Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long, live well”   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: “Joy adds life to your years”   “Life is hard, and then you die.”, said the pessimist. “You have no idea how hard it is to be me!”, said the self-absorbed drama queen. “Everybody is against me.”, said the conspiracy theorist with the victim mentality.   Do you remember Eeyore the donkey from the Winnie the Pooh stories? Eeyore is a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, grey stuffed donkey known for his melancholy demeanor and for the fact that his tail frequently falls off. He goes through life with his head down, always expecting the worst. And sure enough, he always manages to attract the worst to himself. (There is a general real-life principle that maintains that we tend to attract that which we expect to happen.)   Many people go through life sounding and acting like Eeyore. It’s sad to watch, and it’s difficult to be around such people for long. I once knew a guy in the gym who was like that. He was one of the most negative people I have ever known. On the one hand, he was committed to maintaining good physical fitness, and he was trying to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible, but why? I mean, why would you want to live a long life if you’re that miserable?   There’s a better way to live. Smart people are intentionally joyful. They choose joy. There are many passages of Scripture which encourage and even command God’s people to be joyful. In Proverbs 17:22 we read that a joyful heart is good medicine. That’s more than just a clever illustration – it’s medically true, and studies have shown it to be true over-and-over again. Those people who have a joyful disposition tend to be healthier and to live longer than those who are perpetually negative and gloomy.   There are lots of ways in which we can be intentional about being joyful. One is to make it a habit to count your blessings frequently. Another is to structure your life in such a way as to minimize the negative you are exposed to and maximum positive influences (Philippians 4:8). I have a life principle (a general rule of thumb) that I try to abide by in this respect. It goes, “Reject that which drains you; embrace that which gives life.” I try to be intentional about filling my life with lots of affirming and nurturing influences.   Another way in which we can remain intentionally joyful is by surrounding ourselves with other joyful people – and there is no better place to find a bunch of joyful people than in church. One of the outstanding characteristics of a healthy church is that it will be a happy place filled with joyful people. If a joyful heart is good medicine; and if a healthy church is filled with joy; that means church attendance is good medicine.   I encourage you to get a shot of joy this Sunday. Attend a church that is filled with joyful people. It will be good medicine for you and you will leave there feeling better. Rather than just adding years to your life, a joyful heart adds life to your years. You will probably live longer, but you will certainly live better if you have a joyful heart.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” Romans 12:1 (CS)   Our thought for today: “Invest well for the future”   Romans 12:1 is a classic verse of Scripture which reminds us to take care of our body and then offer it to God for His use in His kingdom-building work. We are to honor Him in what we do with our body, but we are also to honor Him in how we take care of it. Taking proper care of your body is an act of worship and stewardship, and doing so ensures that your body will continue to be useful to the Lord for a long time to come.   In his book, “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity”, Dr. Peter Attia offered an interesting insight regarding the long-term benefits of exercise and physical fitness:   “I think of strength training as a form of retirement savings. Just as we want to retire with enough money saved up to sustain us for the rest of our lives, we want to reach older age with enough of a “reserve” of muscle (and bone density) to protect us from injury and allow us to continue to pursue the activities we enjoy. It is much better to save and invest and plan ahead, letting your wealth build gradually over decades, than to scramble to try to scrape together an individual retirement account in your late fifties and hope and pray that the stock market gods help you out. Like investing, strength training is also cumulative, its benefits compounding. The more of a reserve you build up, early on, the better off you will be over the long run.”   In another chapter he reports that his team’s research revealed, “More than any other tactical domain we discuss in this book, exercise has the greatest power to determine how you will live out the rest of your life … It delays the onset of chronic diseases, pretty much across the board, but it is also amazingly effective at extending and improving healthspan.”   And even if you have not been an exerciser up to this time, starting now is better than not starting at all: “Going from zero weekly exercise to just ninety minutes per week can reduce your risk of dying from all causes by 14 percent. It’s very hard to find a drug that can do that.”   Taking proper care of your body is an act of worship and stewardship. It is also an investment in your future. I encourage all of us to be intentionally active. Stay as healthy as you can for as long as you can.