, and it causes other people to want to be with us. All this month we will make a concerted effort to lighten things up a bit. We will consider what the Bible has to say about laughing and being joyful, and we will also think about the importance of intentionally expressing joy. Laughter and being joyful is good for us. By the way, did you hear the one about the feminist who demanded to know why we always say “Amen” at the end of a prayer rather than “Awomen”? The Pastor told her it’s the same reason that we sing “Hymns” instead of “Hers”. May your day be filled with joy and laughter and may you help others to lighten up a little. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
| Copyright © 2026 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
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