Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Selfcare”   Our Bible verse for today: “Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced; develop common sense, you who are foolish.” Proverbs 8:5 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Prudence and common sense are what’s needed”   In fourteen years of writing these daily devotional messages I have seldom continued writing on the same theme for three straight months, but I am going to do that with our current theme of selfcare. There’s just so much more that needs to be said about it. Taking proper care of ourselves (body, soul, and spirit), is essential for living fully and well.   An important element of good selfcare is to maintain a calm, rational, thoughtful approach to all of life. I’m talking about exercising prudence and common sense when it comes to arriving at conclusions, making decisions, and taking action. When we are prudent we deliberately take time to consider all the facts of a situation and then we thoughtfully and prayerfully arrive at conclusions about it. For big life issues we also get good counsel before making decisions and taking action.   It’s especially important that we don’t act rashly out of emotion. Feelings are temporary (especially feelings that stem from hot emotions). The singer Jimmy Buffet once wrote a song about “A permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.” I have a tattoo that fits that description. I was a young eighteen-year-old military man doing a tour of duty in Vietnam but on R&R in Hong Kong with some friends. I did the things a young sailor typically does in situations like that and I woke up the next morning with a tattoo. I don’t really remember getting it but it has been on my left arm for fifty-three years now. It’s a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.   We could consider other examples. A moment of unrestrained and inappropriate passion could result in an unwanted pregnancy, or an incurable sexually transmitted disease, or a divorce. All of those would be examples of a permanent reminder of temporary feeling and they illustrate what happens when we are not disciplined and wise.   Good selfcare calls for sound judgment, discipline, prudence, and common sense. All of this is learned behavior and that is why we will continue exploring this important subject for a third straight month.   God bless, Pastor Jim    (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare”   Our Bible verse for today: “I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.” Psalm 4:8 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You need a good night’s sleep”   How well do you sleep at night? It’s an important question because getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most helpful things you can do for good physical selfcare. Being well-rested is a critical aspect of good health and being consistently sleep deprived can literally be a killer. Chronic sleep deficiency is linked to many health problems including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression. It is also a primary cause of job-related injuries and traffic accidents.   That being the case, one of the most helpful things you can do to improve your overall health is to take steps to improve the quality of your sleep. The average adult needs between 7-9 hours of good sleep consistently per night. Less than that, especially a sustained pattern of poor sleep over an extended period, is bad for your health.   Fortunately, there are actions we can take to help improve our sleep. First, you need a good bed. Since consistently getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your overall health, that makes your bed the most important piece of furniture you own. Your dining room set, living room set, recliner, or any other piece of furniture might look nice and may serve a functional purpose, but none of them will have the impact on your body that your bed does.   Recently I invested in a “Sleep Number” bed. It was expensive but it made a big difference in the quality of my sleep. I sleep much better now (consistently night-after-night), than I ever have on any other mattress. When I consider how much money I have spent on things like flooring, cabinets and countertops, bathroom renovations, etc. and how little those things improved the quality of my life, I realize that the cost of a good bed is money well-spent.   There are many other things we can do to improve the quality of our sleep (Google it). You will be surprised how many studies there have been and how many helpful strategies there are that will help you to sleep better.   You need a good night’s sleep. Every night. That’s the way God designed our bodies. Taking steps to improve the quality of your sleep is simply good selfcare.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare”   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; this is true worship.” Romans 12:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Boundaries for your body”   In previous devotionals in this series, we have considered the importance of establishing good boundaries to help facilitate good selfcare. Those discussions pertained primarily to boundaries designed to help us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But we also need good boundaries for physical selfcare.   For instance, we need to establish boundaries regarding the situations we will allow our physical body to be exposed to. Adventure is fun, but participating in high-speed and high-risk sports without appropriate safety precautions is foolish. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet or rock climbing without a safety harness are examples of risks that are unnecessary and which should not be taken. Doing so is crossing a boundary of common sense.   Staying in a home with a difficult and argumentative spouse and trying to work through the problems is Biblical. But a violent and physically abusive spouse has crossed a boundary that should not be crossed. Such action is unacceptable and drastic action must be taken to stop it.   There are other physical boundaries we must set for ourselves for the sake of good selfcare. Do you get enough sleep each night or do you have the habit of staying up too late and then going through your days sleep-deprived? If so, then you need a better boundary regarding bedtime. If you are someone who chooses to use alcohol as a beverage, what are your boundaries? How many beers or glasses of wine do you allow yourself and do you make excuses for crossing that line? One cold beer with your cheeseburger might be within the realm of acceptable conduct for you, but how about three, or four, or six? Have you set and do you keep an appropriate boundary?   