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Become functionally younger”   There’s a difference between your biological age and your functional age. Your biological or chronological age is simply a matter of the number of years old you are. Your functional age depends on the physical condition of your body. Remember Caleb from Joshua 14:11? Chronologically he was eighty-five but functionally he was much younger.  I know people in their forties who have the body of a sixty-year-old, and I also know people who have bodies that are functionally much younger than their actual years would suggest. Caleb was one of those.   To a large degree, it is physical fitness that makes the difference. In his great book, “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity”, Dr. Peter Attia and his team of researchers came to this conclusion: “This is where we see the true power of exercise – its ability to transform people, to make them functionally younger. It’s quite incredible.”   Your functional age is a result of how well you have taken care of yourself. Exercise and good nutrition are critical factors which help to determine how healthy your body is. And here’s the thing: even if you have not taken good care of yourself up to this point, you can start now and it will have a transformative effect on your body. Your functional age will begin to go backwards, and you will soon start to become younger than your years.   Isaiah 40:30-31 carries both spiritual and physical meaning. Spiritually, the lesson is that we draw strength and stamina from the Lord which enables us to face our challenges in life – to lean into them and to keep going. This is spiritual, mental, and emotional renewal which then gives us the physical strength to go on.   However, the verse also clues us into the truth that it is possible for older folks to be functionally younger than their years. While youths are fainting and becoming weary, older folks often find a second wind and can push on while others are sitting it out. This is especially true for older folks who treat their body like the temple of the Holy Spirit that it is. As a matter of good stewardship and of taking good care of the temple of the Spirit, these folks eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, properly manage stress, and they do it all as a matter of spiritual discipline so their body is available long-term to be used by Jesus for His kingdom-building purposes.   You can soar through your days as if on wings of eagles – spiritually and physically. But it does take some discipline and effort – both spiritual and physical discipline.   By-the-way, have you invested well for your retirement years? I do mean financially, yes. But how about physically? We will think about that tomorrow. For today, I encourage you to get some exercise. It will help to make you functionally younger than your years.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Exercise is medicine”   For many years before Aimee and I married and established our home together, I lived in a community on the other end of the county that wasn’t exactly a retirement community, but it was populated primarily by retirees. It’s a beautiful community with great amenities like five golf courses, eleven lakes, lots of hiking and bike trails, tennis courts, pickleball courts, and multiple swimming pools. It also has a very good exercise facility which is owned and operated by our local hospital. It is called the “Cumberland Medical Center Wellness Complex”. The staff there all wear tee shirts with the slogan, “Exercise is Medicine”.   There’s a lot of truth to that slogan. In his great book, “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity”, Dr. Peter Attia and his team of medical researchers discovered that of all the variables that help to contribute to good health and long life, none had a greater impact than regular moderate exercise. Here’s some of what they discovered:   “High aerobic fitness was associated with the greatest survival (rates).”   “The fitter you are the lower your risk of death… there is no other intervention, drug or otherwise, that can rival this magnitude of benefit. Exercise is so effective against diseases of aging … that it has often been compared to medicine.”   “Exercise really does act like a drug. To be more precise, it prompts the body to produce its own, endogenous drug-like chemicals. When we are exercising, our muscles generate molecules known as cytokines that send signals to other parts of our bodies, helping to strengthen our immune system and stimulate the growth of new muscle and stronger bones.”   “Muscle helps us survive old age.”   “The more effort you’re willing to put into it now, the more benefit you’ll reap in the future.”   When I lived in that community, I enjoyed working out every day at the Wellness Complex. Almost everyone there were senior citizens, but I was amazed at how fit many of them were. Even in their 70s and 80s they were lifting weights, walking and jogging, using the cardio machines, playing tennis and pickle ball, swimming, hiking, and more. I also admired some of the other older folks who had not taken very good care of themselves up to that point, but who were now making the effort to get healthier. Some of them were even pushing walkers around the indoor track!   I have run out of room this morning in this devotional and haven’t yet commented on our verse for today and how it applies both physically and spiritually. So, we will come back to that again tomorrow. For now, I want to encourage you to take your medicine! Get up, get out, and do some exercise. It will go a long way towards helping you to live long and to live well.