Good morning, everyone, Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith” Our Bible verse for today: “So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:12-13 Our thought for today: “You can live your best life now” In Romans 8:13-14 Paul used the word “obligated” in a negative context by saying that we are not obligated to live according to worldly ways and the desires and passions of the flesh. The word obligated means to feel a strong responsibility to do something, to behave in a particular way, or to produce certain expected results. It’s the feeling that others expect certain behaviors from us and there is pressure upon us to conform and comply. Many Christians do go along with the pressures from the world for precisely that reason – they feel obligated, or pressured, or compelled to do so. But Paul tells us here that as a child of God you owe no allegiance to the pressures of the world – you are under no obligation to them, nor should you feel as if you are. The implication in the passage is the opposite, that as a child of God you are under an obligation to conduct yourself in a way that honors your Father in heaven. You have no obligation to the world, but you do have a huge obligation to honor the family name of God. What’s being described is an intentional decision made by a redeemed person to live differently than you used to. You belong to your Father in heaven, and you want to honor that fact by conducting yourself in a way that pleases Him. This is more than just religious rule-keeping. This is more than having a list of dos and don’ts to use as a sort of checklist. This is a way of living that comes out of a heart of love for the Father and a genuine desire to please Him. And it is not even something that we must grit our teeth and strive to somehow implement in our lives. Instead, a life like this is a direct result of fully surrendering to Jesus Christ and to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It then becomes our nature to live that way because it’s simply who we are as a child of God. This life of holiness and righteous living isn’t a forced thing. Instead, it grows naturally out of serious discipleship. As the Holy Spirit molds us and shapes us, our character changes and we just naturally begin conducting ourselves in ways that please our Father and which bring honor to the family name. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” When Paul writes in Romans 8:13 that when you are fully surrendered to life under the guidance of the Spirit that you will “live”, this is what he’s talking about. The best life any of us will ever have is the one that is lived right in the middle of God’s will. That’s the life that God wants for you as His child, and you can have it, right now, beginning today. Live life by the Spirit not by the flesh and you will begin to live your best life now. 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: “Sound doctrine, strong faith” Our Bible verse for today: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.” Romans 8:11 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Can you do it? In recent days we have been thinking about the important truth that a new way of thinking leads to a new way of believing which leads to a new way of living. That sounds great but can you do it? Can you force that kind of change into your life and thereby change who you are as a person? The answer is “no!”. You cannot do it. But Jesus can. That’s the foundational doctrinal truth Paul explains to us in Romans 8:11. The same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, thereby transforming His dead human body into a fully alive resurrection body, is living within you and is at work in you to transform you into the person God wants you to be. This is a critical understanding. It’s a powerful truth. This changes everything. It is one of the most important truths in the New Testament. If you belong to Jesus, then the Holy Spirit lives within you and empowers you to live the life God wants for you. You do not have to do this with your own power. You cannot. The transformation can and will come from the Holy Spirit if you will just cooperate and let Him work within you. Even as a Christian the temptations of sin and the allure of the world will still be present and real and strong, and your mortal body will still be susceptible to it. But the power of the Holy Spirit within you is stronger than the power of the world around you. If God calls you to live in a way that honors Him, then He will also enable you to live in that way if you choose to. That’s what 1 Corinthians 10:13 is all about: “No temptation has seized you except that which is common to all men; and God is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted beyond that which you can endure. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so you can stand up under it.” Go back to verse 11 of Romans 8: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.” The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is present inside you. One day the Holy Spirit will use that power to raise you to new life in a resurrection body like the one Jesus had. Until then, He uses that power to help you live the life God has called you to. A new way of believing leads to a new way of thinking and that leads to a new way of living. It’s the Spirit of God within you who makes it happen. Can you do it? No, you cannot. But Jesus 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: “Sound doctrine, strong faith” Our Bible verse for today: “For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit. Now the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6 (CSB) Our thought for today: “A new way of thinking” So far in Romans eight Paul has taught us that a new way of living grows out of a new way of believing, and a new way of believing comes from a new way of thinking. Up to this point in Paul’s analogy, the unbeliever has been thinking that they could live without Jesus and be pleasing to God anyway. But according to Paul that thinking doesn’t work. The Bible is clear that the ways of the world are opposed to the ways of God, and our best efforts to be a good person don’t even get us close to atoning for our many sins. So no, that way of thinking doesn’t work. A new way of thinking is needed. Likewise, for the wayward or lukewarm Christian, their thinking is based in a desire to straddle the fence and live with one foot in both worlds. You have placed your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, so you think that since you have your salvation ticket punched, you have your “get out of hell free card” and you still get to indulge in the ways of the world too. But in these verses Paul challenges that thinking too. He draws a clear distinction between the mind of the flesh and the mind of the Spirit. He writes that if your thinking is dominated by the things of the flesh, that is what will be seen in your life. Likewise, if your mind is controlled by the Holy Spirit your actions will reflect that. Paul illustrated this point dramatically in his letter to the Galatians. In Galatians 5:19-21 we read this: “Now, the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things – as I warned you before – that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Then he goes on in verse 22-23 to create the contrast: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Then he clinches it in verses 24-25: “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Five times in Romans 8:3-6 Paul used the term “mind set.” A “mind set” is determined by how you set your mind – what you decide to set your mind on. It’s a choice you make. So, let me ask you, “What is your mind set?” “What have you chosen to set your mind on?” Whatever that is will determine how you think. A new way of thinking will lead to a new way of believing which will lead to a new way of living, and it’s all determined by the things you choose to set your mind on. I encourage you to set your mind on the ways of God and then live that way. 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: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”