Good nutrition is another boundary that we must have the discipline to set and observe. One donut for breakfast, on occasions, is probably okay, but four in one sitting is gluttony.   There is more that needs to be said regarding physical boundaries which will help to facilitate good selfcare. So, we will come back to this discussion in the days to come. But for now, what are your boundaries and do you respect them?   God bless, Pastor Jim     (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare” Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” 1 Timothy 5:23 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Take your medicine” In the days of the Apostle Paul and Timothy, wine was used for medicinal purposes. Timothy was a young pastor in a difficult ministry position leading a dysfunctional church filled with argumentative, immoral, and downright difficult people. The poor kid probably had ulcers. Evidently Paul felt that a little wine would be helpful (on some days Timothy probably felt like it would require a lot of wine, but you see the point. Paul was telling him to take his medicine.) We are fortunate and blessed to live in the age of medical science. I believe God uses modern medicine, therapies, surgeries, and medical professionals as His healing miracles in our day. But if we don’t avail ourselves of those medical resources that He has made available to us, then we are spurning the offered blessing and the possible healing that God may have wanted us to have. This is a matter of good selfcare. It is also a matter of stewardship. As we learned in a previous devotional in this series, our physical body is a gift from God and it is intended to be used by Him for kingdom-building purposes. That being the case, we have a responsibility to take proper care of it. That will certainly include things like good nutrition, exercise, getting sufficient sleep, and more. But it also includes getting regular checkups, going to the doctor when you are sick, taking your medicine, and accepting the medical procedures that are available to you. This needs to be pointed out because many people are stubborn about it. They don’t take good care of themselves; they don’t go to the doctor; and they won’t take their medicine. I have a friend who is dying of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer! Prostate cancer is 100% treatable and curable when discovered early. It is also one of the slowest growing cancers. All that is required to detect and treat it is regular prostate exams. But my friend was one of those many, many men who simply refused to get a regular exam. In fact, he had never had one. Consequently, by the time the cancer was discovered it was already stage four and it had already metastasized and spread to other organs and into his bones. This should not have been a terminal illness. It was completely unnecessary and entirely preventable. An important part of good selfcare involves getting regular checkups and screening exams, and then, within reason, taking advantage of the interventions that the Lord has made available to you. My advice for today is “take your medicine!” God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare” Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that your body is a 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 6:19-20 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Take care of your body” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 is a passage of Scripture I refer to often – in my own life and also in my preaching, teaching, and writing. I come back to it so often because it provides us with crucial insight into a very important spiritual truth. The Holy Spirit of God lives in your heart, which makes your physical body the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is important. We must grasp this truth, respect it, and then live in a way that shows we really do believe it. In that passage Paul explains that on the cross Jesus not only paid the price for your sins so you can spend eternity in heaven, but He also purchased your physical body to be a temple for His Holy Spirit to live in and to work through. That’s what he meant when he wrote, “You are not your own, for you were bought at a price.” On the cross, Jesus purchased your physical body to be used as an instrument of ministry to accomplish His purposes here on earth. Your physical body is a walking, talking, mobile temple of the Holy Spirit. You take Him with you everywhere you go and He wants to use you (your words and actions) to accomplish His purposes. That being the case, you have a stewardship responsibility to take good care of your physical body. You are not free to abuse it or to allow it to go uncared for or to deteriorate prematurely and unnecessarily. You have a responsibility to God to take proper care of the physical body He has given you and to then use it for His glory. Remember, you are a composite being consisting of a physical body, a mind, and a spirit. All three combine to make up the whole you and all three are interconnected. If you are suffering in one of those parts it affects the other parts. We have to do everything we can to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can physically, mentally/emotionally, and spiritually. Unfortunately, many of us don’t pay enough attention to taking good care of ourselves physically. Therefore, we will now turn our attention to some things we can do to take better care of our body. This is a critical part of good selfcare. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare” Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be misled: bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV) Our thought for this month: “Keep the good in and the bad out” As we continue our thinking about the importance of establishing good boundaries as an element of good selfcare, we need to remind ourselves that we must be intentional about this. Folks, it’s a big bad world out there filled with lots of big bad influences. We and our children are surrounded by them and immersed in them all day long. Therefore, we must be intentional about keeping the good in and the bad out. But doing so isn’t easy. Unfortunately, the world has the advantage. Bad influences far outweigh good influences in our society. Worse, the bad influences are subtle, ubiquitous, and insidious. To a large degree they are so common that we have become numb to it all and therefore the bad influences even work on us at the subconscious level without our awareness. The good news is that just a little bit of light chases away a whole lot of darkness. Enter a completely dark room and the darkness can seem overwhelming. But turn on even a small flashlight and the darkness quickly recedes and suddenly you can see a lot. The same holds true in the spiritual realm. Even a little spiritual light chases away a whole lot of spiritual darkness. This is why daily quiet time with the Lord in prayer and Bible study is so important. It’s also why regular church attendance matters so much. And it’s why maintaining close and frequent fellowship with other Christians can be such an effective way of combatting the evil in the world. A little light chases away a lot of darkness. This past week at Oak Hill Baptist Church we held Vacation Bible School. It was wonderful and the children had a blast. But more important than having fun, they learned a lot about God. They learned about His magnificent creation and they learned the importance of having faith in Jesus. Seeds of faith were planted in their young hearts that will bear fruit for the rest of their lives and which will help them to be strong and faithful in a culture that makes being strong and faithful to God very difficult. On Sunday we will conclude our Bible school in the morning service with a VBS sermon and special music and dancing from the children. It will be followed by an ice cream social immediately after the service. Please join us for Sunday school at 9:00 and the VBS grand finale at 10:00 (and be sure to stay for the ice cream!) Children need the guidance, good example, and support of adults to establish and maintain good boundaries that will help them to keep the good in and the bad out. Please come and support them this Sunday. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare” Our Bible verse for today: “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (CSB) Our thought for today: “This is the objective of good selfcare” The old saying tells us, “Life is hard – and then you die.” Granted, that sounds dark and pessimistic, and it is, but there is also a lot of truth contained in that clever little ditty. Life is hard, and someday you will die. The question isn’t if you will encounter trials and tribulations in life (you will). And the question is not whether you will one day die (unless you’re still alive when Jesus comes back then yes, one day you will die). The larger and more important question is “how will you deal with those stark realities?” In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Paul affirmed that in life it often felt as if he was afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and even struck down. And yet, he was not crushed, in despair, feeling abandoned, nor did any of that destroy him. How did this spiritual giant handle all the things he faced in life and do it with such dignity and grace? He tells us a little later in that same passage. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 he wrote, “Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” The editors of the Experiencing God Study Bible had this to say about that: “God does not promise a pain-free life, but he does provide hope in the face of adversity.” This is what we were thinking about in yesterday’s devotional. This is why we discipline ourselves to engage in “the long obedience in the same direction” that pastor and author Eugene Peterson wrote about. This is what a lifetime of good spiritual practice produces in us. The objective of good spiritual practice as part of good selfcare is so that we will be healthy, strong, confident, poised, dignified, and faithful through all the trials and tribulations we face in life. We have hope for today and a promise for tomorrow. Afflicted, maybe. But not crushed and certainly not defeated. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare” Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Order and structure for your inner world” Many years ago, when I was the pastor of a church in California, I knew an elderly lady who was truly one of the great saints of God. She was in her late 70s and early 80s when I knew her. She was a widow who had been a pastor’s wife and then, in her later years, the manager of a small Christian bookstore. She was something of an institution in our town and in our church. She was also one of my greatest supporters and encouragers. Jane had a sweet, peaceful, tranquil spirit. She was always warm and kind, gentle and joyful, and it seemed as if she lived slightly above life – as if she glided through and maybe above the difficulties and challenges of life. She radiated peace and serenity. The secret to Jane’s quiet, peaceful spirit is what Paul was describing in Philippians 4:6-7, her inner world was in order and therefore it imposed order on her outer world. Throughout her long life, Jane had practiced what pastor and author Eugene Peterson once described as “a long obedience in the same direction.” He was referring to good spiritual discipline. The long obedience in the same direction that Peterson wrote about and which Jane practiced consists of lots of prayer and Bible study, fellowship with other Christians, full participation in the life of a good church, regular acts of service to the Lord and to others, and learning to live with an awareness of the presence of God always with you – all practiced daily over a period of years and decades.   I’m a strong believer in the value of having life-verses, Biblical principles, and motivational sayings that I find inspiring and helpful and which I write down and refer to often. I have them on notecards in my Bibles and books; they are written in my journals; they are printed and framed on my desk and bookcases; and I have them written on “Post-it” notes and tucked away in nooks and crannies everywhere. I refer to them often and one of my favorites reads like this, “The more your inner world is ordered and under control, the more successful your life will be.” That is what both Paul and Eugene Peterson were referring to. It’s what my old friend Jane practiced and which made such an observable difference in her life. It’s also what I aspire to in my own life. Creating order and structure in your inner world is one of the most helpful things you can do in terms of selfcare. The more your inner world is ordered and under control, the more successful your life will be. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 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: “Selfcare”