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and prosper”   Our Bible verse for today: “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Psalm 139:16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Does God cause it, or just know it?   There is a common and widespread misunderstanding about the number of days of life we each get. Some people believe we have no control over that because God has predetermined how long each of us will live. Those people read a verse like Psalm 139:16 and they conclude that God Himself has determined the number of our days and therefore that is how long you will live – regardless of any other circumstances. That kind of thinking is why we sometimes hear people say, “When my number is up, it’s up. God has determined in advance when I will die, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”   But I’m not so sure that’s true. “The Old Country Preacher”, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, told the story of the young man who claimed, “Since God Himself has predetermined the number of my days, if I want to, I can go stand in front of a speeding truck on the interstate but if it’s not my day to die then I won’t.” To that Dr. McGee replied, “Son, if you go stand in front of a speeding truck, I can assure you it will be your day to die.”   If that young man did go stand in front of a speeding truck and he did die, would it be because God caused it? Or would it simply be true that God had always known that that young man was going to do that dumb thing on that day and therefore that would be the day he died?   In a similar way, if a person is obese and stays that way for years on end and finally dies from complications of type 2 diabetes, did God determine in advance that the person was to die at a relatively young age, or is it possible that the person could have lived a lot longer if he or she had lost 100 pounds, exercised, and taken better care of themselves?   All Psalm 139:16 says is that all my days were known and recorded in God’s book before one of them was even lived. That speaks to God’s omniscience. He knows all things and therefore He has always known when I will die and why. However, it does not necessarily mean that the number of my days and the cause of my death were predetermined by Him.   God does know the number of our days, but He does not necessarily cause the number of our days. Very often, we are the cause of the number of our days, and it is entirely possible God would have preferred for us to have lived longer and better.   Someday we will all die. For some of us it will be sooner and for others it will be later, but eventually, we will all die. But in the meantime, we have a stewardship responsibility to God to take proper care of our physical body and to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can, remaining available to Jesus to be used by Him for His kingdom-building work here on earth.   To the best of your ability, live long and prosper.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and prosper”   Our Bible verse for today: “Here I am today, eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Joshua 14:11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Move that body!”   Anyone who knows me or who has paid attention to my sermons, Bible studies, and writings, for any length of time, knows that Joshua 14:11 is one of my life verses and Caleb is one of my Biblical heroes. This verse and his story find their way into my preaching, teaching, and writing frequently. It’s because I admire his feisty spunkiness, his resilience and resolve, and the fact that he seemed to live life to the fullest, regardless of his circumstances and despite his advancing age.   In a previous devotional in this series, we considered the truth that taking proper care of our physical body is a matter of good stewardship. Your body is a gift to you from God. Also, your physical body was purchased by Jesus through the shedding of his blood on the cross to be a temple of His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). That makes your physical body a walking, talking, mobile temple of God’s Holy Spirit and Jesus intends to use your body to accomplish His purposes here on earth. But for that to happen, you must keep your body as healthy as possible for as long as possible. That’s the stewardship responsibility we each have regarding our physical body.    One of the most important ways in which we keep your physical body healthy is to stay active. Your body needs to move. The more active you are the more alive you are. The less active you are the closer to being dead you are. This is a basic law of nature. Sir Issac Newton’s First Law of Motion is a scientific principle which states, “An object in motion will remain in motion.” In other words, it will remain in motion unless something stops it. The opposite of this principle is true as well and is expressed as, “An object at rest stays at rest.”   Newton’s First Law of Motion is a scientific fact based in physics, but it is also widely used as a motivational concept for self-improvement to encourage action that then builds momentum and which progressively becomes self-sustaining.   The point is that once you have the habit of being in motion it becomes increasingly easier to maintain that motion. And once you have the habit of being a couch potato and doing little, it becomes increasingly harder to get moving again.   