Our Bible verse for today: That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons – Shem, Ham, and Japheth – and their wives.” Genesis 7:13 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “A new way of believing”

In this series of devotional messages, we are learning how it is that sound doctrine leads to strong faith, and that in turn leads us to a whole new way of living. That’s where Paul has been leading us in his letter to the Romans as he has been progressively laying out for us the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. These doctrines then become the firm foundation upon which our strong faith is based.

This does lead us to a whole new way of living (as discussed in yesterday’s devotional) but it grows out of a whole new way of believing. As I have been considering there’s a great Biblical example of it in the life of the man Noah. In Genesis chapters six through eight we learn of how Noah believed God even when he didn’t understand, and he then acted on that faith. At God’s direction Noah spent one hundred years building something that had never existed before (the ark), and for which there didn’t seem to be any practical use (there were no large bodies of water around for hundreds of miles.)

Finally, we read in Genesis 7:13 that when the ark was finished, Noah, his family, and all the animals entered it at God’s direction, and then the flood came. Thanks to his unquestioning faith in God and his willingness to act on and live by that faith, Noah and his family were saved when all others perished.

Noah had sound doctrine (to the extent that he could in the limited understanding of that day), and that sound doctrine led to strong faith which ultimately delivered him and his family from a catastrophe. By doing so he demonstrated for us a new way of living based on a new way of believing – it was unquestioned faith in God.

There’s a practical lesson for us in this. If you want to live your best life, you will need a new way of living, and it comes from a new way of believing. Trust God. Not just a little bit but completely. Without question and in full obedience just do what He has told you to do in the Bible. Live according to His ways, rather than your own. Like Noah, the best place for you and your family to be is right in the center of God’s will.

There is a new way of living that comes from a new way of believing, and it will always lead you to the life God wants for 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