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: “A good attitude is good medicine”

Maintaining a good attitude is one of the most important things we can do in terms of selfcare. As Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 17:22, a good attitude is good medicine. But how do we maintain a good attitude in a world that is so negative? What do we do about our insensitive spouse, our unruly kids, or the unreasonable boss? And how about that inconsiderate neighbor with the overgrown yard and the barking dog?

Grrr… don’t such things just jack your jaws? Don’t they steal your joy and ruin your day? But wait, should they be able to? Are you a puppet on a string being yanked this way and that by outside forces and circumstances beyond your control? Are your emotions really at the mercy of people and events in the outside world, or is your attitude your responsibility?  

That’s a rhetorical question and the answer should be obvious – it’s your attitude and you own it. And this is where good boundaries can be so helpful. Where does your sense of stability, peace, tranquility, and joy come from? Does it come from the outside world and work its way into your heart, or is it something that already resides deep within you?  

You have the Holy Spirit of God living in your heart. And as Paul told us in Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit the Spirit produces in your life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. gentleness, and self-control. And as John told us in 1 John 4:4, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” In other words, the power that is in you is greater and stronger than the power that is in the world. That being the case, rather than the world forcing its way into your heart, the power of the Spirit should be reigning supreme within your heart, creating a boundary that keeps the spirit of negativity out, (maintaining peace and tranquility and joy), and then even flowing out of you to beat back the forces of negativity all around you.

It’s your attitude and its your responsibility to protect it, nurture it, and keep it strong and positive. You do that by rejecting that which drains you and embracing that which gives life. You do it by following Paul’s directive in Philippians 4:8 “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovey, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” Fill your heart with the good things of God and then stay focused on Him and His blessings in your life.

It’s your attitude and it’s your responsibility to do the things necessary to keep it positive. A good attitude is good medicine.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re 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: “Selfcare” Our Bible verse for today: “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them, because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. “Romans 16:17-18 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Sometimes you have to make them go away” The first and primary way to create good boundaries with other people is with your words – and the most important and operative word for boundary-setting is “no.” You can use your words to essentially establish property lines and fences that let people know where they can go with you and where they cannot. But sometimes words aren’t enough. Sometimes you will have to make people go away. When they won’t respect your clearly established boundaries simply because you have asked them to, the next step may be to physically remove them from your life – temporarily or maybe permanently. That’s what Paul was referring to in Romans 16:17-18. Some people are simply toxic and they will not accept correction. When it gets to that point, simply for the sake of selfcare, you have to make them go away. Henry Cloud and John Townsend wrote, “Sometimes physically removing yourself from a situation will help maintain boundaries. You can do this to replenish yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually, after you have given to your limit … Or, you can remove yourself to get away from danger and put limits on evil. The Bible urges us to separate from those who continue to hurt us and to create a safe place for ourselves.” They also write, “When a relationship is abusive, many times the only way to finally show the other person that your boundaries are real is to create space until they are ready to deal with the problem. The Bible supports the idea of limiting togetherness for the sake of “binding evil.” I’ll share with you again one of my personal life-principles that I frequently remind myself of and which I use as a guide in making decisions regarding selfcare: “Reject that which drains you; embrace that which gives life.” Sadly, sometimes, that principle must be applied to toxic people who need to be made to go away. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re 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 © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571