We’ll think more about this in the days to come. For today I want to encourage you to get off the couch, get out there, and move that body. It’s the first and most important action you can take to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and prosper”   Our Bible verse for today: “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14   Our thought for today: “Out of the darkness into the light”   Can you imagine any place darker than a tomb? Physically dark – yes, there are no lightbulbs in a tomb. There’s no need for them. But spiritually dark too. A tomb is a place of death and decay. It’s dark physically and spiritually. How depressing!   Saturday, the day before Easter, the body of Jesus was in the tomb. As far as anyone knew, it was a place of death. The body of Jesus should have been undergoing decay and starting to stink. For those who didn’t understand, it was a dark day indeed. But the darkness of that Saturday was simply a prelude to the brilliant light that was coming on Sunday. Jesus was about to emerge out of the realm of darkness and death, and into the realm of glorious eternal light.   The same is true for those who have faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and who therefore have the promise of life after death – eternal life in heaven. As Paul wrote in Colossians 1:13-14, Jesus rescued us from the domain of death and darkness, and He has transferred us into the kingdom of light. The grave couldn’t hold Jesus, and it also can’t hold those who belong to Jesus. That’s what we celebrate on Easter. The resurrection was from death to life – from darkness to light. That was true of Jesus’ resurrection, and it will be true of ours. If you belong to Jesus, then you no longer live in darkness; you belong to the kingdom of light.   Easter is a time of celebration, and I want to invite you to come and celebrate with us at Oak Hill Baptist Church. On Easter morning we will have an Easter brunch and time of fellowship from 9:00 – 10:00. At that time there will also be an Easter Egg hunt for the children. It will all be followed by a Resurrection Celebration service at 10:00. If you are close to Cumberland County TN, then please join us in-person. If you are not close to us, or if you are physically unable to join us in-person, then please join us live online at www.youtube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville.   The Saturday between the crucifixion and the resurrection was a dark day. But Sunday was coming. Jesus was coming out of the darkness and into the light!   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and prosper”   Our Bible verse for today: “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “This is why Good Friday is “good”   Many years ago, Pastor Tony Campolo preached a sermon (which he borrowed from an old black preacher named S.M. Lockridge) which ultimately was turned into a best-selling book, and which has then also been the inspiration for many song lyrics. The title of the sermon and book was “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming.”   It had a double meaning. First, clearly, the reference is to Jesus’ death on the cross. On that Friday Jesus suffered a tortuous and hideous death by crucifixion. The One who was believed by many to have been the long-awaited Messiah was dead, his body mangled beyond recognition. The hopes of His followers apparently shattered.   That was Friday, but Sunday was coming. We all know the rest of the story. We know that on Sunday morning, the first Easter, Jesus would be raised from the dead and He would live forever. We also know that by His sacrifice we can be saved and thereby defeat death as well (John 3:16).   The death on the cross had to occur. There had to be a death so there could be a resurrection. And there had to be a resurrection so there could be new life – life after death. All of that had to happen and as horrible as it was, that is what makes Good Friday “good”. It was good that it happened, or we would all be lost in our sins forever.   To those first followers, on that Friday, it sure didn’t seem good. But ultimately something very bad was leading to something very good. And that then leads us to the second half of that double meaning of the phrase “It’s Friday but Sunday’s Coming”. The phrase has become a metaphor for our times of trials and struggles. Sooner or later, everything passes. Sooner or later, your trial will end. Either it will be resolved in this lifetime or in eternity but either way, it comes to pass. Therefore, as we are going through our difficult times, we can truthfully say, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.” Better days are ahead.    There’s an old Baptist hymn we sometimes still sing in church. The title is “Because He lives”. One line says, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”   Today is Good Friday. And it is “good”. Take some time today to thank the Lord Jesus for the sacrifice He made for you and for me. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and prosper”   Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Your body belongs to Jesus”   Throughout this month of considering how we can live long and prosper, I will draw upon the research of Dr. Peter Attia, as published in his great book, “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.” Now, to be clear, “Outlive” is not a Christian book, it is a science book. Over the span of decades, Dr. Attia conducted extensive research into the top four leading causes of death in America: heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s), and type 2 diabetes and related metabolic dysfunction.   