Good morning, everyone, Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith” Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 (CSB) Our thought for today: “A new way of living” It’s commonly agreed among Bible scholars that Romans chapter eight is one of the most important chapters in the entire Bible. In it, Paul describes a new way of living that is now available to us because of our faith in Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ makes possible a new way of life – an abundant life – lived in and through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Paul has spent seven full chapters in his letter to the Roman Christians illustrating the horrible truth that we are all lost sinners condemned to hell because of our sins – and there isn’t a single thing any of us can do to save ourselves. The entire distorted culture of the Pharisees was all about trying to earn their way into God’s good graces and Paul has shown conclusively that it is impossible to do so. At the end of chapter seven he even cried out “Who will save me from this?” And he answered with “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” It’s Jesus, Jesus will save us. He can and He will. So, we get to chapter eight verse one and Paul says “Therefore …” In other words, since that is the case. Since it is true that Jesus can and will save us … Now there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Through the long history of human affairs few statements have been more powerful or more important than this one: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We are no longer condemned for our sins because Jesus has set you free from sin and eternal death. The term “in Christ” was one of Paul’s favorite phrases. He used it 119 times in his 13 New Testament letters. It means that once we have placed our faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, we enter into a mysterious kind of shared life with Him. This is perhaps best illustrated by Jesus’ parable of the vine and the branches in John 15:5 “I am the vine: you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.” Jesus lives in us, by means of His Holy Spirit in our heart, and He lives through us by using our physical body and our mortal life as His instrument of ministry to accomplish His purposes. As disciples of Jesus, we truly do have a new way of living. We are set free from living like a person who is condemned. We no longer have to adhere to an impossible system of rules and regulations as we try to prove ourselves good enough to please God. Instead, we have the Spirit of Jesus living in us and working through us and that enables us to live as the people God intends for us to be. There’s more that needs to be said about this. So, we will continue this discussion tomorrow. For today, sit quietly before the Lord and think deeply about what it means for you to be in Christ and for Christ to be in you. Then go live like it’s true. 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: “Sound doctrine, strong faith” Our Bible verse for today: “This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5 (CSB) Our thought for today: “The confident expectation of good things to come” I love this – hope for this life and for the next. We Christians get to live with the hope. But hope in the Biblical sense is more than just a wish – it is the firm and confident expectation of good things to come in this life and in the next. First, it is the certainty of eternity in heaven. But let’s be honest here. Is that, by itself, enough? Isn’t Kenny Chesney right when he sings “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now”? It’s true! Most of us enjoy living, and we want to keep doing it. While we do want to go to heaven – someday, we don’t really want to go today. It reminds me of little Johnny sitting in Sunday school and the teacher said to the children, “Everybody who wants to go to heaven raise your hand.” And all the children raised their hands, except little Johnny. Confused, the teacher asked, “Johnny, don’t you want to go to heaven?” And Johnny replied, “Well, yes, but not today. Mom’s making peach cobbler for dessert.” Isn’t that true of all of us? I am looking forward to going to heaven, but not yet please. The good news is that as the children of God we don’t just have hope for the next life, but for this one too. We get to have peach cobbler for dessert – and it’s okay to be looking forward to it! We get to hold the baby, pet the puppy, enjoy a cold drink of sweet tea on the porch on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and then marvel at the beautiful sunset in the evening. And then we get to do it all again tomorrow. We have hope for the next life, and we get to enjoy this one too! Right now, in this life, as Christians we have the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts and He is slowly but surely forming the fruit of the Spirit in us, progressively transforming us more and more into the image of Christ, making these virtues our own: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” As we grow in Christ, that comes to describe more-and-more who we are as an individual and we discover even more to be joyful about and to enjoy. We learn to sing with the Psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” It’s still true that life is hard and challenging but the fact is, we are overcomers through Christ. We are more than conquers through Jesus and we have learned to say with the Apostle Paul, “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.” “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” It is our faith in Christ that enables us to have that kind of a life. Faith really is the victory. It really is true that when we come to God through faith in Christ, we have hope for the next lifetime, but for this one too. It is the firm and confident expectation of good things to come. 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: “Sound doctrine, strong faith” Our Bible verse for today: “And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces character, and proven character produces hope.” Romans 5:3-4 (CSB) Our thought for today: “This will make you stronger” In Romans chapter five the Apostle Paul is pointing out four benefits we accrue as the result of having sound doctrine that leads to strong faith. So far, we have learned that we get peace with God and we get direct access to God. Today we find that we also receive strength to face the trials of life. Tomorrow we will learn about the hope we have for both this life and for the next. Now that we are at peace with God and now that we are using our direct access to Him, we discover that this relationship with God makes us strong – especially in our times of trials and adversity. Essentially what Paul is saying here is that God uses the difficult times in our lives to make us stronger. This is the same principle behind strength training with weights. This is why doctors encourage us to not only watch our diet and to get regular exercise, but to make sure some of our exercise includes resistance training. When we lift weights, our muscles endure stress and strain. But that stress and straining serves to make the muscles stronger. So, in that sense, the resistance created by the weight is good for us – we are better and stronger for having endured it and pushed back against it. Challenges and trials in life serve the same purpose and achieve the same results. Tough times force us to try harder and to push past the resistance that challenge creates. That makes us stronger and better. It is in that sense that Paul means it here. The lesson is that if we are in right relationship with God, and if we are allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us through the difficulties we face, then God will use those difficulties to further develop our Christian character. The Apostle James wrote about this too in James 1:2-4: “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” Now, Paul and James are not teaching that we should be glad that we just got laid off from work; or that this angry person is standing in front of us yelling and cursing; or that we suddenly discover that we have a serious illness. I don’t know about you but it’s unlikely that I would be standing there thinking, “Hey, this is great. Good for me!” But what if we were to approach situations like that with the thought, “Lord, I’m really discouraged that I just got laid off, and I am concerned about it. But I know that you are the God of all provision and that you are my protector and provider, so through this I want to learn to trust you even more.” That’s a good attitude. You will still have to go out and find another job, but with that attitude you will end up with greater trust in God and a stronger faith in Him. That’s the kind of mindset that both Paul and James were writing about, and it involves using our challenges in life to make us even better and stronger as a man or woman of God. When you are in right relation with God, and you have peace with God, and you are using your full, unrestricted access to the throne of God, you suddenly discover that you have a strength you never had before. Sound doctrine does indeed lead us to strong faith. 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: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”   Our Bible verse for today: “We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You have direct access to God”   As a child I was raised in the Catholic Church, and I was taught that I needed a priest to intercede with God on my behalf. Not only that, but I also had to confess my sins to him. Along the side walls of our church there were little closet-like compartments called “confessionals.” As a repentant sinner you would open the door of the confessional, go inside, close the door, kneel facing a lattice screen on the wall (face high), and wait. In a moment you would hear a little sliding door on the other side of the lattice slide open and the deep voice of the priest would say, “Confess your sins.” It was dark in there and you couldn’t see the face of the priest, but you knew he was there right on the other side of the lattice. Sometimes you could smell his breath.    After you confessed every sin (big and little), the priest would sigh, maybe ask you a question or two to clarify just how bad your sinning was, and then he would assign your penance. The penance usually amounted to a series of memorized prayers you were to say (the “Our Father” and the “Hail Mary”) which you were to recite over-and-over again the specified number of times, depending on how serious and extensive your sinning was. As a teenage boy, I spent a lot of time in that confessional and that priest earned his pay!   Fortunately, I have since learned that I don’t need a priest to intercede with God for me. In Hebrews 4:16 we read, “Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”   Once we have arrived at the place of being at peace with God through Christ (as we learned in yesterday’s devotional), we then have direct access to Him. We do not need an intermediary. I don’t need a priest to speak to God on my behalf. God is on the throne and we, His children, are always welcome into His court. We can walk right up to the throne and speak directly to Him. Not only that but we are told to do it boldly – in other words, with confidence. You do not have to crawl on your belly shaking in fear, because you are welcome. God is pleased that you have come to see Him.   This great truth about this access to God is depicted for us in that scene in Matthew 27:51. In the moment Jesus gave up His spirit as He hung on the cross, our sin debt was paid and in that very moment, the huge curtain in the temple that separated the people from the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies (which represented God’s presence), was instantly and miraculously torn in two right down the center. The symbology of that event was meant to communicate the great truth that from that moment on there was nothing that separated people from God. If we come to Him through faith in His Son Jesus Christ we can confidently come directly to Him, with nothing impeding the way. We are welcome.   Once you are at peace with God you then have direct access to God. You don’t need a priest, a pastor, or anyone else to pave the way for you. Jesus already took care of that.   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: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”   Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1   Our thought for today: “Being at peace with God changes everything”   “Peace with God.” Don’t you just love the sound of that? Doesn’t it sound wonderful to be able to live with a sense that you are at peace with God? Up to this point in this letter to the Roman Christians Paul has addressed two key truths that every person has to come to terms with – the need for justification and the means of justification. We have a need to be made right with God, and there is a way to be made right with God. Sin separates us from God, but Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and thereby He restores us to God. So, we have the need, we have the means, and now in chapter five Paul tells us about the results of being right with God.   The first result of being made right with God is that we are at peace with God. No longer in rebellion, no longer God’s enemy, no longer fighting Him, but finally, at peace with Him. This is something that every human being wants, longs for, and is searching for, even if they don’t realize it. It is just a basic truth of human nature that every human being longs for God. That is because, as Solomon taught us in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has put eternity in their hearts.” God created us with an inner awareness of the fact that there is a God, there is a spiritual realm, and there is more for us than just this lifetime. To be human is to be aware of the eternal and to long for it. That’s why every culture that has ever existed has always had a belief in the supernatural. It’s because God designed the human heart that way.   That’s simply a basic fact about being human and none of us can escape it. Deep down in our hearts we are all longing for God – even if we don’t realize it is God we are longing for. That explains the truth that Mikey Gilly once sang about in his famous country song, “Looking for love in all the wrong places.” That’s us as we desperately try to fill the empty place in our heart that can only be filled by God.   Paul teaches here that when we cross the threshold of faith – step across that line between doubting God and trusting God, and we place our faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, the empty place in the human heart is flooded with the love of God and from that moment on we can have peace with God. We have found our home in Him, and we are secure for all eternity from that time on.   My friends, that should change everything. When we are at peace with God, we are then ready to be at peace with ourselves and with others. And truly, this is what everyone really wants. Every person wants to be at peace with God, and they want to be at peace with themselves, and they would really love to live a life that is more tranquil, stable, and enjoyable by being at peace with others around them. But it starts with achieving a state of being at peace with God.   Down deep this is what every person longs for and Jesus has made it possible. You can have peace with God. This is a game changer. This changes everything. When you are at peace with God you are ready to live the life you have always wanted, the life that God has always wanted for 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, TN38571

Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”   Our Bible verse for today: “Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.” Romans 4:4-6 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “David is another great example”   In Romans chapter four Paul is calling his readers to develop a strong faith based in sound doctrine by considering the inspiring examples of great men of God who have gone before them. In yesterday’s devotional we read of how Paul referred to Father Abraham, the biological and spiritual father of Israel. Now he turns our thoughts to the example of David, the greatest king of Israel.   Here Paul quotes the words of David from Psalm 32:1-2 and his point was that if Abraham, the Father of Israel, set the standard for faith in the early chapters of Genesis, David, the King of Israel, confirmed it in his writings in the Psalms. David probably wrote these words about himself. His thoughts could be paraphrased like this: “Blessed is the one whose awful sins are covered over by the grace of God.”   We today don’t normally think of David as “sinful” or “wicked”. We think of him as the man after God’s own heart. We remember him as the one who killed the giant Goliath. We also remember that he wrote many of the Psalms, and we know that he was the greatest of all the kings of Israel. But at one time David was also a very wicked man. He seduced another man’s wife, got her pregnant, and then had the husband killed to cover-up his own sinful behavior. It was a wicked thing to do, and David paid a dear price for it. But once he genuinely repented in sincere faith, God forgave him and David went on to live a full and productive life as Israel’s greatest king. He is even remembered as “a man after God’s own heart.”   David was a flawed man, as was Abraham, but they both went on to accomplish mighty things for God and for God’s people – and that’s what they are best remembered for. But still, despite their great accomplishments, neither Abraham nor David gained righteousness in God’s eyes because of their works – as impressive as they might have been. Abraham and David both are great figures in the history of Israel, but they were both sinners saved by grace. They were both sinners who needed to be saved by grace because even their great works did not add up to enough to cover over their sins.   Paul used these two great figures from Israel’s history as examples for us of people who got it – they understood that righteousness comes through faith. If even great men of God like Abraham and David couldn’t have their sins covered over by any amount of great works (not even works as great as theirs), then how much truer must that be for you and me? My friends, you cannot earn your salvation. You can only accept it as the gift of grace that it is. Abraham and David are great examples of that important truth.   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