Rather than focusing his research on treating those diseases in the short-term (once they have been diagnosed), his focus was on long-term interventions that can help to prevent the diseases from developing to begin with. He does include helpful insights regarding actions that can be taken to mitigate the effects of those diseases once they exist in a body, but the primary focus of his research and of his book is prevention.   Although not intentionally Biblical in itself, Dr. Attia’s research lends itself nicely to the Apostle Paul’s lesson in 1 Corinthians 6:19. As a matter of good stewardship, we have a Biblical responsibility to take proper care of our physical body. For one thing, your physical body is the temple of God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within your heart and that makes your physical body a walking, talking, mobile temple of God’s Holy Spirit. You would never defile the church building, would you? Then why would you defile your physical body – the temple of the Holy Spirit?   Paul goes on in that passage to say that “You are not your own, for you were bought at a price.” In other words, your physical body does not belong to you, it belongs to Jesus. He purchased it to be used for His purposes. On the cross not only did He purchase your eternal soul with the shedding of His blood, but He purchased your physical body to be used as a walking, talking, mobile temple of His Holy Spirit. Therefore, it doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to Him and you have a stewardship responsibility to take proper care of it for Him so that it will be available Jesus to use for His desired purposes. The better condition your physical body is in, the more Jesus can do with it. The worse condition your body is in, the less useful it is to Jesus.   Of course, as we age, our physical body deteriorates. Jesus knows this. He designed that body. But our responsibility is to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can. This requires intentionality and discipline on our parts, and it is what we will spend the rest of the month considering.   God expects you to take good care of yourself. Your physical body belongs to Jesus not to you.   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

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long and prosper”   Our Bible verse for today: “My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands; for they will bring you many days, and a full life, and well-being.” Proverbs 3:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “If this then that”   This will be our third month of considering ways in which we can live a full and rich life and live it abundantly, as Jesus proclaimed in John 10:10. These are all quality-of-life issues and in each case, the burden is on us as individuals to establish the personal disciplines in our lives and to maintain the proper attitude and perspective, so that we can have a full and rich life.   So far, we have considered the importance of approaching life with a light-hearted attitude that enables us to intentionally find joy and humor in daily living (the theme was “Lighten up a little”). Then we moved into the theme of “Just keep dancing”. It was based on Tim Hansel’s excellent little book “You gotta keep dancing”. It was all about persevering through the trials of life and doing so with a good attitude and positive expectations.   This month I unapologetically borrow that memorable phrase from everyone’s favorite Vulcan wiseman, Mr. Spock, “May you live long and prosper”. Isn’t that what we all want – to live long and to live well? As Christians we know we have the promise of heaven and we know it’s going to be great, but we also love living and we want to live long and well. It’s like Kenny Chesney once sang, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.” Instead, we want to stay here as long as we can, enjoying a high quality of life.   So, how do we do that? How do we live long in terms of longevity of years, and how do we fill those years with lots of good living? Well, there’s an app for that. It’s called the Bible and God has filled it with lots of instructions and guidance regarding how to live your best life. Now of course, not everyone lives long. God Himself numbers our days, and they have been determined since before we were even born (Psalm 139:16). But that doesn’t necessarily mean that God causes the number of our days, only that He knows the number of our days.   The causes behind the number of days of life are often determined by the choices the individual makes. We’re talking about lifestyle issues. We’re talking about making smart choices moment-by-moment and long-term as well, that create the conditions whereby we can potentially live long and live well. Proverbs 3:1-2 is just one of many verses in both the Old and New Testaments which setup an “if this, then that” scenario with respect to living long and well. “If you do this, then you will experience that.” They are general precepts which set the stage for the potential to have a long and full life – if you do your part.   Although there are circumstances that often result in a person living a short time rather than a long time (wars, accidents, criminal actions of others, etc.), it is still true that there are actions we can and should take that create the potential for living long and well. The burden is on us to do the things God has instructed us to do so that we can “live long and prosper.” I look forward to exploring this topic with you in the coming month.   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